Stay on top of your health with these great Fitbit alternatives
The market is saturated with all kinds of fitness wearables, but what are the best Fitbit alternatives? If you’re looking for a device that offers it all when it comes to cutting-edge technology, abundant features, and comprehensive health and fitness tracking, our favorite is Apple Watch Series 7. It’s jam-packed with all of the features you could ever want and some you never knew you needed. If you’re in the market for a new tracker or smartwatch, these are our favorite Fitbit alternatives.
Best overall: Apple Watch Series 7 – Smart Watch
Apple Watch Series 7 has arrived. On top of all the features, we loved about its predecessor, Apple Watch Series 6, Series 7 hosts a larger, more advanced display, a new keyboard and watch faces, IPX durability, fast charging, and new colors. It delivers 18 hours of battery life.
Series 7 has reduced the display borders to 1.7mm, and the shape of the watch has been refined. The case has softer, more rounded corners, creating a sleeker aesthetic. It’s 70% brighter indoors and can fit 50% more text on the screen than Series 6. At first glance, the design doesn’t look much different from Series 6’s, but the difference is noticeable when considering how much more fits on-screen.
The full keyboard is one of Series 7’s new, most noteworthy features. You can either tap or slide from letter to letter with QuickPath. New watch faces have been designed specifically for Series 7 to compliment the new display.
Apple Watch Series 7 is the first Apple Watch with IPX durability. That means you can safely wear it in dusty environments without worrying about its imminent death. The watch face is made of Apple’s most crack-resistant crystal, so you can rock this watch on all rugged adventures.
Although the battery life has stayed the same — 18 hours, Series 7 features fast charging. It comes with a USB-C cable that can take it from 0-80% in just 45 minutes. Eight minutes of charging is enough for eight hours of sleep tracking.
Series 7 is pricey, and it doesn’t have any new health features to offer, but the tech upgrades make this watch the best Apple Watch yet.
Pros:
Larger, more advanced display
Full keyboard
New watch faces
IPX durability
Fast charging
Cons:
Pricey
Limited upgrade over Series 6
Best overall
Apple Watch Series 7 – Smart Watch
Take a bite out of this apple
Apple Watch Series 7 offers a larger, more advanced display, full keyboard, new watch faces, IPX durability, and fast charging.
Best runner up: Garmin Vivoactive 4S – Smart Watch
Garmin Vivoactive 4S features a slightly smaller watch face than its big brother, the Garmin Vivoactive 4. It’s the way to go if you want something lighter, more low-profile on your wrist. It offers comprehensive health and fitness tracking, on-screen workouts, and music streaming.
Body Battery energy monitoring lets you see your body’s energy levels throughout the day so you can find the best times for activity and know when it’s time to rest. It’s equipped with a Pulse 0x sensor that gauges your blood oxygen levels to show how well your body absorbs oxygen.
Stress tracking gives insight towards better mental health. The Vivoactive 4S will send relaxation reminders and even prompt you to do short breathing activities if it senses you’re stressed. All-day activity and advanced sleep tracking ensures you’re keeping tabs on every part of your day. You’ll get a full picture of how you’re sleeping, with a breakdown of your light, deep and REM sleep stages, as well as Pulse 0x and respiration data.
The Vivoactive 4S comes with 20 preloaded GPS and indoor workout modes, including walking, running, cycling, swimming, and golf. It offers easy-to-follow, animated, on-screen cardio, strength, yoga, and Pilates workouts, which help with form and injury prevention.
Some feel the screen is difficult to read indoors, and the battery life is less than expected, but overall this is a solid smartwatch.
Pros:
Body Battery energy monitoring
Pulse 0x monitoring
Stress monitoring
Advanced sleep tracking
20 preloaded workout modes
Cons:
Battery life less than expected
Display can be difficult to read
Best runner up
Garmin Vivoactive 4S – Smart Watch
Feature packed
A feature-packed smartwatch with stress, sleep, Pulse 0x, all-day activity tracking, and 20 preloaded sport modes.
Best every day: Apple Watch SE – Smart Watch
Apple Watch SE is a great option for those who want an Apple Watch but don’t want to shell out hundreds and hundreds for the latest series. SE is heavy on features, light on price. Advanced sensors help you stay on top of your health.
It offers dozens of workout profiles, including running, walking, yoga, cycling, HIIT, and dance, and pairs easily with compatible fitness equipment.
SE can detect if you’ve taken a hard fall and can connect you with emergency services if you’re in need. If you find yourself in an emergency situation while traveling internationally, SE will connect you with local emergency services if you press and hold the side button. The noise app lets you know when external sound levels pose a danger to your hearing, and an always-on altimeter tracks your altitude 24/7.
You can listen to your favorite music, podcasts, and audiobooks with Apple Music, and it will connect seamlessly with all of your Apple products. An optional cellular subscription enables you to stay connected completely phone-free. It comes in multiple colors and band materials and offers up to 18 hours of battery life.
On the downside, it doesn’t have an always-on display, and it’s lacking some of our favorite features on Apple Watch Series 6 and 7, like ECG and Sp02 monitoring apps.
