The best fitness trackers are a great way to get in shape and monitor your essential stats without breaking the bank. The wrist-worn devices can track your steps, keep tabs on your heart rate, and monitor your sleep as standard.
However, it's hard to know how they really perform until they're on your wrist. So, we put the best cheap fitness trackers to the test to you find a budget-friendly wearable that'll help you reach your goals.
Our current favorite cheap fitness tracker is the Fitbit Inspire 3, which blends Fitbit's classic design and easy to use tools. But a close second is the Amazfit Bip 5, an Apple Watch-esque cheap fitness tracker with 10-day battery life.
But those aren't your only options, as we've rounded up the best cheap fitness trackers to suit a range of activities and budgets. And if these aren't quite hitting the mark, you may want to also check out our selection of the best fitness trackers.
The quick list
The Fitbit Inspire 3 is an attractive and small budget-friendly tracker. For $100, you’re getting ten days of battery life, a colorful band, a bright screen, and heart rate and sleep monitoring.
The Amazfit Bip 5 looks more like an Apple Watch than a Fitbit, and has an impressive array of features alongside an IP68 water resistance rating. It lasts up to 10 days, has onboard GPS, and syncs the data to the Zepp app for easy analysis.
The Fitbit Charge 6 ticks all of the boxes when it comes to affordability — though it is $50 more than the Inspire 3
including built-in GPS, a bright screen and plenty of fitness tracking metrics.
Without onboard GPS, the Garmin Vivosmart 5 falls short compared to the Fitbit Charge 6. That said, it gives you all your fitness data for free and is an excellent sleep tracker.
It's not for everyone — there's no screen, and no built-in GPS. That said, if you're hoping to gain real insight into your heart rate and recovery data and don't mind using your phone to do it, the Whoop 4.0 ticks the right boxes.
If you’re serious about tracking your training, spend a little more and get the Garmin Forerunner 55. It offers accurate GPS location tracking and a healthy serving of sleep, workout and recovery tools.
The best cheap fitness trackers you can buy right now
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Best cheap fitness tracker overall
The Fitbit Inspire 3 is the best cheap fitness tracker because it nails the basics: heart rate monitoring, accurate workout tracking and logging sleep stages. The fact that it doesn't have a built-in GPS is slightly disappointing, but not surprising at this price.
On the other hand, battery life is excellent. And for just under $100, you'll get Fitbit's Active Zone Minutes metric, 10 days of battery life, touch controls, and, in the biggest update from the Fitbit Inspire 2, a bright, beautiful AMOLED screen.
The Fitbit unit itself is only available in black but is sold in three different band colors — black, lilac, and morning glow. The wristband comes in two sizes: small, and large. During testing, we loved how comfortable and easy-wearing this diminutive tracker was, even at night.
We also appreciated how much more premium the tracker felt with a color screen. It won't be for everyone, but if you're looking for an affordable fitness tracker, you can't go wrong with the Inspire 3.
- Read our full Fitbit Inspire 3 review
Best cheap fitness tracker under $100
At only $89, you’d be hard pressed to find another fitness tracker of this quality at this price. The Amazfit Bip 5 looks almost exactly like an Apple Watch. The touchscreen is vibrant and responsive, too.
In testing, we particularly liked the activity tracking capabilities. Not only can you choose from 120 activity types, the built-in GPS is accurate and links with the companion app Zepp seamlessly. But understandably, the Bip 5 isn’t perfect.
If you want access to personalized AI-generated weekly reports, you’ll have to pay $70 an extra per year. The sleep tracking isn’t ideal either, but it’s accurate enough to be a decent option. However, if you're looking to hone in on your sleep, a Garmin or Fitbit tracker might suit you better.
In general, though, we felt the Bip 5 is mind-bogglingly good. Finding a fitness tracker at this price point is a task in itself, let alone of this quality. If the sleep tracking was a little more accurate and the weekly reports weren’t locked behind a paywall, this would be a near-flawless little fitness tracker for the price.
