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 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.
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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.
Our favorite fitness trackers in 2023
Fitbit Charge 5
Best fitness tracker overall
The Fitbit Charge 5 is a solid fitness tracker that offers a good set of features for the price.
Pros
Bright and beautiful OLED display
Tracks a variety of metrics
Small and slimmer factor than Charge 4
Cons
Battery life could’ve been better
Slightly expensive for just a fitness tracker
$149 at Amazon
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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 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.
The Fitbit Charge 5 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.
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This particular fitness band 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.
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.
Mi Smart Band 7
Best budget fitness tracker
The Xiaomi Smart Band 7 is an affordable fitness tracker that does a good job of keeping track of steps, heart rate and sleep, with a large and vibrant screen too.
Pros
Beautiful display
SpO2 monitoring
Great value for money
Cons
No built-in GPS
no NFC or voice assistant
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$46 at Amazon
The Mi Smart Band 7 is one of the most popular options in Xiaomi’s reliable line of fitness trackers. 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 12.2 mm 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 sells a lot of them, and you’re bound to find a lot more from third-party vendors.
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 log the exercise manually. However, the Mi Band 7 comes with a lot of workout modes, including cycling, yoga, fishing, and even parkour. You’ll find the right workout, but you’ll have to turn on tracking manually.
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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.
Oura Ring Gen 3
Best discreet fitness tracker
The Oura Ring Gen 3 is the most discreet fitness tracker you can buy right now. It’s one of the most expensive trackers in this collection, but it also supports a long list of features for the price.
Pros
Elegant design and finish
Excellent sleep tracking
Convenient and easy to wear
Cons
Expensive price tag
No automatic workout detection
$299 at Oura
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 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. It’s 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. 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.
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Fitbit Sense 2
Best smartwatch-style fitness tracker
Fitbit’s Sense 2 is an impressive wearable that offers helpful insight into your health and activity. Its slim profile and light weight make it comfortable to wear for long periods. Which are possible thanks to a battery that can last up to six days. The performance is just ‘OK,’ and it’s lacking true smartwatch features that put the Sense 2 in a strange place among other wearables.
Pros
Lightweight and comfortable to wear
Good battery life
A fantastic suite of health and fitness features
Easy-to-use UI
Cons
Many of the more advanced health and fitness features require a subscription
Speaker is not very good
No Google Assistant
No music controls
$300 at Best Buy
The Fitbit Sense 2 is our pick for the best smartwatch-style fitness tracker you can buy now. It’s relatively new to the market and brings many new features over Fitbit’s other activity trackers. It also brings many noteworthy improvements over its predecessors, including an updated design, internals, and more. The Fitbit Sense 2 uses aluminum for its case instead of the stainless steel from the previous model. Its low-profile design and lightweight body make it comfortable to wear for long periods too.
One of the best things about Ftibit Sense 2 is that it comes with a host of sensors to track various metrics, including heart rate, ECG, EDA, blood oxygen, temperature, and more. That makes it better than a lot of other options on the market, including Fitbit’s own Versa 3. The Versa 3 comes close to matching the overall experience, but it trades some of the features in exchange for a cheaper price tag.
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The Fitbit Sense 2, in case you’re wondering, comes with a vibrant 1.58-inch AMOLED screen that gets decently bright even under direct sunlight. The battery life of the Sense 2 is also pretty good, and it can last you for about three days on a single charge, even with all the health tracking features enabled. The Fitbit OS is clean and easy to get used to, but do keep in mind that you’ll need a subscription to take advantage of many of the more advanced health and fitness features on the Sense 2. You can learn more about this particular smartwatch-style activity tracker in our Fitbit Sense 2 review.
Amazfit Bip S
Best budget fitness watch
The Amazfit Bip S is an affordable smartwatch-style fitness tracker that offers a good value for the price.
Pros
Impressive battery life
Built-in GPS
Simple user interface
Cons
Needs better app support
Display could’ve been better
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$76 at Amazon
âââââIf 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. 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.
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.
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Samsung Galaxy Watch 5
Best smartwatch for Android users
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 is one of the best Android smartwatches out there right now. It brings a lot of upgrades to the table compared to the older model, has excellent health tracking features, and offers good battery life too.
