11 Best Fitness Trackers (Top Activity Bands)

By: Jenny Lynn | Date: May 19, 2021
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Fitness Trackers

The technology in fitness has been evolving, and you might see many fitness trackers in ads whenever you surf the internet. Since there are many choices, choosing the right fitness tracker is a big decision. I want to help you with your dilemmas in getting suitable fitness trackers, and that’s why I’m giving you the 11 best fitness trackers.

Getting the best fitness tracker will help motivate you to have healthier habits and enjoy your workouts and everyday life. You will monitor your walks, runs, and sleep, and some fitness tracker has a heart monitor where you can see if you are overworking yourself and need a sweet break.

Fitness trackers are a great tool that can help you make a significant change to your overall health. So to help you, I made you a list of the 11 best fitness trackers that you can get your hands on.

11 Best Fitness Trackers

Here are the 11 best fitness trackers that you need to know about.

FitBit Luxe Fitness and Wellness Tracker

Features

  • Built-In GPS
  • 24/7 Heart Rate Tracking
  • Made For Fitness
  • Sleep Tracking
  • Spotify Control
  • FitBit App

The FitBit Luxe Fitness and Wellness Tracker is similar to its predecessor but there is a difference between them. The new FitBit has a built-in GPS that makes it the best tracker because you can track your activities like walking and running without your phone's hassle. It also has a Fitbit Pay where you can use for contactless payments, and you can control your music playlist from Spotify.

FitBit Luxe Fitness and Wellness Tracker has an Active Zone Minutes feature that can measure activities that are based on recommendations from health organizations and professionals. The feature is a type of heart rate training that can help you spend time on workouts based on your capacities, such as fitness and age.

Garmin Vivosmart 4

Garmin 010-01995-10 Vivosmart 4, Activity and Fitness Tracker w/ Pulse Ox and Heart Rate Monitor, Black
$94.99
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Features

  • Safe for pool and shower use
  • New Pulse Ox Sensor
  • Body Battery Energy Monitoring
  • Up to 7 days of battery
  • Heart-rate Sensor
  • VO2 max
  • Smart notifications with vibration alerts
  • Can Reply To Texts (Preset messages for Android)
  • Stress Tracking

Garmin is best known for running watches, but the Garmin Vivosmart is more casual because you can use it for your everyday fitness. The tracker has a smaller screen, but it can still hold the best features for your fitness and workouts. It uses less power and has a monochrome display that is clear to navigate.

Garmin Vivosmart has a body battery feature that can let you know when is the best time for you to work out because it can sense how much energy you have. It would be best for people who are focused on their well-being and recovery of their body.

Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 7

Xiaomi Band 7 Pro Smartwatch with GPS, Health & Fitness Activity Tracker, 1.64 inch AMOLED Touch Display
$86.99
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Features

  • Health and Wellbeing Tools
  • Sleep Tracking
  • All-day tracking
  • Women’s Health and PAI Scoring System
  • Water-Resistant

Xiaomi has a line of fitness trackers, and the Smart Band 7 is the latest addition. It is affordable and is packed with features that you can expect from expensive fitness trackers. The tracker offers a pulse oximeter that can track your blood oxygen and even has a stress tracker.

The Smart Band 7 has a super bright screen with a responsive screen as it can respond to the lightest touch when it comes to the display. The drawback of this tracker is it doesn’t have a GPS tracking system when you run, walk and bike. You won’t be able to leave your phone when you go out for a run or walk.

Honor Band 6

Features:

  • Amoled Touch Display
  • Stylish Watch Faces
  • 24/7 Heart Monitor
  • Multiple Fitness Modes
  • Sleep Monitor
  • Up To 14 Days Battery Life

Honor Band 6 is a Huawei product, which also has a line of fitness trackers under its belt. The new tracker has improved features from its predecessor, the Honor Band 5 as it now has a colored touchscreen.

The fitness tracker has a sleep tracker to help you maximize your sleep and monitor your fitness and workouts. It is one of the most affordable trackers that you can find in the market today.

