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Fitness trackers have come an extremely long way over the years. No longer are they glorified pedometers; they’re much more than that. Most standard fitness trackers nowadays can track your steps taken, distance traveled, how many calories you’ve burned for the day, and even your sleeping patterns. They’re handy little devices if you want a better look at how active you are throughout the day, and there are plenty to choose from.
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We understand it can be a little daunting trying to choose which fitness tracker best suits your needs, so we’ve compiled a list of the best fitness trackers on the market. We’ve divided our list up into separate categories to help you narrow down your options. As always, if you feel like we missed something on our best fitness trackers list, be sure to tell us in the comment section below.
Without any further delay, here are the best fitness trackers you can buy right now.
Upcoming devices: There are quite a few fitness trackers coming to market soon, including the Fitbit Ionic, Garmin vívosport, Garmin vívoactive 3, and Misfit Vapor. Most, if not all of these devices will be added to this list after we publish our full reviews.
The best fitness tracker
Garmin vívosmart HR+
One of the best fitness trackers you can buy right now is the Garmin vívosmart HR+. It’s one of the most feature-packed, well-rounded wearables you’ll find.
For starters, it has a big touchscreen display that’s easy to read outdoors. And thanks to the larger screen, that means you’ll be able to view more information on the tracker itself without having to pick up your phone to open the Garmin app. It also has a waterproof rating of up to 50 meters, which is a feature many other trackers don’t offer.
The vívosmart HR+ is one of the most feature-packed, well-rounded wearables you'll find
How does it differ from our previous fitness tracking champion, the vívosmart HR? For starters, it comes with a built-in GPS while remaining just about the same size as its predecessor. The addition of a GPS brings some new running features like personal records, virtual pacer, Auto Pause, Auto Lap and walk/run mode. It will also track your activity and workouts automatically with Garmin’s powerful Move IQ technology, something the vívosmart HR does not offer.
The vívosmart HR+ has been around for a few months now, so it’s seen quite a few price drops since its launch. You can pick up the vívosmart HR+ from Amazon or Garmin.com for a little over $150, which is an absolute steal for what you’re getting here. With a built-in GPS, great water resistance rating, automatic activity recognition, and the company’s wonderful Auto Goal feature, the vívosmart HR+ is by far the best fitness tracker available in this price range.
Specs
- Display: 1.0-inch LCD touchscreen display
- Heart rate sensor: Yes, optical
- GPS: Yes
- Waterproof: Yes, 5 ATM (up to 50 meters)
- Battery life: Up to 5 days
- Notifications: Call, text, email, alarm, idle alerts and more
- Colors: Black/Shark Fin Gray, Imperial Purple/Kona Purple, Midnight Blue/Bolt Blue
Read more
- Fitbit Charge 2 vs Garmin vívosmart HR+
- Garmin intros an updated vívosmart HR with GPS tracking capabilities
Also read: Best GPS running watches
Runner-up
Fitbit Charge 2
If you’re buying one of the best fitness trackers in this price range, it’s hard not to consider the Charge 2.
It’s clear Fitbit really focused on design when making the Charge 2. This device not only looks more like a piece of jewelry and less like a standard fitness tracker this time around, you also have the option to change out the bands if you’d like.
The Charge 2 also has a bigger display this time, meaning you get more room for smartphone notifications. Plus, Fitbit also introduced a few new features to the Charge 2 that should help users stay healthy and relaxed overtime: Cardio Fitness Level, which will give you a cardiovascular rating based on an estimate of your VO2 Max, and Relax, a new on-device guided breathing feature that will walk you through short breathing exercises to help you lower blood pressure, reduce stress and lessen anxiety.
Overall, it’s an all-around great fitness tracker, especially considering its $150 price point.
