The 12 Best Fitness Trackers of 2024, Tested
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.
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.
Best Overall
Garmin Vivomove Sport
Garmin
View On Amazon
$178
View On Garmin.com
View On Tractor Supply Co.
$180
Our Ratings
Pros
Very accurate
Exercise-specific features
Clear, straightforward display
Cons
Shorter battery life
Limited iOS compatibility
Key Specs
Battery Life: Up to 5 days | Water Resistance: Yes, up to 164 feet underwater | GPS: No | Our Overall Rating: 4.9/5
Who It’s For
Best for a well-rounded view of your health and fitness with a fitness tracker that’s intuitive, comfortable, and accurate.
Why We Love It
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.
Potential Flaws
- Other picks on our list can hold a charge for longer and have a higher ATM rating.
- You can’t respond to text messages from the watch unless you have an Android phone.
-
Verywell Fit / Tammy Gardini
-
Verywell Fit / Tammy Gardini
Best for Running
COROS Pace 2
Amazon
View On Amazon
$199
View On REI
$179
View On Coros.com
$199
Our Ratings
Pros
Lightweight
Highly water-resistant
Long battery life
Cons
Not as versatile
Settings may be overwhelming to some
Key Specs
Battery Life: Up to 20 days | Water Resistance: Yes, up to 164 feet underwater | GPS: Yes | Our Overall Rating: 4.9/5
Who It’s For
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.
Why We Love It
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 20 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.
Potential Flaws
- The features offered may not be the best for tracking exercises other than strength and running.
- The multitude of features and settings may be too overwhelming for some.
Verywell Fit / Holly Klamer
Best Low-Profile
Fitbit Inspire 3
Amazon
View On Amazon
$100
View On REI
$60
View On Kohls.com
$80
Our Ratings
Pros
Budget-friendly
Lightweight
Easy to use
Cons
Step counter is slightly sensitive
Requires paid membership after free trial
Key Specs
Battery Life: Up to 10 days | Water Resistance: Yes, up to 164 feet underwater | GPS: No | Our Overall Rating: 4.7/5
Who It’s For
Best for beginners or those looking for a budget-friendly, low-profile fitness tracker that’s easy to use and comfortable.
Why We Love It
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.
Potential Flaws
- We found the step counter to be slightly sensitive, logging steps during other activities like making the bed.
- After the free six-month Fitbit Premium membership, you’ll have to pay extra to access most key features, such as your daily readiness score, stress management score, and access to Fitbit's workouts on the app.
Verywell Fit / Sarah Felbin
Best for Training
Polar Vantage V2 Smartwatch
Amazon
View On Amazon
$422
View On Polar.com
Our Ratings
Pros
Highly water resistant
Unique recovery features
Advanced sleep tracking
Cons
Nutrition statistics may not be as accurate
Pricier than other options
Key Specs
Battery Life: Up to 100 hours | Water Resistance: Yes, up to 328 feet underwater | GPS: Yes | Our Overall Rating: 4.6/5
Who It’s For
With advanced metric tracking, this fitness tracker is best for anyone who trains intensively.
Why We Love It
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 328 feet—double the ATM of our top overall pick.
Potential Flaws
- According to our nutrition editor, the carb, protein, and fat consumption information may not be incredibly accurate—so take it with a grain of salt.
- If you’re not an athlete or training on a daily basis, we think you can save money and choose a more well-rounded tracker, like Garmin’s Vivomove Sport Hybrid Smartwatch.
-
Verywell Fit / Justin Javier
-
Verywell Fit / Christine Luff
-
Verywell Fit / Justin Javier
Most Stylish
Garmin Lily
Garmin
View On Amazon
$200
View On Walmart
$250
View On Garmin.com
Our Ratings
Pros
Wide range of colors
Delivers morning reports
Very accurate
Cons
Limited iOS compatibility
Limited activity tracking
Key Specs
Battery Life: Up to 5 days | Water Resistance: Yes, up to 164 feet underwater | GPS: No | Our Overall Rating: 4.6/5
Who It’s For
Best if style and functionality are equally important to you.
Why We Love It
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.
Potential Flaws
- Note that you can only respond to texts on the watch if you have an Android phone.
- Although the tracker tracks basic activities, it doesn’t have as in-depth activity tracking as other fitness trackers on our list.
-
Verywell Fit / Lily Moe
-
Verywell Fit / Lily Moe
Best Battery Life
Withings ScanWatch Hybrid Smartwatch
Amazon
View On Amazon
$313
View On Best Buy
$300
View On Withings.com
Our Ratings
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
Key Specs
Battery Life: Up to 30 days | Water Resistance: Yes, up to 164 feet underwater | GPS: Yes | Our Overall Rating: 4.3/5
Who It’s For
Best for people who are on the go or frequent travelers, since it charges quickly and stays charged for up to 30 days.
Why We Love It
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.
Potential Flaws
- The wake-up alarm is so gentle that, for deep sleepers, we recommend setting a louder backup alarm.
- During testing, we found that the step counter was sensitive, counting other movements as steps.
-
Verywell Fit / Abigail Moore
-
Verywell Fit / Christine Luff
Best With GPS Tracking
Featured content:How much gold is in a ring?
Fitbit Charge 5
Amazon
View On Amazon
$120
View On Walmart
$109
View On Fitbit.com
$150
Our Ratings
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
Key Specs
Battery Life: Up to 7 days | Water Resistance: Yes, up to 164 feet underwater | GPS: Yes | Our Overall Rating: 4.4/5
Who It’s For
Best if you enjoy exercising outdoors without your phone, thanks to its built-in GPS that tracks distance and pace in real time.
Why We Love It
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.
Potential Flaws
- Most metrics are precise, but the watch slightly overestimated the amount of calories burned when it comes to activities like running and walking.
