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Some fitness trackers can be costly, but a few less expensive options have many of the same features. Many trackers, for example, measure calorie expenditure and heart rate, and offer reminders to get up and move around.
This article explains how fitness trackers may benefit health and lists some budget trackers that a person might consider.
A quick look at the best cheap fitness trackers
- Best fitness tracker for every day health: Fitbit Inspire 2
- Best fitness tracker for personalized activity goals: Garmin vívosmart
- Best fitness tracker for athletes: Coros Pace 2
- Best affordable fitness tracker: Wyze Watch 47c
- Best fitness tracker for children: Fitbit Ace 2
- Best fitness tracker for blood oxygen data: Amazfit Bip
- Best fitness tracker for swimmers: Huawei Band 3 Pro
Medical News Today includes reputable, well-received apps, and with a range of price points and features.
Additionally, MNT looks at some of the following:
- Health claims: MNT includes companies that make no questionable health claims.
- Trust: MNT includes companies that operate transparently regarding their products, services, and leadership. Also, those companies have certifications from reputable, third-party organizations where relevant.
- Business standards: MNT will choose companies that follow safe and ethical business and marketing practices.
- Reputation: MNT will choose companies with no warnings from governing bodies, unresolved lawsuits, and positive standings with the Better Business Bureau (BBB).
Please note that the writer of this article has not tried these products. All information is purely research based and was correct at the time of publication.
Best for tracking everyday health: Fitbit Inspire 2
- Battery life: Up to 10 days.
- Water resistance: Up to 50 meters.
- Fitbit Premium membership: Optional, $13.98 per month.
- Tracker price: $168.
Fitbit is a health and fitness company, and its stated mission is to inspire people to live more healthily and be more active.
It says that the Fitbit Inspire 2 can track activity and sleep levels, calories burned, and heart and breathing rates. A person can log their food intake and make use of guided breathing sessions, as well as more than 20 exercise modes, including swimming.
A person can check their daily readiness score, which shows whether they are ready to work out or should take time to recover.
The tracker also offers motivational tools and reminders, such as to stretch and take 250 steps every hour. A person receives recognition when they do this.
The Fitbit Inspire 2 can also track a person’s menstrual cycle and allows them to report symptoms.
The band is water resistant for up to 50 meters and has a battery life of up to 10 days.
A customer receives a free 12-month Fitbit Premium membership, which otherwise costs $13.98 per month. Fitbit Premium allows people to view more in-depth fitness and health metrics, such as a snore score.
The Fitbit Inspire 2 has a list price of $99.95.
Best for personalized activity goals: Garmin vívosmart
- Best for: Personalized activity goals.
- Battery life: Up to 7 days.
- Water resistance: Up to 50 meters.
- Tracker price: $129.99.
Garmin is a technology company that provides GPS navigation to the automotive, aviation, marine, outdoor, and fitness markets.
The Garmin vívosmart fitness tracker displays measures of activity such as step count, calories burned, and distance. It vibrates every hour to alert the user to move, and after a few minutes of walking, the inactivity timer resets.
To promote engagement, the tracker assesses a person’s current activity level, then assigns them a personalized daily goal. It adjusts the goal after the user reaches certain activity milestones.
The Garmin Connect app uploads activity information automatically and awards users with virtual badges. People can also track their progress on the app. The tracker connects to bike speed sensors and heart rate monitors to provide additional data.
According to Garmin, a single charge can last for up to 7 days, and the tracker is water resistant for up to 50 meters.
The Garmin vívosmart fitness tracker costs $129.99.
Best for athletes: Coros Pace 2
- Battery life: Up to 20 days.
- Water resistance: Up to 50 meters.
- Tracker price: $199.99.
Coros is a performance sports technology company that aims to help athletes train to their best abilities. It markets its products to people who enjoy the outdoors and lead active lives.
The Coros Pace 2 is a GPS sports watch inspired by Olympian athletes. It provides the user with power metrics, training analysis, and recovery recommendations to help them optimize their workouts and training.
Features include interval, structured, and strength training, as well as heart rate monitoring and sleep analysis.
The battery can last for up to 20 days with regular use, or up to 60 hours in GPS mode. The tracker is water resistant for up to 50 meters.
The Coros Pace 2 costs $199.99.
Best affordable fitness tracker: Wyze Watch 47c
- Battery life: Up to 9 days.
- Water resistance: Up to 2 meters for 30 minutes.
- Tracker price: $29.99.
