9 Of The Best Fitness Trackers For 2026

It’s not the fanciest, but for beginners who want to get moving without reading a thick manual, it just works. It’s water-resistant too, so if you accidentally cannonball into the pool—watch and all—it’ll survive and even tell you how many calories you burned splashing around. Both authors reviewed testing insights to help create this list of top performers. Best for individuals who are very active in outdoor sports and activities, like skiing, swimming, and hiking. Your primary goal determines which features deliver actual value versus which represent unused capabilities that simply increase cost.

Fitness Tracker Smart Watch with Heart Rate Monitor and Blood Oxygen

Fitbit is one of the OG fitness trackers, and it’s still going strong in 2026. The Fitbit Versa 4 is a great place to start if you’re new to the big wide world of fitness trackers and are feeling overwhelmed, but still want to track your data. It gives you a Daily Readiness Score, tracks over 40 types of workouts, and tracks your sleep.

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These terms include how data from your Fitbit is collected and stored by Google and what data from your Fitbit that Google shares with third parties. A Google representative confirmed that existing Fitbit account users can continue to log in with their Fitbit accounts through February https://www.webmd.com/diet/default.htm 2, 2026. Similar in size to the Fitbit Inspire 3, the Fitbit Charge 6 packs onboard GPS and useful smart functions, like support for Google Wallet and Maps. For example, the Garmin Vivoactive 6 is my favorite Fitbit alternative. According to Google, the owner of Fitbit, we can expect new Fitbit hardware in 2026.

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As a result, there’s an influx of technology-driven solutions that align perfectly with fitness enthusiasts’ needs, whether they prefer a fitness watch or a simpler tracker. The key is to choose a fitness tracker that integrates seamlessly with lifestyle preferences while providing robust support for fitness aspirations. The first one on our review is a cheap fitness tracker that offers a solid range of features for those just beginning their fitness journey. It connects seamlessly to your phone, ensuring every step is monitored effectively. Equipped with fundamental tracking capabilities, this tracker ensures you get the most value for your money. With the ability to track steps, calories, and active minutes, you’ll have all the essential information at your fingertips.

Best Under $100: Fitbit Inspire 3 for $99

Wearable Fitness Trackers provide these practical solutions without high costs, making them the perfect entry point for anyone new to fitness tracking. The Google Pixel Watch 4 is a solid fitness tracker in 2026 if you have an Android phone. It’s redesigned with a brighter, curved display and longer battery life, so you can go longer between charges and actually use features like sleep and fitness tracking without needing to charge it every night. Google Pixel Watches and Fitbit are now under the same ecosystem, so it also brings powerful health and activity tracking, fast performance, and on‑wrist AI help from Gemini. However, as with any smart ring, native workout tracking can’t compete with wrist-based alternatives. Beginners should prioritize trackers with easy-to-use interfaces, heart rate monitors, and step counters.

It’s a by-the-numbers fitness tracker and you’ll get a TPU band as standard. While the lack of GPS might be a turn-off for some, there are 155 fitness modes to track a range of different workouts. Battery life is extremely competitive (thanks in part to the lack of GPS), and your metrics are delivered by the Mi Fitness app. Take a look at this at-a-glance overview, which picks out the most important features of each device so you can quickly narrow down your options, then jump down the page for a more detailed look. In most cases, fitness trackers are waterproof and will survive showering, running in the rain and a dip in the pool or sea. With open water swimming and triathlon modes, it’s also one of the best fitness trackers for swimming.

AKUMAKA Health Fitness Tracker

While smaller than your average wearable, the Oura Ring still tracks a ton of metrics, including heart rate variability, body temperature, blood oxygen, all-day heart rate monitoring, and cycle tracking. This smartwatch can record your activity, heart rate, and sleep (including naps), and use that information to generate a daily health and wellness summary in the morning. It’ll also create an evening report suggesting how much sleep you need, and details about your upcoming workout. If you’re traveling, the watch can offer suggestions adjusting on your sleep schedule and exercise. These features can help prepare you for your next race, while the smart features improve the watch’s usefulness when you’re not on the track. The blood pressure monitor offers a peek at your health, though don’t expect it to be as accurate as a device specifically designed for blood pressure monitoring.

