Whether you’re an avid exerciser, a competitive goal-setter, or a health-minded individual, a fitness tracker can be a great investment. The best fitness trackers offer a fun and intuitive way to help you set goals and measure your progress. They can also help you keep track of other metrics, like sleep, readiness, body temperature, and more.According to Kira Jones, CPT, certified personal trainer and founder of Cacti Wellness Collective, the main benefit of wearing a fitness tracker is that you’re able to get tangible data about your fitness and overall health. “Knowledge is power,” she says, and if you’re looking to gain more knowledge about your daily activity and workouts, a high-quality fitness tracker can help. The key features to consider when purchasing a fitness tracker are accuracy and metrics—you want to choose a device that fits your activity level, lifestyle, and overall goals, Jones says. To find the best fitness trackers, we tested 16 of the most popular devices, using and evaluating them at home for over a month. We also had a certified personal trainer from our Review Board review this article for accuracy, including how to use a fitness tracker to collect and analyze your health and wellness metrics. Our Top Picks Best Overall: Best for Running: Best Low-Profile: Best for Training: Most Stylish: Best Battery Life: Best With GPS Tracking: Best for Sleep: Best Budget: Most Durable: In This Article Our Picks What to Look For How We Tested Our Experts Frequently Asked Questions Why Trust Verywell Fit Our Ratings Comfort 4.8/5 Ease of Use 4.7/5 Accuracy 5/5 Pros Very accurate Exercise-specific features Clear, straightforward display Cons Shorter battery life Limited iOS compatibility Battery Life: Up to 5 days | Water Resistance: Yes, up to 164 feet underwater | GPS: No | Our Overall Rating: 4.9/5 Best for a well-rounded view of your health and fitness with a fitness tracker that’s intuitive, comfortable, and accurate. Garmin’s Vivomove Sport Watch is our top overall pick for its accuracy, comfort, ease of use, and so much more. Whether we’re tracking our step count, calories burned, or time spent sleeping, we find the metrics to be spot on. The smart device doesn’t stop there. It also tracks blood oxygen saturation, stress levels, menstrual cycles, and more. It alerts you with reminders to relax, detects incidents during select activities, counts reps during gym sessions, and has running-, cycling-, and swimming-specific features. You can receive call, text, and calendar notifications directly on the watch, too. The watch is easy to set up and pair with the Garmin Connect app, where you can view all of your data and daily insights. We appreciate the app’s clear display of metrics that are easy to understand. Other notable features include the five-day battery life and water resistance rating of 5 atmospheres (ATM), meaning you can wear the device up to 164 feet underwater. Our Ratings Comfort 5/5 Ease of Use 4.8/5 Accuracy 4.9/5 Pros Lightweight Highly water-resistant Long battery life Cons Not as versatile Settings may be overwhelming to some Battery Life: Up to 14 days | Water Resistance: Yes, up to 164 feet underwater | GPS: Yes | Our Overall Rating: 4.9/5 Best if you’re a runner who supplements your runs with strength training, as it offers over 200 pre-programmed exercises for the upper body, lower body, core, and more. Coros’ Pace 2 GPS Sport Watch is one of the best running watches we’ve tested because it tracks your location, distance, pace, time, stride length, and more. We love that it’s accurate, no matter the type of run we track. It’s known for being one of the lightest GPS watches available, and we agree. It provides a post-workout muscle heatmap, so you can see which muscle groups you worked the hardest in a daily, weekly, or monthly view. Other helpful metrics include heart rate, sleep, and body temperature. The device also provides you with phone notifications and caller ID and connects to third-party apps like Strava, Apple Health, and more. And just like our best overall pick, Coros’ Pace 2 has a water resistance rating of 5 ATM, so it’s safe to wear for laps on the track and in the pool. But while our best overall pick only has a battery life of up to five days, this watch can last up to 14 days on a single charge. We rely on many of the watch's ample tracking capabilities to track our running progress—like steps, heart rate, calories burned, time, elevation, best mile, average pace, heart rate, stride length, and GPS. Our Ratings