Wyze is a smart technology company that aims to sell affordable homeware and wearables.
The Wyze Watch 47c is one of the most affordable fitness trackers available online. It monitors heart rate and steps, as well as sleep duration, depth, and position.
The battery can last up to 9 days and becomes fully charged in 2.5 hours.
This product has an IP of 68 and is water resistant for up to 2 meters for 30 minutes.
The Wyz Watch 47c costs $29.99.
Best for kids: Fitbit Ace 2
- Battery life: Up to 5 days.
- Water resistance: Swim-proof.
- Tracker price: $69.95.
The Fitbit Ace 2 is suitable for children aged 6 and over. It aims to encourage children and their families to build regular exercise into their days.
The tracker automatically sets a daily activity goal of 60 minutes and sends regular reminders to move during the day. It also has virtual badges, trophies, and fun challenges.
The Fitbit Ace 2 is highly customizable, with a variety of watch faces, bands, avatars, and cover photos.
Adults can set it up with a family account, which allows them to see a child’s activity levels and approve connections that they make. A special kid’s view allows younger users to see their data and customize their trackers.
This product’s sleep tracker aims to help children develop healthy sleep habits with bedtime reminders and automatic sleep tracking.
It has a 5-day battery life and swim-proof design.
The Fitbit Ace 2 costs $69.95.
Best for blood oxygen data: Amazfit Bip U
- Battery life: Up to 9 days.
- Water resistance: Up to 50 meters.
- Tracker price: $59.99.
This fitness tracker measures blood oxygen levels to show the impact of workouts on the body. It also monitors heart rate and sleep phases and quality.
People can use it to track more than 60 types of exercise, including outdoor running, treadmill workouts, yoga, and baseball.
The tracker is water resistant for up to 50 meters and has a battery life of up to 9 days.
The Amazfit Bip U has a list price of $59.99.
Best for swimmers: Huawei Band 4 Pro
- Battery life: Up to 12 days.
- Water resistance: Up to 50 meters.
- Price: $79.99.
The Huawei Band 4 Pro may be suitable for people looking to improve their swimming technique.
This tracker uses artificial intelligence to track heart rate. It also provides average Swim Golf, or SWOLF, scores, which can indicate how efficient a person’s swimming technique is.
It has a battery life of up to 12 days and is water resistant for up to 50 meters.
The Huawei Band 4 Pro has a list price of $79.99.
Below, find an at-a-glance comparison of the less expensive trackers that we later describe in detail.
| Product | Battery life | Water resistance | Subscription cost | Tracker price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fitbit Inspire 2 | up to 10 days | up to 50 meters | $13.98 per month | $99.95 |
| Garmin vívosmart | up to 7 days | up to 50 meters | not available | $129.99 |
| Coros Pace 2 | up to 20 days | up to 50 meters | not available | $199.99 |
| Wyze Watch 47c | up to 9 days | up to 2 meters for 30 minutes | not available | $29.99 |
| Fitbit Ace 2 | up to 5 days | swim-proof | not available | $69.95 |
| Amazfit Bip U | up to 9 days | up to 50 meters | not available | $59.99 |
| Huawei Band 4 Pro | up to 12 days | up to 50 meters | not available | $79.99 |
Fitness trackers measure activity levels, monitor health data, and have various motivational features.
However, these trackers cannot measure all body movements, so their capacities are limited.
Other
When shopping for a fitness tracker, a person might consider:
- The types of exercise tracked: Some only track exercises such as running and walking. Others measure activity levels from a wide range of sources, such as indoor and outdoor running, cycling, swimming, and basketball, as well as baseball and even climbing hills.
- Health insights: Most products show health metrics such as step count and calories burned. Others also track sleep quality, menstrual cycles, and body fat percentage, for example.
- Battery life: Most people prefer products that they have to charge infrequently. A person might consider whether they need a GPS function, because this can drain battery life.
- Water resistance: Products often indicate this with a rating in meters or an ingress protection (IP) code. This code has two digits, and a higher code indicates better resistance to water and protection against dust and dirt. This can be useful for people who swim or play outdoor sports.
- Price: Prices vary significantly. And some trackers link to fitness software that requires monthly subscription payments.
- Connectivity: If a person wants to sync their fitness data, they should look for a tracker that is compatible with their other devices, operating systems, and software. Some companies offer apps that sync this data.
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Fitness trackers show levels of physical activity and health metrics. They also have various motivational features.
Many different models are available, and some are very expensive. However, some less costly options have many of the same features.