Eight Sleep Pod 5 review: smarter sleep but with a seriously premium price tag

Sleep tracking is big business these days, and Eight Sleep has carved out a serious name for itself of late as the high-tech leader in this space. The New York-based brand made waves with its super innovative mattress covers that don’t just track your sleep – they actively try to improve it, using smart temperature regulation that adjusts throughout the night according to what it senses is going on in your body.

Building on the success of its predecessor, the five star-awarded Pod 4, the all-new Pod 5 is the company’s latest offering, sporting some design and performance tweaks that aim to improve overall sleep quality thanks to the use of some nifty AI tech. What makes this unique is that it uses your sleep data to not only monitor but also actively enhance sleep quality in real time through personalised temperature adjustments.

But can it really help improve your sleep? With such a hefty price tag (over £2500 / $2,700 - gulp), the Pod 5 really needs to deliver on its promises to justify the investment. To find out if that’s the case or not, I’ve been testing it out over the past month or so.

Can it really improve my sleep the way it promises? Taking on board my experience with the new Pod 5 as well as what I know from regularly using and reviewing older versions of the series over the years, here’s my take.

Eight Sleep Pod 5 review: Price and availability

The Pod 5 is available to buy now in the UK and the US from Eight Sleep’s official website.

In terms of price, this is where things get a bit crazy. The Eight Sleep Pod 5 Core model, consisting of the hub and the cover, starts from a whopping £2,349 in the UK for a Double (135cm x 190cm) and goes up depending on the size of mattress you own. A King (150cm x 200cm) is £2,449, a Super King (180cm x 200cm) is £2,649, and an Emperor (200cm x 200cm) is £2,849.

The Pod 5 Ultra only comes in Super King or Emperor sizes, and starts at a crazy £4,249, going up to £4,449 for the larger version.

In the US, things are a bit different. The Pod 5 Core model starts from $2,749 for a Full (53” x 75”), rising to $2,949 for a Queen (60” x 80”), and topping out at $3,149 for either a King (76” x 80”) or California King (72” x 84”).

As for the Pod 5 Ultra, prices jump significantly. It starts at $4,849 for a Queen size and goes up to $5,049 for both King and California King variants.

If you thought that was spenny, just you wait. Once you’ve forked out for the physical stuff, you’ve then got to choose your Autopilot Plan, which is an additional cost per month or year so you can unlock sleep tracking metrics via the Eight Sleep app. While that might sound like daylight robbery, it’s what allows the pod to adjust your environment in real time to ensure you get the best sleep ever.

Autopilot plans start from £17 / $17 per month or £199 / $199 billed annually for the Standard mode, which includes an extended two-year warranty, automatic temperature adjustments, sleep and health reports, vibration and thermal alarms and snoring detection and mitigation.

That goes up to £25 / $25 per month or £299 / $299 billed annually for the Enhanced mode, which includes everything in Standard, plus a five-year warranty.

Then, for £33 / $33 per month or £399 / $399 billed annually, there’s an Elite option, which includes everything in Enhanced, plus Health Check for advanced wellbeing, cardiovascular and respiratory monitoring to surface health abnormalities.

As you can see, if you’re on a budget, it’s hard to justify the Eight Sleep Pod 5. Especially considering the monthly subscription fees for the more detailed sleep insights on top of the already-very-expensive initial purchase costs.

Compared to other competitors, the Eight Sleep Pod 5 offers more advanced tracking features. However, with its higher price, it’s way more expensive than other temperature-control mattress systems currently on the market.

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Eight Sleep Pod 5 review: Design and features

The Eight Sleep Pod 5 sticks with the same setup as on its previous models: you’ve got a smart mattress cover and a separate hub that powers the whole water-cooled temperature system. The cover slips over your existing mattress, and the hub (still annoyingly chunky) sits awkwardly near your bed, connected by thick tubes that pump water through the fine grid system inside the cover to heat or cool the bed surface based on your preferences, or automatically through its AI-led Autopilot mode.

