The Best Fitbit In 2024: How To Pick The Right Wearable

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Picking the best Fitbit depends on your budget, intended use case, and need for advanced features in an activity tracker.

Fitbit; Alyssa Powell/Business Insider

Fitbits can do almost anything you would want in a wearable. From counting steps and tracking workouts to monitoring sleep patterns and stress levels, the best Fitbit can help improve your well-being. And there are a variety of Fitbit models designed for different types of users.

Our top pick for the best Fitbit is the Fitbit Sense 2. It's a first-rate health and fitness tracker offering multi-day battery life, health-monitoring tools, and comprehensive activity tracking in a decent smartwatch. For a budget pick, we recommend the Fitbit Inspire 3, an effective entry-level wearable with basic health and fitness tools for well under $100.

We chose our list based on tracking accuracy, fit and comfort, battery life, and ease of use. Though every Fitbit offers similar activity-tracking capabilities, some are better for certain users.

Our top picks for the best Fitbit

Best overall: Fitbit Sense 2 - See at Amazon

Best budget: Fitbit Inspire 3 - See at Amazon

Best mid-range: Fitbit Charge 6 - See at Amazon

Best for style: Fitbit Luxe - See at Amazon

Best for kids: Fitbit Ace 3 - See at Amazon

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Best overall

Fitbit's flagship, the Sense 2, nails everything a quality fitness tracker should be. It offers a variety of activity tracking and useful fitness insights, tracks sleep, stress, and menstrual cycles, has built-in GPS, and has a battery that lasts five to six days on a single charge.

It does lack in one major area, however: smarts. Though it's touted as a "smartwatch," it doesn't quite stack up in that department the way an effective smartwatch should. For starters, it doesn't offer third-party app support, which is disappointing, and it doesn't allow access to things like Google Assistant. It also can't store or play music. 

The Fitbit Sense 2 is a great all-around activity tracker. Though it lacks some standard smartwatch features, it's still an impressive wearable.

Rick Stella/Business Insider

But those drawbacks don't equate to being a dealbreaker. The Sense 2 offers a suite of useful health and wellness insights that put it on par with some of the best in the industry. There's a skin temperature sensor, ECG readings, and a real-time stress tracker.

The stress tracker is especially interesting as it charts your body's stress levels, provides feedback on how to lower it, and can paint a picture of how your body handles stress overall. 

It's also an accurate fitness tracker. Its built-in GPS synced well during our tests and is compatible with various activities and exercises. Plus, its interface is easy and intuitive to use, making it a great watch for beginners.  

Read our full Fitbit Sense 2 review.

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Best budget

Fitbit's Inspire line of entry-level activity trackers is the brand's most basic offering. Its latest model, the Inspire 3, features a slim, vertical screen that sits comfortably on your wrist while offering advanced health and fitness tracking features at your fingertips. It even has a skin temperature sensor and can track your sleep habits. The original Fitbit has come a long way. 

But what makes the Inspire 3 especially attractive is its price, which makes it appealing for beginners or those new to wearing activity trackers. At under $100, it delivers a wearable experience similar to the Sense 2 without the large touchscreen, downloadable apps, or built-in GPS. It's also compatible with a range of the best Inspire 3 bands to change its look slightly.

The affordable Fitbit Inspire 3 is a worthwhile fitness tracker.

Shannon Ullman/Business Insider

If it seems like the Inspire 3 lacks key features of a smartwatch, that is because the Inspire 3 is a bonafide fitness tracker. That is, it offers straightforward health and fitness features in an easy-to-use and intuitive package. It uses the same fitness tracking tech as all of Fitbit's other wearables, tracks heart rate, skin temperature, and sleep patterns, and even offers the brand's new Daily Readiness Score feature. 

That's a lot in such a small, budget-friendly package. Advanced athletes may view the lack of built-in GPS as a dealbreaker, but for anyone looking for a basic, straightforward activity tracker, the Inspire 3 is the best Fitbit has. 

Read our full Fitbit Inspire 3 review.

