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These days it’s my phone, our daughter or the sun that wakes me up, and the phone sleeps right on my nightstand.

My wife doesn’t like sleeping with her phone close to her, so an alarm clock would be ideal for both of us. There’s room for one up there, and the Hatch Restore 3 and the Loftie Clock are the two I’ve been weighing.

None of the clocks here has been tried out, so everything you’re reading comes from research.

Jump to a section

• Which is better, Loftie or Hatch?
• How do Hatch and Loftie wake you up?
• Hatch vs Loftie: which has better sleep sounds?
• Can you use Loftie Clock without a subscription?
• Is Loftie worth it?
• Hatch vs Loftie, side by side
• Questions people ask

Best for most peopleHatch Restore 3

Best for: anyone who’d rather not wake up to a beep.

The Restore 3’s light glows red, then orange, then white before the alarm makes a sound, and owners say they’ve given up their phone alarms for it.

The Hatch Sleep app can be clunky when you change a routine, and it doesn’t always make clear which sounds are free. Once your routine’s set, though, the clock runs it without your phone.

It’s set up as one person’s clock, but your partner can log in to the same Hatch account and run it too. At bedtime the big button on top starts your wind-down, and in the morning it’s the snooze. I love that one button does both!

Specs7.24 x 2.43 x 5.31 in

Size

7.24 x 2.43 x 5.31 in

Weighs

1.27 lb

Power

Plugs in, stays plugged in

Setup

Free Hatch Sleep app, 2.4GHz Wi-Fi

Warranty

1-year limited

Best for a phone-free bedroomLoftie Clock

Best for: anyone who wants the phone out of the bedroom.

The Loftie Clock starts your morning with a soft sound that fades out on its own. Still in bed a few minutes later? A second melody comes on and keeps playing until you turn it off.

With that steel grill across the top, it’s a great-looking clock to leave out by the bed.

Specs6.5 x 2.75 x 2.75 in

Size

6.5 x 2.75 x 2.75 in

Weighs

1.8 lb

Power

USB-C cable and wall plug, plus a backup battery

Wi-Fi

2.4GHz for setup and updates, then No Wi-Fi Mode

Trial

30 nights

Warranty

1 year

Which is better, Loftie or Hatch?

If you’re tired of being jolted awake by a beep, go with the Restore 3, because the light starts your morning instead of the sound.

If it’s the phone itself you’d like gone at night, the Loftie Clock is the better fit, because it can even lock your apps if the phone sneaks back in.

Hatch also makes the Sleep Clock, a newer model above the Restore 3. It has the same sunrise alarm and sounds, and it tracks your sleep with nothing to wear. The tracking needs no subscription.

How do Hatch and Loftie wake you up?

The Restore 3 wakes you with light, and the Loftie Clock wakes you with sound. For me, light matters more, so the Restore 3’s sunrise is the one I’d want waking us up.

Even without Hatch+, the Restore 3 gives you 20 alarm sounds to choose from, and the one you pick plays after the light.

The Loftie Clock isn’t a sunrise alarm. Its sunrise comes from the Loftie Lamp, sold separately.

Paired with the clock, the Lamp brightens between the soft first alarm and the second one. On its own, the clock can switch its nightlight on with the alarm, but that light is soft.

What if the power goes out overnight? The Loftie Clock has a backup battery, so its alarm still goes off, and after setup it can run without Wi-Fi. The Restore 3 runs off the wall.

Hatch vs Loftie: which has better sleep sounds?

The Loftie Clock comes with more to fall asleep to. Over 100 tracks are stored right on the clock, from brown noise and nature sounds to breathwork and sleep stories.

It works as a Bluetooth speaker, too, if you’d rather play your own.

For falling asleep, the Restore 3’s free list is short, with a handful of meditations, sleep music, audiobooks and a podcast, and the full library is Hatch+.

Can you use Loftie Clock without a subscription?

Yes, and the Restore 3 works without one too. Everything the Loftie Clock does comes with it, sounds and all.

The Loftie app does sell two optional extras. Loftie’s Rest limits distracting apps on your phone on a schedule you set, and Henry is an assistant for reminders and lists. The clock needs neither, and Drift comes free with it.

If you’ve read that the Loftie Clock needs a subscription, that goes back to Loftie+, the old name for Henry’s paid plan.

On the Restore 3, Hatch+ is optional. A 30-day trial comes with it, and you have to cancel before it ends or you’ll be charged. Cancel, and the Hatch+ tracks go away.

I wouldn’t pay a monthly fee for extra sounds, so on a Restore 3 I’d stick to the free set.

Is Loftie worth it?

Yes, if you want a bedroom with no phone in it. Drift locks the apps you choose when your phone comes into the bedroom, Bed Signal reminds you when it’s time for bed, and after setup you can change every setting with the buttons on the clock itself.

The nightlight is one press of the Snooze button away, and there’s a red mode for the middle of the night. A new mom who keeps her baby’s bassinet in her room uses that soft light for night feeds, so she can check the time without getting her phone out.

Our daughter’s crib is beside our bed, so a soft light to check the time by, with no phone, sounds great to me.

Setup runs through the app, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, and the Bluetooth part can be finicky. Loftie gives you 30 nights to try it, though, so you can see how you sleep with your phone in another room.

Hatch vs Loftie, side by side

Questions people ask

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