Hatch Restore 3 vs Loftie Clock: Which Should You Buy?

The short verdict: These two clocks solve different problems, so the right pick depends on how you want to be woken. Buy the Hatch Restore 3 (opens in a new tab) if you want to wake up to light. It’s a real sunrise alarm, with a sound machine and a wind-down light built in. Buy the Loftie Clock (opens in a new tab) if your real goal is getting your phone out of the bedroom and you’re happy to wake to sound. Loftie’s own FAQ is clear that its clock is not a sunrise alarm.

Hatch and Loftie are usually compared as rival sunrise alarms, and that’s the source of a lot of disappointed reviews. If gradual light is the reason you’re shopping, the comparison is over before it starts. If it isn’t, the Loftie has some real advantages.

How we compared them

This is a researched comparison, not a hands-on test. We compared both brands’ product pages and FAQs, published hands-on reviews, subscription terms, return windows and warranties, and patterns in verified owner reviews. Prices were checked in fall 2026 and change often, especially around Black Friday. Our how we review page explains the process.

Hatch Restore 3 vs Loftie Clock at a glance

Waking up: light vs sound

This is the deciding difference.

The Hatch Restore 3 starts a gradual sunrise before your alarm time, brightening from a dim glow to a fuller light, and then plays your chosen alarm sound. You set the light’s color, brightness and timing in the app. There’s modest research behind this approach. Small studies have found a simulated dawn can reduce morning grogginess and improve alertness after waking (we summarize them in our best sunrise alarm clocks guide). The effect isn’t dramatic, but it’s real enough that a lot of people notice it on dark winter mornings.

The Loftie Clock wakes you with sound in two stages: a soft pre-alarm, then the main alarm. One published review describes the gentle sound starting about nine minutes early and a louder, brighter tone following at alarm time. It’s a thoughtful way to soften a sound alarm, and owners consistently say it feels calmer than a phone alarm. But it’s still a sound alarm. The clock has a nightlight that can switch on with your alarm, not a sunrise.

Sounds and content

Both work as sound machines, and both give you plenty without paying.

• Hatch includes 40-plus sleep sounds, more than 20 sunrise alarm sounds and basic Unwind routines without a subscription. The free sounds cover the essentials: white, brown and fan noise, plus rain, ocean and nature sounds.
• Loftie advertises 100-plus sleep sounds with “no paywall,” including white noise, nature soundscapes, breathwork and meditation tracks. It can also work as a Bluetooth speaker.

If you mainly want white noise at night, either is enough. If you want a deep library of stories and guided content, Hatch+ is the more established option.

Subscriptions and the real cost

Both brands sell optional memberships. Neither is required for the basics.

Hatch+ costs $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year, with 30 days included when you buy the Restore 3. It adds sleep stories, meditations, more sounds and extra routine steps. Complaints about the subscription are the most common theme in Hatch owner reviews. Most come from people who expected more to be included. If you don’t need guided content, you can let it lapse.

Loftie+ has changed shape. As of 2026 it’s built around a habit system that blocks distracting phone apps around your sleep and wake times. When we checked, Loftie listed it at $9.99 a month or $59.99 a year, with a free first month. It’s aimed at people trying to break a bedtime scrolling habit, not at unlocking clock sounds.

First-year cost at list price: about $170 for either clock without a membership. Add roughly $50 for a year of Hatch+, or roughly $60 for a year of Loftie+, if you’d actually use it.

Setup, Wi-Fi and phone-free use

Both are designed to replace your phone as an alarm, and both need the app and Wi-Fi to get started.

The Hatch puts snooze, volume and the wind-down routine on physical buttons, so day-to-day use is phone-free. Bigger changes, like editing routines or alarm times, happen in the Hatch Sleep app.

The Loftie goes further toward a phone-free bedroom. After the initial setup and updates, you can switch on a No Wi-Fi Mode and keep full functionality offline. It has a backup battery (Loftie quotes roughly five to seven hours unplugged) and a full display blackout mode. Loftie+ is explicitly designed to keep the phone out of reach. Hatch doesn’t advertise a backup battery, so a power cut is worth thinking about if you rely on it as your only alarm.

Bedroom light and design

The Hatch doubles as a warm, dimmable bedside light, which is useful for reading and winding down. Its clock display can be dimmed. It comes in three muted colors (Putty, Greige and Cocoa).

The Loftie keeps light to a minimum at night: an adjustable nightlight, a red mode and a display that can black out completely. It’s the better choice if your partner wants the room pitch-dark.

Sharing a bedroom

A sunrise doesn’t stay on one side of the bed. If you and your partner wake at different times, the Hatch’s light will reach both of you. Turning down the maximum brightness and putting the clock on the early riser’s side helps, but it’s a compromise. The Loftie’s two-phase sound alarm is easier to keep personal: the pre-alarm is quiet, and you control the volume. On the other hand, if you both want to wake at the same time on dark mornings, the Hatch’s light is the gentler way to do it.

Trial, warranty and returns

These are close. Hatch offers a 30-night trial with free shipping and returns and a one-year warranty. Loftie offers a 30-night trial, free shipping and a one-year warranty, and says the clock is HSA/FSA eligible through its checkout partner. With both, keep the packaging until you’re sure.

Choose the Hatch Restore 3 if…

• You want to wake up to light, especially on dark winter mornings.
• You want one device for wind-down light, white noise and a sunrise alarm.
• You’d use guided content like sleep stories and meditations (Hatch+).
• You’re comfortable with an app for setup and changes.

Choose the Loftie Clock if…

• You’re happy waking to sound, and you like the idea of a gentle pre-alarm.
• Your priority is a phone-free bedroom, with offline mode, a backup battery and optional app blocking.
• You want a large sound library with no paywall.
• You want the room as dark as possible at night.
• You might add the Loftie Lamp later for a sunrise, and the budget doesn’t bother you.

Not sold on either?

If you want a sunrise alarm without any app at all, the Philips SmartSleep HF3520 and the Lumie Bodyclock Shine 300 both do the light part well with no subscription. We cover them, plus budget picks under $50, in our guide to the best sunrise alarm clocks. Buying for someone else? Both the Hatch and the Loftie also appear in our gifts for morning people guide.

What to do tomorrow morning

1. Notice what wakes you best. If dark mornings are the problem, you want light, so choose the Hatch. If it’s the phone, choose the Loftie.
2. Move your phone charger out of the bedroom tonight, whichever clock you pick. That’s the habit that matters most.
3. Get outside within an hour of waking. Neither clock replaces daylight; see why in our guide to morning sunlight, and build the rest of your first hour with our science-backed morning routine.