There are a few design tweaks this time around when compared to its predecessor, the Pod 4, although visually you’d be hard-pressed to spot them. First up is health tracking, which has had a bit of an upgrade thanks to new algorithms designed to detect heart rate or breathing irregularities. This is great if you’re someone who’s into recovery stats or just likes keeping tabs on your general wellbeing. The Pod 5 is also now compatible with Eight Sleep’s new (£800 / $1000) temperature-regulating blanket, which syncs up with the cover to help maintain an even temperature around your body. I didn’t get sent the blanket to test, but it sounds like a decent optional extra - if you’ve got money to burn.

Another design update is the addition of new physical tap controls on the side of the cover, which sleepers can use to control temperature manually during the night or snooze the built-in alarm without having to do it via the app. This has been upgraded from a sensor patch on the Pod 4, to an embedded remote control-style module with three buttons.

In my opinion, this fresh button design hasn’t improved the functionality of the pod, it’s actually made it more finicky to control than on the last iteration. Before, two simple taps on the palm-sized sensor pad would turn off the alarm - but now, you’ve got to fondle around to find the smaller module and feel where the buttons reside, navigate to the centre button to snooze. It’s a small change that makes an irritatingly big difference. Still, it’s nice to have it and is especially useful in the middle of the night when you don’t want the bright screen of your phone waking you up.

Comfort-wise, it’s nothing but good news. Since the Pod 4, Eight Sleep has nailed the feel of the cover, and the Pod 5 sticks with the same approach. The tubing is basically undetectable once you're lying down - even if you’re a side sleeper - and the top layer adds just enough plushness without making your bed feel overly soft or spongy. It genuinely enhances the feel of your mattress and still manages to feel cool and premium to the touch, which is what you'd hope for at this price.

The hub, though, is still the weakest part of the setup. It’s the same tall, chunky unit as before. I just don’t understand why they can make the hub shorter and wider as opposed to tall and slim. If it had the option to fit under the bed (the hub as it currently stands is, annoying, just a tad too tall), it would be a game changer. Having the hub stuck beside the bed just looks cumbersome and – as someone who likes everything to always be tidy – it irks me on the daily. On the plus side, it does seem a touch quieter than the Pod 4, especially once it’s hit your target temperature, but while it’s actively heating or cooling, there’s still a low hum. It fades into the background eventually, but I really wish they’d rethink the design altogether.

As for installation, it’s much better than before but still not completely effortless. You’ll need to connect the three tubes from the hub, fill it with distilled water (and a splash of hydrogen peroxide to help prevent mould), and run through a full Wi-Fi sync and calibration. It’s not plug-and-play by any stretch, but the app guides you through step-by-step and, thankfully, it’s something you’ll only need to do once.

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Eight Sleep Pod 5 review: Performance

This is where Eight Sleep really earns its keep. The dual-zone temperature control is easily its standout feature and the Pod 5 takes this a step further by doubling the heating and cooling power. Basically, it gets to your preferred temperature faster and stays there with less fluctuation throughout the night.

In testing, it consistently reached my set temperature in around 10 to 15 minutes, and didn’t budge until morning. It’s clever enough to adjust as you sleep too, warming slightly in the early morning, for example, or cooling as you drift off. This isn’t just a fancy electric blanket, the changes are subtle and dynamic, and it’s genuinely impressive how well it adapts. If you share a bed with someone who’s always cold while you’re always sweating, it solves that problem, too, since both users can be synced to the app with their respective smartphones and it’ll adjust and personalise to each user’s needs independently, which is super smart.

The range is also pretty wide, from properly chilly 13°C (which Eight Sleep label as ideal for those who suffer from hot flushes) to a very toasty 43°C, which sounds warm enough to boil you alive (as far as I have experienced, it doesn’t). Compared to Pod 3 from two years ago, it’s a huge step up, and even improves on the Pod 4 for responsiveness and stability.

