Fitness trackers have evolved a lot over the years both in terms of the form factor and functionality. Modern-day fitness trackers are no longer limited to just tracking your daily steps and sleep duration. They’ve now become reliable tools for helping you get more active on a day-to-day basis, helping you get quality sleep, and even for tracking vital metrics like heart rate, oxygen levels, and more. As long as you’re ready to find the right product, these fitness trackers can help you achieve all your fitness goals with ease.
There’s no shortage of fitness trackers on the market, meaning you’ll have to skim through dozens of these products to find the one that aligns with your fitness goals. We’ve managed to put together a healthy list (no pun intended) of fitness trackers for you to check out. From simple trackers for day-to-day usage to more sophisticated options that double up as a smartwatch, there’s something for everyone on this list.
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Dedicated Fitness Trackers
Dedicated fitness trackers a.k.a fitness bands primarily focus on fueling your fitness journey. These trackers are relatively small compared to a full-fledged smartwatch or the ones that also double as a smartwatch. You can find those products in the following sections, but let’s jump into the list of the dedicated fitness trackers that’ll help you achieve your fitness goals:
Best fitness tracker overall: Fitbit Charge 5
Fitbit’s Charge lineup has been around for a while now and they continue to dominate the US market by offering a good set of features. It’s also one of the most affordable fitness trackers from Fitbit, and it comes with pretty much everything you expect from a basic fitness tracker. The Fitbit Charge 5, as you can see, has a simple yet elegant design. It’s available in a bunch of different colorways and we think it has the perfect size for most users. The housing of the tracker is made out of aluminum, glass, and resin, whereas the included band is made out of silicone.
It sports a bright 1.04-inch (diagonal) touchscreen OLED display on the front that lets you interact with all the features the tracker offers. Inside the Charge 5, you get more than a few sensors and components. It packs an optical heart rate monitor, red and infrared sensors for oxygen saturation (SpO2) monitoring, a device temperature sensor to measure the skin temperature, multipurpose electrical sensors compatible with the ECG app & EDA Scan app, a 3-axis accelerometer, and more. Notably, you also get built-in GPS, GLONASS, and NFC support.
The Fitbit Charge 5 also supports smart features like contactless payments, notifications, and more. The tracker also has built-in memory to store up to seven days of detailed motion data, minute by minute. Additionally, it can also store daily totals for up to 30 days. The Charge 5 is also water resistant up to 50 meters, which is great. In the battery department, Fitbit says the Charge 5 can work for up to 7 days on a single charge. Your mileage may vary based on your usage, and we expect the battery life to dip further with features like Always-On display and SpO2 monitoring turned on.
One of the best things about the Fitbit Charge 5 is that it’s compatible with both Android phones as well as iPhones. You’ll need an iPhone running iOS 14 or higher or an Android phone with Android 10.0 or higher to use the companion app. You can take a look at all the compatible devices by heading over to Fitbit’s official website.
All things considered, the Fitbit Charge 5 is a solid fitness tracker that offers a good set of features. It may not be the most affordable fitness tracker in this collection, but it gets the job done for a reasonable price. Fitbit has an exhaustive list of wearables on offer but we think the Charge 5 stands out as a reliable tracker. It doesn’t skimp on the essentials to keep the price low, which in itself is a huge selling point. We recommend taking a look at the Fitbit Versa 3 if you want a fitness tracker that doubles as a smartwatch. If you don’t mind settling for something that’s a little less premium then we think Xiaomi’s Mi Smart Band 7 is also a great option to consider.
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The Fitbit Charge 5 is a solid fitness tracker that offers a good set of features for the price.
Best budget fitness tracker: Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 7
The Mi Smart Band 7 is the latest entrant in Xiaomi’s reliable line of fitness trackers. Mi Bands, for those that don’t know, are affordable fitness trackers that get the job done without breaking the bank. The Mi Band 7 being the latest entry into the lineup offers some noteworthy improvements over the predecessor. It made a debut in China by the name of Mi Band 7 but Xiaomi is referring to it as Mi Smart Band 7 in the international markets. It’s available to purchase in the US via Amazon for around $69. There’s a lot to like about the Mi Smart Band 7, especially at this price. It lacks some high-end features, but it makes up for it with other features while keeping the price low.
In terms of the design, we’re looking at a tiny oval-shaped device that’s detachable from its band. The tracker itself measures just 12.2mm in thickness and weighs 13g. This should give you an idea of how lightweight and comfortable it would be to wear it on a day-to-day basis. One of the best things about the Mi Band 7 is that it’s very easy to buy replacement bands for the tracker. Xiaomi itself sells a lot of them, and you’re bound to find a lot more from third-party vendors. The tracker lacks physical buttons, meaning you’ll have to interact with swipes and taps on the touchscreen. It sports a 1.62-inch AMOLED display on the front with 500 nits of brightness. The UI itself is fairly easy to navigate and find whatever you need.