- After the free six-month Fitbit Premium membership trial, you’ll have to pay extra to access most of the valuable tracking metrics.
-
Verywell Fit / Christine Luff
-
Verywell Fit / Michael Navarro
-
Verywell Fit / Michael Navarro
Best for Sleep
Oura Ring
Oura
View On Ouraring.com
$299
View On Best Buy
$299
Our Ratings
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
Key Specs
Battery Life: Up to 7 days | Water Resistance: Yes, up to 328 feet underwater | GPS: No | Our Overall Rating: 4.1/5
Who It’s For
Best if you want a holistic health overview with detailed sleep and menstrual cycle metrics.
Why We Love It
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.
Potential Flaws
- We found activity tracking was limited and inaccurate, providing the wrong time, distance, and calories during a walk and not recording any activity during Pilates or yoga. We think this tracker is best for readiness and sleep, not activity monitoring.
-
Verywell Fit / Michelle Parente
-
Verywell Fit / Michelle Parente
-
Verywell Fit / Michelle Parente
-
Verywell Fit / Michelle Parente
-
Verywell Fit / Michelle Parente
-
Verywell Fit / Michelle Parente
-
Verywell Fit / Michelle Parente
Best Budget
Amazfit Band 7
Amazfit
View On Amazon
$50
View On Walmart
$71
View On Amazfit.com
Our Ratings
Pros
Amazon Alexa is built in
Charges quickly
Over 120 sport modes
Cons
Doesn’t track workouts automatically
Metrics aren't as in-depth
Key Specs
Battery Life: Up to 18 days | Water Resistance: Yes, up to 164 feet underwater | GPS: No | Our Overall Rating: 4.1/5
Who It’s For
Best for anyone who’s not used to wearing a fitness tracker because it's ultra-lightweight.
Why We Love It
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.
Potential Flaws
- You have to press a button in order for it to record a workout.
- There are no additional in-depth health metrics, GPS capabilities, or recovery tracking.
-
Verywell Fit / Jeffrey Corona
-
Verywell Fit / Jeffrey Corona
Most Durable
Garmin Instinct 2
Garmin
View On Amazon
$229
View On Walmart
$300
View On REI
$300
Our Ratings
Pros
Detailed GPS tracking
Long battery life
Rugged design
Cons
Pricier than other options
Limited iOS compatibility
Key Specs
Battery Life: Up to 28 days | Water Resistance: Yes, up to 328 feet underwater | GPS: Yes | Overall Rating: 4.2/5
Who It’s For
Best for skiers, hikers, swimmers, and other outdoor fitness enthusiasts, thanks to its durable construction and high-tech features.
Why We Love It
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.
Potential Flaws
- It’s one of the higher-priced items on our list. We think it's worth it for very active individuals, but may not be necessary for beginner users.
- Like other Garmin sports watches on our list, you can only respond to texts on the watch if you have an Android phone.
Verywell Fit / Mathieu Jean-Lubin
Best for Heart Rate Monitoring
Scosche Rhythm24 Waterproof Armband Heart Rate Monitor
Amazon
View On Amazon
$50
View On Scosche.com
$100
Our Ratings
Pros
Very precise heart rate monitoring
Bluetooth connectivity
Comfortable to wear
Cons
Tricky setup process
Heart rate zone alerts can be subtle
Key Specs
Battery Life: 24 hours | Water Resistance: Yes, up to 5 feet underwater | GPS: No | Overall Rating: 4.7/5
Who It’s For
Best for anyone who uses target heart rate zones during their workouts.
Why We Love It
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.
Potential Flaws
- It took us three tries to connect this monitor to our phone’s Bluetooth, so we wish the user guide was easier to follow.
- The heart rate zone alerts change via subtle colors, so they are hard to notice if you’re wearing a long-sleeved shirt or not looking down at the monitor often.
-
Verywell Fit / Michal Hanover
-
Verywell Fit / Michal Hanover
-
Verywell Fit / Michal Hanover
Best Multi-Use
MyZone MZ-Switch Heart Rate Monitor
Perform Better
View On Myzone.org
Our Ratings
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
Key Specs
Battery Life: Up to 6 months | Water Resistance: Yes, up to 32 feet underwater | GPS: No | Overall Rating: 4.7/5
Who It’s For
Best for someone who wants to wear their heart rate monitor in different ways for different workouts.
Why We Love It
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.
Potential Flaws
- The heart rate monitor isn’t as comfortable as other options, and when worn on our wrist, we did find that it slipped a bit. But we got used to it after a few wears.
-
Verywell Fit / Stella Yu
-
Verywell Fit / Stella Yu
Like every piece of gear you wear on your body day in and day out, fitness trackers are incredibly personal. Sure, they have to be comfortable and attractive, but they also must fit your lifestyle, as well as when and how you like to work out. Do you bike, row, or do strength training? Do you run on trails for hours at a time, or do you just want a reminder to stand up every hour? Do you want to wear it on your wrist or on your finger or tuck it into your bra?
No matter what your needs are, there’s never been a better time to find a powerful, sophisticated tool that can help you optimize your workouts or jump-start your routine. We test dozens of fitness trackers every year to bring you these picks. Nothing you like here? Don’t forget to check out our Best Smartwatches, Best Sleep Trackers, or Best Heart Rate Monitors for more.
Updated February 2024: We added more information on Garmin Connect and the Apple Watch; added the Polar H10, the Coros Pace 3, the Ultrahuman Ring Air, and the Amazfit Balance; and updated links and pricing.
Special offer for Gear readers: Get WIRED for just $5 ($25 off). This includes unlimited access to WIRED.com, full Gear coverage, and subscriber-only newsletters. Subscriptions help fund the work we do every day.