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Choosing the best Fitbit could help you better achieve your fitness goals by tracking your steps, heart rate, and sleep patterns. Our evaluation focused on battery life, durability (e.g. waterproofing), tracking capabilities, screen size, and the number of smart features. We also explored auxiliary features such as a heart rate monitor and automatic workout detection, Alexa-compatibility, and built-in GPS to better track running activities.
After more than 26 hours of research and testing, one of the best fitness trackers available on the market and our top pick goes to the Fitbit Charge 4. It delivers an impressive array of features, including a list leading 7-day battery life, tracking for more than 15 exercise modes, and call and text alerts sync from your smartphone. Keep reading to learn more about the Fitbit Charge 4 and five others that made the grade.
Award: TOP PICK
WHY WE LIKE IT: This is the best fitness tracker, featuring a 7-day battery life and built-in GPS. It is a great choice for the serious fitness buff looking for distance-based health and performance stats without needing to connect to your phone.
This best Fitbit for men and women comes with 15+ exercise modes, which deliver real-time stats based on goals you choose. it works with all of the major activities, such as yoga, swimming, and running. Like previous Fitbit Charge devices, this modelThis works very well with a built-in GPS, which means distance traveled. Call & text alerts synced from your smartphone also appear to prevent having to toggle between two devices at the same time. Additionally, it provides sleep statistics, allowing users to record the amount of time spent in different sleep stages.
Big bonus points for its fantastic battery life! The Charge 4 features 7-day battery life, which is tied with the #5 pick Fitbit Alta HR for the longest run time. It is also very durable, withstanding water depths of up to 50 meters, making it a perfect companion for swimming and boating. If you already have an Android phone, try to pair it with the best Android smartwatch.
Award: HONORABLE MENTION
WHY WE LIKE IT: This budget Fitbit comes with a lightweight slim profile, making it great for people who want to prioritize sleep tracking.
Like our #1 pick Fitbit Charge 3, the Fitbit Inspire HR comes loaded with 15 exercise modes with preset goals and step, distance, heart rate, and calorie tracking. We really like its 24/7 heart rate feature, which allows users to track heart rate zones to make sure each exercise is performed to a max effort. Its sleep tracking is also robust, measuring time spent in light, deep, and REM sleep by merging movement data and heart rate. A generously sized 1.45-inch screen is only second to the Fitbit Versa 2 (1.6 inches)
This Fitbit is best used as a step counter and a sleep monitor. It doesn’t have the frills of our #1 pick Charge 3, such as built-in GPS, a large display. However, it more than makes up for it with an excellent 5-day battery life and lightweight build. If you want to make sure you aren’t overexerting yourself during your workout, check out the best heart rate monitor.
Award: BEST SMARTWATCH
WHY WE LIKE IT: This Fitbit comes with the largest screen on our list (1.6 inches) with an AMOLED display. It is a great choice for people who prefer improved readability and smartwatch functions such as Fitbit Pay and call/text notifications.
This Fitbit is configured to provide all of the popular health and exercise tracking options, including heart rate monitoring, step counting, and burned calories. Activity trackers record all of your vital stats while performing exercises with an option to pipe in video workouts with a subscription to Fitbit Premium, along with guided breathing sessions. This makes it a winner in our book.
Kudos for its large 1.6-inch AMOLED display, which is easier to read compared to our #4 pick Ionic’s LCD display. Thanks to this Fitbit’s Amazon Alexa compatibility, it is also able to control smart home devices. Give it a quick voice command to pull up the weather or turn on the lights. The Versa 2 uses a WiFi connection that also downloads and runs apps, which is a lot quicker than a Bluetooth connection. Email and call notifications are also piped to your wrist, avoiding the need to pull out your phone. Overall, this in the running as the best smartwatch on the market.
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Award: BEST FOR RUNNERS
WHY WE LIKE IT: This is the best Fitbit running watch thanks to built-in GPS and an automatic run detect feature that automatically starts when you start.
We love this Fitbit’s run detect feature, which automatically collects stats after 2 minutes of running. Its built-in GPS kicks in and logs your map data, unlike our first four picks which need to be paired to a phone’s GPS. Other sensors include heart rate and sleep tracking, which can accurately detect sleep and wake times to give you a better overall picture of your health. It is also water-proof down to 50m.