As for activity tracking, the Mi Band 7 supports all the essentials including steps, workouts, sleep tracking, and more. It can also keep a track of your blood oxygen levels and heart rate. The highlight of the Mi Band 7 is that it can also track menstruation cycles, and breathing, which is great. The only real drawback is that the Mi Band 7 doesn’t automatically detect workouts, meaning you’ll have to manually log the exercise. However, the Mi Band 7 comes with a lot of workout modes including cycling, yoga, fishing, and even parkour. You’ll definitely find the right workout, but you’ll have to manually turn on tracking.
As we mentioned in our Mi Band 7 review, you don’t get an option to interact with the notifications on the tracker itself. This issue isn’t exclusive to the Mi Band 7 since a lot of other fitness bands and even smartwatches don’t actively let you interact with the notifications. It’s not necessarily a deal-breaker for something that costs as much as it does but keep that in mind. Some other noteworthy features of the Mi Band 7 includes a 180mAh battery and 5ATM resistance. You also get a reliable companion app that works with both Android phones as well as iPhones.
We suggest you read our Mi Band 7 review to learn more about this fitness tracker and get a good idea of what to expect from it before making a purchase decision.
Best discreet fitness tracker: Oura Ring Gen 3
Even the smallest fitness bands on the market including the Mi Band 7 aren’t as discreet as the Oura Ring. Unlike the vast majority of fitness trackers that are worn on the wrist, the Oura Ring, as the name suggests, is a ring. It lacks a screen and it doesn’t push notifications forward, meaning it’s less distracting compared to the traditional fitness bands. But don’t let its small form factor fool you because the Oura Ring is a very capable device that can track a lot of metrics to keep you in your best shape. We’re only adding this as a bonus option because it’s not for everyone. Coming in at $299, the Oura Ring Gen 3 is one of the most expensive trackers on this list and it also demands a paid membership to offer the best support. Yes, you get six months of free membership with your purchase but it’s $6.99 per month after that, which is a significant cost for most people.
The highlight of this product is its form factor and design. The Oura Ring Gen 3 comes in four different colors — Silver, Black, Stealth, and Gold. The company will let you choose the right size for a comfortable fit before checking out. The Oura Ring Gen 3 is made out of lightweight titanium, meaning it’s quite durable. It’s also lighter than a conventional ring, so you don’t have to worry about taking it off frequently. For those who are curious, the Oura Ring Gen 3 weighs 4 to 6 grams depending on the size of the ring and it can be as thin as 2.55mm. Despite its relatively small form factor, the Oura Ring Gen 3 is said to last for up to 7 days on a single charge. It uses Bluetooth LE (Low-Energy) for its connectivity.
The Oura Ring also offers a long list of features to help you stay in your best shape. With its membership, you get access to things like guided meditations, educational content, and personalized insights into your well-being. You can also choose to ignore the membership, but without it, you’ll only get access to the basic Oura Ring features like your Daily Readiness, Sleep, and Activity scores. Some premium features including the Relaxation time and Period Prediction are only available with the membership, but leave we’ll it up to you to decide while making a purchase decision.
Oura Ring works on both Android phones as well as iPhones and the app experience remains mostly the same across the board. It can also automatically sync your workouts from your favorite fitness apps through Apple Health and Google Fit. All the features and specifications, aside, what makes Oura Ring tracker special is its form factor. There really isn’t any other tracker like Oura, so it’s safe to say that the company is indeed dominating this space right now. The folks over at Oura are also constantly adding new features to the device, so it’s only going to get better over time.
Smartwatch-style Fitness Trackers
Fitness trackers can also double up as smartwatches. There are a lot of these trackers on the market, but not all of them are worth considering. We’ve rounded up some of the best trackers in the category below:
Best smartwatch-style fitness tracker: Fitbit Versa 3
The Fitbit Versa 3 is our pick for the best smartwatch-style fitness tracker. While most people consider the Versa 3 as a smartwatch — even Fitbit puts it in the category of smartwatch — we think it’s better equipped to work as a fitness tracker. Unlike the “smartwatches” mentioned in this collection below, the Fitbit Versa 3 lacks dedicated app store support. Sure, you can install some apps but the selection is rather bleak compared to what you can get with, say, a Galaxy Watch 4. But if you prioritize fitness features over the app store, then the Versa 3 is a great option.
