You know you want a fitness tracker but you’re not sure if you want to break the bank to find out it’s not for you. It’s true that there are several fitness trackers on the market at the high end there are plenty more that give a good combination
What’s the best budget fitness tracker out there in 2022? We are going to take a look at some of choices currently on the market and give you as much as we can about the good and bad to help you make the right choice for your budget.
When compiling this guide we had to make the decision about what is a budget fitness tracker. We decided that it was anything that fell below the $100 mark. This allows us to include a whole range of options from across the fitness tracker market including both the better and lesser known brands.
Best overall fitness tracker
- Best battery life: Amazfit Bip
- As ever with battery life it is so much dependent on the settings. However, if you choose them carefully you should be able to get somewhere in the region of 18-30 days from the Amazfit Bip before having to find your charge
- Best overall: Fitbit Inspire HR
- The Fitibit Inspire HR is the best overall budget fitness tracker. Whilst more expensive than some of the others the combination of swimming capable, 24/7 sleep tricking and the Fitbit community offers the best functions to value ratio.
- Best for fitness features: Huawei Band 4 Pro
- Best for swimming: Moov Now
- Moov Now is the best choice if you want to take your fitness tracker down the pool. Waterproof with the ability to track your number of laps and other swim related stats.
- Best for heart rate tracking: Wahoo TICKR FIT
- Wahoo TICKR FIT is not a wrist worn fitness tracker a heart rate monitor which goes around your arm and not your chest. One of its best uses is to link in with other exercise regimes such as Peloton.
- Best compact design; Garmin Vivosmart 4
- Small, plain and minimalist. Ideal if you’re looking for a fitness tracker that doesn’t stand out.
When looking at budget fitness trackers you are looking to get the best combination of features to price you can get to meet your fitness goals.
Naturally, compromises have to be made so you might end up in the situation where it’s great for swimming but doesn’t track steps or it has a built in GPS but no alarm. However, there is enough variety that you should find something that meets your requirements.
1. Amazfit Bip
The Amazfit Bip is a smart watch with the ability to keep track of your exercises such as running and walking. The device’s on board GPS allows you to track your run which you can sync to your smart phone to see your route. The watch itself is IP68 certified so fine with a bit of a splash but not suitable for the pool. You also get heart and sleep tracking amongst others and the slightly more esoteric Air Quality Index to tell you how clean your local air quality is
PROS
- Long battery life
- Built in GPS
- Stylish and good looking
- Compass
CONS
- Sleep tracking not the best
- Instructions are limited
- Number of exercises you can track is limited
- No facility to reply from texts directly from the watch
2. Fitbit Inspire HR
As you would expect from a Fitbit device the Fitbit Inspire HR has got all bases covered for fitness tracking. Waterproof so you can wear it in the pool it also has sleep and heart rate tracking, silent alarms and smart phone notifications. Automatic exercise recognition when coupled with the Fitbit app will allow you to do analysis of your sleep and exercise patterns and potentially use it to interface with other fitness apps you may use.
PROS
- Fitbit App
- Good display
- Can be used for swimming
CONS
- No tracking of floors climbed
- Charging cable can be hard to use
3. Garmin Vivosmart 4
The Garmin Vivosmart 4 is a very capable fitness tracker.
With its slimline design, ability to be taken for a swim, music control , smart phone notifications and the ability to pair up to other sensors it the Vivosmart 4 has a lot to commend it. It can even count the number of reps you performed as part of a weightlifting routine
PROS
- Fitbit App
- Good display
- Can be used for swimming
CONS
- No tracking of floors climbed
- Charging cable can be hard to use
4. Garmin Vivofit 4
The Vivofit benefits from a 1 year battery life so you won’t need to charge it every night. A good solid choice for a simple waterproof fitness tracker and the toe to toe challenge might be worth a go if you buy one for yourself and one for your child.
5. Honor Band 5
The Honor Band is actually a Huawei band which means it synchs effortlessly with Huawei Fit. A straightforward tracker where smartphone notifications are signified with vibrations. It has approximately 4-7 days of battery life, a good display and heart rate monitoring.
6. Huawei Band 4 Pro
The Huawei Band 4 Pro is a great combination of fitness tracking features and price. The lightweight device Offers the ability to track multiple activities including Outdoor run, Indoor Run, Outdoor Walk, Outdoor Cycle, Indoor Cycle, Pool Swim, Open water and Free training. Water resistant to 50 metres it has an onboard GPS and 6 axis motion sensors which can help track your swims and calculate a SWOLF score. You can even remote control the camera on Huawei mobile phones
PROS
- Smart wake up alarm
- Built in GPS
- Lightweight
- Swimproof with swimming features
CONS
- Touch screen could be more responsive
- Instructions are limited
- Number of exercises you can track is limited
- No facility to reply from texts directly from the watch
7. Letscomm Fitness Tracker
The No products found. is an ideal budget fitness tracker for a health conscious beginner or possibly even children. Basically, people who are new to the world of fitness tracking.
Although it has battery life of around 4-5 days the functionality is also very basic – it doesn’t track daily total calories burnt for example and the majority of the configuration has to be undertaken in the app.
PROS
- Easy to use
- Adjustable strap
- Large display
CONS
- Doesn’t track daily calories burnt
- Can be difficult to charge
- No stopwatch
8. Moov Now
The Moov Now is slightly unusual amongst fitness trackers in that it doesn’t have a screen and all your interactions are within the companion app. The lack of screen does give it a bit of an unwieldy look so it’s not the best choice if you want style. However, the upside is it uses a watch battery and the lack of screen means you get around 6 months of use before you need to change it.
It differs from other fitness trackers in that its real focus is not steps taken but active minutes. This is also coupled with more detailed analysis of your activity and even real time coaching. Using it for running with a pair of bluetooth headphones will allow you to get audio feedback from a coach offering feedback on better running styles and how to improve. Similar tracking is available for swimming and you can also wear it around your ankle for cycling.
PROS
- Good for swimming
- 6 month battery life
- Coaching functionality
CONS
- Older device
- Syncing data can take time
- No step tracking
- No heart rate monitoring
9. Wahoo TICKR FIT
Similar to the Moov Now the Wahoo TICKR Fit is not a fitness tracker in the strictest sense. We have included it here because it can be used to assist in tracking your fitness.
The TICKR fit is actually a heart rate monitor which is worn on your arm and not across your chest. It would be useful to measure calorie burn in exercises where your heart rate can be elevated but you don’t really take steps such as Peloton, yoga, weightlifting or using the elliptical trainer.
PROS
- More comfortable than a chest strap
- Long battery life
- Can link to other devices
CONS
- Arm band can wear out quickly
- Instructions are limited
10. Xiaomi Mi Band 6
No products found. is an inexpensive basic fitness tracker which comes with a color screen and long battery life. There is no automatic exercise detection so you have to manually choose that you are starting and finishing an exercise. It will do the basics but in both the tracker and app you will be able to spot the differences between it and a slightly more expensive version such as a Fitbit.
PROS
- Easy to use
- Comfortable & lightweight
- Long battery life
- AMOLED screen
CONS
- Cumbersome menu system
- Not the best looking
- Companion app needs other apps to get most from device
- Charging the device is a bit fiddly
No products found.
Last update on 2023-01-22 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
