Which? Don't Buy blood pressure monitors

Blood pressure monitors that fail to make accurate readings in our tests are not worth buying and get a Which? Don't Buy warning.
Earl EstologaResearcher & writer

Terrible blood pressure monitors are fiddly to use, squeeze too tight or take more than a minute per reading, but the worst can give you an inaccurate reading, which is concerning if you're relying on them to warn you about medical issues.

You don't have to spend hundreds to get an accurate blood pressure monitor – we found the cheapest Best Buy for around £20. The most expensive, which is also a Don't Buy, costs around £500 – about 25 times more expensive compared to Best Buys. 

What makes a Don’t Buy blood pressure monitor

We've tested blood pressure monitors from market leaders including Boots, Omron and Withings to help you find the right one for you. 

Our in-depth tests have separated the ones we recommend from the ones that are uncomfortable, difficult to use and inaccurate or inconsistent.

  • Each blood pressure monitor is put through the same exacting tests on real people. These include accuracy, comfort and time taken to get a reading.
  • Each one is given a Which? test score, so you can see at a glance the best and worst, plus how each model compares with the others on features and specifications.
  • Our tests cover a range of brands, prices and types of kit, including arm and wrist monitors, as well as those that can connect to a smartphone or tablet.

Don't waste your money on a blood pressure monitor that lets you down on the vital readings you need, or bamboozles you with fancy features you don't need or can't work out how to use.

Join Which? as a member to unlock our list of Don’t Buy blood pressure monitors on this page.

How we test blood pressure monitors

During the course of our tests, we’ve taken more than 1,500 blood pressure readings to bring you our definitive verdict on our widely available models.

  • To test the blood pressure monitor's accuracy, we compare each reading with a manual mercury sphygmomanometer, then base the criteria on three international standards.
  • Our lab experts test how easy and comfortable it is to use on both arms.
  • We rate each blood pressure monitor on the time it takes to take a reading on arms of different sizes.

Which? is independent – we work for you, the consumer, so you can be sure that our product recommendations are influenced only by our test results. We're not influenced by third parties, and we don't accept freebies from product manufacturers or retailers. 

We buy all the products that we test ourselves, so our advice helps you to make the right choice the first time and avoid costly mistakes. 

Join Which? as a member and find out which blood pressure monitors are Don’t Buys and which are Best Buys.