Beyond Steps Advanced Features of Smartwatches and Fitness Trackers

We Found the Best Fitness Trackers After Monitoring Our Runs, Walks, and More

Whether youre 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 youre able to get tangible data about your fitness and overall health. Knowledge is power, she says, and if youre 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 metricsyou 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 Ratings

• Comfort

  4.8/5

• Ease of Use

  4.7/5

• Accuracy

  5/5

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 Its For

Best for a well-rounded view of your health and fitness with a fitness tracker thats intuitive, comfortable, and accurate.

Why We Love It

Garmins Vivomove Sport Watch is our top overall pick for its accuracy, comfort, ease of use, and so much more. Whether were tracking our step count, calories burned, or time spent sleeping, we find the metrics to be spot on. The smart device doesnt 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 apps 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 cant respond to text messages from the watch unless you have an Android phone.

Our Ratings

• Comfort

  5/5

• Ease of Use

  4.8/5

• Accuracy

  4.9/5

Pros

• Lightweight

• Highly water-resistant

• Long battery life

Key Specs

Battery Life: Up to 14 days | Water Resistance: Yes,up to 164 feet underwater | GPS: Yes | Our Overall Rating: 4.9/5

Who Its For

Best if youre a runner who supplements your runs with strength training, as it offers over200 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 weve tested because it tracks your location, distance, pace, time, stride length, and more. We love that its accurate, no matter the type of run we track. Its 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 its 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 progresslike 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.

Our Ratings

• Comfort

  5/5

• Ease of Use

  5/5

• Accuracy

  4.2/5

Pros

• Budget-friendly

• Lightweight

• Easy to use

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 Its For

Best for beginners or those looking for a budget-friendly, low-profile fitness tracker thats 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 stageit 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, youll 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.

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

Key Specs

Battery Life: Up to 100 hours | Water Resistance: Yes, up to 333 feet underwater | GPS: Yes | Our Overall Rating: 4.6/5

Who Its For

With advanced metric tracking, this fitness tracker is best for anyone who trains intensively.

Why We Love It

Featuring performance and recovery tests, Polars Vantage V2 Smartwatch offers a unique way to track your training progress. If our heart rate isnt super high during a workout, the heart rate tracking on this device helps us know that its 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 numbersit tells you which energy sources (carbs, proteins, or fats) were consumed during each workout. Youll 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 its waterproof up to 333 feetdouble 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 accurateso take it with a grain of salt.
• If youre not an athlete or training on a daily basis, we think you can save money and choose a more well-rounded tracker, like Garmins Vivomove Sport Hybrid Smartwatch.

Our Ratings

• Comfort

  4.5/5

• Ease of Use

  5/5

• Accuracy

  5/5

Pros

• Wide range of colors

• Delivers morning reports

• Very accurate

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 Its 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 apartbesides its stylish designis 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 breathingwhich 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 ones a great choice for anyone who's looking to gain insight into their healthand 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 doesnt have as in-depth activity tracking as other fitness trackers on our list.

Our Ratings

• Comfort

  4.2/5

• Ease of Use

  4.7/5

• Accuracy

  4.4/5

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 Its 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 morningwe 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 isnt our most budget-friendly pick, but for its high-quality design, impressive metric tracking, and long-lasting battery life, we think its 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.

Our Ratings

• Comfort

  5/5

• Ease of Use

  4.6/5

• Accuracy

  3.7/5

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 Its 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

Fitbits Charge 5, the brands 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 youre 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 doesnt 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, Fitbits 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, youll have to pay extra to access most of the valuable tracking metrics.

Our Ratings

• Comfort

  4.8/5

• Ease of Use

  3.6/5

• Accuracy

  3.8/5

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 Its 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, Ouras 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 liketotal sleep time, efficiency, restfulness, and time spent in each sleep cycle to provide daily sleep and readiness scores in the Oura app, although youll need to pay extra per month for a membership.

The ring also provides a daily activity score thats created using your inactivity time, training frequency, and more. The Oura Ring Gen 3 is an investment but one worth making if youre 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.

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

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 Its For

Best for anyone whos not used to wearing a fitness tracker because it's ultra-lightweight.

Why We Love It

Amazfits Band 7 is one of the best budget fitness trackers on the market because its 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.

Our Ratings

• Comfort

  4/5

• Ease of Use

  4/5

• Accuracy

  5/5

Pros

• Detailed GPS tracking

• Long battery life

• Rugged design

Key Specs

Battery Life: Up to 28 days | Water Resistance: Yes, up to 333 feet underwater | GPS: Yes | Overall Rating: 4.2/5

Who Its 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 were 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 thats easy to use. With so many unique elements, like daily workout suggestions and compatibility with mobile apps like Starbucks, we think its well worth the money.

Potential Flaws

• Its 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.

