Keep better track of your health by monitoring your blood pressure at home.
Updated Jan. 19, 2024 7:00 a.m. PT Infrared thermometer
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The reason you're monitoring your blood pressure
You don't need a prescription or a doctor recommendation to monitor your blood pressure at home. In fact, monitoring it regularly in the comfort of your own home may offer you better and more consistent insight into your health.
If you do have had high blood pressure, or you're taking medication to control it, it would be a good idea to check with your doctor to get their recommendation on which monitor you should be using. According to the American Heart Association, everyone with high blood pressure should be monitoring it at home, though it's not a replacement for your regular check ups or doctor's appointment.
Cuff size, cost and other factors
The best blood pressure monitor for you will depend on your specific needs and lifestyle factors. Some cuffs are better suited for larger arms, for example, while you may find it easier to share results with your doctor with another monitor. There is also some variety in cost.
There are a few rules to follow when taking your own blood pressure
Your blood pressure can be tipped slightly by a lot of factors, so to get an accurate reading you need to control for things like posture, how recently you've eaten or drank coffee and how still you're sitting.
For a complete list of tips on how to take your blood pressure at home, refer to the American Heart Association and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Editor's note, Sept. 8, 2023: Product testing and reviews for this list were done in 2019 by CNET contributor Amanda Capritto. We'll update this list with new testing results when available.
Keeping track of your blood pressure is vital if you have a history of high blood pressure, but monitoring it at home can also be beneficial for those wanting to keep tabs on their overall health.
Fortunately, there are some blood pressure monitors that have simplified the entire process, so keeping track of your numbers is easier than ever. By choosing the right device and following tips for measuring blood pressure from the American Heart Association, you can keep track of your numbers at home to share with your doctor as part of your blood pressure management plan or stay on top of your blood pressure before it becomes something that requires more management.
Despite offering a variety of features at a range of prices, each of the best blood pressure monitor options below has been independently validated against one or more sets of AHA-recognized standards to track accurate blood pressure readings. In other words, no matter which form of blood pressure monitoring you choose, your heart will thank you for the accurate measurement. And beyond taking accurate readings, some of these devices can also help you keep track of your heart rate or notify you if you have an irregular heartbeat.
If you've been diagnosed with high blood pressure or you take medication to manage your blood pressure, be sure to check with your doctor to see if they have a specific recommendation on which device is best for your specific needs and lifestyle.
We chose the QardioArm blood pressure monitor in 2019 as the best overall home monitor because of the accuracy and consistency of its readings, as well as the fit. It was also extremely easy to set up -- an important first step in actually measuring your blood pressure. However, there are other great monitors on this list, including some from Omron and Withings.
The QardioArm Blood Pressure Monitor is one of those "Apple of X" things -- this is the Apple of at-home blood pressure cuffs.
Not that "cool-looking" should be your priority when shopping for a blood pressure machine, but it certainly makes home monitoring feel like less of a chore than it otherwise might be when you're working on preventing hypertension or managing heart disease. But on to the things that actually matter...
Prepare yourself for a slew of great stuff: This cuff is comfortable. The cuff size was a fit for a (kind of lanky) arm, with no gaps between the skin and the fabric. The readings were consistent and accurate, and the setup was almost unbelievably easy. This thing was out of the box, on the arm and connected to a phone in about 2 minutes, and the first blood pressure reading was done about 30 seconds after that.
Your whole family can use it, too: This digital blood pressure monitor pairs wirelessly with up to eight phones or tablets at any given time (let's see a manual blood pressure monitor do that!). Each time you use the digital monitor, the QardioArm averages three readings; monitors and detects an irregular heartbeat; and stores all your measurements and notes in Qardio's HIPAA-compliant cloud.
View and share your data in the Qardio App, where you can also set goals and reminders, and sync your data with Apple Health or S Health on Android devices.
The Withings BPM Connect felt and looked just as trendy as the QardioArm, and it provided a consistent and accurate result. It was a tough call between the QardioArm and the Withings BPM Connect because they're both great and they're similar products.
In the end, the Withings BPM Connect was the runner-up only because its sign-up process was more cumbersome. To compare, it took about 2 minutes to get completely set up with the QardioArm, whereas it took about 15 minutes with the Withings BPM Connect.
That's not bad in the overall realm of things, but it was definitely noticeable.
As for the upper arm cuff fit, comfort and ease of use, the Withings BPM Connect holds its own. The app is also a breeze once you're in, and it has unlimited storage for your BP measurement needs (though the device will remember up to eight readings in between syncs). You can also set up multiple user profiles in the Withings Health Mate app.