In terms of the design, we think the Fitbit Versa 3 resembles the Apple Watch with its square watch face. Physically, it’s a bit smaller than Fitbit’s own Sense smartwatch, but it offers more screen real-estate compared to fitness trackers like the Mi Smart Band 7 and the Charge 5. The Versa 3 is available in four different finishes, all of which have a different color on the case and the strap. The watch case is made out of aluminum while the included band uses a “flexible material”. The Versa 3 is water-resistant to 50 meters, meaning you can take a dip inside the pool while wearing it. Just like every other Fitbit tracker, the Versa 3 also works with both Android and iOS devices.
The Versa 3 is very similar to the Charge 5 in terms of features. What sets it apart from a tracker is its 1.58-inch AMOLED panel. It lets you see and interact with more information on the screen compared to a typical activity tracker. You can also see and interact with notifications, but the experience will probably be somewhat limiting compared to a full-fledged smartwatch like an Apple Watch. In terms of the sensors, the Fitbit Versa 3 gets continuous heart-rate monitoring and SpO2. This is in addition to the usual set of tracking metrics like step count, activity tracking, sleep tracking, and more. The Versa 3 also supports NFC for contactless payments, and it also has a built-in microphone that lets you take phone calls on the wrist.
The Fitbit Versa 3 also comes with built-in GPS and support for Alexa and Google Assistant. In the battery department, Fitbit says the Versa 3 can last about a week on a single charge. It’s on par with what the company claims for the Charge 5 too. You can, however, get a day’s worth of charge in just 12 minutes with the Versa 3. Overall, the Fitbit Versa 3 is a great option to consider if you’re looking to buy a reliable fitness tracker which also doubles up as a smartwatch. The Fitbit Sense is equipped with more sensors to track more metrics, but we think the Versa 3 offers a good set of features for the price.
The Fitbit Versa 3 is available to purchase for just $170 at the time of writing this article, and we think is a solid price for everything it brings to the table.
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The Fitbit Versa 3 is very similar to the more expensive Fitbit Sense smartwatch, except this one brings all the essential features for a relatively affordable price.
Best budget fitness watch: Amazfit Bip S
If you don’t want to spend a lot of money on an expensive fitness watch, then we recommend checking out the Amazfit Bip S. It’s an excellent choice for those who want to save some moolah without compromising on some essential features. The Bip S, as you can see, has a square watch face which makes it look like a budget Apple Watch of sorts. It’s available to purchase in either Carbon Black, Red Orange, Warm Pink, or White Rock colors, so you get a decent amount of options. It’s made out of polycarbonate material while the included strap uses silicone. The Bip S only weighs 31g with the strap, so it’s not too heavy on the wrist either.
The Amazfit Bip S sports a 1.28-inch color TFT panel on the front with a resolution of 176 x 176 pixels. It’s covered with 2.5D Gorilla Glass 3 for protection, and the watch comes with a 5ATM waterproof rating. In terms of the sensors, we’re looking at a BioTracker PPG Bio-tracking optical sensor. In addition to the usual set of health metrics, the Bip S also supports sleep tracking and continuous heart rate monitoring. It also has a built-in GPS, which makes it better than a lot of other fitness watches in this price range. One of the highlights of the Bip-S fitness watch is that it has a long-lasting battery. It’s rated to last for up to 2 weeks on a single charge, which is quite good. It’s on par with fitness trackers like the Mi Smart Band 7 in the battery department.
What’s impressive about the Amazfit Bip-S is it’s said to last for up to 40 days on a single charge with basic usage. According to the company, “basic usage” includes factory default dial, heart rate measurement every 30 minutes, sleep tracking, and up to 100 notifications per day lighting up the screen. You can also exercise once a week for up to 30 minutes with the GPS turned on to net around 40 days of usage on a single charge. If you were to use GPS all the time, then you’ll end up looking for a charger before the end of the day.
The Amazfit Bip-S works with both Android phones and iPhones via the companion app called Zepp. The Amazfit Bip-S works more like a fitness band than a smartwatch, so keep that in mind. You do get notifications on the watch but there’s very limited room when it comes to interacting with those notifications. You can, however, edit watch faces and control music, so there’s still some degree of customization and functionality to it.
Put frankly, the Amazfit Bip-S isn’t the best-looking fitness watch in this collection, but we think it offers good value for the price. It’s available for just $42 at the time of writing this article, meaning it’s cheaper than the Mi Smart Band 7 too. The Bip-S can also handle activity tracking, so it may be worth considering for those who’re just starting their fitness journey.
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The Amazfit Bip S is an affordable smartwatch-style fitness tracker that offers a good value for the price.
