We've gathered the best models we've tested here to help you decide. Most fitness trackers also monitor how long you spend sleeping, and in each sleep stage. The Fitbit Charge 5 isn't quite perfect (we particularly miss the ability to control our Spotify playlist from our wrist during a workout), but it's a top-notch fitness tracker and well worth considering if you're starting to take your exercise seriously. Sign up for Lab Report to get the latest reviews and top product advice delivered right to your inbox. It's water-resistant to around 98 feet, so it's safe to wear in the shower or when swimming. The Oura membership also offers a library of about 50 guided meditations and breathing exercises, and daily personalized guidance to help you tailor your workouts. Though it lacks some lifestyle perks of some other models on this list, such as support for contactless payments and onboard music storage, the Apex delivers loads of data about your performance and actionable insights to help you improve your outdoor sports training. It tracks distance, elevation, heart rate, heart rate zone, pace, stride, time, and training effect. I'm PCMag's expert on fitness and smart home technology, and I've written more than 6,000 articles and reviews in the 10-plus years I've been here. If, however, you're getting into cycling or running, a device like the Fitbit Charge 5, with its built-in GPS module, would be a better choice to track your route and speed accurately. The Apple Watch SE lacks an always-on display and a few of the advanced health sensors from the Series 7, but otherwise delivers the same winning app, fitness, and safety features for $120 less. And don't forget about Fido. On the fitnessfront, it boasts more than 20 preloaded sports apps, guided workouts with form animations, and personalized training plans. Otherwise, this is one of the best fitness trackers around if you're looking for something slim and light. These have a lot of the utility of fitness trackers but also include more advanced training tools and features, such as onboard GPS and comprehensive running metrics. All your data is collected in the extremely user-friendly Fitbit app, where you can see patterns over time, set new targets and (if you subscribe to Fitbit Premium) find a whole library of video workouts to follow at home. We also like that the Series 7's automatic 20-second handwashing timer, which can keep you honest when scrubbing up. That means less scrolling, which is always a win in our books. Screen size and resolution are a consideration too. Keep an eye on your inbox! With so many excellent options on the market, which one is right for you? However, they usually cost a bit more as a result. Advanced fitness metrics including VO2 max, lactate threshold, and threshold pace, Excellent companion app helps you interpret data and offers training advice. It has a 10ATM rating, meaning it can withstand depths of 328 feet and is suitable for swimming and open water activities, but not for deep-water sports like scuba diving. Some dedicated sleep trackers attach to your mattress, but we haven't found them to offer an appreciable advantage over wrist-based trackers. We also found that its screen was sometimes a little laggy compared to higher-end devices, not responding quite so quickly to taps and swipes, but at this price, it's hard to complain. And for non-Apple recommendations in this category, see our list of the best smartwatches. The Fitbit Aria 2 sends your weight directly to your account, so you can't cheat the system by entering a lower number. The Fitbit Charge 5 is a fitness tracker built with gym-goers in mind. Inconsistent heart rate readings in testing, Band can accidentally separate from tracker. Its excellent companion app (available to Android and iOS) offers useful guidance and tools to help improve your health and fitness. It tracks the basics to help children develop a positive relationship with health and fitness. What you really miss out from the main Venu is that more impressive AMOLED display, animated workouts to follow on the watch and an altimeter to track your elevation. There's never been a better selection of fitness trackers available, but with choice comes confusion. Other times you might want to push it higher for different health benefits, like building stamina. When you wear the watch to bed and place a compatible smartphone on your nightstand, they can work together to listen for snoring and even record it. The app membership also gives you access to more than 600 healthy recipes, which you can filter by eating style (classic, clean eating, ketogenic-friendly, Mediterranean, Nordic, Paleo-friendly, vegan, or vegetarian). It also supports Emergency SOS and international emergency calling, plus can automatically seek help if it detects a hard fall. The Samsung Galaxy Watch4 series is best for Android users in the market for a feature-rich smartwatch with cutting-edge fitness and health tracking tools. This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. They're more convenient than chest straps and give you a picture of your heart rate 24/7. How you control the tracker is also important. If you already have a favorite watch that you don't want to stop wearing, the Oura smart ring is a good alternative and is so light and compact you'll forget you're even wearing it. With a new three-in-one BioActive Sensor, the Watch4 series can not only read your heart rate and take an electrocardiogram (ECG) but also assess your body composition using a process called bioelectric impedance analysis (BIA, the same technology found in smart scales). The Ace 2 is our favorite fitness tracker for children. Adults aren't the only ones who need to move more to stay healthy. On the safety front, the Charge 5 can alert you if your heart rate is unusually high or low. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). There are also trackers for children, like the Fitbit Ace 2. The Oura's ability to track workouts is pretty basic compared with a wrist-worn model, but it offers comprehensive sleep tracking and is more comfortable to wear to bed than a watch or wristband, making it an intriguing alternative. The Samsung Galaxy Watch4 is the best Android-compatible smartwatch for the price, offering the same specs and features as the Classic model for $100 less. It boasts onboard GPS so you can track walks, runs and bike rides without carrying your phone and start monitoring them automatically when it detects that you're on the move. With an always-on color touch screen, a sleeker design, and new health tracking features, the Charge 5 is a significant upgrade over the previous model and Fitbit's best fitness tracker yet. New York, Swimmers who want a waterproof tracker need to keep in mind that not all water-safe trackers actually track swimming. Onboard music storage and support for Bluetooth headphones. You also need to consider the display. It offers similar functionality to the Garmin Forerunner 735XT, but with better battery life and a more stylish design. On the design front, the Ignite 2 features stylish engravings on its metal bezel, a bright color touch screen, and accessory bands with Swarovski crystals (sold separately) for those who like a bit of bling. For fitness tracking, the Watch4 series supports 95 different workouts (everything from walking and running to archery and flying disc), and can automatically detect certain activities. Keep in mind that, similar to the Halo View, the Oura Generation 3 requires a membership (free for six months when you purchase the ring and $5.99 per month thereafter) to access all your health metrics. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You will receive a verification email shortly. Bracelets and watches are typically hard to lose. The Fitbit Luxe is our number one fitness tracker thanks to its excellent health monitoring tools, stylish design, and the strength of the fantastic Fitbit app that works alongside it. On top of that, the tracker is easy to use and offers excellent battery life. The main benefit of a wrist-based heart rate tracker is that you can comfortably wear it all day long. Wrist-based body fat and composition measurements, More third-party apps than previous Samsung watches, Third-party app selection still trails Apple's watchOS. It supports the following exercise shortcuts: bike, bootcamp, circuit training, elliptical, golf, hike, interval workout, kickboxing, martial arts, outdoor workout, pilates, run, spinning, stairclimber, swim, tennis, treadmill, walk, weights, workout (a general-purpose tracking mode), and yoga. Although it is from 2019, the Ace 2 is still an excellent fitness tracker for kids ages six and up. Most trackers are worn on the wrist, though there are also clip-ons and fitness-tracking rings. If you need some motivation to get active, but don't want to spend big bucks on a fitness tracker you're not sure you will stick with, the Amazon Halo View is worth a look. It features a bright, colorful 1.58-inch AMOLED display, an aluminum case, and a workout-friendly silicone strap. If you sometimes struggle to make your data on small screens, the OLED technology used here makes a world of difference. The Fitbit app offers plenty of post-workout data, including intensity maps showing your pace and heart rate zones throughout your route. The Coros Apex multisport GPS watch lasts up to 24 days with normal useit offers the longest battery life of any model on this list, by far. Moreover, if you're new to fitness or don't see yourself tracking outdoor runs, bike rides, or hikes, consider a more affordable wearable without a built-in GPS. Two words: Battery life. For well under $100, Amazon's Halo View health tracker is an excellent tool to help-kick start your fitness journey. The third-generation model offers all the excellent fitness and health features that have made the Versa line a favorite of ours for years, including 24/7 heart rate monitoring, guided breathing exercises, and automatic exercise recognition. PCMag Digital Group. For comparison, the optical heart rate sensors in wrist-based fitness trackers calculate your heart rate by shining light into your skin and measuring blood flow. More serious cyclists should opt for a device that pairs with additional bike equipment, like a cadence sensor, and should consider devices from sport-specific companies, like Garmin and Polar. The watch also tracks your sleep duration, stages (awake, light, deep, and REM), and overnight SpO2.