Working out is great, and what better way to monitor your health than with an activity tracker? These popular devices let you record vital statistics such as daily steps, heart rate, and a variety of other metrics. Ranging from small wristband-type gadgets to traditional watch-like wearables, there’s a ton of choice across a range of price points. But which exercise tracker is right for you? Check out the best fitness wearables in 2021!
What is a Fitness Wearable and Why Should You Buy One?
As the name suggests, a wearable device is a gadget capable of being worn. More specifically, most exercise trackers come in a wrist-based form factor, whether that’s a simple fitness bracelet or full-fledged watch. Because of their array of built-in sensors, activity wristbands allow you to keep tabs on important data such as daily steps, resting and active heart rate, plus other vital information.
What to Look for in an Activity Wristband
There’s a lot to consider when shopping for a workout tracker. Price is a major factor with fitness bands ranging anywhere from under $50 USD to several hundred dollars. Since most wearables pair with a companion app, make sure that your mobile device or PC is compatible with its app or the third-party app of your choosing. Style is key as well. You can find thin wristbands, traditional watch lookalikes that would appear at home in an office setting. Then, there’s what you want to track. Some metrics are pretty standard such as daily steps or heart rate. You also might need sleep tracking, GPS for monitoring runs and hikes, as well as niche health monitoring such as VO2 max (maximal oxygen uptake) measurements.
Activity wristband considerations:
- Price
- Form factor (wristband, watch, etc.)
- Companion app and third-party apps
- Monitors and sensors (GPS, heart rate monitoring, VO2 max, steps, sleep tracking, etc.)
Best Budget Activity Wristband – Xiaomi Mi Band 5
The Xiaomi Mi Band 5 is an affordable fitness bracelet. Clocking in under $50, it packs a phenomenal value into its tiny footprint. It’s water-resistant to 50 meters plus touts an onboard heart rate monitor (HRM). There are over 100 different watch faces to pick from and a bright 450 nit screen. While the display itself is a touchscreen, you’ll find a physical button under the screen for returning to the previous screen or waking the Mi Band up. Its 125mAh battery can last for up to 14 days, although real-world performance may differ. Bluetooth 5.0, 16MB of storage, and 512KB of RAM come standard, with NFC in some models.
By default, Xiaomi’s Mi Band 5 includes 11 sport tracking modes such as running, yoga, swimming, and cycling. There’s all-day heart rate monitoring, a sleep tracker, and step counter. Unfortunately, you won’t find GPS. Therefore, you can’t track runs via GPS, merely its pedometer. At such a low price point, the Mi Band 5 is hands-down the best cheap fitness tracker on the planet. Its tiny 1.1-inch OLED appears bright and crisp. Fitness tracking is top-notch with a wrist-based heart rate monitor and waterproofing. NFC is even available on select models. Lack of GPS may not be ideal, but particularly for such a low cost, it’s tough to complain.
Pros:
- Wrist-based heart rate monitor
- Step counter
- Sleep tracker
- 1.1-inch OLED display, 450 nits of brightness
- NFC available
- Extremely affordable
- Water-resistant to 50 meters
- 11 different sport tracking profiles (i.e. running, cycling, yoga, swimming)
- Over 100 different watch faces
- Choice of band colors
Cons:
- No GPS
Best Activity Tracker for Most People – Fitbit Inspire HR
Although Fitbit might not be the only fitness tracker manufacturer on the market, it’s certainly among the most popular. And its Fitbit Inspire HR remains one of the best workout trackers for 2021. This fitness tracker watch arrives with a reasonable price tag at around $100. A modest 37×12.6mm profile makes for a thin wristband that’s light and comfortable to wear with a 20-gram weight. There’s 50-meter water resistance and a 128×72 greyscale display.
Wrist-based heart rate monitoring comes standard. And Fitbit outfits its Inspire HR with the usual slate of fitness wearable features such as GPS, sleep tracking, phone notifications, and GPS. You can record steps taken, activity minutes, calories burned, and distance traveled. Automatic exercise recognition is a nifty feature, plus you can view sleep stages such as light and REM.
There are guided breathing and goal-based exercises too. Slim, attractive, and well-specced, the Inspire HR is a good fitness bracelet. You can record loads of different metrics, its battery life is plentiful, and the Inspire HR is comfortable enough for all-day use as well as during sleep. Disappointingly, Fitbit Pay isn’t available. What’s more, its display is a bit small and at times a bit unresponsive. Still, the Inspire HR is the best fitness band for most users. If you don’t need the heart rate monitoring, you could opt for the slightly cheaper Fitbit Inspire (non-HR) which loses a few key features like GPS and guided breathing while shaving a bit off of the price.
Pros:
- Water-resistant to 50 meters
- Lightweight and comfortable
- Wristband form factor
- GPS
- Heart rate monitoring
- Excellent fitness tracking, automatic exercise tracking
- Great battery life
- Sleep tracking with sleep stages
- Reasonably-priced
- Step counter
- Several color options
Cons:
- Small screen
Best Garmin Fitness Tracker for Beginner Runners – Garmin Forerunner 45
Whereas Fitbit may cater to the average users, Garmin fitness trackers target exercise enthusiasts. Accordingly, the Garmin Forerunner 45 is the best beginner’s running watch on the market. Despite its modest pricing, the Forerunner 45 packs a bevy of power user features a fitness wearable that gives you the best bang for your buck. You’ll find a wrist-based heart rate monitor, GPS, step counter, and great battery life. The Garmin 45 runs perfectly fine for several days on a single charge, even with Bluetooth and GPS enabled. It’s comfortable, comes in several color bands, and features an attractive round watch face. The color display remains readable in bright daylight.