Best Smartwatches for Fitness
Fitness trackers aren’t the only game in town. Smartwatches can also offer great features for fitness enthusiasts. There are many advantages to buying a smartwatch over a basic fitness tracker including better notification support, a dedicated app store, and more
Best smartwatch for Android users: Samsung Galaxy Watch 4
If you use an Android phone — particularly one made by Samsung — then the Galaxy Watch 4 is one of your best options. This is a great smartwatch that’s packed with a lot of awesome features. One of the best things about this watch is that it’s currently the only smartwatch on the market running Wear OS 3. Additionally, Samsung has also added a lot of fitness features to it, making it a solid option to consider for those who want a reliable watch for fitness. Samsung may have ditched the ‘Active’ branding from its watch lineup this year, but the Galaxy Watch 4 picks up many of those features while keeping a sporty look and feel.
We recommend picking up the regular Galaxy Watch 4 model over the ‘Classic’ one as it’s better suited for fitness enthusiasts. The regular Galaxy Watch 4 model is available in 40mm and 44mm sizes, both of which are smaller and cheaper compared to the ‘Classic’ variants. The 40mm variant weighs almost 26 grams while the 44mm variant weighs 30 grams. You can get the Galaxy Watch 4 in Black, Silver, Pink Gold, and Green color options. Besides the obvious size and design differences, the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic comes with a physical rotating bezel. In terms of specifications, the Galaxy Watch 4 is powered by Samsung’s in-house Exynos W920 chipset with 1.5GB RAM and 16GB onboard storage. It also packs a 3-in-1 health sensor for measuring heart rate, ECGs, and reading body composition.
The body composition analysis is a unique feature that no other smartwatch on the market currently supports. It essentially sends a weak current through your body to analyze body fat percentage, body mass index, muscle and bone mass, and more. In addition to that, the Galaxy Watch 4 also supports activity tracking. You can use the watch to track a variety of indoor and outdoor activities. In fact, the Galaxy Watch 4 also supports automatic workout-tracking which eliminates the need to manually log a workout session. Samsung has also beefed up the sleep tracking feature with this watch. It now measures blood oxygen levels every minute overnight compared to once every 30 minutes on the previous gen watch. The Galaxy Watch 4 also comes with a stress app to show your stress levels.
The battery life of the Galaxy Watch 4, as you’d expect from a full-fledged smartwatch, isn’t anything to write home about. If you’re actively using your smartwatch to check and interact with notifications, workouts, heart-rate monitoring, etc; then you’ll have to charge it every day. You can squeeze more out of the Galaxy Watch by disabling the Always-On display, but it’s probably not going to do much to keep the lights on for more than, say, a day and a half or two.
The Galaxy Watch 4 stands out from other fitness trackers in this collection by offering solid app store support and tons of customization options. It’s a great smartwatch for your day-to-day usage that also happens to be a reliable fitness tracker.
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The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 is currently one of the best smartwatches on the market for Android users. It’s also packed with a ton of fitness features, which makes it a reliable activity tracker too.
Best smartwatch for iPhone users: Apple Watch Series 7
The Apple Watch Series 7 should be on top of the list for iPhone users when it comes to fitness-centric smartwatches. It may not be a worthy upgrade over, say, the Apple Watch Series 6, but there’s plenty to like if you’re a new Apple Watch user. It looks very similar to a lot of other Apple Watch models that are available on the market. The corners are slightly rounded on the Apple Watch Series 7 but you’re looking at a familiar design overall. There’s a 1.9-inch display on the front which is up to 20-percent larger than the Series 6. According to Apple, the Series 7 watch is also brighter in always-on mode.
The Apple Watch Series 7 is good for up to 50 meters of water. Notably, this is the first Apple Watch to earn an IP6X certification for dust resistance too. The glass covering the screen is also said to be more durable than ever, meaning it’s a great option for those who have an active lifestyle. One of the best things about the Apple Watch is that it’s extremely reliable when it comes to activity tracking and just fitness in general. The Apple Watch Series 7 is capable of tracking all the basic metrics including steps, calories, floors climbed, and more. It can also monitor your heart rate, sleep, blood oxygen levels, and menstrual cycle. The Apple Watch is also known to be very reliable when it comes to tracking all the metrics.
Apple’s watchOS is also full of useful health and wellness features. It doesn’t support the Galaxy Watch 4’s body composition analysis, but you can expect to see pretty much all the other fitness features. It’s an excellent fitness tracker that monitors your heart rate, counts your steps, and even tracks your distance covered with GPS. Not to mention it also offers support for a ton of workouts including Tai Chi. The Apple Watch Series 7 is also better than ever when it comes to cycling, as the company is said to have tweaked the algorithm to accommodate more metrics. And just like a lot of other fitness trackers on the market, the Apple Watch can also automatically track your workouts. This is a great feature to have as you don’t have to manually start the tracker before starting an activity.
The Apple Watch Series 7 isn’t a lot different in the battery department compared to other smartwatches. It can last up to two days on a single charge, but you’ll have to disable some of the popular features to log those 48 hours. If you’re somebody who’s actively using the watch for activity tracking, checking and interacting with notifications, and more; then you’ll have to charge it almost every day. It’s safe to say that it’s on par with the Galaxy Watch 4 in this regard. What we like the most about the Apple Watch is how easy it is to charge this device. You can drop it on the magnetic charger that comes bundled with the watch, and it charges 33-percent faster than the Apple Watch Series 6.
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The Apple Watch Series 7 brings a few key additions to an already-great smartwatch and makes it even better.
Best rugged smartwatch for fitness: Garmin Instinct 2
The Garmin Instinct 2 is an excellent option for those who are looking to pick up a rugged smartwatch. The new Instinct 2 takes the best features of its predecessor and adds some meaningful upgrades to offer a better package overall. The Instinct 2 is available in 40mm and 45mm case options, so it’s suitable for most users out there. You also get to choose between the standard or the Solar models, with the latter being able to gather energy from the sun with the help of Garmin’s Power Glass. The Power Glass extends the battery life further, so you might want to pick that one if you want the best battery life. The Solar models are slightly more expensive, though, so keep that in mind.
While the original Instinct smartwatch was also available in a range of colors, the Instinct 2 brings brighter shades, including the poppy red and electric lime colorway. You can even get some dual-shade options with Surf edition if that’s something you like. Just like the original watch, the Instinct 2 also comes with a monochrome memory-in-pixel display with a circular watch face. There’s also a small circular cutout within the main panel to show some contextual information as you’re navigating through menus. The Instinct 2’s display is a lot sharper compared to its predecessor. We’re looking at 176 x 176 pixels compared to 128 x 128 pixels for the original watch. This should make a noticeable difference in day-to-day usage.
The Garmin Instinct 2 is great when it comes to activity tracking. It comes with an exhaustive list of health monitoring features including Garmin’s Body Battery tool. This tool, in case you’re wondering, tracks various metrics, including heart rate, sleep, and more to tell you how much energy you have left for the day ahead. The best thing about this score is that it’s updated throughout the day, which means you can balance your activities to make sure you don’t run out of juice before the end of the day. The Instinct 2, just like the other Garmin watches, offers accurate GPS support to track your outdoor activities better.
Notably, the Garmin Instinct 2 also comes with a multi-sports mode for events like triathlons, which means you don’t have to stop and change the activity mode between each stage. The Instinct 2 smartwatch can also detect a range of activities by itself, which is always a great feature to have. This particular watch is better suited for runners, cyclists, and swimmers, but you should be able to track other workouts without any issues either. It comes with a 10ATM water rating which means you can use in rain or even take it underwater for a swim. Other noteworthy features of the watch include a microphone that lets you take phone calls or summon your phone’s voice assistant from your wrist. The companion app also makes it easier for you to download additional watch faces and applications.
Despite offering a long list of features, the Garmin Instinct 2 is great when it comes to battery life. According to the company, the Instinct 2 smartwatch is said to last for up to 28 days on a single charge. That might be a bit of an exaggeration, especially if you use some battery-draining features such as SpO2 and GPS. But even without those features enabled, the Instinct 2 should be able to keep up for more than two weeks on a single charge, which is quite impressive. The Solar model will definitely last longer between charges, so keep that in mind. Overall, the Garmin Instinct 2 is a great option to consider if you’re in the market for a reliable, rugged smartwatch for fitness.
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The Garmin Instinct 2 takes all the best features from the original Instinct smartwatch and adds some finishing touches to make it better.
Closing Thoughts
As you can see, there’s a lot of variety to choose from, but this list should help you narrow down your options. If you’re leaning towards buying a simple activity tracker then the Fitbit Charge 5 and the Mi Smart Band 7 are great options to consider. The Fitbit Versa 3 and Amazfit Bip-S are great for those who want fitness trackers that also double up as a simple smartwatch. But if you want more exhaustive features including full app store support, then you’ll have to rely on the smartwatches mentioned in this list.
This is an ever-evolving list that we’ll update over time to add newer and better options. But in the meantime, let us know your favorite fitness tracker by leaving a comment down below.