Comfort 5/5 Ease of Use 5/5 Accuracy 4.2/5 Pros Budget-friendly Lightweight Easy to use Cons Step counter is slightly sensitive Requires paid membership after free trial Battery Life: Up to 10 days | Water Resistance: Yes, up to 164 feet underwater | GPS: No | Our Overall Rating: 4.7/5 Best for beginners or those looking for a budget-friendly, low-profile fitness tracker that’s easy to use and comfortable. The Fitbit Inspire 3 is a winner for its ease of use, comfort, and overall value. It tracks distance, calories burned, heart rate, and other helpful statistics. In the Fitbit app, you can also view helpful wellness metrics like sleep and stress management scores, as well as participate in guided breathing sessions and workouts. While wearing the minimalist tracker, we receive irregular heart rate alerts and reminders to move, as well as call, text, and app notifications. The notifications come as near-silent vibrations that are enough to make us notice without disrupting our day. We also love the vibrating alarm that wakes us up during our most optimal sleep stage—it helps us feel more refreshed throughout the day. Our Ratings Comfort 4.8/5 Ease of Use 4.9/5 Accuracy 4.8/5 Pros Highly water resistant Unique recovery features Advanced sleep tracking Cons Nutrition statistics may not be as accurate Pricier than other options Battery Life: Up to 100 hours | Water Resistance: Yes, up to 333 feet underwater | GPS: Yes | Our Overall Rating: 4.6/5 With advanced metric tracking, this fitness tracker is best for anyone who trains intensively. Featuring performance and recovery tests, Polar’s Vantage V2 Smartwatch offers a unique way to track your training progress. If our heart rate isn’t super high during a workout, the heart rate tracking on this device helps us know that it’s time to ramp things up. The leg recovery test can also prompt us through three guided countermovement jumps to estimate our leg muscle recovery status. Throughout testing, we used this watch to track heart rate, steps, and calories burned. It provides accurate metrics during runs, strength training, and other activities. We also love how the device alerts you if you're training too much or not enough. It provides more than just numbers—it tells you which energy sources (carbs, proteins, or fats) were consumed during each workout. You’ll even get a daily sleep score to help determine how ready you are for the day. We really like that the sleep tracking feature gives us a better picture of how much time we spend in each stage of our sleep cycle each night. And we love that it’s waterproof up to 333 feet—double the ATM of our top overall pick. Our Ratings Comfort 4.5/5 Ease of Use 5/5 Accuracy 5/5 Pros Wide range of colors Delivers morning reports Very accurate Cons Limited iOS compatibility Limited activity tracking Battery Life: Up to 5 days | Water Resistance: Yes, up to 164 feet underwater | GPS: No | Our Overall Rating: 4.6/5 Best if style and functionality are equally important to you. Garmin's Lily Watch, like many other products on our list, measures steps, sleep, stress, and energy levels. We use it to set, track, and reach fitness goals. And we appreciate the pre-programmed workouts that encouraged us to change up our workout routines and try something new. What sets this wearable apart—besides its stylish design—is the morning report feature, which provides a summary of the weather outside, your energy level, step goals, menstrual cycle stage, and the first calendar event for each day. We also enjoy the built-in apps for yoga, cardio, walking, and mindful breathing—which have become a regular part of our routine. And just like our best overall pick, you can download the Garmin Connect app to view all of your health data and insights at a glance, which we find intuitive and easy to digest. We appreciate that the Lily Watch is easy to use, comfortable, and accurate in tracking your blood oxygen saturation, hydration, and more. At an average price compared to other fitness trackers on our list, we think this one’s a great choice for anyone who's looking to gain insight into their health—and look stylish while doing it. Our Ratings Comfort 4.2/5 Ease of Use 4.7/5 Accuracy 4.4/5 Pros Sleek design Highly water-resistant Comes with a carry case and extra band Cons Alarm may be too gentle for some Step counter is slightly sensitive Battery Life: Up to 30 days | Water Resistance: Yes, up to 164 feet underwater | GPS: Yes | Our Overall Rating: 4.3/5 Best for people who are on the go or frequent