The best sunrise alarm clocks

The Philips SmartSleep HF3520 is still the one to beat - it is the only clock here that does sunset as well as sunrise and the only one that works as a real bedside reading lamp. If that is more than you want to spend, the JALL full-screen clock does the sunrise half properly for about half the money.

The argument for the Philips is not the sunrise, which everything here does. It is the sunset: a light that fades down over half an hour at bedtime is the other half of the idea, and three of these four clocks simply do not have it.

Everyone buying one of these is shopping for the sunrise. The thing they notice within a week is the display.

A clock sits in a bedroom for twenty-four hours a day and glows for eight of them. An undimmable display is, functionally, a night light you did not choose, pointed at the ceiling, in the color the manufacturer picked. That is why every clock here states a dimmable display and why we would reject one that did not, regardless of how good its sunrise was.

The related question - whether you want a glowing clock face at all - is worth settling before you buy. If the answer is no, several of these dim to effectively off, and that is the setting to find on night one rather than in month three.

1. A genuine gradual sunrise, over a settable period rather than a lamp that snaps on at the alarm.
2. Sunset wind-down, which only one clock here offers and which is the other half of the premise.
3. A dimmable display, for the reason above.
4. Alarm handling - separate weekday and weekend alarms, because the single most annoying failure mode of a clock like this is waking you on Saturday.

We did not test these. Every figure is the listing's own and is linked below.

Philips SmartSleep HF3520 - the pick. Colored sunrise and sunset simulation, five natural sounds, FM radio, and an adjustable reading lamp built in.
Who it is for: anyone who wants the full idea rather than half of it, and anyone whose nightstand would otherwise need a separate lamp. Who should skip it: anyone who wants white noise - there is none - and anyone for whom twice the price of a budget clock is the whole decision.
Cons: most expensive here; no white noise library; no published lumen or kelvin figure; the round body takes real nightstand depth.

JALL full-screen wake up light - the value pick. A full-screen glow rather than a small panel, 25 nature sounds, FM radio, and separate weekday and weekend alarms.
Who it is for: heavy sleepers, and anyone who wants the Saturday alarm handled properly. Who should skip it: anyone who wanted the evening wind-down, which this does not do.
Cons: sunrise only; 17 light modes is a lot of menu at 6am; no published light figures; build quality is where the saving shows.

REACHER wood grain sunrise clock - for a bedroom you care about. The only one here designed to look like furniture, with a dimmable digital display and 26 sleep sounds including white noise.
Who it is for: a visible nightstand, and nurseries - the sound machine is a real second use. Who should skip it: anyone who wants a radio, or the sunset function.
Cons: sunrise only; no FM radio; wood grain is a finish, not timber; no published light figures.

ecozy sunrise alarm clock - the cheapest real one. Gradual sunrise, 26 sounds, 17 night light settings and a Bluetooth speaker, for under thirty dollars.
Who it is for: testing whether a wake-up light suits you at all, and small bedrooms where it replaces a speaker too. Who should skip it: anyone trying to keep the phone out of the bedroom - a Bluetooth speaker by the bed works against that.
Cons: sunrise only; no published light figures; the most features at the lowest price usually means the shortest service life.

Set the weekend alarm separately on night one. It is the setting most likely to make you abandon the clock, and on the JALL it is the headline feature.

Dim the display before you go to sleep the first night, not after a week of blaming the curtains.

Keep a sound alarm as backup for the first fortnight. A gradual light is a gentle wake, which also means it is a missable one until your sleep adjusts to it. Every clock here has sounds; use them while you find out.

Point it at your side of the bed. It is a light. Everything about how well it works is about where it is aimed.