Our Ratings

• Ease of Use

  3.9/5

• Comfort

  5/5

• Precision

  5/5

Key Specs

Battery Life: 24 hours | Water Resistance: Yes, up to 9.8 feet underwater | GPS: No | Overall Rating: 4.7/5

Who Its 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 were 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 were in during a workout. While we exercise, the monitor lights up in different colors depending on the heart rate zone were in. This helps us know how hard were pushing ourselves during a workout and whether were 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 trackers 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 phones 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 youre wearing a long-sleeved shirt or not looking down at the monitor often.

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

Key Specs

Battery Life: Up to 6 months | Water Resistance: Yes,up to 32 feet underwater | GPS: No | Overall Rating: 4.7/5

Who Its 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 its water resistant up to 32 feetthats just enough to withstand a sweaty workout or accidentally spilled water. Plus, youll get your heart rate data in real time, so you wont 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. Whats extra special about this fitness tracker is its ultra-long battery life that lasts up to six months, which means we dont have to charge it much at all.

Potential Flaws

• The heart rate monitor isnt 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.

What to Look for When Shopping for Fitness Trackers

• Water Resistance: Fitness trackers that are water-resistant up to 50 meters (or 164 feet) are suitable for swimming pools, and those that are water-resistant up to 100 meters (or roughly 333 feet) are open-water-friendly, meaning you can wear them in the ocean.
• Battery Life: According to Neel Chokshi, MD, MBA, an associate professor of medicine and cardiology at the University of Pennsylvania, battery life can be one of the biggest factors when finding a good heart rate monitor. Many fitness trackers last between seven to 10 days on a full charge (but less than 24 hours if GPS features are activated). Others will last up to 30 days or more.
• Compatibility: Many high-tech fitness trackers are smartphone-compatible, which means you can get text, call, and app notifications delivered right to your wrist. Some will also let you stream music from your phone, and others will let you respond to calls and texts. If this feature is important to you, make sure the fitness tracker you use is compatible with your phonemany will only work with iOS or Android.
• Heart Rate Tracking: All of the fitness trackers on our list come with built-in heart rate sensors, which will monitor your heart rate continuously throughout the day. However, some budget-friendlier options on the market lack heart rate sensors. If heart rate tracking is important to you, be sure the fitness tracker youre eyeing has it.
• Metrics: The most important metrics to track will greatly depend on your fitness goals. Many people enjoy tracking steps, heart rate, and active minutes. If you are a runner, biker, or swimmer, you may also want to track distance and pace. Additionally, sleep time and quality are important metrics for many individuals.
• Price: If you want a tracker that provides you with basic datalike time spent in each sleep cycle or the number of steps each dayyou can opt for a budget-friendlier product. But if youre looking for advanced features such as safety alerts, vibrating alarms, and recovery status, youll want to invest in a higher-priced item.

How We Tested the Fitness Trackers

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. Heres how we assess each attribute when testing fitness trackers:

• Setup and Ease of Use: When the trackers first arrive, we assess how seamless the setup process is. Fitness trackers advertise different features, so we evaluate the metrics that each wearable tracks and select the ones that best fit multiple readers lifestyles. Then we note how easy it is to connect the device to any additional apps, like Apple Health, if applicable.
• Comfort: To accurately evaluate each fitness tracker, we wear it during a variety of workouts to gauge its level of comfort. We note if the strap or sensor feels secure and comfortable on our skin or clothing, also making sure to take notice if the fitness trackers band causes irritation or chafing. Its crucial that each fitness tracker is comfortable enough not to interfere with our workouts.
• Precision: If youre investing any amount of money in a fitness tracker, you obviously want to know that youre actually getting accurate data out of it. In addition to evaluating the trackers accuracy, we also note how quickly its monitor responds to changes in our heart rate (when were walking and start jogging, for example). If we have other means of tracking our heart rate and other metrics (like another fitness tracker, our phone, or a heart rate monitor), we compare the data from our other tracker to the device were testing. Outside of basic stats like steps and heart rate, we also note if our fitness tracker tracks other metrics for a more comprehensive health assessment.
• Value: We always test each fitness tracker without knowing its cost and only find out the price of the item at the very end of our testing period. This allows us to more accurately evaluate our thoughts on the value of each device. To give each device a value score, we think critically about whether wed buy the item for its current price, knowing the features and benefits it offers.

Our Experts

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:

• Kira Jones, CPT and founder of Cacti Wellness Collective based in New York City
• Noelle McKenzie, ACE-CPTand co-founder of Leading Edge Personal Trainers
• Neel Chokshi, MD, MBA, director of the Penn Center for Digital Cardiology and medical director of the Penn Sports Cardiology and Fitness Program

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the benefits of using a fitness tracker?

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 weve 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.

Which fitness tracker is most accurate?

During our test, we determined that all of our picks are accurate and high-performing. Garmins 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.

How long does a fitness tracker last?

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.

Why Trust Verywell Fit

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.