Fitbit Inspire 3 vs Luxe vs Charge 5: Which fitness tracker is right for you?
Fitbit announced several new products at the end of August 2022, including the Inspire 3 fitness tracker that sits below the stylish Fitbit Luxe and feature-rich Charge 5.
Which of the Fitbit fitness trackers is right for you though? We’ve put the Inspire 3 up against the Luxe and Charge 5 to help you work out what the differences are and what features each one offers so you can pick the right one for you.
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Inspire 3 vs Luxe vs Charge 5: Price
Inspire 3: £84.99/$99.95/€99.95Luxe: £109.99/$129.95/€129.95Charge 5: £129.99/$149.95/€149.95
Let’s first start with the price of the three Fitbit fitness trackers we are comparing here as you’ll need to consider that not only for your budget, but the features you get with each device.
The Fitbit Inspire 3 is the cheapest, costing £84.99 in the UK, $99.95 in the US and €99.95 in Europe.
The Fitbit Luxe is next in the range, priced at £109.99 in the UK, $129.95 in the US and €129.95 in Europe.
The Fitbit Charge 5 is the most expensive of the three models, costing £129.99 in the UK, $149.95 in the US and €149.95 in Europe.
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Design
Inspire 3: 39.32 x 18.6 x 11.75mm, three coloursLuxe: 36.30 x 17.62 x 10.05mm, three colours and special editionCharge 5: TBC, three colours
The Fitbit Inspire 3 and the Fitbit Luxe offer a similar design with a slim and narrow touchscreen, rounded edges and a slim band. The Luxe is more stylish and more premium in terms of its finish though opting for stainless steel over plastic, whilst also offering a slimmer profile.
The Luxe doesn’t have any function buttons, while the Inspire 3 has a tactile button on the left side. The Charge 5 meanwhile, is wider than both the Inspire 3 and Luxe trackers, and much slimmer. It is less discreet though and while accessories are offered for all three, the Luxe accessories are a little more fashionable.
All three Fitbit trackers being compared here are water resistant. The Fitbit Inspire 3 comes in three colours comprising Midnight Zen/Black, Lilac Bliss/Black and Morning Glow/Black.
The Luxe comes in Lunar White/Soft Gold, Black/Graphite and Orchid/Platinum, as well as a special edition model. The Charge 5 comes in Black/Graphite, Lunar White/Soft Gold, Steel Blue/Platinum.
Hardware and specs
Inspire 3: HR sensor, SpO2, Connected GPS, 10-day batteryLuxe: HR sensor, SpO2, Connected GPS, 5-day batteryCharge 5: HR sensor, SpO2, Built-in GPS, Fitbit Pay, EDA, ECG, 7-day battery
Let’s talk about hardware next. By hardware, we are talking sensors on board, as well as battery and display specifications.
The Fitbit Inspire 3, Fitbit Luxe and Fitbit Charge 5 all offer a heart rate sensor for 24/7 tracking, along with heart rate variability, resting heart rate and irregular heart rate rhythm notifications.
The three devices also offer an SpO2 sensor for blood oxygen tracking and they can also all detect skin temperature variation and breathing rate. Blood glucose tracking is also possible with all three trackers.
There’s Connected GPS on all three devices, but only the Charge 5 has built-in GPS, allowing you to go for a run and it track your route without your phone.
The Charge 5 is also the only one out of these three Fitbit trackers to offer Fitbit Pay, the EDA Scan app for stress management and the ECG app for heart rate rhythm assessment. It is also the only one to have high and low heart rate notifications.
All three trackers offer a colour touchscreen though and they all offer an Always On Display too. When it comes to battery life though, the Inspire 3 promises 10 days, the Luxe promises 5 days and the Charge 5 promises 7 days.
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Features
Inspire 3: Activity tracking, sleep tracking, Active Zone Minutes, Cardio Fitness Score, Daily Readiness Score, Stress Management Score, Smartphone notificationsLuxe: Activity tracking, sleep tracking, Active Zone Minutes, Cardio Fitness Score, Daily Readiness Score, Stress Management Score, Smartphone notificationsCharge 5: Activity tracking, sleep tracking, Active Zone Minutes, Cardio Fitness Score, Daily Readiness Score, Stress Management Score, Smartphone notifications
We’ve mentioned some features offered by these three Fitbit trackers in the section above, but we’ll go over a few more here so you can understand the differences in the offerings.
All three offer Fitbit’s Active Zone Minutes feature, Cardio Fitness Score, Daily Readiness Score, automatic exercise modes and they will all track steps, distance and calories, but none of them have an altimeter for tracking elevation.
The three devices will also all track sleep and sleep stages, offer a sleep score and a sleep profile and they have smart alarms too, waking you up at an optimal time within half an hour of your chosen time.
Additionally, all three devices will offer a Stress Management Score and Reflections, though only the Fitbit Inspire 3 and Luxe have Relax Breathing Sessions. They can all recieve call, text and app notifications and they all have the Find My Phone feature too, as well as Do Not Disturb and Sleep Mode.
They also all come with six months of Fitbit Premium, which you can read more about in our separate feature.
Conclusion
The Fitbit Charge 5 is the most feature-rich of these three Fitbit trackers, offering a few extras like built-in GPS, Fitbit Pay and the ability to take an ECG compared to the Inspire 3 and Luxe trackers.
The Charge 5 is the most expensive though, and it’s not as neat and elegant as the Luxe tracker especially, or the Inspire 3, both of which are minimal in their designs.
The decision between these devices will likely come down to budget or the features that are most important to you. The most stylish is the Luxe, the best value for money is the Inspire 3, while the best for features is the Charge 5.
