Bottom pressure estimates from three GRACE gravity series and two global ocean models are compared to Jason altimetry sea level anomaly estimates to determine the accuracy of the GRACE and model data at sub-monthly timescales. The GRACE series can explain 25–75 % of the sub-monthly altimetric variability in most ocean regions with high signal strength. The GRACE series explain more of the sub-monthly variability than their de-aliasing model products can to periods as short as 10 d.