WHOOP Peak vs WHOOP MG: are Life’s ECG and Blood Pressure Insights worth $120 more a year?

Which should you buy, WHOOP Peak or WHOOP MG?

Choose WHOOP Peak if you want WHOOP’s daily scores, Healthspan and health alerts and don’t need an ECG. It’s $239 a year on WHOOP’s membership page, checked Oct 13, 2026, and includes the WHOOP 5.0 device, a Wireless PowerPack and a SuperKnit band¹. Choose the WHOOP MG, which comes only with the Life membership, if you want the Heart Screener with ECG, on-demand AFib detection or Blood Pressure Insights. Life is $359 a year on WHOOP’s join page, checked Oct 26, 2026².

Life costs $120 more a year, or $360 more over three years: $1,077 against $717 before tax, if both renew at today’s price^{1, 2}. WHOOP’s terms say memberships renew at the then-current price, so neither total is certain⁵. Everything in Peak is also in Life, including Healthspan with WHOOP Age, Pace of Aging, Health Monitor alerts and the Stress Monitor². The extra money buys the MG, a choice of band and the three heart and blood pressure features.

Those features differ in regulatory status. The FDA cleared the ECG in April 2025 for adults 22 and older⁶. Blood Pressure Insights has no clearance, and the FDA’s July 2025 warning letter about it was closed in June 2026 with the FDA saying it doesn’t intend to enforce device requirements for the feature as modified^{7, 8}. None of this shows that either tier improves your health.

• Choose WHOOP Peak if you want Healthspan, Pace of Aging, the Stress Monitor and Health Monitor alerts for $239 a year and can do without an ECG and a blood pressure estimate¹.
• Choose WHOOP MG on the Life membership if you want an FDA-cleared ECG on a screen-free strap and accept $359 a year^{2, 6}.
• Choose neither if you won’t pay every year or want a screen or GPS, since both straps have no display or built-in GPS¹¹. WHOOP alternatives compares four bands with no required fee.

WHOOP Peak and WHOOP MG side by side

Prices are US prices before tax, checked Oct 13, 2026 for Peak and Oct 26, 2026 for Life. Neither was a sale price, and WHOOP shows only yearly prices^{1, 2}. Every figure is WHOOP’s own unless the FDA is named. WHOOP’s pages checked don’t give dimensions, weight or water resistance for either device, so those can’t be compared.

These links go to each brand’s own store and earn us no commission.

Who needs the ECG on WHOOP MG?

Only someone who wants it, and within the limits of the clearance. The FDA cleared the WHOOP ECG feature on April 4, 2025 (510(k) K243236) for over-the-counter use by adults 22 and older⁶. You touch the ECG-conductive clasp with your thumb and index finger, and a 30-second recording is classified as AFib, normal sinus rhythm, low heart rate, high heart rate, inconclusive or unsuccessful^{3, 6}. The FDA’s summary says the data are informational and not meant to replace traditional methods of diagnosis or treatment⁶.

The study behind the clearance had about 540 subjects with a mean age of 60.4⁶. On classifiable recordings, sensitivity for AFib was 96.2% and specificity for sinus rhythm was 99.4%⁶. About 11% of recordings came back inconclusive, and the FDA’s summary says real-world performance for inconclusive and poor recordings may differ⁶.

WHOOP says the feature isn’t for people with known arrhythmias other than AFib and isn’t recommended with a pacemaker or ICD^{2, 6}. It also isn’t available in every region². The pages checked don’t say which bands have the ECG-conductive clasp. The FDA’s 510(k) records under WHOOP’s name list only the ECG feature, so it is unknown whether WHOOP’s Irregular Heart Rhythm Notifications are FDA-authorized⁹. Whether to check your heart rhythm is a question for a clinician who knows your health, not for a wearable page.

Blood Pressure Insights: what the FDA has and hasn’t said

Blood Pressure Insights gives a daily systolic and diastolic range, estimated once a day from overnight sensor data⁴. You calibrate it with cuff readings you log in the app. WHOOP calls it a beta feature for wellness, says it is not a medical device and says your true value may be higher or lower than the range shown^{2, 4}. WHOOP says it isn’t intended for use if you are pregnant or on blood pressure medication².

On July 14, 2025 the FDA told WHOOP it was marketing the feature without marketing clearance or approval, and that it had not authorized the feature for any use, including estimating blood pressure⁷. A close-out letter followed on June 17, 2026. It rested on changes WHOOP made to the feature and its labeling and on the FDA’s updated General Wellness guidance, and the FDA said it doesn’t intend to enforce the device requirements for the feature as modified⁸.