Specs
- Display: 1.5-inch multi-line OLED tap display
- Heart rate sensor: Yes, optical
- GPS: No
- Waterproof: Sweat, rain, and splash proof, but not waterproof
- Battery life: Up to 5 days
- Notifications: Text, call, calendar, alarm and idle alerts
- Colors: Black, Blue, Plum, Teal, Lavender/Rose Gold, Black/Gunmetal
Read more
- Fitbit Charge 2 review
- Fitbit Charge 2 vs Charge HR
- The most common Fitbit problems and how to fix them
- Fitbit Charge 2 and Flex 2 specs, price, release date and everything else you should know
- Best heart rate monitors
Honorable mention
Fitbit Alta HR
2016’s Fitbit Alta has been one of our favorite fitness trackers since launch, mainly due to the sleek, stylish design that many other Fitbit devices lack. But what if you’re looking for a device similar to the Alta, but can’t go without a heart rate sensor? You’ll want to check out the Fitbit Alta HR, the company’s slimmest activity tracker with a heart rate monitor.
The new Alta HR brings the company’s own PurePulse heart rate technology to a slimmer form factor. Fitbit supposedly developed a new chip for the Alta HR that reduced the size and number of components needed, allowing for a 25% slimmer design than the Charge 2. With a built-in heart rate sensor, you’ll be able to better track your calories burned, non-step exercises like yoga and spinning, and also see real-time heart rate zones on your wrist. Having a heart rate sensor on your activity tracker really does make a world of difference.
Alongside the Alta HR, Fitbit also introduced two new sleeping features, Sleep Stages and Sleep Insights. Sleep Stages utilizes the heart rate sensor to estimate the amount of time you spend in light, deep and REM sleep, as well as the time you spend awake each night. Sleep Insights, on the other hand, uses all the data your Fitbit collects to provide personalized guidance on how to better improve your sleep. If you’re interested in learning more about Sleep Stages and Sleep Insights, more details can be found here.
If you need a slim fitness tracker that doesn’t skimp on the features, the Alta HR is for you.
Specs
- Display: OLED tap display
- Heart rate sensor: Yes
- GPS: No
- Waterproof: Sweat, rain, and splash proof, but not waterproof
- Battery life: Up to 7 days
- Notifications: Text, call, calendar, alarm and idle alerts
- Colors: Black, Blue Gray, Fuchsia, Coral
Read more
SEE ALSO:
Best multisport fitness tracker
Garmin vívoactive HR
If you need something a little more powerful than our first few options, Garmin’s vívoactive HR might be for you. It’s not too expensive as far as multisport trackers go, and it comes with tons of useful features.
For starters, it will accurately track your daily activity when you go running, cycling, swimming and more, all thanks to the built-in GPS. Of course it also has an optical heart rate monitor that will help you keep tabs on your resting and active heart rate. One other thing to note – this thing is bulky. I had a hard time getting used to wearing it for an extended period of time, though I must say that the bigger screen is really nice for viewing your daily stats and notifications.
This isn’t the newest fitness tracker on the market. But if you need something with impressive GPS and heart rate tracking capabilities and are in the market for a multisport watch, you should definitely consider the vívoactive HR.
Specs
- Display: Touchscreen
- Heart rate sensor: Yes, optical
- GPS: Yes
- Waterproof: Yes, 5 ATM (up to 50 meters)
- Battery life: Up to 8 days
- Notifications: Call, text, email, alarm, idle alerts and more
- Colors: Black (with interchangeable bands in Lava Red, Force Yellow and White)
Read more
Best stylish fitness tracker
Withings Steel HR
If you’re looking for an analog watch that doesn’t skimp on the fitness features, you should definitely check out the Withings Steel HR.
Withings really hit the nail on the head with the Steel HR. It’s accurate, affordable, comfortable enough to wear all day, and downright gorgeous. Not only that, it sports a digital display that, while not of the greatest quality, offers a unique take on bringing a digital screen to a traditional analog watch design.
Like most other stylish fitness trackers, it’s not the most feature packed. It doesn’t offer an on-board GPS, nor is the digital display great for outdoor use. But for everyone else looking for an attractive, well-built fitness tracker that doesn’t actually look like a fitness tracker, the Steel HR may be just what you’re looking for.
Specs
- Display: Analog display with secondary digital display
- Heart rate sensor: Yes
- GPS: No
- Waterproof: Yes, 5 ATM (up to 50 meters)
- Battery life: Up to 25 days with normal use
- Notifications: Call, text, calendar alerts, and alarm
- Colors: Black, White
Read more
- Withings Steel HR review
- Withings’ new Steel HR has an analog display, heart rate sensor, and 25-day battery life
Runner-up
Withings Activité Steel / Activité Pop
If you’re looking for a wearable that focuses on form over functionality, you should check out the Withings Activité Pop or Steel. No, these devices aren’t just analog watches, they’re also some of the best fitness trackers.
