Best fitness trackers: what each maker lists, and how to choose by use

What is a fitness tracker, and how was this table built?

A fitness tracker is a wrist-worn device that counts movement and heart rate and sends them to a phone app. Some have a screen, like a small watch. Some have none and only show their data in the app. The word covers both, so this page looks at both.

This page reads the makers’ own US pages on October 16, 2026. Each value is followed by the number of its source. A value the page did not state is written as “not stated on the page read”. There is no ranking and no accuracy score, because the makers publish no comparable one. Prices are as listed that day, before tax, and they change.

WHOOP and Oura are left out of the table. Both are membership devices and have their own comparisons: Oura vs WHOOP, Oura Ring alternatives and WHOOP alternatives. If you want a ring, read the guide to best smart rings.

Elio, made by Chutex, is in the table with the facts from its own product page. It is a screenless wellness band.

How much does each one cost, and what does a plan add?

The price on the box is not always the whole cost. Three of the pages read mention paid extras. Fitbit says the Charge 6 comes with 3 months of Google Health Premium, and marks some features, such as the readiness score, as available with Premium.¹ Google lists the plan from $9.99, without a billing period on the line read.² Garmin’s spec table marks Garmin Coach, the workout programs and manual laps as “Garmin Connect+ only”.³

The other pages say less. Amazfit says “No required subscription”.⁷ Polar says “No monthly fees”.⁶ Elio says it is a one-time purchase, no subscription.⁸ Apple’s page mentions a subscription only for Apple Music.⁵ Samsung’s page, as read, did not state a plan for the Watch8.⁴

Worked example: the plan you may not need

Suppose you buy the Fitbit Charge 6 at $159.95 and keep Premium after the 3 free months at the “from” price of $9.99. The plan page does not say whether $9.99 is monthly, so the arithmetic here is a check you make yourself: if it is monthly, one year of Premium adds 12 × $9.99 = $119.88, and the first-year total would be $159.95 + 9 × $9.99 = $249.86 after the free months. Confirm the billing period on Google’s page before you count it.¹²

For a full table of devices that bill once, see fitness trackers without a subscription.

Which tracker fits which use?

Start from what you will do with it. The table below links each use to the facts above. It is a decision aid, not a ranking.

Battery in charges per month

Battery numbers are easier to feel as charges. Over 30 days, a battery of 7 days needs 30 ÷ 7 = about 4.3 charges. A battery of 8 days needs 3.75, of 10 days needs 3, and of 15 days needs 2. An Apple Watch SE at up to 18 hours a charge works out to 30 × 24 ÷ 18 = 40 charges if worn nonstop, so in practice it is charged about every day.¹³⁵⁶⁷⁸ This is arithmetic on the listed maximums. Real use runs lower.

A tracker you forget to charge records nothing, so the battery line often matters more than a feature line.

What should a tracker show you, and what can it not do?

A tracker is useful when it makes one target visible. The CDC says adults need 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a week, which can be 75 minutes of vigorous activity instead, and at least 2 days a week of muscle-strengthening activity.⁹ A tracker that totals active minutes lets you check the first number without guessing.

Example: a week of 30, 25, 40, 20 and 35 minutes of moderate activity adds up to 30 + 25 + 40 + 20 + 35 = 150 minutes. That meets the target. A week of 4 days at 30 minutes is 120 minutes, which leaves 30 to find.⁹ Check how your device labels intensity, because the target is stated by intensity level.

A tracker can also show a sleep trend. The NHLBI says experts recommend that adults sleep between 7 and 9 hours a night.¹⁰ Total time asleep is the steadiest number on most devices. Stage labels are estimates, because a sleep study uses sensors for brain activity and eye movements that a wrist device does not carry. See sleep stages explained and how sleep scores work.

What a tracker cannot do is test you for illness. The FDA’s general wellness guidance covers low risk products that promote a healthy lifestyle.¹¹ Chutex describes Elio as a wellness band whose measurements are indicative, and says it is not FDA-cleared or FDA-evaluated.⁸ A reading that worries you belongs with a health professional.

To go deeper on what the numbers mean, read heart rate zones, wrist or chest strap heart rate and how readiness scores work. For sleep-first picks, see the best sleep trackers. For the shape question, see smart ring vs fitness band.

Frequently asked questions