Which smartwatch is the best for activity tracking? In this guide, we selected the 5 Best Fitness Tracker Watches you can take into consideration based on your style, budget, and needs.
When it comes to activity tracking, smartwatches are the best wearable you can have to keep track of your activity progress. They have the facility to carry the most advanced sensors as well as a screen display for real-time activity tracking.
Fitness tracker watches measure metrics such as the number of steps, calorie burn, distance equivalency, flights taken, active heart rate, and more. These smartwatches usually come with other sensors for sleep and blood oxygen saturation as well as other health metrics like recovery monitoring and stress management.
Whether it’s Apple, Samsung, Fitbit, or Garmin, the fitness-tracking smartwatch segment has tons of options for you. Here are our topic picks for the best fitness tracker watches!
| BEST FITNESS TRACKER WATCHES | |
| 1. Garmin Venu 3 (Best Overall) | CHECK PRICE ON AMAZON |
| 2. Fitbit Versa 4 (Best for Lifestyle) | CHECK PRICE ON AMAZON |
| 3. Amazfit GTR 4 (Best Value) | CHECK PRICE ON AMAZON |
| 4. Apple Watch Series 9 | CHECK PRICE ON AMAZON |
| 5. Amazfit Cheetah Pro | CHECK PRICE ON AMAZON |
1. Garmin Venu 3 – Best Overall Fitness Tracker Watch
For people who want a laser-focused smartwatch for fitness, the Garmin Venu 3 is close to being perfect. This fitness-tracking smartwatch tracks steps, calorie burn, floors climbed, and more.
Its heart rate metrics include continuous heart rate, resting heart rate, and 24/7 heart rate. The ECG app detects signs of an irregular heart rhythm. The Garmin Venu 2 is also capable of tracking your VO2 max to measure your current fitness level and monitor changes over time.
Garmin Venu 3 lets you know how each workout impacts your body and how much your body needs to overcome them. The watch also records your rate of perceived exertion after every workout and tracks how long moderate and vigorous activities last.
To help you improve your fitness, the Garmin app comes with a variety of animated workouts for yoga, strength training, HIIT, and more as well as free access to Garmin Coach for adaptive 5K, 10K, and half-marathon training plans from experts. The Garmin Connect app enables you to create step-by-step workouts from more than 1,600 exercises and access them right on your smartwatch.
In addition, the ability to create your own interval workout and listen to guided audio prompts from your watch comes in handy for your walking or running sessions. You can also take advantage of Garmin’s integration with more than 30 sports apps to augment your fitness tracking goals.
For wheelchair users, Garmin’s unique ‘Wheelchair Mode’ functionality detects pushes, plus gives workouts designed for them.
Garmin Venu 3 Specs and Features
- 24/7 heart rate
- Resting heart rate
- Workout heart rate
- VO2 max
- Steps
- Calorie burn
- Flights climbed
- Sleep tracking
- Blood oxygen monitoring
- Cycle tracking
- Up to 14 days with regular use
- Water-resistant up to 50 meters
2. Fitbit Versa 4 – Best Fitness Tracker Watch for Lifestyle
If you are looking for a light, slim, and fashionable everyday smartwatch that has all the fitness tracking bells and whistles, look for the Fitbit Versa 4. This versatile smartwatch is popular for its heart monitoring feature that gives medical-grade heart monitors a run for their money. It tracks your 24/7 heart rate, resting heart rate, heart rate variability, workout heart rate, breathing rate, respiration rate, and more.
Fitbit Versa 4 has more than 40 exercise modes—from strength training to kayaking—and allows you to see your real-time stats directly on your watch. In addition, you get a daily readiness score to let you know if your body has recovered from your previous activities, ultimately helping you decide whether or not it’s a good day to work out or pause for a little bit.
If you subscribe to their premium membership, you get access to resources to help you become better at your workouts, whether it’s yoga, strength training, pilates, or HIIT. With it, you also get deeper insights into your sleep and access to a stress management score.