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Best mid-range

The Charge 6 is primarily a fitness tracker rather than a smartwatch, and it's closer to a high-end version of the Inspire 3 than a budget-friendly version of the Sense 2. Still, it's the ideal mid-range option for most users.

The Charge 6 fills some of the biggest gaps left by the budget-friendly Inspire 3, like built-in GPS, a more comprehensive list of exercise modes, ECG readings, and NFC for mobile payments with Google Wallet, so you don't need to bring your wallet during an activity. It even syncs your real-time heart rate with exercise equipment, which the Sense 2 can't do. Its metal construction is a bonus, too.

The Charge 6 is a worthwhile upgrade as a fitness tracker.

Fitbit/Google

The Charge 6 isn't quite as feature-packed as the Sense 2, nor is it trying to be — it's a fitness tracker first, and a smartwatch second. It lacks all-day body response tracking, which is Fitbit's latest stress monitoring feature in its health monitoring suite. The Charge 6 also can't make or take calls from the watch itself, which is a dealbreaker if you're looking for a versatile wearable. If that's important to you but the Sense 2 is too expensive for your taste, and you're dead-set on owning a Fitbit, the Versa 4 could be worthwhile despite its generational downgrades, as detailed below.

For its $160 MSRP and the deals you can often find, the Charge 6 is an exceptional value play for fitness tracking, even if it's more expensive than the budget Inspire 3. Like with Fitbit's other devices, some of its more advanced features are behind the Fitbit Premium subscription, but you get six free months to decide whether it's worth it.

Best for style

Though the Fitbit Luxe looks similar to the Inspire 3, it has a few subtle design features that give it some style. There's a stainless steel casing that achieves a nice, clean look for either the office or a night out, a bright AMOLED screen, and the ability to swap out the band for something like a chic mesh or metal option.

As a quality health and fitness wearable, the Fitbit Luxe tracks basics like running and cycling. It offers insights into sleep patterns, stress management, and fitness trends. Some features require a paid subscription to Fitbit Premium (as is the case for several watches in this guide), but even the basic features are highly useful.

The Fitbit Luxe is an aesthetically refined option.

Lisa Eadicicco/Business Insider

One area where it lags is in the smartwatch department, but it was never designed to be one in the first place. However, it can still display text and phone call notifications, and you can use things like timers and alarms, but that's about the extent of it. It also has a battery that lasts upward of six days.

Read our full Fitbit Luxe review.

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Best for kids

Most fitness trackers are inherently designed for adult use. Then, there's the Fitbit Ace 3, an activity tracker designed entirely for kids ages six and up. It's outfitted with features such as parental controls, a custom kid-friendly stat viewer, and fun customization options.

What makes the Ace 3 great for kids is its whimsical approach. Band options include Minion-themed designs and colorful custom watch faces. The watch is also water-resistant, up to 50 meters or 164 feet, so kids can wear it in the pool.

The Ace 3 makes a great first wearable for kids.

Fitbit

One of the Ace 3's best features is its focus on gamification. The wearable offers various challenges and badges that can motivate kids as they achieve a certain step goal or complete an activity.

It's also a great communication tool for parents as it delivers text notifications. What's particularly great about this is that parents can use parental controls to manage exactly what connections are permitted on the watch. These controls are set up via the Fitbit app and require a family account, but they can be customized at any time, with or without the watch nearby.

These parental controls ultimately make it a better purchase for kids than, say, the Inspire 3. While the Inspire 3 offers a similar tracking experience, the ability to customize and tailor everything from the wearable's settings to the specific activity goals makes the Ace 3 a more family-friendly option.

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Models we don't recommend

Our favorite budget Fitbit that is also a smartwatch rather than purely a fitness tracker, the Versa 3, was discontinued to make way for the Versa 4. However, we cannot recommend the Versa 4 unless the budget smartwatch you're looking for has to be a Fitbit.

Fitbit's generational upgrades to the Versa 4 left us wanting.

