A dependable home blood pressure monitor can be a vital health management tool for people with hypertension, and for anyone else who needs or wants to check their blood pressure at home.
After interviewing medical professionals, spending over 40 hours researching more than 75 monitors since 2017, and testing 22 of them with the help of nursing students, we think the Greater Goods Smart Blood Pressure Monitor 0604 is the best machine for monitoring blood pressure at home. We found it consistent, easy to use and read, and comfortable. If you prefer a non-smart machine, Greater Goods’s Blood Pressure Monitor + Kit 0602 is essentially the same monitor, without Bluetooth.
This Bluetooth monitor and its corresponding app are very easy and intuitive to use. The device itself provides consistent readings that can be averaged; plus, it has a cuff that fits most arms, both battery- and wall-charging options, and a large, backlit display.
For people who want to avoid the hassle or privacy concerns that come with app connectivity, this monitor is basically the same as our top pick. But it doesn’t have the capacity to retrieve data or average readings automatically.
This all-in-one device with Bluetooth is consistent and easy enough to navigate, but while the on-cuff display is backlit, it is small and can be tough to read. Unlike our other picks, though, the Evolv can accommodate an unlimited number of users.
We chose to test only upper-arm monitors with cuffs that inflate automatically, since they’re the most accurate for at-home use.
On-device data storage We looked for models that can store at least a few weeks’ worth of blood pressure readings. Screen readabilityWe looked for large, easy-to-read displays, and we prioritized backlit screens, which are easier to see in poorly lit spaces.
We skipped …Testing wrist and fingertip monitors because the American Heart Association does not recommend them (and because some insurers won’t reimburse for them).
This Bluetooth monitor and its corresponding app are very easy and intuitive to use. The device itself provides consistent readings that can be averaged; plus, it has a cuff that fits most arms, both battery- and wall-charging options, and a large, backlit display.
The Greater Goods Smart Blood Pressure Monitor 0604 is everything we think most at-home users want in a blood pressure monitor: It has the ability to both detect an irregular heartbeat and average pressure readings, it pairs easily with a companion app over Bluetooth, and it features an easy-to-read, backlit screen. The device can store up to 60 readings per each of two users, while its companion app can store unlimited results.
For people who want to avoid the hassle or privacy concerns that come with app connectivity, this monitor is basically the same as our top pick. But it doesn’t have the capacity to retrieve data or average readings automatically.
The Greater Goods Blood Pressure Monitor + Kit 0602 lacks Bluetooth, meaning it can’t be paired with an app. (And there’s no way to retrieve data from the device, so you’ll need to log your results manually.) But for people who don’t want or need this feature, or for those who are concerned about the privacy issues or potential hassles associated with app connectivity, our runner-up pick is nearly identical to the Smart Blood Pressure Monitor 0604—without the added ability to average readings.
This all-in-one device with Bluetooth is consistent and easy enough to navigate, but while the on-cuff display is backlit, it is small and can be tough to read. Unlike our other picks, though, the Evolv can accommodate an unlimited number of users.
The wireless, cuff-and-monitor-in-one Omron Evolv provided consistent readings in our testing, is comfortable and straightforward to use, and is the only one of our picks that can handle unlimited users. However, the on-cuff backlit display is smaller than that of the Greater Goods monitors we recommend, and the numbers can be difficult to read. Like the Greater Goods Smart Blood Pressure Monitor 0604, the Evolv can connect to a companion app via Bluetooth.
| Greater Goods Smart Blood Pressure Monitor 0604 | Greater Goods Blood Pressure Monitor + Kit 0602 | Omron Evolv | |
| Regular price | $68 | $53 | $110 |
| Irregular heartbeat detection | yes | yes | yes |
| Bluetooth | yes | no | yes |
| Backlit screen | yes | yes | yes |
| Averages readings | yes | no | yes |
| Cuff size and options | 8¾ to 16½ inches | 8¾ to 16½ inches | 9 to 17 inches |
| Number of users | two | two | one on the device, unlimited in the Omron Connect app |
| Reading memory (per user) | 60 on the device, unlimited in the Balance Health app | 60 on the device | 100 on the device, unlimited in the Omron Connect app |
| Power options | four AAA batteries (or AC adapter) | four AAA batteries (or AC adapter) | four AAA batteries |
| Warranty | two years | two years | five years |
Nearly half of Americans have high blood pressure (aka hypertension), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. High blood pressure forces your heart to work harder, putting a burden on the rest of your body. A home blood pressure monitor is not a diagnostic device, but a tool to help you keep track of your blood pressure between checkups.
The American Heart Association defines hypertension as having either a systolic reading over 130, or a diastolic reading over 80 mm Hg for adults over the age of 20, and prehypertension as 120/80 mm Hg or above. These numbers refer to the pressure of blood against your blood-vessel walls. The first number is the systolic pressure, measured when the heart beats; the second number is the diastolic pressure, measured when the heart rests between beats.
The American Heart Association and many doctors recommend a blood pressure monitor for home use to help people with high blood pressure manage the condition. The daily use of a monitor can help a person track their blood pressure and prompt them to seek emergency care. At-home monitoring is also useful for patients who experience white coat syndrome, where the stress of visiting the doctor’s office causes blood pressure to spike. Still, keep in mind that home monitoring is meant to accompany—not replace—regular monitoring by a physician.
Unlike low blood pressure (hypotension), which can cause dizziness and other symptoms, you usually can’t physically feel when your blood pressure is too high, so regular testing is key for at-risk patients. This group includes people who have been diagnosed with hypertension and related conditions, as well as pregnant people.
