From simple trackers to more sophisticated options that double up as a smartwatch, these are the best fitness trackers to buy in 2023.
Health is wealth. It’s a simple yet true mantra; nothing is more important than your personal health. But where to start? Fitness trackers are great tools to help you be the best version of yourself. Modern-day fitness trackers go beyond simply tracking your daily step count. Vital metrics like your heart rate, oxygen levels, sleep score, and even, in some cases, your stress levels are all tracked and accounted for to help you take the right steps toward a healthier you.
Think of your fitness tracker as your health accountability buddy, except it’s backed with data to help you improve your fitness. Finding the right fitness tracker for you doesn’t have to be difficult, either. While there is no shortage of options, I’ve curated a list of the best fitness trackers for every level — from those who are just getting into fitness to those looking to upgrade their current model. Below you’ll find everything affordable trackers and the best smartwatches, to a simple ring that you can wear if you’re not a watch person. There's something for everyone on this list.
The best tracker out there with a sleek form-factor.
The Fitbit Charge 5 is a solid fitness tracker that offers a good set of features for the price.
Fitbit's Charge lineup has been around for a while now, and they continue to dominate the U.S. market by offering a good set of features. The Charge 5 is currently one of the best and most affordable fitness trackers from Fitbit, and it comes with pretty much everything you expect from a basic fitness tracker. It has a simple yet elegant design, is available in a bunch of different colorways, and it also has the perfect size for most users. The housing of the tracker is made out of aluminum, glass, and resin, whereas the included band is made out of silicone.
The Fitbit Charge 5 sports a bright 1.04-inch (diagonal) touchscreen OLED display on the front that lets you interact with all the features the tracker offers. Inside the Charge 5, you get more than a few sensors and components. It packs an optical heart rate monitor, red and infrared sensors for oxygen saturation (SpO2) monitoring, a device temperature sensor to measure the skin temperature, multipurpose electrical sensors compatible with the ECG app & EDA Scan app, a 3-axis accelerometer, and more. Notably, you also get built-in GPS, GLONASS, and NFC support.
This particular fitness band also supports smart features like contactless payments, notifications, and more. The Charge 5 also has built-in memory to store up to seven days of detailed motion data, minute by minute. Additionally, it can also store daily totals for up to 30 days. The Charge 5 is also water-resistant, up to 50 meters, which is great. In the battery department, Fitbit says the Charge 5 can work for up to 7 days on a single charge. Your mileage may vary based on your usage, and I expect the battery life to dip further with features like Always-On display and SpO2 monitoring turned on.
All things considered, the Fitbit Charge 5 is a solid fitness tracker that offers a good set of features. It may not be the most affordable fitness tracker in this collection, but it gets the job done for a reasonable price.
An affordable tracker to start your fitness journey with
The Xiaomi Smart Band 7 is an affordable fitness tracker that does a good job of keeping track of steps, heart rate and sleep, with a large and vibrant screen too.
The Mi Smart Band 7 is one of the most popular options in Xiaomi's reliable line of fitness trackers. It made a debut in China by the name of Mi Band 7, but Xiaomi is referring to it as Mi Smart Band 7 in the international markets. It's available to purchase in the U.S. via Amazon for around $69. There's a lot to like about the Mi Smart Band 7, especially at this price. It lacks some high-end features, but it makes up for it with other features while keeping the price low.
In terms of the design, we're looking at a tiny oval-shaped device that's detachable from its band. The tracker itself measures just 12.2 mm in thickness and weighs 13g. This should give you an idea of how lightweight and comfortable it would be to wear it on a day-to-day basis. One of the best things about the Mi Band 7 is that it's very easy to buy replacement bands for the tracker. Xiaomi sells a lot of them, and you're bound to find a lot more from third-party vendors.
As for activity tracking, the Mi Band 7 supports all the essentials, including steps, workouts, sleep tracking, and more. It can also keep track of your blood oxygen levels and heart rate. The highlight of the Mi Band 7 is that it can also track menstruation cycles and breathing, which is great. The only real drawback is that the Mi Band 7 doesn't automatically detect workouts, meaning you'll have to log the exercise manually. However, the Mi Band 7 comes with a lot of workout modes, including cycling, yoga, fishing, and even parkour. You'll find the right workout, but you'll have to turn on tracking manually.
I suggest you read my colleague Ben Sin's Mi Band 7 review to learn more about this fitness tracker and get a good idea of what to expect from it before making a purchase decision.
Sleek and comfortable to wear
The Oura Ring Gen 3 is the most discreet fitness tracker you can buy right now. It's one of the most expensive trackers in this collection, but it also supports a long list of features for the price.
Even the smallest fitness bands on the market, including the Mi Band 7, aren't as discreet as the Oura Ring. Unlike the vast majority of fitness trackers that are worn on the wrist, the Oura Ring, as the name suggests, is a ring. It lacks a screen, and it doesn't push notifications, meaning it's less distracting compared to traditional fitness bands. But don't let its small form factor make you think of it any less because the Oura Ring is a very capable device that can track a lot of metrics to keep you in your best shape. I am only adding this as a bonus option because it's not for everyone. Coming in at $299, the Oura Ring Gen 3 is one of the most expensive trackers on this list, and it also demands a paid membership to offer the best support. Yes, you get six months of free membership with your purchase, but it's $6.99 per month after that, which definitely adds up as a significant cost for most people.