travelers, since it charges quickly and stays charged for up to 30 days. Withings’ Scanwatch is an easy-to-use, sleek, and reliable fitness tracker that boasts advanced health-tracking capabilities. We especially love that this watch sends us notifications to “unwind,” “take 100 steps,” and “go on a lunch walk.” You can also set the watch to wake you up at the most optimal time of your sleep cycle each morning—we found this feature easy to set up in the app. Like many others on our list, this wearable accurately tracks distance, heart rate, blood oxygen level, menstrual cycles, sleep, and more. We love that for each metric, you can find an explanation of what it is and why it's important on the compatible Withings Health Mate app. A water resistance rating of 5 ATM means that you can wear this tracker for laps in the pool or ocean up to 164 feet deep. We recognize that this isn’t our most budget-friendly pick, but for its high-quality design, impressive metric tracking, and long-lasting battery life, we think it’s worth the investment. Plus, your purchase includes a carrying case and a spare band. Our Ratings Comfort 5/5 Ease of Use 4.6/5 Accuracy 3.7/5 Pros Useful in-app metrics visualization Precise activity tracking Daily mood log Cons Calorie tracker isn’t very reliable Requires paid membership after free trial Battery Life: Up to 7 days | Water Resistance: Yes, up to 164 feet underwater | GPS: Yes | Our Overall Rating: 4.4/5 Best if you enjoy exercising outdoors without your phone, thanks to its built-in GPS that tracks distance and pace in real time. Fitbit’s Charge 5, the brand’s most advanced wearable, is a heavy-duty version of the Inspire 3. It allows you to run, hike, and ride phone-free, thanks to its built-in GPS. After a run, we can see our pace and heart rate zones at different points throughout our route laid out on a visual map in the Fitbit app. This feature is really unique and one that would be helpful if you’re training for a marathon or just really like to see visualizations of your metrics. We wear this wearable for various types of activities, like CrossFit and strength training sessions. We find that most metrics are precise, and this Fitbit doesn’t just stop at tracking fitness-related metrics. You can also view your sleep, stress, and readiness scores on the app to develop a better understanding of how to tackle each day. Just like the Inspire 3, Fitbit’s Charge 5 can wake you up with a soft vibration at the most optimal point in your sleep cycle, as well as deliver call, text, app, and calendar notifications from your phone. We also like that you can log your mood each day in the app. Our Ratings Comfort 4.8/5 Ease of Use 3.6/5 Accuracy 3.8/5 Pros Sleek design Easy to use Converts statistics into daily scores Cons Limited activity tracking Oura Gen3 Review: A Stylish Smart Ring To Help You Meet Your Wellness Goals Battery Life: Up to 7 days | Water Resistance: Yes, up to 328 feet underwater | GPS: No | Our Overall Rating: 4.1/5 Best if you want a holistic health overview with detailed sleep and menstrual cycle metrics. If tracking your sleep, readiness, and menstrual cycle is your top priority, Oura’s Ring Gen 3 is for you. This lightweight, stylish wearable uses tiny sensors to transmit helpful health data from your finger to your phone in a matter of seconds. It uses factors like total sleep time, efficiency, restfulness, and time spent in each sleep cycle to provide daily sleep and readiness scores in the Oura app, although you’ll need to pay extra per month for a membership. The ring also provides a daily activity score that’s created using your inactivity time, training frequency, and more. The Oura Ring Gen 3 is an investment but one worth making if you’re interested in in-depth sleep and menstrual cycle tracking. We love that it connects to Natural Cycles, an app that helps you cycle-sync your workouts by tracking each phase of your menstrual cycle. Our Ratings Comfort 3.7/5 Ease of Use 4.3/5 Accuracy 4.4/5 Pros Amazon Alexa is built in Charges quickly Over 120 sport modes Cons Doesn’t track workouts automatically Metrics aren't as in-depth Battery Life: Up to 18 days | Water Resistance: Yes, up to 164 feet underwater | GPS: No | Our Overall Rating: 4.1/5 Best for anyone who’s not used to wearing a fitness tracker because it's ultra-lightweight. Amazfit’s Band 7 is one of the best budget fitness trackers on the market because it’s less expensive, but still provides helpful health data. We especially love this band for its accurate