They’re both comfortable to wear all day, and more importantly, they don’t look anything like the other fitness trackers on the market. They also come in a variety of different color options and styles, so you’re bound to find one that suits your needs. Both devices will track your steps taken, calories burned, sleep and much more. They’re also waterproof and come with a CR2025 button cell battery that will last up to 8 months at a time. Not bad!
The Withings Activité Steel sports a 316L stainless steel casing, while the Activité Pop looks a bit less premium and comes in more color options. These devices are available on Amazon for just $150 and $130, respectively. It’s a must on our best fitness trackers list
Specs
- Display: Analog
- Heart rate sensor: No
- GPS: No
- Waterproof: Yes, 5 ATM (up to 50 meters)
- Battery life: Up to 8 months
- Notifications: Alarm
- Steel colors: Black, White, Raspberry, Mineral, Evergreen, Khaki, Mocha, Yellow, Black Leather, Red Leather
- Pop colors – Azure, Shark Grey, Sand, Pink
Read more
Best smartwatch/fitness tracker hybrid
Polar M600
Polar’s new M600 sport watch is by far the best Android Wear-powered fitness tracker on the market.
With a built-in GPS, IPX8 water resistance rating, optical heart rate monitor and 4GB of on-board storage, the M600 is quite the feature-packed device. It also comes with support for Polar’s wonderful Flow app, allowing you to track just about any activity you can think of – rowing, skiing, hiking and much more. You’ll also be able to squeeze about two days of battery life out of this thing, which is impressive for an Android Wear watch.
It’s a little pricey, though, starting at $299. You can certainly find Android Wear devices for less than that, but the M600 provides much more than other devices. If you’re in the market for a smartwatch/fitness tracker hybrid and don’t mind spending around $300, this is one of the best fitness trackers you can get.
Specs
- 1.3-inch TFT display with 240 x 240 resolution, 260ppi
- 1.2GHz dual-core MediaTek MT2601 processor
- 512MB of RAM
- 4GB of on-board storage
- 500mAh battery
- 45 x 36 x 13mm, 63g
- IPX8 water resistance
Read more
SEE ALSO:
Best budget-friendly fitness tracker
Garmin vívofit 3
Garmin’s vívofit 3 definitely won’t win any awards in the design department, but it is still one of the best fitness trackers. It comes with a surprisingly long feature set for its price.
It sports an always-on display, a battery that will last up to 1 year at a time, and also reminds you to move if you’re not on track to meet your step goal. It’s also waterproof up to 50 meters.
As you can see in the photo above, there are plenty of different strap options available as well. So if you aren’t a fan of the standard Black or White model, you can pick up a new strap that will make it look a little more like a bracelet and less like a fitness tracker.
Specs
- Display: LED
- Heart rate sensor: No
- GPS: No
- Waterproof: Yes, 5 ATM (up to 50 meters)
- Battery life: Up to 1 year
- Notifications: Idle alerts
- Colors: Black, White, Camo
Runner-up
Xiaomi Mi Band 2
If you’re looking for one of the best fitness trackers for around $20, you should get the Xiaomi Mi Band 2.
Xiaomi’s third attempt at a fitness tracker might not be the best on the market, but it does excel in a few key areas. It’ll track your steps taken, distance traveled, calories burned, and even your sleep. It also has an optical heart rate monitor that can help you keep track of your resting heart rate. It also comes with an IP67 waterproof rating and a battery that will last up to 20 days on a single charge.
While the Mi Fit companion app isn’t the greatest and the display can be hard to read at times, the Mi Band 2 is still a great option for those looking to keep an eye on their daily activity.
Specs
- Display: .42-inch OLED
- Heart rate sensor: Yes, optical
- GPS: No
- Waterproof: Yes, IP67
- Battery life: Up to 20 days
- Notifications: Call, text, alarm, idle alerts and more
- Colors:
So there you have it, the best fitness trackers on the market right now! How did you like our list? Did we leave anything out? If so, let us know in the comments!
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