Rick Stella/Business Insider

The Versa 4 offers few or no appreciable upgrades over the Versa 3 and actually omits features that made the Versa 3 a great option for the price, including third-party app support and music playback. 

Those who may have opted for the Versa 3 should consider the Pixel Watch 3 from Fitbit's parent company, Google, a terrific fitness tracker and smartwatch. However, it's only compatible with Android phones and only fully compatible with the best Google Pixel phones.

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How we test Fitbits

In addition to testing past iterations of Fitbit trackers and smartwatches when they launched, I tested each on the list below for several days (some weeks, even), wearing them 24/7 in most cases. I wore each during different workouts, from runs and walks to strength sets and yoga. I also wore the trackers to bed and for mindfulness sessions.

Here are the key features I looked for when testing:

Workout tracking

To successfully record stats during a workout and easily check these as you go, it's important that a watch clearly displays numbers and quickly and continuously connects to the GPS, particularly if it's built into the watch. I judged the trackers and watches on whether I could easily see my current pace, distance, and time, and if I had quick access to metrics like average pace and heart rate. 

The Fitbit Sense 2 has a built-in skin temperature sensor and a heart rate monitor.

Rick Stella/Business Insider

Additionally, I ran another fitness tracking app on my phone to test the watch's distance and pace accuracy. For every Fitbit featured, the numbers were always relatively close (and within the normal range you'd find if you compared almost any other fitness tracker). 

Because Fitbit offers automatic tracking, I did a few workouts without manually pressing the start button to confirm that it picked up my movement, which it almost always did. 

Tracking and comfort while sleeping

I wore these watches and trackers to bed to test the automatic sleep tracking. I checked these stats in the morning to make sure they recorded my time in bed and wake-up times throughout the night. I also wore the devices when occasionally taking naps throughout the day, which they also picked up on. 

The devices needed to be comfortable enough to wear all night to get those stats, too. While the bands occasionally stuck to my skin if I got sweaty at night, it never disturbed my sleep — I only noticed this after waking up. 

Battery life

I tested the battery life of each Fitbit by charging it to 100% battery and wearing it through workouts, nights of sleep, and throughout the day to see how long each would last. They all surprised me, too — the life lasted even after several workouts, including those using the built-in GPS (which typically drains batteries quickly).

App usability

One huge perk of Fitbit is the built-in stress-reducing apps, so how easy these were to use was a key part of testing. I tried Fitbit's mindfulness program, the Relax app, on all devices, and the EDA scan app on the Sense 2, which contributes to stress management numbers. I looked for ease of use, visuals, and the stats provided after recording a mindfulness session, like changes in heart rate. 

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FAQs

Are Fitbits worth it?

Yes, especially if you want a reliable fitness wearable. A Fitbit can be beneficial for anyone who keeps active each day, even if that activity is walking a few blocks around the neighborhood or lifting weights at home.

They do an excellent job of counting steps, tracking a wide range of activities, and providing other useful health information like sleep insights and calories burned. You don't need to be an avid fitness pro or athlete to get a lot out of a Fitbit, and with so many options in the brand's lineup, finding one that's "worth it" means just picking out the option that best fits your lifestyle.

Plus, Fitbits are device agnostic, so they're compatible to an extent with both iOS and Android devices. This versatility places them among the best Android smartwatches and best fitness trackers you can buy.

What is Fitbit Premium?

Fitbit Premium is the brand's monthly membership option. For $10/month, it offers access to more in-depth health and fitness features like nutrition insights, advanced sleep tracking, and the Daily Readiness Score.

It also provides access to guided meditations, exclusive video workouts, in-depth goal setting, various unique challenges, and other health insights such as blood oxygen level readings, heart rate variability, and breathing rate.

All Fitbit Premium features are accessible via the Fitbit app and do a lot to elevate the base Fitbit experience, especially for wearables like the Sense 2 or Versa 4.

Is a Fitbit better than an Apple Watch?