- Read our full Amazfit Bip 5 review
Best cheap fitness tracker with GPS
Although the Fitbit Charge 6 is Google's flagship tracker, it's surprisingly affordable. It's a great step-up from the Fitbit Charge 5 too, thanks to the return of a haptic side button, improving on-device navigation and recording workouts.
And this model is one of the first in the range to support other manufacturers equipment, allowing you to connect the Charge 6 as a heart rate tracker on NordicTrack, Peloton, and several other exercise machines.
The Charge 6 isn't only about fitness though. Unlike the Inspire 3, it offers support for Google Maps, YouTube Music and Google Wallet, offering a more smartwatch-like experience. Most excitingly, though, the Charge 6 includes onboard GPS.
This makes it heavier than its more affordable sibling, the Inspire 3, but we didn't find it especially notable on our wrist. The built-in GPS lets you accurately track runs, hikes, bike rides and more, without the need to carry a paired smartphone.
During testing, we were impressed by how comfortable the Charge 6 is around the wrist and how easy it is to read in the bright sunlight. The screen is a bit larger than that found on the Inspire 3 though nowhere near as large as those found on the latest Apple Watches.
Ultimately, if you want a slimline and capable fitness tracker with some useful smartwatch features and are okay with breaking the $100 price barrier, the Fitbit Charge 6 is a total home run.
- Read our full Fitbit Charge 6 review
Best cheap Garmin fitness tracker
The best Garmin watches are famed for their outdoor tracking, making them a firm favorite for runners and hikers. But Garmin doesn't only make great watches, as the smaller, budget-friendly Vivosmart 5 shows, and it does a lot more than count steps.
It has a monochrome OLED display that's 66% larger than the display on the Vivosmart 4, making it easier to read messages and alerts with text that can scroll across the screen. And you can see at least three stats on the display simultaneously.
The Vivosmart 5 gives you GPS tracking through your phone, blood oxygen monitoring, and continuous heart rate monitoring. Like a lot of Garmin's other wearables, the Vivosmart 5 is pretty good on a sleep-tracking front.
It’s lightweight and comfortable enough to wear when you’re sleeping (compared to the Garmin Fenix 7, it’s quite literally, a dream), and gives you a good picture of your sleep patterns — an insight that Google makes you subscribe to Fitbit Premium for.
Like a lot of the more premium Garmin watches, the watch will also give you a body battery score when you wake up, which is similar to Fitbit's daily readiness score and takes into account your previous day’s activity levels, and your sleep quality.
And unlike Fitbit, Garmin doesn’t put any its premium tracking features behind a paywall. All of Garmin’s data is free of charge and available in the Garmin Connect app, which is intuitive and easy to use.
- Read our full Garmin Vivosmart 5 review
Best cheap fitness tracker subscription
Ok, so technically the Whoop 4.0 is less than $100, but only because you pay a monthly subscription of $30 per month instead of buying the tracker (there are 12-month and 24-month subscriptions that work out to be a little cheaper — $239 and $399 respectively).
It's not for everyone — there's no screen, and no built-in GPS, so if you're looking for a tracker to just track your daily runs or bike rides, you'll probably want to keep scrolling. That said, if you're hoping to gain real insight into your heart rate and recovery data, the Whoop ticks the right boxes.
Like all items of fitness tech, the Whoop 4.0 is only worth it if you use it, but if you’re looking to enhance your training with in-depth data, or learn to work out more intuitively after a string of overtraining injuries, it's a great tool.
The data syncs easily to the iPhone or Android smartphone app, where you can dig into your stats and view trends. Plus, if you prefer to keep all your information in one place, you can connect your Whoop account to Apple Health, Google Fit, Withings, MyFitnessPal, and several other fitness apps.