Fitbit Versa 4 Specs and Features
- 24/7 heart rate
- Resting heart rate
- Workout heart rate
- VO2 max
- Steps
- Calorie burn
- Flights climbed
- Sleep tracking
- Stress management
- Blood oxygen monitoring
- Menstrual cycle tracking
- Up to 6 days with regular use
- Water-resistant up to 50 meters
3. Amazfit GTR 4 – Best Value Smartwatch for Activity Tracking
You don’t really have to choose the most expensive smartwatch to get all activity tracking functionalities. The Amazfit GTR 4 is living proof. It can track activities and different heart rate metrics, plus you get more than 150 sports modes. It can automatically detect 8 sports.
In addition, the Amazfit GTR 4 boasts a double-band positioning, which is a particularly practical feature for people who are into cycling, marathon, triathlon, hiking, and anything that requires accurate location tracking.
ALSO READ: FITBIT CHARGE 5 VS. OURA RING 3: WHICH IS MORE ADVANCED HEALTH AND FITNESS TRACKER?
Amazfit GTR 4 Specs and Features
- 24/7 heart rate
- Resting heart rate
- Workout heart rate
- VO2 max
- Steps
- Calorie burn
- Flights climbed
- Recovery monitoring
- Sleep monitoring
- Blood oxygen monitoring
- Up to 14 days with regular use
- Water-resistant up to 50 meters
4. Apple Watch Series 9
If you want to stay within Apple’s ecosystem, the Apple Watch Series 9 is a good device to have. It has all the basic functionalities you need for activity tracking, plus you get a seamless experience with your Apple devices.
With Workout Mode, you can see your workout metrics right on your watch and customize them accordingly. These metrics include heart rate zones and customized intervals in a single view. Turning the digital crown revealed other metrics like segments and splits, elevation, and activity rings.
One of the things I love about the Apple Watch Series 9 is the Live Activity feature, which lets you see your current activity on your iPhone. And of course, the Apple Watch Series 9 comes with nifty emergency features for people who go hard, including fall detection, crash detection, and emergency SOS.
ALSO READ: OURA RING 3 VS. APPLE WATCH SERIES 9: WHICH IS BEST FOR SLEEP TRACKING?
Apple Watch Series 9 Specs and Features
- 24/7 heart rate
- Resting heart rate
- Workout heart rate
- VO2 max
- Steps
- Calorie burn
- Flights climbed
- Sleep tracking
- Blood oxygen monitoring
- Cycle tracking
- Up to 18 hours with regular use
- IP6x (Water-resistant up to 100m/Swim and dive-proof up to 50m)
GET APPLE WATCH SERIES 9 HERE!
5. Amazfit Cheetah Pro
If you are looking for a high-performance fitness tracker watch but don’t mind the technical air of classic watches, look for the Amazfit Cheetah Pro. Although it’s marketed as a running smartwatch, you can definitely take advantage of its robust specifications and sensors for your overall fitness. Like the Amazfit GTR 4, this smartwatch features a double-band positioning on top of the basic health monitoring functionalities.
ALSO READ: FITBIT CHARGE 5 VS. OURA RING 3: WHICH IS MORE ADVANCED HEALTH AND FITNESS TRACKER?
Amazfit GTR 4 Specs and Features
- 24/7 heart rate
- Resting heart rate
- Workout heart rate
- VO2 max
- Steps
- Calorie burn
- Flights climbed
- Sleep tracking
- Recovery monitoring
- Sleep monitoring
- Blood oxygen monitoring
- Up to 14 days with regular use
- Water-resistant up to 50 meters
That ends our list of the best fitness tracker watches! You have so many options available on the market. Nevertheless, choosing the best smartwatch for activity tracking should be based on your style, budget, and needs.
If you want to explore more smartwatches and fitness trackers, check out these guides:
- Best Heart Monitor Watches
- Best Smartwatches for Sleep Tracking
- Best Apple Watches
- Best Garmin Smartwatches
- Best Garmin Fitness Trackers
- Best Amazfit Smartwatches
- Best Fitbit Smartwatches and Fitness Trackers
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