The 5 Best Sunrise Alarm Clocks in 2025 and How to Choose One
If you want to move from the traditional, blaring alarm clock to a softer alternative on your bedside table, you may want a sunrise alarm clock. These devices gradually fill your room with light and soothing nature sounds to mimic a sunrise effect instead of instantly flooding your room with bright light or loud noises. Some even have fun alarm settings, like white noise options or customizable bedtime routines. If you want to start your day more calmly, add one of the best sunrise alarm clocks to your bedside table.
Jamie Gold, a wellness design consultant and author, told CNET that she discovered these optional noise wake-ups during her research into noise pollution. “Our lives and homes are filled with noise, which creates the risk of insomnia, anxiety and stress. I love the idea of these silent alarm clocks that adapt to our natural circadian rhythms and help us start our days on a calmer note. Some heavy sleepers may need a more powerful alarm system, but if you’re not one of them, this is definitely something to consider.”
If everything we’ve told you about a Sunrise alarm clock sounds beneficial to you, we’ve rounded up the best on the market. We chose these options after carefully considering the overall functionality, design, ease of use, and customization options available. Our employees also personally used the alarm clocks to check whether they met their expectations.
Best wake-up call at sunrise
After testing the Hatch Restore 3 for a few weeks, this sunrise alarm clock stands out as my top pick due to its feature options and design. You can customize the lighting options to your liking to create the perfect sunrise. Whether you like waking up to warm golden tones or a soft amber glow, Hatch Restore 3 offers a wide range of shades that mimic a sunrise to make your day easier. Since using the Hatch alarm clock, my room no longer has a phone at night, which significantly improves the quality of my sleep.
Another feature I really like about the Restore 3 is the collection of sounds to pair with your sunrise light. You can choose between calming nature sounds and peaceful melodies to create the perfect ambiance to wake you up or fall asleep. I have mine set to the sound of ocean shores to wake me up and light rain at night to help me relax after a long day. The possibility of mixing and matching your light and sound options is endless.
To use Hatch 3 Restore properly, you need to download the app. It is a simple and user-friendly application where you configure your personalized routines. I control the alarm time, light settings and sounds from my phone. For $4.99 per month, you can subscribe to Hatch+, a library of meditations, music, bedtime stories, and ASMR.
The Casper Glow Light makes our rankings as the most versatile sunrise alarm clock for good reason. Once charged, the Glow Light becomes a portable night light that I can take anywhere, whether it’s a trip to the bathroom or to the kitchen for a midnight snack.
The Casper Glow app adds another layer of convenience to your alarm clock. From the app, you can customize the brightness, sync multiple glows to wake you up or go to sleep, and schedule your wake-up time. I really like the fading options for falling asleep because they signal to my brain that it’s time to start getting ready for bed.
Of all the sunrise alarm clocks on this list, the Casper Glow is probably the most unique to use. Besides the app, it also uses touch controls, like flipping the device to turn off the light. Its minimalist, clean design fits almost any type of decor.
The Lumie Bodyclock Rise 100 is a simpler version of the Lumie Shine 300. It is a high-quality introductory sunrise simulator alarm clock for people who only want the essentials: the Lumie Rise 100 offers a 30-minute sunrise with the ability to adjust the final light intensity. You can also schedule a sunset to help you fall asleep.
The Lumie Rise 100 doesn’t have any natural or ambient sounds to add to your sunrise and sunset, although you can program the optional sound alarm to start when your sunrise reaches peak light intensity. Like the Lumie Shine 300, the Lumie Rise 100 has a tap-to-snooze feature and an auto-dimming screen.
If you already have a bedside lamp, you can create a DIY alarm clock by replacing regular bulbs with smart bulbs from Lifx. These Wi-Fi-enabled bulbs connect to Alexa, Google Assistant, Cortana, and Apple HomeKit, and you can program them to dim and brighten like a sunrise and sunset when you go to sleep and wake up, respectively.
You won’t hear any sound, but if you’re a relatively light sleeper and wake up to a change in light intensity, these programmable bulbs will still get you up in the morning. You can also combine them with Lifx strips in fun colors for the coolest fake sunrise ever.
Read our review of the Lifx Mini smart bulb.
If you’re not quite ready to shell out $100 or more for a sunrise alarm clock, this budget-friendly sunrise simulation clock from Jall should do the trick. It has all the basics and allows for a rather customizable sunrise: choose from seven colors and 20 brightness levels to complete your sunrise, as well as seven natural sounds to accompany the light. You can also choose to wake up to FM radio.
The Jall Wake Up Light Sunrise Alarm Clock works as a night light and a bedside lamp, and you can adjust the brightness level for both. It doesn’t have a sunset feature like some others on this list, nor does it act as a white noise machine. If you only want the sunrise function, it doesn’t matter.
The majority of reviews on Amazon I love this clock: it has 4.3 stars and almost 100% of the reviews are favorable. It seems like most people who purchased this clock were looking for a way to wake up less abruptly, and the Jall Wake Up Light did the trick for them. Buyers also like that it’s easy to set up and simple enough for kids to use on their own.
If you want a wider selection – not just sunrise clocks – check out our separate list of the best alarm clocks for 2025. If you need a good night’s sleep, check out the best mattresses you can buy online and the best pillows too.
How We Chose the Best Sunrise Alarm Clock
Our roundup of the best Sunrise alarm clocks involved a comprehensive evaluation of several key metrics to ensure a great user experience.
Personalization: We’ve prioritized sunrise alarm clocks that offer customizable light settings and included some models that offer sound selections to pair with your light.
Features: We looked at the special features offered by Sunrise alarm clocks. For example, app integration for seamless control, sound libraries, and portability.
Design: There’s nothing we love more than an aesthetic yet practical design. We’ve chosen designs that can blend in with almost any decor in your home.
Sustainability: Our employees have personally tested these alarm clocks to assess the quality and longevity of each device.
Our top pick is the Hatch Restore 2 because it checks all the boxes you’d want in a sunrise alarm clock, like customization, sound options, app integration, and ease of use.
Yes. Simulated sunrise light helps signal your brain that it’s time to wake up.
A sunrise alarm clock simulates a natural sunrise to gently wake you up by gradually increasing the light intensity before the set wake-up time. Unlike traditional alarms that wake you up with loud sounds, these clocks create a more peaceful waking experience by mimicking the gradual transition from darkness to daylight. This signals your brain that it’s time to wake up.
Setting an alarm on your phone can be distracting. You might end up scrolling late at night or waking up early because of notifications. An alarm clock can help avoid these problems and help you sleep better.
Since they are meant to mimic the dim natural light of dawn, sunrise alarm clocks are generally not very bright. Many will have alarm settings that allow you to adjust the brightness to your preference, but the brightest setting still won’t be too harsh. Some models also slowly increase light output with your morning alarm so your eyes have time to adjust.