The best Apple Watch models are undoubtedly more powerful and full-featured than Fitbits, but if you don't need access to a suite of apps, then a Fitbit will suffice. Both watches offer deep tracking capability for activities like running, cycling, and lifting weights, and each comes standard with a user-friendly interface. 

One area where Apple outdoes Fitbit is in terms of its ecosystem. Users with any of the best iPhones can get more out of an Apple Watch than a Fitbit (but as mentioned below, Fitbits aren't a dealbreaker for compatibility). 

Though the Apple Watch now offers a deep well of fitness and activity tracking capability, it still leans more heavily toward being a smartwatch (similar to Fitbit's Versa line). So, if you're after basic fitness tracking without the frills, something like Fitbit's Charge line would be more your speed. 

What are the advantages of owning a Fitbit?

Perhaps the biggest advantage of a Fitbit is that no matter the price point or type (tracker versus smartwatch), it comes with all the foundational features you want in a health and fitness tracker, including the ability to automatically track sleep and activity, which is the best thing about the brand, in my opinion.

Then, all the models track pace, distance, and calories burned during your workouts and calculate your heart rate training zones, including fat burn, cardio, and peak. For sleep, you get the total hours you slept, the time you spent in deep and REM sleep, and the percentage of time you spent below your resting heart rate. 

Some models make these stats easier to access than others. Namely, the Sense 2 and Versa models have larger screens that are easier to read at a glance. But even with the smaller, more narrow faces of models like the Charge 6, the numbers are relatively large, which is a nice feature for accessibility. The Inspire 3 is the hardest to glance stats quickly off of.

The Fitbit app, accessed via your phone, is easy to navigate and displays steps, miles, active zone minutes, daily calorie burns, mindfulness days, exercise, and activity per hour. It also reminds you to take 250 steps per hour. Additionally, you can track your menstrual cycle, food and water intake, and weight (though these require more manual entries). 

What are the disadvantages of owning a Fitbit? 

The main disadvantage of owning a Fitbit is its lack of ecosystem outside of the wearable itself and the Fitbit app, and that other wearables and smartwatches offer better compatibility with iPhones and the best Android phones.

For instance, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 offers enhanced compatibility and features exclusive to any of the best Samsung phones.

Likewise, the Apple Watch Series 10 offers advanced compatibility with the iPhone 16 series and other recent iPhones.

However, this shouldn't be seen as a total dealbreaker. Not being able to customize text responses or notifications doesn't have to preclude you from buying a Fitbit. 

Will a Fitbit work with an iPhone or Apple Health?

Fitbits are compatible with any iPhone running iOS 15 or later, which the Fitbit app requires.

While a Fitbit can't directly sync to the Apple Health app, it is possible to use third-party apps like Strava as a go-between to transfer data indirectly from a Fitbit to the Apple Health app.

What's the battery life like on a Fitbit?

Each Fitbit in the line has top-notch battery life, lasting days even with auto-activity and auto-sleep tracking turned on, so you don't have to worry about charging it every night. 

Officially, the battery for all Fitbits featured lasts six to 10 days, depending on the device and your usage. In my experience, the Sense 2 lasts an average of six days on one charge, while the Inspire 3 lasts up to 10 days, for instance. 

Are Fitbits customizable?

Almost all Fitbits offer plenty of customization options. Each wearable comes with a basic band, but all Fitbits have different colors and material bands you can purchase, from stainless steel mesh for a professional look to expressive prints to more breathable sports bands. The only watch on our list that doesn't offer a sport-specific band is the Inspire 3.

You can also customize the watch faces for aesthetics and readability, and to personalize shortcuts on the devices and what's displayed on the main app page. The Sense 2 and Versa models have the most options for watch faces. You can even download third-party designs or use your photos, which you can't do with the other models.

What's the lifespan of a Fitbit?

The lifespan of a Fitbit depends on the model. While Fitbit once released new models annually, it hasn't kept to that schedule in recent years, and many previous-generation models are still usable.

So, even if you own a Fitbit that's a generation or two older than the current model, rest assured that it's only outdated by its model number and not regarding its actual performance or capability.