The Omron Complete Wireless Upper Arm Blood Pressure Monitor with EKG was the first FDA-approved combination EKG-blood pressure device in the US. Omron produced the product in partnership with AliveCor, which powers many FDA-approved consumer electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG) devices.
Worth mentioning is that this blood pressure monitor gave the most consistent readings throughout the entire testing process. And it measures so much more than just blood pressure. In addition to the essentials -- systolic and diastolic blood pressure -- this Omron model measures your pulse, atrial fibrillation, tachycardia, bradycardia, and sinus rhythm simultaneously.
If you need a seamless way to measure two or more of those metrics, this upper-arm monitor is a top choice. The Omron app interface is simple, too, and it can store unlimited data. The cuff is comfortable and flexible, making it easy to get a good fit, which helps with accuracy.
The monitor itself is a little bulkier than other models on this list but probably worth it for people who need all those other measurements in one place. It comes in a nice carrying case that you can use for traveling.
If you have larger upper arms, you know blood pressure management and monitoring can be a huge pain. Enter the LifeSource Upper Arm Blood Pressure Monitor With Extra Large Cuff. The name says it all, honestly. This blood pressure cuff accommodates an arm circumference of over 23 inches.
There didn't seem to be a lot of information about this one online, and there were some questionable reviews from buyers. But LifeSource is a brand of A&D Medical, a medical equipment brand that's been manufacturing at-home consumer devices for close to 50 years and has all of its products clinically validated by third parties. So, this cuff made it into our corral of products to test.
This blood pressure cuff is indeed massive, and it would never work for someone with tiny arms, so our testing couldn't speak to the accuracy of the device. But despite being tested on a small arm, it did produce consistent readings. So, even though the blood pressure level readings were wrong in our tests, they were consistently wrong. That gave hope that this extra-large cuff is indeed accurate for the people it actually fits.
A&D Medical has almost too many blood pressure monitors to count, but initial research kept leading back to this one, the A&D Medical Upper Arm Blood Pressure Monitor (UA-767F), which can store blood pressure data for up to four people. A few of the other monitors on this list have multiple-user capabilities, but this one felt the easiest to manage (other than the QardioArm, but that one is the best overall).
The monitor has a nice basic design and gives cuff-fit error messages so you can fix things before you start. It also has a body movement sensor that may help prevent inaccurate readings. (You're supposed to stay still the entire time you're taking a reading.)
The A&D Connect app has a simple interface and it's easy to keep track of your blood pressure reading measurements, as well as the pressure readings of anyone who shares the device with you. This one shows your blood pressure immediately after the measurement is done, so if you'd rather keep track with a pen-and-paper log, that's an option, too.
Aside from being easy to use and supporting multiple users (it can store up to 60 readings per person), this blood pressure monitor comes with a five-year warranty.
Several more at-home blood pressure monitors also had some great features but didn't quite match up to the ones above. They're definitely worth checking out if you're in the market for an at-home blood pressure monitor -- although the above products proved the best in our tests, you might find a unique combo of characteristics that's best for you.
The blood pressure monitors listed in this article were tested at home in 2019. They were used with proper fitting, typical of how you'd use an arm cuff and monitor to get your blood pressure reading.
Because getting an accurate blood pressure reading or numbers depends on a couple of crucial factors, this review focused on how the cuff fit and how consistent the measurements were.
If you have high blood pressure or hypertension, the first thing you should do is check with your doctor or primary care provider to see what their recommendation is for you. Home monitoring and staying on top of your prescribed medication is important for people with high blood pressure, but it's also important to keep in mind that it doesn't replace regular doctor visits, according to the AHA.
That said, consider the following factors when you're looking for an at-home device:
The AHA has a few tips for you to keep in mind before and during your blood pressure reading. For the most accurate results, you should:
As always, consult your doctor with specific questions about how/when to measure, especially if you've been diagnosed with hypertension or are taking medication.
High blood pressure is called the "silent killer" because there are often no obvious signs you have it.
According to the AHA, there are some symptoms that are inconclusively related to high blood pressure, such as dizziness, facial flushing and blood spots in the eye. This means that they may occur in people with high blood pressure but that they aren't necessarily caused by blood pressure.
If you're experiencing very high blood pressure, however -- typically 180/120 or higher, according to the World Health Organization -- you may have symptoms. This is a medical emergency, so you should call for help and get medical care right away if you're experiencing hypertensive crisis.
Medical Forehead Thermometer According to the WHO, symptoms of emergency-level blood pressure can include: