The Best 4 Fitness Trackers

Best Overall Fitness Tracker

Apple Watch SE Gen 2

Heart Rate Monitor: Yes | Built-In GPS: Yes

If you are in the market for a device with the high performance of an elite fitness tracker coupled with a copious amount of smart features like a smartwatch, then look no further than the Apple SE Watch Gen 2. We found that this tracker delivers some of the most accurate fitness tracking and health monitoring results we have tested. With its array of intelligent features and real-time notifications, this state-of-the-art wearable keeps users seamlessly connected even during their most vigorous activities. The Gen 2 model takes inspiration from the groundbreaking design of its predecessor and enhances it with notable advancements in processing power and a lighter, more comfortable body. This product will best fit consumers looking for a device with everything, from peak tracking abilities to intuitive design.

This device is one of the most expensive trackers we have tested. For individuals who are new to fitness trackers and unfamiliar with their functionality, it might not be the most suitable choice. It could be better to begin with a more affordable band before fully committing to a pricier model. That said, we believe the Apple SE Gen 2 is worth every dollar. Those who are in the market for top quality will not be disappointed. If you're an outdoor enthusiast, you might also like the Garmin Vivoactive 4.

Read more: Apple Watch SE Gen 2 review

Best Bang for the Buck

Fitbit Inspire 3

Heart Rate Monitor: Yes | Built-In GPS: No

If you still want the functionality offered by many top fitness trackers but don't want to pay top dollar to get it, check out the Fitbit Inspire 3 by Fitbit. Don't let its small size deceive you; this compact wearable delivers a powerful performance with its remarkable features. The Fitbit app offers a valuable diet diary, and the device excels in precise tracking of walking activities. Moreover, the vibrant community groups provide an additional boost of motivation to support you on your fitness journey.

While the Inspire 3 boasts many impressive features, it is important to acknowledge a few drawbacks. One limitation is its small screen size, which may pose certain limitations. Additionally, the heart rate monitoring capabilities of the device are considered to be average. However, despite these flaws, with all you gain from the social and community features offered, we still highly recommend this device to anyone seeking a fitness tracker on a budget. If you're super strapped for cash, the Amazfit Band 7 is even more affordable and a decent user-friendly option, but it's lacking a bit in the accuracy department.

Read more: Fitbit Inspire 3 review

Best Buy on a Tight Budget

Amazfit Band 7

Heart Rate Monitor: Yes | Built-In GPS: No

With its exceptional performance at a very low cost, the Amazfit Band 7 stands out. This feature-packed wearable delivers precise tracking of distance and step count during walking activities, ensuring accurate fitness monitoring. Users can personalize their workout routines with a wide range of exercise options to suit their preferences. The inclusion of a convenient “find my phone” feature adds to its everyday practicality. Notably, the Band 7 boasts an impressive battery life and comes at an affordable price point, making it an ideal choice for budget-conscious individuals.

However, it's important to mention that the Band 7 lacks social engagement features through community options and falls short in terms of heart rate monitoring accuracy. Despite these drawbacks, the Amazfit Band 7 presents a compelling option for fitness enthusiasts seeking reliable tracking and affordability in an elegant package.

Read more: Amazfit Band 7 review

Best for Extended Outdoor Use

Garmin Vivoactive 4

Heart Rate Monitor: Yes | Built-In GPS: Yes

If we had to describe the Garmin Vivoactive 4 in one phrase, it would be “peak performance.” The tracking capabilities are second to none, scoring particularly high on step tracking, cycling performance, and workout tracking. We were particularly impressed with the quality of the battery, given this tracker's smart capabilities. Compared to other smart feature-rich options, the Vivoactive 4 is perfect for anyone who desires a long battery life.

Peak accuracy and long battery life comes at a cost; the Vivoactive 4 lacks a meaningful dieting feature and user-friendliness. We found that navigating through the menus was unnecessarily complex, displaying too much information at once. This tracker seems great for more competitive fitness junkies but unnecessary for most users. If you love the Garmin brand but want something a bit smaller on your wrist, the Garmin Vivosmart 5 is worth a look.

Read more: Garmin Vivoactive 4 review

Compare Products

Compare select up to 5 products to compare

	Score	Product	Price
	79	Apple Watch SE Gen 2 Best Overall Fitness Tracker	$279
	72	Garmin Vivoactive 4 Best for Extended Outdoor Use	$350
	71	Fitbit Inspire 3 Best Bang for the Buck	$100
	69	Garmin Vivosmart 5	$150
	68	Fitbit Charge 5	$150
	68	Fitbit Versa 4	$200
	67	Amazfit Band 7 Best Buy on a Tight Budget	$50
	58	Xiaomi Mi Band 7	$60

Why Trust GearLab

To start, we spent a substantial amount of time researching these trackers and comparing specifications and features to determine what qualities the best fitness tracker should have. We then designed a testing regimen to evaluate these products and crown the award winners. We performed extensive side-by-side tests comparing the trackers' accuracy in metrics such as resting metabolic rate, heart rate, steps, and distance against baseline data. Furthermore, we sought the input of a diverse panel of judges to evaluate the comfort and appearance of each tracker.

We tested fitness trackers using five performance metrics:

• Fitness Impact (40% of overall score weighting)

• Health Impact (30% weighting)

• Ease of Use (15% weighting)

• Display (10% weighting)

• Ergonomics (5% weighting)

Since 2017, GearLab has been rigorously testing fitness trackers through hands-on reviews. Our review is regularly updated with new releases, and we purchase all products independently, ensuring unbiased evaluations without any financial influence. Austin Palmer and Jessica Ricoscente lead our fitness tracker testing team and have extensive experience when it comes to these products. Both have reviewed dozens of fitness trackers, smartwatches, and other wearables, as well as hundreds of other tech and smart home products. In addition, both lead very active lives and have used these products daily for interval training workouts, hiking, mountain biking, skiing, and stand-up paddleboarding. New to this review is ISSA-certified fitness trainer and former software tester, Jared Eastlick.

Analysis and Test Results

In recent years, fitness trackers and wearables have experienced a surge in popularity, becoming highly sought-after items. These devices aim to enhance fitness by tracking progress, setting goals, and fostering motivation through community engagement. We split our testing process into five distinct metrics to help you find the best fitness tracker: Fitness Impact, Health Impact, Ease of Use, Display, and Ergonomics. Each tracker model received a score in each metric, and these were combined to determine the overall score. We detail exactly what each tracker did well and where it struggled in the following sections.

What's the Best Value?

If you are looking for the best bang for the buck, we think the Fitbit Inspire 3 is the best option. It has all of the social and community features of the high-end trackers and does a solid job of tracking your different workouts, all at a lower price. It does cost a bit more than the cheapest tracker, but we feel that it's the best value option if you are shopping on a limited budget and looking to take advantage of the social aspects of these wearable products.

If you are shopping on a tight budget for a new fitness tracker, we think it is hard to go wrong with the Amazfit Band 7. While it does have a limited set of functions compared to the top models, it can count your steps and track the distance traveled quite well, all for a much lower price.

Fitness Impact

We rated each product on the quality of community and social features, as well as what activities and workouts each device could track. While health and fitness are closely related, we focused on how well each tracker recorded physical activities in this metric.

In our rigorous assessment of fitness trackers, we employed meticulous tests. These included manually counting steps on a one-mile course using a mechanical tally counter and comparing it to each tracker's count. We also evaluated their accuracy in measuring distance, ability to detect false steps, and effectiveness in monitoring high-intensity cardio and cycling workouts. Special features for specific exercises were taken into account. These tests accounted for 40% of the overall score, ensuring a comprehensive evaluation of each tracker's fitness capabilities.

The Apple Watch SE Gen 2 left a notable impression with its exceptional step tracking accuracy. When compared to a manual counter, the difference in step counts was negligible, highlighting its reliable tracking capabilities during walking activities. Notably, the step score submetric during our testing highlighted the SE Gen 2's consistent and precise measurement of a 1-mile distance on a treadmill. This unwavering reliability instills confidence in users, assuring them of the device's ability to count steps accurately during workouts.

This model also offers an impressive array of statistics from cycling workouts, logging speed, distance, time, and elevation, and it shows you a map of where you went. Additionally, we found the data aligned fairly well with information collected by a bike computer and Strava. Furthermore, the SE Gen 2 provides dedicated features for outdoor runs, empowering users with customizable functions such as interval training, hill repeats, and additional options. With an impressive selection of 81 trackable activities, this device offers a diverse range of options, allowing users to personalize their workouts according to their preferences and specific fitness goals.

The Garmin Vivoactive 4 impressed us with its accuracy in counting steps. The distance tracker performed equally as well, consistently giving us an accurate account of our course length.

The Vivoactive 4 tracker offers an array of metrics to monitor cycle performance, including heart rate, lap distance, speed, and time. Our tests revealed that it consistently provided highly accurate readings, surpassing the performance of most other trackers. In addition, the Vivoactive 4 boasts a wide range of workout features, enabling users to track estimated calorie burn, heart rate zones, calorie consumption, and more. With 25 available exercises encompassing fitness, sports, and even yard work, this tracker offers comprehensive options to suit various physical activities.

The Fitbit Inspire 3 excels in walking accuracy, demonstrating an impressive level of precision with an average step differential of just 6.3. This outstanding accuracy instills users' confidence, ensuring their steps are reliably tracked and distances accurately measured. The device's exceptional step score and precise distance tracking further reinforce its ability to effectively monitor daily activities, providing users with valuable insights into their fitness progress.

The Apple Watch SE Gen 2 performed better than the Vivoactive 4 in our step counting test, although not by much, only recording an average step difference of 1.6. The Garmin Vivoactive 4 performed very similarly to the Apple Watch SE when it came to cycling. We thought the cycling tracking was solid but not as accurate as it could be since they seemed to be a bit off when we compared them to tracking with Strava. It has a decent amount of other trackable activities.

The Garmin Vivosmart 5 is on par with the top fitness trackers for this metric, offering tons of different trackable activities and an accurate step and distance counter. It also offers versatility, allowing users to tailor their workouts to specific fitness goals. On the other hand, in terms of trackable activities, the Vivosmart 5 fell short compared to certain competitors, offering a limited selection of only 15 options for tracking.

Next, we looked at the companion apps for each manufacturer, as multiple trackers will utilize the same app. The Fitbit app led this category with weekly emails, including your stats for the previous seven days. It also compares you to your top three friends on a step-count leaderboard. The app has non-competitive “adventures,” where you can digitally walk along a path to a point of interest using your steps. There are also competitive challenges you can undertake against yourself or your friends.

The Garmin Connect app has a simpler set of features that allows you to track your progress over the past several days, months, or years and encourages you to opt into weekly challenges with people in your step range.

The Zepp app offers detailed activity tracking, personalized settings, and comprehensive workout support, making it a valuable fitness companion. However, we thought it was lackluster in terms of app diversity.

The MyFitnessPal app on the SE does a good job tracking fitness progress but falls short in community engagement since you can only connect with other Apple watches.

Health Impact

The next highest weighted metric in this product category is the health impact of each tracker. To assess this, we started with whether or not a tracker could monitor heart rate and how accurate it was compared to a chest strap heart rate monitor. Then, we looked at what dieting aids each model provides, what other lifestyle changes it could help you implement, and whether or not it can track sleep and wake you, as well as if there are any other health-specific features.

The Apple Watch SE Gen 2 and Fitbit Charge 5 were the top performers for our health impact metric. The Fitbit Charge 5 also has a rich and lovely food diary that is intuitive to use.

The SE Gen 2 mostly matched our chest strap heart rate monitor. We found about a 1 bpm difference between the strap and the tracker.

The Charge 5 performed poorer than the SE in our heart rate tests, with an average difference of 10.9 bpm from the chest strap monitor. It has the same diet and automatic sleep tracking as other Fitbit models and will remind you to get up and stretch if you have been sitting for too long.

In our opinion, the Fitbit Inspire 3 met the performance of a top-tier fitness tracker regarding health features. It did well in our heart rate accuracy tests, only off by 6.4 bpm of the control HR monitor. It also has a variety of health indicators and a reliable sleep-tracking feature

We found that the Garmin Vivoactive 4 has a solid sleep tracker that can track hours slept and time in REM. We found that it could not recognize snooze time, which slightly affected the overall score. We were confident that this tracker could reliably get you up on time, even for heavier sleepers.

The Fitbit Versa 4 excels in dieting with an intuitive food diary feature while also offering health indicators like standing reminders and blood oxygen monitoring. However, the absence of ECG and skin temperature measurements is a limitation.

Ease of Use

Next, we analyzed how easy each tracker is to use. These products are meant to be worn daily, and something difficult to use is unlikely to become a regular part of your daily life. We evaluated how intuitive the device and app are, how difficult it is to sync data from the device to the app, how hard it is to put the device on, and the longevity of battery life.

The Inspire 3 has a claimed battery life of up to ten days and takes about 1.25 hours to fully charge. We liked that it syncs data very quickly with the app and found it decently easy to navigate through the menus on the device. It has a traditional watch clasp that is easy to latch or unlatch.

We think the Amazfit Band 7 is also very convenient and user-friendly to operate. The menus are intuitive and easy to navigate through on both the device and in the companion app, and it has a solid battery life — up to 18 days depending on use.

The Xiaomi Mi Band 7 is simple and minimalistic, making it very easy and intuitive to use. It has a claimed battery life of 14 days with the heart rate monitor enabled and seven days with it turned off. However, a drawback of this wearable is that it can be somewhat annoying to put on.

We discovered that the main menu of the Fitbit Charge 5 stands out for its exceptional user-friendliness. Navigating through the main menu is effortless, as users can swipe through the different options to locate the desired metric with ease. Furthermore, the battery life of the tracker lasts approximately seven days, and recharging it requires only two hours.

The Garmin Vivosmart 5 focuses on user-friendly features. It boasts a battery life of up to seven days, though charging requires a connection rather than magnets. The app offers visually appealing graphs for each measurement and easy navigation through menus. The device is designed for effortless wear with adjustable sizing.

Display

The next rating metric that we looked at for this category was the quality of the display, which is responsible for 10% of the final score.

We evaluated the clarity of information displayed, whether or not the tracker could substitute for a watch, how visible the screen was in different lighting conditions, responsiveness, and what notifications could be displayed. All of these models enter sleep mode when you are not adjusting their settings to conserve power. Thus, we defined responsiveness as how easy it is to wake the device up to initiate a workout or look at your progress and also how easy it is to control the device through the touchscreen and buttons.

The Apple Watch SE Gen 2 and the Garmin Vivoactive 4 all followed with their superb displays. Apple knows its way around screens, and the Gen 2 is no exception. We found the Vivoactive 4 to be very easy to read in bright sunlight, and it has a very responsive touchscreen.

The display of the Amazfit Band 7 is bright and vibrant, ensuring excellent visibility both indoors and outdoors.

Ergonomics

Ergonomics was a much simpler test for these products. We split it into two aspects: comfort and profile design.

The Fitbit Versa 4 offers a comfortable fit on the wrist, thanks to the increased surface area of the display, which distributes the sensor area underneath, resulting in a gentle and pleasant experience. Despite its weight, the watch feels lighter than expected, further enhancing overall comfort. In terms of design, the watch features a thinner wide square display and a wide band, giving it a lower-profile appearance that doesn't excessively rise on the wrist.

The Fitbit Inspire 3 and the Fitbit Charge 5 scored similarly in this metric. The Inspire 3 excels due to its lightweight and comfortable fit, while the Charge 5 performs exceptionally in profile design.

The Xiaomi Mi Band 7 and Vivosmart 5 are pretty run-of-the-mill when it comes to profile design, essentially black plastic rectangles of varying dimensions.

The Garmin Vivoactive 4 is visually appealing overall but slightly bulky. We found that the Vivoactive 4 often gets caught up in jackets. The SE Gen 2 has a square profile design that is thicker than the average tracker. It is also a heavier tracker, which knocks it down comparatively but should not be cause for concern.

Conclusion

With a vast array of fitness trackers available, finding the ideal model for your needs can be a daunting task. This review aims to assist you in narrowing down your search and gaining valuable insights into each tracker's strengths and weaknesses. Whatever tracker you choose, we hope it helps you achieve your fitness goals.