Like the Versa, this Fitbit has a lot of smartwatch functions. An integrated App Gallery includes weather, Nest, Spotify, and other popular third-party apps. It also includes 2.5GB of storage space, which is good for roughly 250 songs. Although its app capability is solid, its touchscreen can be quirky from time to time with the occasional non-responsive button. However, this did not distract enough to notice too much. If this Fitbit doesn’t seem right for you, compare this with the best running watches.
Award: BEST FOR BEGINNERS
WHY WE LIKE IT: This Fitbit is a basic version of the Versa, minus music storage, WiFi connection, and on-screen video. It is a great choice for beginners who are OK with a smaller smaller screen (1.34-inch) than the Versa 2 (1.6 inches)
Read Full Review: Fitbit Versa Lite
Like the Versa, this Fitbit is designed more as a smartwatch than a pure fitness tracker. In addition to your standard fare (heart rate, step counting, and sleep tracking), it integrates smartphone call and email alerts. It also allows downloads of 500+ apps but does not offer music storage like the Versa does.
Like the #2 pick Inspire HR and the #7 pick Fitbit Ace 2, this Fitbit also comes with interchangeable straps and a multitude of fun colors including mulberry and marina blue. All in all it is a great starter’s smartwatch and fitness tracker to evaluate before considering any upgrades. This Fitbit will make your daily workout so easy, you’ll be setting your best exercise equipment to the side.
Award: BEST FOR KIDS
WHY WE LIKE IT: This Fitbit is the smallest on our list, featuring a flexible silicone band and swim-proof up to 50 m. It is a great choice for kids looking to become more active and track their activity.
We love this Fitbit’s milestone features, which award fun virtual badges when hitting fitness goals, such as a certain number of ‘active minutes’ or steps. Bands are easily swappable, coming in a wide range of fun colors including purple, teal, and red. Even its watch face is customizable with a set of animated characters “cheering on” various milestones.
Thanks to this Fitbit’s rubber casing and 50m-rated waterproofing, it can also withstand plenty of punishment kids are known to dish out. Battery life is also good for up to 5 days. We also like it for its large screen (0.72 inches) and grayscale OLED display which is very easy to read.
In determining the best Fitbit to buy, we explored battery life, durability, tracking capabilities, screen size, and the number of smart features. All of the Fitbits on this list carry a 5 to 7-day battery life after a 2-hour full charging time when using a standard USB outlet.
Durability is also important. We like the Versa’s and the Fitbit Charge 4’s 50m water resistance, which should hold it up well even with light scuba dives. The kid-oriented Fitbit Ace 2 has durable tear and wear-resistant rubber bands that should hold up well to regular wear and tear.
As for tracking capabilities, all Fitbits feature heart rate, step counting, and sleep monitoring as standard with the exception of the Ace 2 (step counting only).
Screen size is an important consideration. The largest and highest resolution screen belongs to the Versa 2 (1.6-inch AMOLED), which offers outstanding readability. Most Fitbits run in the 1.2 to 1.5-inch range, which is more than enough real estate for easy viewing.
Lastly, we are big fans of Alexa-compatible Fitbit devices like the Versa 2 which respond to voice commands. It is a neat alternative over using your standalone Echo device, where you have to be within earshot range.
Our health and wellness is the most important thing. So whether you use the best fitness tracker, or the best smartwatch and best exercise equipment, you need to count on these gadgets. You can count on all of our best electronics to help you.
We feel Fitbtis are definitely worth the money. It is a single device that can track your heart rate, calories burned, and steps taken, which is a great way to know how effective your workouts are. Plus, it helps hold yourself and others accountable by allowing you to compare stats with one another.
Fitbits last a long time. A battery charge is anywhere from 5 to 7 days based on usage. However, the lifespan of the Fitbit itself will vary depending on how you maintain it. Prolonged exposure to nature’s elements will always shorten the lifespan, but that applies to any product. That said, expect the tech lifecycle of Fitbits to be good for at least 2-3 years. Where upon you’ll likely want to upgrade anyway for device and feature compatibility.
We recommend the Fitbit Versa Lite, which focuses on only the essentials (heart rate tracking, calories burned, etc.) and does not include extra frills such as app and music storage and on-screen video. If you do not know which Fitbit is right for you, there are numerous Fitbit comparison charts or “Which Fitbit is Best for Me” quizzes online you can try, along with the Fitbit price.
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