Hatch Sleep Clock review: this contactless sleep tracker needs improving but it excels as a wake up light

Over the past few years, I’ve become laser-focused on learning about my sleep. I’ve always considered myself to be a good sleeper, but in my late 20s, I started to experience interruptions, a reduction of REM sleep, and overheating, which left me extremely tired and irritable the next day.

Following these disruptions, I tried my fair share of sleep trackers to gain some insights into my sleep habits. But aside from getting a bit too addicted to getting the perfect sleep score, I didn’t like having to wear something to bed – and that’s where the Hatch Sleep Clock came in.

The Hatch Sleep Clock came out in August 2026, and it offered a contactless, non-invasive way to track your sleep. As Hatch is known for its wake up lights, the Hatch Sleep Clock has a similar design, and comes with these features, including sound, lights and colours.

I’m a big fan of wake up lights, so having an option which combined this with non-wearable sleep tracking sounded like a win to me – but how did the Hatch Sleep Clock perform? I spent a few weeks sleeping next to it to find out.

Price and availability

The Hatch Sleep Clock is available to buy for $249.99 at Hatch. As of writing, it’s not yet available in the UK or Europe, and I had to use it with a US to UK plug adapter, as I live in the UK. It comes in putty, greige and cocoa colours.

To use the Hatch Sleep Clock, you need to download the Hatch Sleep app. The sleep tracking features are included in the cost of the Hatch Sleep Clock so you don’t need a subscription but if you want to use the lighting and sound features, you’ll need to sign up for Hatch+. The plan is free for the first 30 days, before you pay $5.99 a month and $59.99 annually.

Image 1 of 2

Unboxing and set up

The Hatch Sleep Clock arrived with the main device and a US power cord. As mentioned, I had to use an adapter to test the Hatch Sleep Clock, so if you’re outside the US, you’ll need one too, and a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi connection is also required.

I’ve set up Hatch products before, and the Hatch Sleep Clock had a very similar process. I first plugged it into the adapter before downloading the Hatch Sleep app. From there, I connected the Hatch Sleep Clock to my Wi-Fi before I was able to set up my alarms and schedules.

For the wake up, wind down and alarm features, the Hatch Sleep Clock asked me to select timings and bedtime playlists. During set up, the Hatch Sleep app also gave advice on how to position it which was facing towards me on my bedside table, and between two - four feet away.

Design and features

As a contactless sleep tracker and wake up light, the Hatch Sleep Clock is designed to assist your entire sleep routine, from winding down, to sleeping, to waking up. It sits on your bedside table and uses ultra-low-power radio signals to detect movement and breathing without being invasive or using microphones or cameras.

Using radio signals and beside technology, the Hatch Sleep Clock can detect sleep with a 97% accuracy rate. It can learn your sleep patterns, and track when you go to bed, when you fall asleep, if you wake up in the night, and your different sleep stages. From there, the Hatch Sleep Clock offers personalised guidance and insights into your sleep, and recommends where you can improve your nighttime routine, like specific sleep stories, alarms and meditations.

Image 1 of 2

The Hatch Sleep Clock looks identical to its wake up light siblings. It has a semi-circle shape with a large button on the top which you can press to turn it on/off and twist it to adjust the volume of your audio. It’s flanked by a pause button and a sleep button which will either pause your schedule or start it.

On the left side of the Hatch Sleep Clock is an alarm button which you can flick on or off without having to open the app. On the right side is a light button which turns on the Hatch Sleep Clock’s light so you can use it as a lamp. These are all the on-device controls but for anything more technical or customisable, you’ll need to use the Hatch Sleep app.

The Hatch Sleep app offers sleep tracking insights without you needing to sign up for the subscription. However, if you don’t, you won’t get access to the full library of sounds, meditations, podcasts, sleep stories, audiobooks and sound baths which the Hatch Sleep Clock comes with.

Performance

As the Hatch Sleep Clock is primarily a sleep tracker, I’ll start off with its sleep tracking functions. Firstly, you have to be very precise on how you position the Hatch Sleep Clock as it won’t pick anything up if it’s not perfectly aligned with where you are when you’re sleeping.

Personally, I didn’t find this too difficult. My bedside table is in line with my pillow so this wasn’t a big issue, although it took some trial and error before the Hatch Sleep Clock picked up my sleep consistently. It also started tracking for a day or two before the Hatch Sleep Clock demanded a reboot and completely stopped working.

After I returned from a holiday where I’d switched everything off in my house, the Hatch Sleep Clock was finally back up and running. However, I still found its sleep tracking to be inconsistent. Following the reboot, it consistently tracked my sleep every night, but it wasn’t the most accurate.

For example, I was informed in the Hatch Sleep app that I had only slept for three hours that night. I can confidently say that that’s incorrect as I slept from around midnight to 7am that night with minimal wake ups. It also doesn’t offer a sleep score, or really offer any in depth analysis, aside from some brief notes and timings of each sleep stage.

Image 1 of 2

I’ve previously tested a smart ring before which tracked my sleep, and it was much more thorough about my sleep and how to improve. Of course, that’s because it was on my finger and therefore could better monitor my pulse, heart rate and other things, but the Hatch Sleep Clock is quite sparse with its tracking information.

Where the Hatch Sleep Clock won me over, though, was its use as a wake up light. I’ve used the Hatch Restore 3 before, so testing the Hatch Sleep Clock was a very similar experience with its wake up and wind down features. These features are definitely where the Hatch Sleep Clock – and Hatch’s other products – excel, as there are so many light, colour and sound options to choose from in the app.

The Hatch Sleep app is definitely worth the subscription cost, as you get so much from it. It’s much more expansive than similar style apps from competitors, and there’s lots of ways to customise your bedtime schedule, morning routine, and more. Despite being easy to use, the Hatch Sleep app can occasionally freeze and lose your customisations which is something to keep in mind.

In terms of sound, the Hatch Sleep Clock offers crystal clear audio which sounds amazing, and creates a full immersive experience when paired with lighting and colours. As a wake up light, the Hatch Sleep Clock does get very bright very quickly, and it could be a more gradual and gentle process.

Verdict

Hatch is a reliable, high quality brand that I would recommend to anyone – but only if you were looking to buy a wake up light. As a bedside lamp and wake up light, the Hatch Sleep Clock is an amazing choice. It’s got a cute design, lots of lights, colours and sounds available, and its on-device controls are quick and easy to use. The Hatch Sleep app is also one of the best I’ve tried.

However, as a sleep tracker, the Hatch Sleep Clock fell short for me. It’s not the most accurate or consistent, and didn’t provide a huge amount of insight into my sleep. It’s nice to see how many hours I’ve slept – although I found this to have issues too – and a sleep stages breakdown, but I think there needs to be some improvements before I’d use the Hatch Sleep Clock regularly as a sleep tracker.

Alternatives to consider

If it’s just a wake up light you’re after, the Hatch Restore 3 looks almost identical to the Hatch Sleep Clock. It also has all the same wake up and wind down features but without the tracking, and it’s more cost-effective at $169.99.

Another non-wearable sleep tracker which is a lot more accurate than the Hatch Sleep Clock is the Withings Sleep Analyzer. It sits underneath your mattress and offers detailed sleep statistics to help you sleep better – and you can’t feel it while you sleep.