Garmin Lily 2

Whether you are training for a marathon or working out for the first time in months, a fitness tracker can show you health and exercise data that can help you better understand your efforts. Most have heart rate, GPS and activity tracking built-in, and many can provide insights into your sleep and recovery. I test fitness trackers and smartwatches regularly, and have tested dozens over the years. To pick the best ones, I also spoke with health and training experts to pick the best ones on the market. The Amazfit Active 2 is designed like a smartwatch but priced like a fitness tracker. It has an AMOLED screen and over 160 workout modes with downloadable maps with turn-by-turn directions.

Heart Rate Monitors

It’s water-resistant to 164 feet reviews of unimeal and can last up to five days on a charge. The Xiaomi Mi Smart Band is our No. 1 pick for the best budget fitness tracker. It’s priced under $50 and has all the features you’d expect from a wearable fitness tracker, like heart rate monitoring, sleep tracking, and pedometer capabilities.

When looking for ways to enhance your fitness journey, it’s essential to consider both your fitness and financial goals. Opting for a budget-friendly fitness watch provides you with the ability to monitor your heart rate, a crucial factor in understanding your overall health and fitness progress. Additionally, Wearable Fitness Trackers can guide your workouts effectively by offering insights and data-driven adaptability tailored to your unique needs. These fitness trackers are not just budget-friendly but also smart investments into your health. By choosing any one of these models, you’ll have a reliable companion to guide you through your fitness routines, making it easier to commit to your health objectives. With such affordable fitness solutions, starting your fitness journey has never been easier or more economical.

Some fitness trackers (like the Charge 6) give you a vast array of stats with detailed analysis, while others (such as the Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 8 Pro) keep things uncomplicated. If you regularly take on challenges that take you beyond the phone network, this is the fitness tracker you need. You’ll pay a big premium for it but this Garmin watch is the most capable fitness tracker you can buy. The adventure-ready, Garmin Fenix 8 Pro multisport GPS watch does it all. Fitness tracking includes over 100 sport modes, with watersports, diving (up to 40m), golf, trail running and even laser tag. There are guided fitness animations for warm-ups across seven workouts, AI running plans and offline mapping, route guidance and off-course alerts.

Who It’s For

It was comfortable — its heart-rate sensor is flat, which is a nice touch. Fitness trackers can give you a better idea of how you move your body throughout the day. They’re useful for people who want to set goals to increase daily movement and gain a better picture of their activities. 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. The first was that, in almost every video, the instructors push Beachbody’s protein shake brand, Shakeology—if I’m already paying for a fitness plan, I don’t want to be told to buy something else.

Above all else, it’s important that your fitness tracker is comfortable; otherwise, you might not want to wear it at all. It melds the manufacturer’s excellent GPS and heart-rate tracking with a big, easy-to-read OLED display, while keeping the price down at around £250/$250 (although it’s often discounted). If you’ve got a Samsung Galaxy Watch, you may want to consider the $399.99 Galaxy Ring. It’s a bit more expensive than the base Oura Ring, but it doesn’t come with a subscription, and you get much better battery life when used with the Galaxy Watch.

Amazfit Balance Smart Watch

• So if you want a cheap fitness tracker to help kickstart your fitness push in 2025, here are our top picks.
• It’s also packed with an almost overwhelming number of sports modes and includes SpO2 monitoring.
• Still, it keeps many of the Garmin training features and that all-important GPS tech without breaking the bank.
• It also uses Garmin’s unique Body Battery function, which can tell how well you rest each day and whether you should push for a PR or take it easy during your next workout.
• A Google representative confirmed that existing Fitbit account users can continue to log in with their Fitbit accounts through February 2, 2026.
• Explore How Gut Health Impacts Overall Wellness to understand the internal support behind performance.

It offers Garmin’s full range of sports modes, the broadest suite of training, fitness, recovery tools and health insights on any watch we tested. An endurance-friendly battery life with incredible customisation to help you eke out more. The best mapping and navigation going, brought to life by a big, punchy display.

Both Lewis-Trammell and Athayde say that comfort and wearability are the most important factors of any fitness tracker. One standout feature I love is workout animation — the watch will play short videos of a silhouette performing certain exercises. The Leaf tracks activity, sleep, stress levels, and even menstrual cycles through the companion app, making it both discreet and practical. It runs for months on a coin-cell battery, so there’s no need for frequent charging. Luckily, there are plenty of trackers that are not watches that still offer powerful insights, in more discreet or unconventional forms.