The highlight of this product is its form factor and design. The Oura Ring Gen 3 comes in four different colors — Silver, Black, Stealth, and Gold. It's made out of lightweight titanium, meaning it's quite durable. It's also lighter than a conventional ring, so you don't have to worry about taking it off frequently. Despite its relatively small form factor, the Oura Ring Gen 3 is said to last for up to 7 days on a single charge. It uses Bluetooth LE (Low-Energy) for its connectivity.
The Oura Ring also offers a long list of features to help you stay in your best shape. With its membership, you get access to things like guided meditations, educational content, and personalized insights into your well-being. You can also choose to ignore the membership, but without it, you'll only get access to the basic Oura Ring features like your Daily Readiness, Sleep, and Activity scores. Some premium features, including the Relaxation time and Period Prediction, are only available with the membership but leave I'll it up to you to decide while making a purchase decision.
An impressive fitness tracker with a big screen
Fitbit's Sense 2 is an impressive wearable that offers helpful insight into your health and activity levels. Its slim and lightweight enclosure makes it comfortable to wear for long periods. It also offers impressive battery life of up to six days. The performance is just 'OK,' and it lacks true smartwatch features that put the Sense 2 in a strange place among other wearables.
The Fitbit Sense 2 is my pick for the best smartwatch-style fitness tracker you can buy now. It's relatively new to the market and brings many new features over Fitbit's other activity trackers. It also brings a slew of noteworthy improvements over its predecessors, including an updated design, internals, and more. The Fitbit Sense 2 uses aluminum for its case instead of the stainless steel from the previous model. Its slim and lightweight enclosure makes it comfortable to wear for long periods too.
One of the best things about Fitbit Sense 2 is that it comes with a host of sensors to track various metrics, including heart rate, ECG, EDA, blood oxygen, temperature, and more. That makes it better than a lot of other options on the market, including Fitbit's own Versa trackers. The Versa 4 comes close to matching the overall experience, but it trades some of the features in exchange for a cheaper price tag.
The Fitbit Sense 2, in case you're wondering, comes with a vibrant 1.58-inch AMOLED screen that gets decently bright even under direct sunlight. The battery life of the Sense 2 is also pretty good, and it can last you for about three days on a single charge, even with all the health tracking features enabled. The Fitbit OS is clean and easy to get used to, but do keep in mind that you'll need a subscription to take advantage of many of the more advanced health and fitness features on the Sense 2. You can learn more about this particular smartwatch-style activity tracker in our Fitbit Sense 2 review.
A reliable and affordable rugged watch for fitness
The Amazfit T-Rex 2 is a good rugged smartwatch for those who have an active lifestyle. It offers reliable activity tracking and impressive battery life.
The Amazfit T-Rex 2 has been out for a while now, yet it remains a reliable smartwatch among all the newer options that are out there right now. I still use it as my primary smartwatch, and I must admit that it's been holding up very well. It still suffers from a lot of the software issues I mentioned in my review last year, but it's a capable smartwatch, offering a good bang for your buck. It's also frequently discounted now, and you can snag it for as little as $180.
The highlight of the Amazfit T-Rex 2, at least for me, is the battery life. It takes a while to top up using its proprietary charger with magnetic pins, but it easily lasts me two weeks on a single charge, which is quite impressive. I use it to track all the health metrics, and I also use it to track my cycling activity every day for about an hour or so. I also have the always-on display enabled at all times, which is great.
The watch enclosure itself looks and feels great in hand. It's a rugged smartwatch that comes with 10ATM water resistance and STD-MIL-810G certification, and it's also validated to withstand extreme temperatures and environmental conditions from 70-degree to all the way down to -40-degree temperatures. The 1.39-inch AMOLED panel on the front also looks great and is very responsive, so there are no complaints there, either.
A familiar and classic design with serious upgrades
The Galaxy Watch 6 brings some additional improvements to prior generations, including a wealth of health and fitness tracking features.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 is packed with sensors to help you stay in the know and on top of your health. You can expect heart rate, stress, sleep, and blood oxygen monitoring, but the newest feature will send you heart-rhythm notifications when the sensors detect irregular heartbeats. From a fitness level, there are over 90 exercises it can track. Let's say you decide to go for a swim but forget to track the exercise manually. The Watch 6 can recognize certain exercises and will automatically track them for you. Plus, it gathers insights for your workouts, such as duration, calories burned, and the distance you covered.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 is available in two different colors: graphite and silver. Even with the progression from the Watch 5 to Watch 6, the design stayed relatively the same, but you do get an upgrade in RAM, going to 2GB from 1.5GB. This results in better UI performance, especially when you're multitasking. There's also a bright and clear AMOLED display that looks fantastic, even when hit with direct sunlight.