However, Whoop first launched before many the best smart rings, which offer a similar display-less experience but in a smaller package. There are trade-offs — short battery life, fewer sensors — but you might prefer that approach, especially the Oura Ring Gen 3, which has similar features and a subscription.
- Read our full Whoop 4.0 review
Best cheap fitness tracker for running
If you're after a cheap fitness tracker that can double as a running watch, the Garmin Forerunner 55 is an excellent option. Despite costing less than $200, it retains many of Garmin's greatest features, all without an extra subscription.
It can keep tabs on your steps, runs, sleep, and heart rate, and it can even record your routes thanks to the onboard GPS, which means you can also leave your phone at home when you're out on a run — unless you don't mind using running phone holders.
Though if you do keep your phone nearby, you can use Garmin's impressive safety features, like incident detection, which sends your real-time location to your chosen emergency contacts. For features like this, it's vital that the watch doesn't run out of juice, and the Forerunner 55 can last two weeks or up to 20 hours with GPS on.
Like most Garmin running watches, a huge selling point with the Forerunner 55 is that it connects to Garmin's Garmin Connect app, where you get a huge amount of data, for free. You'll also be able to access the Garmin Coach training plans, which you can download onto the watch.
- Read our full Garmin Forerunner 55 review
How to choose the best cheap fitness tracker
If you're looking for a cheap fitness tracker, you want it to cover the basics, like tracking your steps, monitoring your sleep, and measuring your heart rate. This has become the standard for most wearables, with variation in price based on other features.
So, while you'll find these features on nearly all fitness trackers, your choice will depend on other factors, like the design, battery life, and additional exercise or health monitoring capabilities.
Some cheap fitness trackers can automatically track your workouts, so there's no need to spend time tapping buttons to start a session. And although many wearables can now track your heart rate, the frequency of these checks varies.
Often, more consistent monitoring yields more accurate results, but this can impact battery life. So if you're keen to get the most accurate readings, you'll either need to accept the battery life drop or choose a model with a larger capacity battery.
Speaking of batteries, the best smartwatches are a lot more capable than fitness trackers, but even with larger batteries, they generally only last one or two days between charges. Meanwhile, even cheap fitness trackers can last a week or more.
So, when it comes time to decide on your favorite cheap fitness tracker, you'll need to balance features against battery life and cost. Plus, it's important to check it works with your smartphone platform (iPhone or Android) and if the data can sync to third-party services like Apple Health or Google Fit.
How we test the best cheap fitness trackers
To test the best cheap fitness trackers, we wear the device for at least a week, and start with by checking how comfortable is the device to wear. As you'll be wearing it all day, you want a device that'll feel like it isn't even there.
If a fitness tracker has a heart rate monitor, we check its accuracy against other known trackers. Generally, heart rate monitors are pretty accurate at this point, but the variance comes in how quickly they can respond to changes in your heart rate.
When working out, we see how easy it is to read a tracker's display; if the numbers are too small, it's hard to make them out when your arm and body is moving. And, if the controls are too small, it's hard to do things such as change your music or switch screens.
Lastly, we check the battery life claims of the manufacturer. For the most part, they're pretty accurate, but when using features such as GPS or streaming music, battery life can degrade much more quickly, although you don't often find these features on budget trackers.
FAQs
What is a good inexpensive Fitbit?
If you're looking for one of the best Fitbits but don't want to spend a lot of money, the Fitbit Inspire 3 is a fantastic fitness tracker. It has a bright AMOLED screen, an accurate battery life, and it's perfect for those looking to take their first steps into fitness, without a huge flashy gadget on their wrist, or a huge dent in their pocket.
Is it worth buying a cheap fitness tracker?
If you're looking to get a better picture of your overall health then yes, a cheap fitness tracker is a decent investment. Most will count your steps, distance traveled, and calories burned, without spending a fortune.
Of course, if you're looking for more advanced metrics, or you're training for a marathon, it might be worth spending a little bit more on a gadget that has built-in GPS and more extensive heart rate monitoring.