Pros
Comfortable to wear
Good battery life
Reliable fitness tracking
Cons
Some features are exclusive to Samsung phones
$280 at Samsung
Samsung’s new Galaxy Watch 5 is one of the best smartwatches out there for Android users. Just like Galaxy Watch 4, the new model also comes in 40mm and 44mm sizes and runs the latest version of Wear OS 3. It’s the same operating system that’s also running on Google’s new Pixel Watch, meaning you get access to Google Maps’ turn-by-turn navigation and Google Assistant. All the fitness and health tracking features are handled by the Samsung Health app, which is more reliable than a lot of options out there.
The Galaxy Watch 5 supports the best of Samsung’s health features, including SpO2 measurements, auto-workout detection, sleep tracking, and an electrocardiogram. The watch will also show you all the notifications and let you interact with them without having to pull out your device. You can learn more about the experience of using this watch in our Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 review. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 also offers decent battery life, but don’t expect to go for days on a single charge. You’ll still have to charge it after a day and a half, which is on par with a lot of other smartwatches out there.
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There’s a lot to like about the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5, especially for its $250 asking price. But it only works with Android phones, so keep that in mind. You can also consider buying the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro if you want a bigger watch with a rugged build. Alternatively, you can also save some money on your purchase by snagging last year’s Galaxy Watch 4, which still holds up pretty well against the new models.
Best smartwatch for iPhone users: Apple Watch Series 8
Apple Watch Series 8
Best smartwatch for iPhone users
The Apple Watch Series 8 is the latest smartwatch from Apple. It’s not a huge change from the Series 7, but it offers fresh features like crash detection, a new temperature sensor, and more.
Pros
Beautiful Retina display
Premium design
Crash detection
Cons
Not a huge improvement over Series 7
$399 at Amazon
It’s tough to put together a list of the best fitness trackers without including an Apple Watch. There’s no denying that the Apple Watch stands among the best when it comes to health and fitness tracking, so we wanted to highlight the best Apple Watch you can buy right now. The original version of this list included the Apple Watch Series 7, but we’ve now replaced it with the newer Series 8 model.
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Apple Watch Series 8 isn’t significantly different from the previous model, but it comes with a new skin temperature sensor that enables menstrual cycle tracking and allows you to get more accurate sleep data. These two features are crucial for a lot of users, which is why the new Apple Watch Series 8 has earned the top spot for iPhone users. Also new to the Apple Watch Series 8 is the company’s new crash detection feature. The crash detection feature may not be worth the upgrade just by itself if you already have one of the new iPhones, but it’s certainly one of the highlight features of this year’s Apple Watch lineup.
As far as fitness tracking is concerned, the Apple Watch Series 8 has a ton of different workout modes, including running, cycling, walking, strength training, and more. You can also add new workouts in the Workouts app, and the Apple Watch Series 8 can automatically detect and track them for you when you’re ready.
All things considered, the Apple Watch Series 8 is the default option for most users that comes with all bells and whistles like a skin temperature sensor, crash detection, and more. The added skin temperature sensor and the crash detection feature may not be enough to warrant an upgrade to the Series 8 from the last-gen watch, but it’s definitely worth considering if you’re coming from an older watch. Alternatively, you can also consider buying the Apple Watch Ultra, which is the company’s new rugged smartwatch for athletes and advanced users.
Garmin Instinct 2
Best rugged smartwatch for fitness
The Garmin Instinct 2 takes all the best features from the original Instinct smartwatch and adds some finishing touches to make it better.
Pros
Durable build quality
Impressive battery life
Reliable fitness tracking
Cons
Limited smartwatch features
$339 at Amazon
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. It’s 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.
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 the 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.
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 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 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. 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.
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Best fitness trackers in 2023: The bottom line
If you skipped straight to the conclusion to find the best option, then we recommend going with the Fitbit Charge 5. It’s one of the best fitness trackers on the market right now that offers all the essentials without burning a huge hole in your wallet. It may not have all the bells and whistles, but it has a relatively small form factor, and it can keep you on track with all your activity goals for many days on a single charge. The Mi Smart Band 7 is also a solid option to consider if you want a simple activity tracker that covers all the basics for a cheap price.
Fitbit Charge 5
Best overall
The Fitbit Charge 5 is a solid fitness tracker that offers a good set of features for the price.
$149 at Amazon
Those who are shopping for a smartwatch-style fitness tracker consider buying Fitbit’s Sense 2. We’ve also highlighted the Galaxy Watch 5 and the Apple Watch Series 8 in this particular list for those who are leaning towards buying a full-fledged smartwatch that doubles up as a reliable activity tracker too. You can also stop by our best smartwatch guide in case you want to explore more options.