sleep, stress, and fitness tracking. Unlike other picks on our list, this one also has Amazon Alexa built in, for setting alarms and completing other important tasks with your Amazfit hands-free. Despite its featherweight feel and streamlined look, the Amazfit has rather impressive features: alerts for abnormal heart rate, blood oxygen level, and stress, over 120 sport modes, an 18-day battery life, and more. We also love that you can set it to track your menstrual cycle and view your statistics from the easy-to-navigate Zepp app. Our Ratings Comfort 4/5 Ease of Use 4/5 Accuracy 5/5 Pros Detailed GPS tracking Long battery life Rugged design Cons Pricier than other options Limited iOS compatibility Battery Life: Up to 28 days | Water Resistance: Yes, up to 333 feet underwater | GPS: Yes | Overall Rating: 4.2/5 Best for skiers, hikers, swimmers, and other outdoor fitness enthusiasts, thanks to its durable construction and high-tech features. The third Garmin product on our list, the Garmin Instinct 2 combines all the features that we love about the Vivomove and Lily in one heavy-duty wearable. It tracks sleep, stress, menstrual cycles, fitness, and more. Whether we’re hiking, climbing, or running, the metrics provided by the watch and the Garmin Connect app are always spot-on. Although the Instinct 2 is packed with features, it still has GPS tracking and an intuitive interface that’s easy to use. With so many unique elements, like daily workout suggestions and compatibility with mobile apps like Starbucks, we think it’s well worth the money. Our Ratings Ease of Use 3.9/5 Comfort 5/5 Precision 5/5 Pros Very precise heart rate monitoring Bluetooth connectivity Comfortable to wear Cons Tricky setup process Heart rate zone alerts can be subtle Battery Life: 24 hours | Water Resistance: Yes, up to 9.8 feet underwater | GPS: No | Overall Rating: 4.7/5 Best for anyone who uses target heart rate zones during their workouts. We love that Scosche's Rhythm24 Armband Heart Rate Monitor is sensitive to both major and minor changes in our heart rate, even when we’re at rest. It has all the standard and well-loved features you want in a fitness tracker, with an emphasis on tracking your heart rate during your workout. This monitor keeps us updated on which of the five main heart rate zones we’re in during a workout. While we exercise, the monitor lights up in different colors depending on the heart rate zone we’re in. This helps us know how hard we’re pushing ourselves during a workout and whether we’re using our aerobic or anaerobic metabolism. Rather than resting on the wrist like a traditional smartwatch would, this pick is an armband, which means it sits on our forearm, just below our elbow. This makes the band comfortable and prevents it from bouncing up and down on our wrists like some traditional fitness trackers. The fitness tracker’s location is especially helpful for longer workouts or tough training sessions when a wristwatch may get in the way. Our Ratings Ease of Use 4.7/5 Comfort 3.7/5 Precision 4.8/5 Pros Can be worn around the chest, arm, or wrist Battery life lasts up to 6 months Easy to use Cons Not as comfortable as other options Battery Life: Up to 6 months | Water Resistance: Yes, up to 32 feet underwater | GPS: No | Overall Rating: 4.7/5 Best for someone who wants to wear their heart rate monitor in different ways for different workouts. MyZone's MZ-Switch Heart Rate Monitor is incredibly easy to use. We love how seamless it is to set up and to install the app. The tiny, pinky nail-sized device can be attached to different band types and placed on your arm, chest, or wrist. Versatile enough to wear during a variety of workouts, we like that it’s water resistant up to 32 feet—that’s just enough to withstand a sweaty workout or accidentally spilled water. Plus, you’ll get your heart rate data in real time, so you won’t have to wait till after your workout to check your stats. We also like that the device features five color-coded heart rate zones on its monitor that show you how much you are exerting yourself during a workout. This feature helps us keep motivated and push ourselves during workouts. What’s extra special about this fitness tracker is its ultra-long battery life that lasts up to six months, which means we don’t have to charge it much at all. Fitness trackers require long-term, daily use to adapt to your lifestyle and deliver the most accurate metrics. So instead of testing tech wearables for one day in The Verywell Testing Lab, we tested 16 