Pros:
Cheaper Apple Watch
Comprehensive health and fitness tracking
Fall detection and emergency SOS
Noise monitoring and always-on altimeter
All-day battery life
Cons:
No always-on display
No ECG or Sp02
Best everyday
Apple Watch SE – Smart Watch
Cost effective
A cheaper Apple Watch that features comprehensive health and fitness tracking and advanced features.
Best value: Coros Pace 2 – Sport Watch
Coros Pace 2 is a feather-light GPS sport watch. It weighs a mere 29 grams and is outfitted with a quick-drying, comfortable, nylon band making it perfect for everyday wear. Pace 2 offers 30 hours of full GPS battery life, a 20% increase from its predecessor. If you need your battery to last even longer, switch to UltraMax for nearly half the battery consumption. If you don’t use GPS mode a lot, Coros Pace 2 delivers up to 20 days of activity and sleep tracking.
This sport watch comes with 14 preloaded sport modes. If you wear it to bed, Pace 2 keeps tabs on your sleep cycles, duration of sleep, the time you spend awake, your heart rate range, and your average heart rate. You can set bedtimes, wake-up times, and alarms so you can ensure that you’re waking up refreshed and ready to conquer the day.
Pace 2 is outfitted with 24/7 heart rate, an always-on altimeter, and a thermometer so you can keep close watch over your health and wellness. It also features an easy-to-use app.
However, it does not have a touchscreen; it has two buttons and a dial for scrolling. Also, you cannot store, stream, or play music.
Pros:
Great battery life
Lightweight and comfortable
Built-in GPS
All-day activity + sleep tracking
24/7 heart rate, altimeter, and thermometer
Cons:
No touchscreen
No music
Limited bands available
Best value
Coros Pace 2 – Sport Watch
Great bang for your buck
A lightweight GPS sports watch that features all-day activity and sleep tracking, as well as exceptional battery life.
Best budget: The Withings Move – Activity Tracker
The Withings Move is the perfect blend of classic watch and activity tracker. It comes in multiple colors, so you can pick what matches your vibe best. It features seamless synchronization, so you can visualize trends and see all of your data on your smartphone with the Health mate app.
The Move offers all-day activity tracking and comes with 10 preloaded workout modes. You can track your ZZZ’s with sleep tracking. Wake up to a Sleep Score based on your light and deep sleep cycles, interruptions, depth, and regularity. You can set a Smart Wake-UP time for yourself so you can wake feeling refreshed and ready for the day.
This watch delivers up to 18 months of battery life. Yup, that’s right — 18 months! It’s water-resistant up to 50 meters, so you can rock it in the shower, tub, or pool.
On the downside, it does not have a heart rate monitor or built-in GPS, and the plastic casing scuffs and scratches easily.
Pros:
Classic, retro design
All-day activity and sleep tracking
Auto synchronization
18-month battery life
Cons:
No heart rate monitoring
Plastic casing easily scuffs
Connected GPS only
Best budget
The Withings Move – Activity Tracker
Simply classic
A budget-friendly fitness tracker featuring a classic design, all-day activity and sleep tracking, and 18-month battery life.
Best look: Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 – Smart Watch
The Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 boasts a sleek and stylish design. It comes in aluminum or stainless steel casing, and there are multiple watch faces and bands to choose from, so you can really make it your own.
This watch features 24/7 heart rate monitoring and will send you high or low heart rate alerts if necessary. Samsung Galaxy Active 2 offers all-day activity tracking, so you can keep close tabs on your health and fitness. It’s outfitted with sleep tracking, so you can get valuable insights on how you can ultimately get better rest. It also monitors stress levels and helps reduce anxiety with the newly integrated Calm app.
Galaxy Watch Active 2 delivers up to five days of battery life on a single charge and features Bluetooth connectivity. It comes with the Spotify app, so you can play and stream music with your watch.
Take note that some users complain that the calorie count, GPS biking, and running tracking are off. Some also feel the screen is difficult to see outdoors.
Pros:
Sleek and stylish
24/7 heart rate + high and low HR alerts
All-day activity and sleep tracking
Up to five days of battery life
Spotify streaming
Cons:
Calorie counts can be off
Screen is hard to see outdoors
GPS run/bike tracking not as accurate as phone
Best look
Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 – Smart Watch
$180 from Amazon $220 at Walmart
Retro vibes
A smartwatch features a stylish design, high and low heart rate alerts, Bluetooth connectivity, and Spotify streaming.
Bottom line
Fitbit is a great and reputable brand, but we understand wanting to explore alternatives. Some of these products are smartwatches, and some are fitness trackers, but they’ve all got unique features to offer.
Apple Watch Series 7 is our pick for best overall because it’s truly in a class of its own. It offers some design and tech upgrades on top of all of the features we love about Watch OS. Plus, it’s got that optional integrated cellular system so you can make calls and send texts from anywhere with just your watch — no phone required! No matter your budget or needs, you’ll find the perfect wearable on this list of best Fitbit alternatives.
Credits — The team that worked on this guide
Nicolette Roux is a master fitness instructor and health coach from Los Angeles. She has worked with some of the top names and brands in the biz and enjoys researching and writing about the best smartwatches and fitness trackers.