Internally, the watch sees an upgrade from the previous generation Exynos W920 process to the W930. This results in an extra smooth user experience with no slowdowns, jumpiness, or shutters as you navigate through the watch’s menus. You can also expect about 40 hours (almost two full days) of battery life. Of course, this will vary depending on how you use the watch, like using the “always-on display” will lower battery life, for instance.
Samsung also released a more premium version of the Watch 6, dubbed the Watch 6 Classic, that features the return of the physical rotating bezel that XDA Editor, Chris Wedel, raved about in his review of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic. But if you don't want to spring for the classic, this is a great fitness tracker for Android users, especially if you want a smartwatch-style tracker.
iPhone users can't go with an Apple Watch, be it for fitness or daily use
The Apple Watch Series 8 is the latest smartwatch from Apple. It's not a huge change from the Series 7, but it offers fresh features like crash detection, a new temperature sensor, and more.
It's tough to put together a list of the best fitness trackers without including an Apple Watch. There's no denying that the Apple Watch stands among the best when it comes to health and fitness tracking, so including this smartwatch is just a no-brainer. The original version of this list included the Apple Watch Series 7, but I've replaced it with the relatively newer Series 8 model.
Apple Watch Series 8 isn't significantly different from the previous model, but it comes with a new skin temperature sensor that enables menstrual cycle tracking and allows you to get more accurate sleep data. These two features are crucial for a lot of users, which is why the new Apple Watch Series 8 has earned the top spot for iPhone users. Also new to the Apple Watch Series 8 is the company's new crash detection feature. This particular feature may not be worth the upgrade just by itself if you already have one of the new iPhones, but it's certainly one of the highlight features of the current Apple Watch.
As far as fitness tracking is concerned, the Apple Watch Series 8 has a ton of different workout modes, including running, cycling, walking, strength training, and more. You can also add new workouts in the Workouts app, and the Apple Watch Series 8 can automatically detect and track them for you when you're ready.
All things considered, the Apple Watch Series 8 is the default option for iPhone users that comes with all bells and whistles like a skin temperature sensor, crash detection, and more. The added skin temperature sensor and the crash detection feature may not be enough to warrant an upgrade to the Series 8 from the last-gen watch, but it's definitely worth considering if you're coming from an older one. Alternatively, you can also consider buying the Apple Watch Ultra, which is the company's new rugged smartwatch for athletes and advanced users. The Ultra model costs more than the Series 8 model, but it's also fitted with much-improved hardware and software features.
Best fitness watch with "unlimited battery life"
The Garmin Instinct 2 Solar is perfect for those who have an active lifestyle and spend a lot of time outdoors.
If you fancy a rugged smartwatch to keep track of health and activity, then you might want to consider Garmin's Instinct 2 Solar. The highlight of this particular smartwatch is that it comes with "never-ending battery life." As the name implies, the Garmin Instinct 2 Solar support solar charging, so those with an active lifestyle who spend a lot of time outdoors will hugely benefit from this watch.
In case you're wondering, the Instinct 2 Solar charges using a transparent "power glass" that covers the screen and the panels surrounding it. This glass, according to the company, can keep the Instinct 2 Solar topped up for essentially unlimited battery life, provided you spend at least three hours outdoors every day. If that sounds like something you can do, then you should consider picking it up.
One thing to note about this smartwatch is that it lacks a touchscreen. It instead offers a button-based interface which works very well. The watch, however, leaves no stones unturned when it comes to smart features. From notification pop-ups and workout tracking to GPS, heart-rate tracking, and more, you get support for pretty much everything with this smartwatch. It also handles activity tracking very well, and it syncs with the Garmin Connect companion app available for Android and iOS to give all the workout insights you need.
I'd like to point out that Garmin has also announced an updated version of this model called the Garmin Instinct 2X Solar. We're still in the process of reviewing that particular model, and the Instinct 2 Solar remains my pick in the meantime.
In terms of fitness tracking data at an affordable price, it's difficult to beat the Fitbit Charge 5. Its small form factor makes it non-intrusive and comfortable to wear while exercising (a bent wrist will errantly press buttons on my current fitness tracker watch when I exercise, and it’s annoying). It also has enough battery life to track all of your activities all day without a charge.
For those looking for a watch-style fitness tracker, for Android users, the Galaxy Watch 6 has advanced heart rate and rhythm sensors as well as over 90 exercises that can be tracked. For Apple users, the Apple Watch 8 features similar heart rate capabilities as well as crash detection, which can be helpful not only for traveling in a car but also if you take a spill during an activity like mountain biking. If you’re Android/Apple agnostic, then the Fitbit Sense is a great option. It’s more affordable than both Apple and Samsung options and has a fantastic suite of fitness features to help you achieve your fitness goals.
The Fitbit Charge 5 is a solid fitness tracker that offers a good set of features for the price.
An evergreen writer at XDA Developers serving up reviews, buying guides, deals, and more on smartphones that you care about. I have over six years of experience in covering smartphones and their companion products. Before joining XDA Developers, I was a senior reviewer at Digit, a popular tech magazine in India. I have an unhealthy relationship with gaming, so you’ll either find me yelling at my monitors while playing an online shooter or simply lounging with an open-world RPG in my free time.