Garmin Venu 2

Garmin Venu 2, GPS Smartwatch with Advanced Health Monitoring and Fitness Features, Slate Bezel with Black Case and Silicone Band , 27.9 mm
$349.99
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03/12/2024 03:12 am GMT

Features

  • On the wrist health and wellness monitoring
  • Music ready without your phone
  • 20 preloaded sports app
  • Can plan workouts
  • Easy touch-free payment
  • 6 days of battery life

The Garmin Venu 2 is one of the company’s latest fitness trackers that has impressive features. It may fall into the expensive range of tracker but it gives you accurate and granular fitness data. The blood-oxygen monitoring and sleep tracking isn’t a new feature for Garmin’s trackers because they had all of these on their older models.

Garmin Venu 2 will be able to plan your workouts and give you options for fitness. It also has touch-free payment which is a big thumbs up when you don’t want the hassle of bringing your wallet while running. Best of all you can easily play your music and enjoy exercising without your phone.

Apple Watch SE

Features

  • Accelerometer
  • Gyro
  • Heart rate (3rd gen)
  • Barometer
  • Always-on altimeter,
  • Compass
  • SpO2
  • VO2max

If you are an Apple fan, you know that they release new watches and, to be honest to buy every watch they release. However, if you think you need to buy an Apple watch, it would be much better to buy the latest one.

The Apple Watch SE has quality features as it has blood-oxygen monitoring and can be integrated with Fitness+. They also have a streaming service to incorporate workouts to your phone, iPad, and Apple TV.

Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2

Samsung Galaxy Watch Active2 Bluetooth Smartwatch, Aluminum, 44mm, Black (SM-R820NZKCXAR) (Renewed)
$68.00
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03/12/2024 03:24 am GMT

Features

  • Light aluminum body
  • Heart rate monitor
  • Wireless power share support
  • GPS
  • Samsung Pay

The Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 is light and has a simple but attractive face. If you want a much more affordable smartwatch than the Apple watch, you should get this instead. It is dust and water-resistant and even has a built-in GPS. You will track your heart rate and give you a notification when you achieve your fitness goals. When it comes to charging, it has a power share feature and can support Spotify and Strava.

Fitbit Sense 2

Features

  • Easy to see the screen
  • Detailed sleep analysis
  • ECG
  • Built-in GPS
  • Google Assistant
  • Doubles as a smartwatch and fitness tracker

FitBit has many superb watches, and the FitBit Sense 2 is one of their advanced smartwatches that also serve as a fitness tracker. It has advanced health and wellness features, and it has an FDA-approve ECG sensor, and can also read your blood oxygen. The watch can also measure your electrodermal activity and skin temperature, awesome right?

Its fitness tracker features can work with android and iOs and has its built-in GPS, Alexa, and native app store.

Garmin Forerunner 245

Garmin Forerunner 245, GPS Running Smartwatch with Advanced Dynamics, Slate Gray
$209.99
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03/12/2024 03:33 am GMT

Features

  • Heart Monitoring
  • Garmin Coach
  • Running dynamics
  • Connect IQ store
  • 7 days battery life

Garmin has the best sports watches, and they proved it with their Garmin Forerunner 245. It is lightweight, suitable for running, has a built-in GPS and has a colorful screen that you’ll be able to see even in the bright sunlight. You will get to play music, and you don’t need to carry your phone to do so. It can also calculate your V02 max score and give your recovery advice to rest between runs and training. It’s battery life can last a long time.

Amazfit Band 5

Features

  • Sleep tracking
  • Built-in Alexa
  • 15-day battery life
  • OxygenBeats
  • PAI Health Assessment System
  • HD color display
  • Women’s Health Tracking
  • Water-resistant

The Amazfit Band 5 is one of the affordable smartwatches with fitness tracker features. It has fantastic features that include heart and stress monitoring as well as blood oxygen readings. You will track your sleep and have many features when it comes with 11 sports modes and 5 ATM.

The watch has a built-in Alexa, and its battery can last up to 15 days. It is a low proceed compared to other smartwatches, which offers double the price.

Fitbit Inspire 3

Features

  • 24/7 heart tracking
  • Activity tracking
  • Tools for better sleep
  • Free premium trial
  • 10-day battery life
  • Swimproof

If you are on a budget but wanted a fantastic fitness tracker, then the Fitbit Inspire 3 is perfect for you. If you heard about the Charge 3 then it's pretty similar to it but lower quality. It has the same OLED touchscreen display but smaller. You will be able to monitor your heart rate, have sleep and swim trackers too. One thing lacking in the fitness tracker is the GPS, but it can easily be linked to your phone.

