Choosing a Home Blood Pressure Monitor
Measuring and logging guide ยท Last reviewed November 2, 2026
A good monitor makes a home log more trustworthy and easier to keep. This guide covers what to look for. Your clinician or pharmacist can also recommend a model.
Upper-arm or wrist
Upper-arm monitors are the type most often recommended for home use, because the cuff position is easier to get right. Wrist monitors can be more sensitive to arm and wrist position, so they take more care to use correctly. If your clinician has a preference, follow it.
Look for a validated device
Some monitors have been independently tested for accuracy and appear on validation lists, such as ValidateBP. Choosing a validated model is a reasonable way to avoid a device that reads consistently high or low.
Check the cuff fit
The cuff needs to suit your arm size. Many monitors come with a standard cuff, and larger or smaller cuffs are sold separately. See the guide on cuff size and placement.
Helpful features
- A display large enough to read comfortably.
- Memory to store recent readings, as a backup to your log.
- Averaging features are optional, since Home BP Log works out the protocol average for you.
- Power from batteries or an adapter, whichever you will actually keep charged.
Keep using the same device
Use one monitor for the whole log if you can. Switching devices part way through makes it harder to tell whether a change is real or just a difference between machines.
Next: cuff size and placement.