Sleep tracking is also top-notch. You get stats on light, deep and REM sleep stages, heart rate, HRV, breathing rate, and an overall “Sleep Fitness Score” each morning - and it’s surprisingly accurate. I’ve tested it against wearables like Garmin smartwatches and found the results pretty comparable. Best of all, there’s nothing to wear since the data’s collected passively through the cover, so you don’t need to faff around with watches or rings.

What’s more, the Autopilot feature learns your habits over time and adjusts things automatically – including alarms and temperature changes – to optimise your sleep. It’s brilliant when it works, but it’s worth knowing this feature is locked behind a subscription after the first year (check out the prices and availability section below for a full run down).

Another new trick on the Pod 5 is snore detection. If it picks up snoring, it can adjust the temperature on your side in real time to try and reduce it. It’s subtle, but can make a difference – especially if your partner is a light sleeper. With the Ultra model (which I didn’t test), it can even raise the bed slightly using an adjustable base to physically reduce snoring. Sounds clever, but again, it’s only available if you opt for the more expensive setups and have a Super King or Emperor size in the UK or Queen and above in the US.

Vibration and thermal alarms are still here, and still work really well from my experience. I set mine to gently warm the bed ten minutes before waking, followed by a subtle vibration. It’s a lovely, non-jarring way to start the day. Just be aware, however, that the vibration can get quite strong if not snoozed right away, so if your partner’s alarm goes off on their side, you might hear the movement even if you don’t feel it.

The Eight Sleep app has also had a refresh this year. It’s been made simpler but somehow it feels more confusing as it’s more visually busy than before. The type face that Eight Sleep as moved to feels narrow, almost squashed, and it’s just not pleasing on the eye, Definitely preferred the older version. Even after a month of use, I’m still not used to it, nor a fan. Still, it’s fine to navigate, offering mostly clear displays of your sleep data, temperature trends and manual controls. You still get full graphs and insights if you want to dig deeper, and there’s a side-by-side view for both zones of the bed, which is handy if you sleep as a pair.

Noise-wise, the hub is much improved but still not silent. You’ll notice it when it’s working hard to reach a temperature, but once it’s settled, it fades into the background. Just be aware that it also emits a fair bit of heat during active cooling, so if your bedroom is already warm, it could add to the ambient temperature a bit.

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Eight Sleep Pod 5 review: Verdict

If you’re looking for the most advanced sleep tech on the market and willing to make a pretty massive investment to get your hands on it, the Eight Sleep Pod 5 is the best bit of tech out there right now. The combination of precise temperature control, which learns your preferences to improve your sleep, alongside detailed sleep tracking insights and smart features like snore detection sets it apart from anything else on the market.

What’s more, it takes all the strengths of the Pod 4 and takes it up a notch, adding some worthwhile improvements such as more accurate health tracking. Although, I must add that if you already own this, there’s absolutely no need to upgrade to the fifth gen model - the minimal upgrades over its predecessor just don’t warrant it. Plus, some areas the brand has tried to improve have missed the mark, such as the physical tap controls, which just aren’t as intuitive this time ‘round.

If you’re new to Eight Sleep, or own a much older version, then that’s a different story. For one, the Autopilot feature also works brilliantly, automatically adjusting temperature throughout the night to ensure you have the best night’s sleep possible, and then giving you an overview of how exactly it did this with a deep insight report the following morning. In fact, everything about this device is impressive. Well, except for the cost - both initially and ongoing.

The Pod 5’s price tag and app subscription fee are, I must say, extortionate and thus likely to be massive turn-offs for the majority of people, even those who suffer from bad sleep. While it could prove a significant and worthwhile investment for those serious about improving their slumber time, the Pod 5’s £2.6k initial cost and £199-plus ongoing annual running fees just aren’t realistic for most people, which is a massive shame.

Still, if the costs aren’t enough to put you off, the Eight Sleep Pod 5 will not disappoint. This high-tech sleep system is an incredibly powerful smart home gadget that I genuinely wouldn’t want to be without – and once you’ve tried it, I’d challenge you not to feel the same.