Fitness bands have blown up in popularity in the last 10 years, owing to greater awareness about health and fitness and the gamification brought about by wearables. Compared to full-featured smartwatches or minimalist smart rings, the best fitness bands offer a sweet middle ground for those who need a good balance between features and accuracy.
Fitbit Charge 6
Fitbit Inspire 3
Garmin Enduro 3
Samsung Galaxy Watch 7
Polar Pacer Pro
Our Criteria
Fitness bands share a lot of similarities in terms of basic activity tracking, health monitoring, and touchscreens. But there’s still plenty to set them apart. From the physical design choices and additional features, to differences in battery life and compatibility with other devices, choosing a fitness band comes down to choosing what works best with your lifestyle and preferences.
Design and Comfort
While they may look similar at first glance, fitness bands can differ a lot in size, weight, and display. The subtle differences in form factor will affect how comfortable the band is to wear every day.
FYI: need the most comfortable Apple Watch experience? These are the best breathable Apple Watch bands.
Battery Life
Battery life is one of the biggest factors when choosing a fitness band that you’ll use every day. You should ideally look for the longest battery life in your budget, along with bonuses, like fast charging.
Features and Accuracy
Besides the hygiene features, like step tracking, sleep tracking, heart rate monitoring, and smartphone notifications, you may want to prioritize water resistance, stress monitoring, menstrual tracking, or multi-device compatibility. Accuracy of all the fitness features is just as important as how many of them are crammed into your fitness band.
Platform Compatibility
You’ll want to ensure the fitness band you’re buying works flawlessly with your smartphone OS, whether it’s Android or iOS. Ideally, you should pick a platform-agnostic band unless you’re getting some benefits on a particular smartphone ecosystem.
Best Overall Pick: Fitbit Charge 6
Fitbit has been doing this since before many of us even knew what a smart band was. And the Fitbit Charge 6 is one of the most feature-packed offerings from the company. Striking the perfect balance between looks, functionality, and affordability, the Charge 6 allows you to monitor your heart and skin temperature, take ECGs, and track your sleep and other activities.
The software side of things is taken care of by Google, the new parent company of Fitibit. Google Maps, Google Wallet, and YouTube Music are now seamlessly integrated with the Charge 6. Being an advanced fitness tracker, water resistance and on-board GPS are a given.
The physical side button makes the Charge 6 satisfying to navigate, and the slim, comfortable design coupled with the AMOLED touchscreen makes it look more premium than it costs.
Tip: finicky battery on your Fitbit? Check out how to fix your Fitbit if it’s not charging.
Best Overall Value: Fitbit Inspire 3
The best fitness bands are becoming more affordable without skimping on features. The Fitbit Inspire 3 is a great example. For under $100, you get extensive battery (one of the best in the entire Fitbit lineup), always-on wellness tracking, sleep tracking, and of course, fitness tracking with over 20 exercise modes.
The small screen is surprisingly bright and easy to see, even in the sun. Plus, it’s super light weight, making it comfortable for daily wear. It’s even waterproof. While it doesn’t have quite as many features as our overall best pick, it’s still ideal for tracking fitness, sleep, and health.
If you’re not feeling inspired by your Inspire alone, try gamifying your workout.
Best Battery Life: Garmin Enduro 3
If battery life is critical, look no further than the Garmin Enduro 3. This fitness band is designed for endurance athletes who don’t have time to recharge their band every day. It’ll work for up to 90 days in smartwatch mode, which offers tracking for three hours of outdoor fitness for solar charging. Or, get up 13 days with GPS tracking turned on.
Since it charges in the sun as well, this further extends the battery per charge. It includes TopoActive maps for outdoor adventures. It’s made mainly for running, hiking, and biking and even guides you back home after you set your destination. You’ll even get targeted fitness plans to help you train for and get through your next race.
Best for Android: Samsung Galaxy Watch 7
Samsung’s watches are typically the best fitness bands for Android users, especially if you already have a Samsung phone. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 features everything you need to track your workouts, sleep, and overall wellness. It features AI to show you a daily energy score, so you know what type of workout your body is ready for.
Improved heart health tracking goes beyond just tracking your heart rate. This fitness band considers common body movements and filters those out to track your heart health in relation to your workout. Easily boost your workouts and sleep with reports and tips to reach your health goals faster.
If you’re not a Samsung fan, check out these other Android smartwatches that also include some fitness tracking. You can also try these health apps to stay healthier.
Best for Runners: Polar Pacer Pro
Is running your main activity? One of the best fitness bands for runners it the Polar Pacer Pro. It’s designed specifically for runners, from training to marathons. In training mode, it can keep track for up to 35 hours. In power saving mode, you get up to 100 hours of battery life. Easily track your pace, distance, time, and more.
Take advantage of training targets, adaptive tracking and intensity reminders, tailored running programs, and even a race time predictor based on all your training data. The lightweight design keeps it comfortable on long runs and the built-in GPS keeps track of where your run takes you.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a smart band and a smartwatch?
Functionally, smartwatches solve the same problem as smart bands, i.e., tracking fitness and health, staying connected, and controlling your smartphone. But they’re typically more advanced and offer additional features, like onboard music storage, built-in GPS and LTE connectivity, contactless payments, larger displays, and a bigger focus on being a fashion accessory rather than simply a fitness tracker. Check out the best deals on smartphones and fitness trackers this week.
Is a fitness band accurate?
Fitness bands are generally accurate at movement activities, such as walking, running, swimming, etc. But the accuracy dips with more advanced measurements, such as heart rate, blood oxygen, ECG, and more. In such cases, either high-end smart bands or smartwatches are more reliable.
How does a fitness band track sleep?
Fitness bands and smartwatches use a combination of sensors to measure sleep quality, such as accelerometers, gyroscopes, and heart rate sensors. By sensing your movements (or lack thereof) during the night, they can make an estimate of your sleep quality and provide a sleep score. This technique is called actigraphy and is believed to be prone to a high margin of error.
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