Dr. Veronica Gillispie-Bell, an obstetrician-gynecologist who runs Connected MOM (Maternity Online Monitoring), a digital medicine program for pregnant patients at Ochsner Health in Louisiana, told us that she often uses a patient’s own blood pressure readings to detect early signs of preeclampsia. “I’ve had patients come into the hospital because of the readings they get at home between visits,” she said, noting that without detection, there could have been grave results.
To learn what makes a reliable home blood pressure monitor, we interviewed three physicians with years of clinical experience in blood pressure management: Daichi Shimbo, a cardiologist at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and a member of the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation; Samuel Mann, an internal medicine specialist at the Weill Cornell Medicine Hypertension Center; and Veronica Gillispie-Bell, an obstetrician-gynecologist and head of women’s services at Ochsner Health in Louisiana. We also combed through literature from the American Heart Association, among other medical organizations, and read hundreds of customer reviews.
For this guide, we considered home blood pressure monitors designed for adults.
You can find four types of basic blood pressure monitors for home use:
We chose to focus on upper-arm monitors with cuffs that inflate automatically because, for most people, they are simpler and more convenient to use. We decided not to review wrist or fingertip monitors because the American Heart Association does not recommend them, and because some insurers won’t reimburse for them due to accuracy concerns. (You can also find smartphone apps that purport to take blood pressure readings directly from your phone, but those are not accurate, so we did not include them in our testing.)
The most important quality of a blood pressure monitor is its accuracy. This is determined by the blood pressure machine itself (called a sphygmomanometer) and the size of the cuff; if the cuff is the wrong size, your reading will be off. In addition, be aware that the conditions under which you measure your blood pressure—from the time of day to your body position to whether you’ve had caffeine—can affect your readings, no matter the machine.
Unfortunately, measuring a blood pressure monitor’s accuracy is notoriously mercurial—literally . For more than a century, health-care professionals used mercury sphygmomanometers to take patients’ blood pressures, and reported the readings as the height of a column of mercury at the moment when faint sounds could first be heard via a stethoscope placed on the arm (the accuracy of which, of course, was limited by the physician’s or nurse’s hearing). Though we still refer to blood pressure measurements in terms of mm of Hg (millimeters of mercury), that technology has been gradually phased out because of ecological and health concerns. In its place, modern blood pressure monitors measure the fluctuating pressure exerted through the skin by the brachial artery against the cuff as the cuff deflates. Of course, your blood pressure varies continuously with every heartbeat. Makers of contemporary blood pressure monitors have developed their own algorithms to translate those pressure oscillations into the numbers that appear on the sphygmomanometer’s digital display.
Experts we spoke with recommended looking for a monitor that doesn’t deviate more than 10 mm Hg of pressure from the reading you’d get at a doctor’s office. For this reason, many physicians who recommend at-home blood pressure monitoring advise patients to bring their home monitors to their appointment to compare the results with those obtained by a medical professional using a hospital-grade machine. This can also help ensure you are using the monitor properly. “An in-office test run using an at-home machine helps limit the possibility of falsely high readings or inaccurately low readings due to improper use,” said Dr. Veronica Gillipsie-Bell, an ob-gyn and the director of quality for women’s services at Ochsner Health in Louisiana.
But because hospital monitors also use their own algorithms, it’s not a one-to-one comparison. “Here’s the problem: They test it [the patient’s monitor] against the clinic’s oscillometric device,” explained Dr. Daichi Shimbo of Columbia University Irving Medical Center. “You’re using a different device that uses another algorithm.” As a result, at least some difference between the two readings is expected.
Many physicians who recommend at-home blood pressure monitoring advise patients to bring their home monitors to their appointment to compare the results with those obtained by a medical professional using a hospital-grade machine.
For most people, home blood pressure monitors provide sufficiently accurate readings. To that end, consistency is nearly as important as accuracy: For tracking trends in blood pressure over time, obtaining consistent readings by using the same, reliable device, is largely more important than getting a perfectly precise reading each time. (For tips on how to achieve consistent readings, see Use, care, and maintenance.)
In deciding which models to test, we looked for monitors included in the US Blood Pressure Validated Device Listing (VDL), a third-party repository of blood pressure monitors that have been certified for accuracy based on American Medical Association criteria. As of February 2024, both the Greater Goods Smart Blood Pressure Monitor 0604 and the Omron Evolv are included on this listing. We also looked for monitors that have been independently tested according to standards set by the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation, the British and Irish Hypertension Society, and the International Protocol for the Validation of Automated Blood Pressure Measuring Devices (but didn’t disqualify those that haven’t).
If a monitor lacks such accreditation, it’s not necessarily unreliable, said the Weill Cornell Medicine Hypertension Center’s Dr. Samuel Mann—“but probably being accredited is better.” However, Shimbo recommends that patients only buy monitors that appear in the VDL or have been vetted by Stride BP, an international nonprofit affiliated with the European Society of Hypertension, the International Society of Hypertension, and the World Hypertension League.
Beyond accreditation, we also considered:
In 2021, we tested 12 blood pressure monitors that fulfilled our basic criteria, including eight that can connect to an app via Bluetooth. For our 2019 update, as in previous rounds of testing for this guide, we recruited nursing students to help us test the most promising models, visiting the Helene Fuld College of Nursing in New York City, where—under the supervision of their professor, a registered nurse—nine students tried each of eight monitors after getting a baseline blood pressure reading on the school’s equipment (a hospital-grade machine made by Prestige Medical).
Our panelists at the Helene Fuld College of Nursing tested home blood pressure monitors in 2019, evaluating the overall user experience of each. Photo: Sarah Kobos
Our panelists at the Helene Fuld College of Nursing tested home blood pressure monitors in 2019, evaluating the overall user experience of each. Photo: Sarah Kobos