How To Start?

Now that you know the 12 best fitness trackers, I’m sure you are anxious about getting started in choosing the best for you. If you are new to fitness trackers, you don’t need to worry because you can start on your mobile phone by using apps. Many fitness apps can count your steps and monitor some of your workouts.

You can use these apps for different activities, and you’ll get to be familiar with how fitness tracker works especially if you are a beginner. Knowing how it works will give you an idea, and you’ll get to know what kind of fitness tracker will be suitable and work best for your fitness lifestyle.

Fitness trackers are best if you run, bike, and even swim, but there are trackers that you still need to carry your phone to get more accurate information. So you need to get a fitness tracker that is convenient, easy to use, and have all the things you need.

How Much Should You Spend?

Now that you get to know the 11 best fitness trackers, you might be wondering how much you should spend on a fitness tracker.

As you can see, fitness tracker prices can range between $20 to $400 depending on the brand and its features. Some fitness trackers can work independently without your phone in hand, while others still need it. There are also fitness trackers built-in on smartwatches that make it more appealing, but the price can be too much.

If you buy a fitness tracker, you need to make sure that it has good features so you won’t regret buying an expensive one, especially if you only do a minimal fitness regime like walking. Make sure that you will be able to maximize the features so your money will be worth it.

It would be great to get a fitness tracker with excellent features for just $100 or below.

What Should You Look For?

Before buying a fitness tracker, I’m sure you are pretty confused about what are the features that it should have. You need to familiarize yourself with up-to-date features and, of course, what type will fit your lifestyle.

The best trackers would be the ones you can wear like a bracelet type or watches, so it will be hard to lose, unlike clip-ons that could easily get lost when you are running or accidentally drop it in the washer. However, watches and bracelets have drawbacks because some people get irritated in wearing it every day, especially when they sleep. So it will depend on your needs and preferences. There are fitness trackers that you can wear on your fingers like a ring that would be perfect when you are sleeping.

Let us get to know what are the features that you should look for in a fitness tracker.

Heart Monitoring

Heart monitoring is a good feature for a fitness tracker, but not every tracker has the same monitoring capabilities. Some people don't need heart monitors, and to be honest, it could make the fitness tracker expensive because of this feature.

Sleep Trackers

Sleep tracking is an essential feature of a fitness tracker, especially if you want to monitor your sleep. The watches or wrist band can be irritating to sleep with, but if you really want to manage your sleep, then its best to have this feature.

Sports Specific

Many fitness trackers focus on specific sports like swimming and running. Keep in mind that if you are into swimming, you have to make sure that your tracker is waterproof and can withstand water pressure. The best thing with specific sports features is monitoring your progress, whether it be swimming or running.

Ensure that you can touch the fitness tracker when your hands are wet or wearing gloves as it can affect how convenient the tracker is for you. So make sure that the fitness tracker can fit your sports.

Fitness Experience

If you are into fitness, you need your fitness tracker to have a fitness app that will let you track, monitor, and record your data. I’m sure you want every detail and information, so get a tracker that can do these. You will wish to the ultimate fitness experience that can help you with your goal.

Fitness trackers can give you a full-body analysis and even send it to your account to monitor your progress.

Fitness Tracker vs. Smartwatch

You might have observed that I included some smartwatches, and it might be confusing for you since the article is all about fitness trackers. As you can see, fitness trackers have some smartwatch capabilities and functions, and smartwatches have fitness features. So what’s the difference? Well, some have the best of both worlds.

Smartwatches are more expensive, and if you are the type that wants everything in a watch, then you should go for a smartwatch because you can maximize its features as it has messaging, music, fitness capabilities and its features are endless.

There are more specific types of fitness and features that are more inclined to your fitness for fitness trackers, like sleep tracking, heart monitoring, and even blood oxygen levels. They are lighter too to wear during your runs, swimming, and even when you are sleeping.

Final Thoughts

There are so many fantastic fitness trackers in the market today, and it is pretty hard to make a list that can feature them all. That's why I just made the 12 best fitness trackers that can tick all your boxes regarding fitness.

I hope these 11 best fitness trackers will help you find the perfect buddy for your workouts and exercise regime that will suit your fitness lifestyle.

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