Read that narrowly. The close-out letter doesn’t list the changes, and it doesn’t say the feature is cleared, approved or validated⁸. The FDA’s 510(k) records under WHOOP’s name show only the ECG feature⁹. WHOOP says it trained and validated the model on data from over 11,000 users across 32,000 sleep sessions, but that is its own account, and the pages checked give no error figures⁴. We found no independent validation study of it.

Is WHOOP Life worth $120 more a year?

It is worth it only if you will use what the $120 buys. The pages checked list no other feature difference: Peak’s scores, Healthspan and alerts all come with Life^{1, 2}. The extra is the MG device, a choice of band, the ECG, on-demand AFib detection and Blood Pressure Insights². If none of those matters to you, Peak gives you the same daily scores for $360 less over three years^{1, 2}.

A trade-in narrows the first year only. WHOOP’s trade up page puts the discount at up to $119 for an eligible Oura Ring, Apple Watch, Garmin or Samsung watch, depending on the model and condition, and $30 for a Fitbit^{2, 10}. Renewals are at full price, and a trade-in can’t be returned even if you cancel in the first 30 days^{5, 10}.

If you already have Peak, WHOOP says current members can move up to Life at any time and pay a prorated amount^{1, 2}. WHOOP’s terms also describe a membership extension or a one-time upgrade fee and give no amount for the fee⁵. Ask WHOOP what the move costs before you commit.

What neither WHOOP tier has

Both straps are screen-free. You read everything in the WHOOP app, and neither has a display or built-in GPS¹¹. If you want the time, notifications or a map on your wrist, a watch fits better, and Fitbit Charge 6, Garmin Vivoactive 6 and Galaxy Watch9 are compared on subscription, battery and phone fit.

Neither tier has a hardware-only price. The lifetime warranty with replacement lasts only while the membership is active, and WHOOP’s pages don’t say what the strap does after a membership ends^{1, 5}. WHOOP publishes no accuracy data for the 5.0 or the MG on the pages checked. A 2024 review of earlier WHOOP straps found moderate agreement with a sleep lab on sleep stages¹², as our wearables evidence review covers.

Warranty and returns on both tiers

Both carry a lifetime warranty with device replacement for as long as the membership is active^{1, 5}. WHOOP’s terms cover defects in materials or workmanship and exclude lost devices, lost chargers or PowerPacks, misuse, normal wear and tear, accidents, theft and cosmetic damage⁵. You may pay shipping and handling for a replacement, and the warranty can’t be transferred⁵.

You have 30 days from receipt to cancel and return the device for a refund of the initial membership fee, less return shipping^{1, 5}. After 30 days WHOOP refunds nothing, and canceling later ends the membership at the end of the current term with no prorated refund⁵. The 30-day policy doesn’t apply to free trials, and a purchase from a reseller follows the reseller’s return policy⁵.

If you don’t want a membership at all

WHOOP sells no strap without a membership, so the choice between Peak and Life is a choice between two yearly fees^{1, 2}. If you would rather not pay every year, WHOOP alternatives compares four screen-free bands with no required fee against both WHOOP tiers, with the MG already in its table. For the full cost picture, wearables ownership cost puts WHOOP’s three-year total beside rings and bands from other makers.

For another view of WHOOP Peak, WHOOP Peak vs Garmin CIRQA vs Google Fitbit Air compares it with two cheaper bands, and Oura Ring 5 vs WHOOP Peak vs Ultrahuman Ring PRO sets it against two rings. Our wearables guide shows how these devices fit among the other options.

Read the full reviews

Each review lists the sources, unknowns and trade-offs behind this page.

• WHOOP Peak review
• WHOOP MG review

Sources

1. WHOOP Membership WHOOP · manufacturer
2. Join WHOOP WHOOP · manufacturer
3. WHOOP unveils WHOOP 5.0 and WHOOP MG (May 8, 2025) WHOOP Press Center · manufacturer
4. WHOOP Heart Health WHOOP · manufacturer
5. Terms of Use (last updated August 3, 2026) WHOOP · manufacturer
6. 510(k) clearance letter and summary K243236: WHOOP ECG (electrocardiogram) Feature (1.0) FDA · regulator
7. Warning letter: WHOOP, Inc. (MARCS-CMS 709755), July 14, 2025 FDA · regulator
8. Close-out letter: WHOOP, Inc. (MARCS-CMS 709755), June 17, 2026 FDA · regulator
9. openFDA device 510(k) search for applicants named WHOOP FDA (openFDA) · regulator · data file
10. Trade Up to WHOOP | Save up to $119 WHOOP · manufacturer
11. How Long Does WHOOP Battery Last? WHOOP 5.0 and MG Battery Life Explained WHOOP (The Locker) · manufacturer
12. Accuracy of Fitbit Charge 4, Garmin Vivosmart 4, and WHOOP Versus Polysomnography: Systematic Review JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 2024 · systematic review