10 Best fitness trackers to consider before buying a smartwatch

Smartwatch or fitness tracker? Here are 10 fitness trackers that deliver results.

The ability to track our workouts has become almost as important as doing them. If you don’t know how many steps you ran, how fast your heart rate is, or what kind of progress you’ve made, are you really exercising?

Enter the fitness tracker. Or do we mean a smartwatch? There is a difference, so before you go out and buy a smartwatch, you may want to check out these 10 trackers instead.

1| Fitbit Charge 5

Starting with something truly impressive, we have the Fitbit Charge 5. Straight off the bat, the biggest draws here are the incredibly sleek design and amazing battery life.

The Fitbit Charge 5 is, by far, the most aesthetically friendly fitness tracker you could ask for. The device fits snuggly on any wrist, is small and light enough to virtually go unnoticed, and is packed full of features. Expect a built-in GPS tracker, ECG monitor, swim tracking capability, and even mobile payment capability.

But there are some drawbacks. The Fitbit Charge 5 focuses on fitness functionality first, so there isn’t much in the way of music compatibility. Still, this affordable little tech wonder should be at the top of every serious fitness fanatic’s list.

2| Amazfit Band 5

Not as feature-packed as the Fitbit Charge 5 but more affordable by far, we have the Amazfit Band 5. There is no GPS tracking here, which is a fairly serious drawback. Instead, we have sleep tracking functionality. The battery life is outstanding with an estimated 15 days before recharges, though that’s primarily due to the lack of GPS.

There is also a blood oxygen reading feature, making this more of a general health assistant than workout coach. Either way, there’s more than enough here to make the Amazfit Band 5 an excellent purchase.

3| Fitbit Sense

If you’re comfortable with splurging on a fitness tracker, you’ll want the Fitbit Sense. Sporting virtually every feature under the sun, plus frankly being more functional than most smartwatches, it doesn’t get better than this.

It’s got sleep tracking, heart rate monitoring, GPS tracking, blood oxygen reading, and its music app compatible. The only major drawback is the low battery life of just 6 days.

4| Whoop 4.0

For those willing to sacrifice virtually all functionality in exchange for unmatched discretion; Whoop 4.0 is for you.

You’re likely to completely forget you’re wearing the Whoop 4.0, given its super comfortable canvas design. But this tracker has no screen, no buttons, and certainly no music compatibility. What it does offer is simplified uploading of data to a smartphone, though even that’s a bit sketchy. The information can be confusing, with the makers of the Whoop series assuming that users understand raw fitness data. Whoop is for fitness fanatics who know what they’re doing, aren’t concerned with bells and whistles, and simply want something to track fitness, and literally nothing else.

5| Oura Ring GEN 3

As impressively smart as it is aesthetically pleasing, the Oura Ring series is awesome—even Kim Kardashian thinks so. Worn as a ring rather than an armband, it works exactly as expected.

Though the trick here is that the Oura Ring is more of a general health tracker rather than a fitness tracker. The focus is on heart rate, sleep tracking, and blood oxygen reading. You can import fitness data c to the ring, but not via a particularly convenient system. Fitness tracking is set to be added in the next iteration.

6| Fitbit Versa 3

The Versa 3 is lauded as the best overall fitness tracker available, not only managing to be reasonably affordable but having virtually every possible feature.

What it doesn’t have is a heart rate monitor, which may be a deal breaker for some. But as a scaled-down, far cheaper version of the Apple Watch SE, it doesn’t get much better than this.

The Fitbit Versa 3 does push users to subscribe to the Fitbit Premium trial, however, which is a bit cheeky. Initially coming with a 30-day trial, a subscription fee will apply for those that want to keep advanced data processing functionality.

7| Huawei Band 3 Pro

With a touch screen, built-in GPS, heart rate monitor, and water resistance, the Huawei Band 3 Pro is a fitness gadget that’s a jack of all trades. Huawei has clearly tried to pack as much functionality as possible into the Band 3, making it an excellent choice.

Perhaps most interesting is the dynamic stamina tracker, which predicts how far you will go based on previous performance. The tech then automatically suggests when to slow your pace and when to push harder.

8| Amazfit Bip S

Some fitness trackers on this list push the limits of affordability, but the Amazfit Bip S is on the exact opposite spectrum.

It’s so affordable as to be a little suspicious, but make no mistake, this little tracker packs a lot of punch for the price. Most importantly, it has a built-in GPs, though it also comes with a heart rate monitor and music app compatibility. The sleep tracker is great too, especially if you want to monitor any changes to your sleep patterns. Best of all, the battery lasts for around 2 weeks.

9| Amazon Halo View

Although not as affordable as the Amazfit Bip S the Amazon Halo View is still well priced. The battery life is incredible, and the touchscreen is attractive. But there are going to be some drawbacks for the price.

The biggest sacrifice is the lack of GPS, which may be a deal breaker. Amazon also offers a free year membership to the Halo service, but subscription fees will apply after that initial year.

10| Letsfit Fitness Tracker

Last but not least we have the Letsfit Fitness Tracker. It's very well priced but is surprisingly functional. There’s an accurate pedometer, the battery lasts a week, and there’s swim tracking functionality too.

It certainly won’t compete with more expensive models. But for anyone looking for something that will keep track of workouts at a rock bottom price, this is the way to go.

Fit, Fab And Functional

Choosing a fitness tracker is a matter of functionality versus price. If you only need certain features, then splashing out on a smartwatch isn’t necessary. These top ten tick plenty of boxes, and there may well be one that does exactly what you want it to do.