fitness trackers at home over a one-month period. After the month, we rated each fitness tracker on a scale of 1 (would not recommend) to 5 (highly recommend) for ease of setup, comfort, ease of use, accuracy, and overall value. Here’s how we assess each attribute when testing fitness trackers: Before testing the fitness trackers, we first spoke to three experts to get their input on what key features we should look for in fitness trackers and the potential flaws we should be aware of when testing. We also asked each expert about specific fitness trackers they recommend and kept their input in mind when choosing which trackers to test. The professionals we spoke to include: According to McKenzie, we often prioritize doing the most instead of focusing on our physical and mental well-being. “Fitness trackers can help tilt the scales by providing prompts, like when we should be winding down for bed or if we’ve been sitting for too long during the workday,” she says. “And having information like this makes living a healthier lifestyle much more accessible.” If you've been using a fitness journal to track your overall health goals, a fitness tracker can help flesh out the details. During our test, we determined that all of our picks are accurate and high-performing. Garmin’s Vivomove Sport Hybrid Smartwatch came out on top because we find it to be the most accurate at tracking metrics during each activity, sleep cycle, and stressful day. While the most expensive trackers may last up to five years with no issues, those at lower price points may show signs of wear after around two years of use. Before replacing your current fitness tracker, see if there is an option to replace the battery, strap, or other broken parts if they become an issue. Neha Tandon is an experienced fitness writer and certified fitness instructor who is passionate about making great product recommendations. She enjoys staying up-to-date on the best products and has personally enjoyed tracking her sleep and menstrual cycle with her Oura Ring, which she has owned for over two years and continues to recommend to her friends.Best Overall
Garmin Vivomove Sport
Key Specs
Who It’s For
Why We Love It
Potential Flaws
Best for Running
COROS Pace 2
Key Specs
Who It’s For
Why We Love It
Potential Flaws
Best Low-Profile
Fitbit Inspire 3
Key Specs
Who It’s For
Why We Love It
Potential Flaws
Best for Training
Polar Vantage V2 Smartwatch
Key Specs
Who It’s For
Why We Love It
Potential Flaws
Most Stylish
Garmin Lily
Key Specs
Who It’s For
Why We Love It
Potential Flaws
Best Battery Life
Withings ScanWatch Hybrid Smartwatch
Key Specs
Who It’s For
Why We Love It
Potential Flaws
Best With GPS Tracking
Fitbit Charge 5
Key Specs
Who It’s For
Why We Love It
Potential Flaws
Best for Sleep
Oura Ring
Key Specs
Who It’s For
Why We Love It
Potential Flaws
Best Budget
Amazfit Band 7
Key Specs
Who It’s For
Why We Love It
Potential Flaws
Most Durable
Garmin Instinct 2
Key Specs
Who It’s For
Why We Love It
Potential Flaws
Best for Heart Rate Monitoring
Scosche Rhythm24 Waterproof Armband Heart Rate Monitor
Key Specs
Who It’s For
Why We Love It
Potential Flaws
Best Multi-Use
MyZone MZ-Switch Heart Rate Monitor
Key Specs
Who It’s For
Why We Love It
Potential Flaws
What to Look for When Shopping for Fitness Trackers
How We Tested the Fitness Trackers
Our Experts
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the benefits of using a fitness tracker?
Which fitness tracker is most accurate?
How long does a fitness tracker last?
Why Trust Verywell Fit
Low on Motivation? These Editor-Tested Fitness Trackers Will Give You the Push You Need (2024)
Top Articles
50 Thrilling Board Games that Start with V (2023) - Glean Games 🎲
The 9 best places to buy pet supplies online
Ice Spice Shouts Out Taylor's New Album 'The Tortured Poets Department"
How to Download iHeartRadio App on Various Devices?
Latest Posts
41 Best Gifts That Start With Letter V (2023 Edition)
12 VIBRANT Gifts that Start with V in 2022 - GiftsFor
Article information
Author: Annamae Dooley
Last Updated:
Views: 5963
Rating: 4.4 / 5 (65 voted)
Reviews: 80% of readers found this page helpful
Author information
Name: Annamae Dooley
Birthday: 2001-07-26
Address: 9687 Tambra Meadow, Bradleyhaven, TN 53219
Phone: +9316045904039
Job: Future Coordinator
Hobby: Archery, Couponing, Poi, Kite flying, Knitting, Rappelling, Baseball
Introduction: My name is Annamae Dooley, I am a witty, quaint, lovely, clever, rich, sparkling, powerful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.