Although the Garmin Forerunner 45 is marketed to beginner runners, features such as VO2 max estimations make is a fitness wearable suitable for newcomers and power users alike. Phone notifications and on-watch music controls make this an excellent value activity tracker. But while you can control music such as skipping tracks and toggling the volume up and down, there’s no onboard storage for holding songs. The Garmin 245 Music is a spectacular upgrade pick with a similar feature set but the ability to store music on the device for running sans your smartphone. Moreover, activity profiles are limited to six on the device itself. For the majority of exercise buffs, that should be fine, but Nevertheless, if you can live without a few true power-user features and don’t need onboard music storage, the Garmin Forerunner 45 is a fantastic fitness watch.
Pros:
- Attractive round watch face
- Full-color display that’s easy to read in direct sunlight
- GPS
- Wrist-based heart rate monitoring
- Sleep tracking
- VO2 max
- Tracks lots of metrics (steps, distance traveled, heart rate, sleep, etc.)
- Excellent bang for your buck
- Water-resistant to 50 meters
Cons:
- No onboard music storage
- Limited to six activity profiles on the device at once (i.e. running, swimming, etc.)
Best Versatile Fitness Tracker – Fitbit Charge 4
The Fitbit Charge 4 improves upon its predecessor all around. Boasting GPS, heart rate monitoring, and the typical slew of activity tracking such as steps and distance, it’s a marvelous exercise monitoring wristband. Its GPS is accurate and quick to connect. With a lengthy seven-day battery life, you can go plenty of time between charges. You’ll find Spotify support and several different sleep tracking tools. Additionally, the Fitbit Charge 4 includes Fitbit Pay for contactless payments. There are several colors available and a fantastic companion app. An overall stylish watch, the Fitbit Charge 4 looks stunning at the gym and office alike.
Oddly, the Fitbit Charge 4 lacks a color screen. That’s not really a major issue, but a full-color display would have been a nice touch, particularly since direct sunlight makes the screen a bit tough to read. While battery life is good, it’s not quite a long as the Fitbit Charge 3. Though the Charge 4 has dropped, the Charge 3 remains a worthy alternative, especially at its reduced pricing.
Pros:
- GPS (fast and accurate)
- Seven-day battery
- Fitbit Pay
- Tracks lots of metrics (heart rate, steps, sleep, etc.)
- Wrist-based heart rate monitoring
- Stylish
- Multiple colors
- Spotify integration
Cons:
- No onboard music storage
- Not a full-color screen
Best Waterproof Activity Tracker – Garmin Vivoactive 4
The Garmin Vivoactive 4 is a premium fitness wearable. Not only does the Vivoactive 4 track the likes of heart rate, steps, calories, and distance traveled, but there are plenty of high-end features. You’ll find niche metrics such as respiration tracking, a pulse oximeter reader, and even on-screen workout animations. Furthermore, its optical heart rate monitor functions underwater making the Garmin Vivoactive 4 the best waterproof activity tracker available. If that’s not compelling enough, the Vivoactive 4 is gorgeous and keeps pace whether you’re in your running gear or dressed up for date night.
Top-shelf features like onboard music storage, contactless payments, and insights about stress as well as breathing make the Vivoactive 4 a multipurpose fitness watch. Unfortunately, Garmin features both the Garmin Connect app and Connect IQ. While Connect is its standard app, Connect IQ is akin to an app store for the Vivoactive where you can download apps such as Maps and Find My Car. Although these are helpful inclusions, the necessity of downloading not one but two Garmin apps is a bit cumbersome. Still, the Garmin Vivoactive 4 is arguably the best fitness wearable on the planet.
Pros:
- Stylish and comfortable
- Contactless payments
- GPS
- Wrist-based heart rate monitoring
- Tons of fitness tracking (GPS, heart rate, steps, calories, sleep tracking, pulse oximeter reading, perspiration tracking, etc.)
- Insights about stress and breathing
Cons:
- Pricey
- Requires two apps for full functionality
Best Fitness Wearables 2021 – Final Thoughts
There’s no shortage of choices when it comes to buying an exercise watch. You’ll find everything from cheap workout wristbands to expensive activity tracking watches. Fitbit and Garmin offer an array of fitness bracelets for everyone from entry-level users to workout fanatics. On the low-end, Xiaomi’s Mi Band 5 is an affordable option that won’t break the bank but doesn’t compromise on features. The Fitbit Inspire HR is solid for the average user, while Garmin’s Forerunner 45 is a best-bet for newbie runners. Fitbit’s Charge 4 tacks on several features such as Fitbit Pay and Spotify integration for more advanced fitness enthusiasts, while the Garmin Vivoactive 4 rocks virtually anything you could want in a wearable device.
Your turn: Which fitness wearables do you recommend in 2021?
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