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Whatever your fitness goals are, living a healthier lifestyle is easier when you have something to track your activity throughout the day automatically. Fitbits are great tools for this, but with so many to choose from, which one should you buy and why? We think the Fitbit Versa 3 is the best Fitbit you can buy, offering a great blend of features, specs, and design at a price your wallet will love.
Best Fitbit overall: Fitbit Versa 3
Fitbit makes many fantastic fitness wearables, but if you ask us, the best one you can buy right now is the Fitbit Versa 3.
Combining the best bits of a smartwatch and fitness tracker into one, the Versa 3 is lightweight and slim enough to fit onto even the smallest of wrists and not look obnoxiously big the way competing watches can. In addition, it has a gorgeous AMOLED display on the hardware side of things, a battery that lasts over six days on a single charge, and it's waterproof up to 50 meters. Compared to the Versa 2, Versa 3 has a much-improved watchband design and charger — both of which are great quality-of-life changes.
You'll find all of your usual fitness features here, such as all-day activity and sleep tracking, 24/7 heart-rate monitoring, and automatic workout detection. The Versa 3 will also give you little reminders to move throughout the day, has on-screen workouts you can follow, and female users can use it to track their menstrual cycle.
As a smartwatch, the Versa 3 is a lot more capable than something like the Luxe or Inspire. You can easily view all of the notifications you get throughout the day, the app store has some big names like Spotify and Starbucks, and you can talk to Alexa just like you would on an Echo speaker. There's also storage for 300+ songs, and if you're a fan of contactless payments, Fitbit Pay is included by default. Oh, and the Google Assistant is coming soon.
The Versa 3 isn't the most feature-rich wearable in Fitbit's lineup, but for most people, it's the one we'd recommend picking up.
Pros:
- Slim, lightweight design
- AMOLED display is excellent
- More than six days of battery life
- Built-in GPS and NFC
- Local music storage
Cons:
- Always-on display drains the battery
- Limited app selection
Best Fitbit overall
Fitbit Versa 3 Health & Fitness Smartwatch
The best Fitbit you can get
Overall, the Fitbit Versa 3 is the best Fitbit you can buy now. It's lightweight, has a ton of features, and is a great price.
Best Fitness band: Fitbit Charge 5
We have a lot of love for the Versa 3 and Sense, but at the same time, we also understand that not everyone is ready for a full-fledged smartwatch. So for them, one of our top recommendations goes to the Fitbit Charge 5.
Fitness bands are Fitbit's bread and butter, and the Charge 5 has all of the fitness goodies you could ask for. There's all-day and sleep tracking, a heart-rate sensor, reminders to move, automatic workout detection, etc. The AMOLED color screen is a bit narrower than the Versa's, but even so, you can still view all of your activity stats directly on your wrist throughout the day. This is also only one of three gadgets in the entire Fitbit lineup with built-in GPS and NFC, allowing you to see your real-time pace and map outdoor runs and pay for things on the go without having to bring your phone with you.
The Charge 5 does have some added "smart" features, such as receiving notifications from your phone and allowing you to respond to some of them. You'll also find essential apps for the weather, setting a timer, and performing EDA and ECG scans.
There's one more thing we need to talk about, and that's battery life. The Fitbit Charge 5 can run for up to seven days on one charge, meaning you should only have to juice it up once a week.
Pros:
- Sleek and comfortable design
- New AMOLED color screen
- Activity, sleep, and female health tracking
- 24/7 heart-rate sensor
- Battery lasts up to seven days
- Built-in GPS and NFC
- EDA and ECG sensors
Cons:
- No music storage
- Very basic apps
Best fitness band
Fitbit Charge 5 Fitness and Activity Tracker
All about fitness
Not ready for a smartwatch? The Charge 5 delivers robust fitness tracking and advanced sensors in a compact body.
Best premium Fitbit: Fitbit Sense
The Fitbit Sense is currently the flagship smartwatch Fitbit sells, and it has a lot in common compared to the Versa 3. Everything offered on the Versa 3 is present on the Sense, meaning it has a solid foundation. But if that's the case, what's causing the price increase? New sensors.
There are a few sensors on the Sense you don't get on Versa 3 (or any other Fitbit), the first of which is ECG. This allows you to check your heart's rhythm and can be a tool for detecting atrial fibrillation (also known as AFib). The ECG app for Sense won't be ready until October, but it is coming soon.
Also present on the Sense is an EDA sensor, which analyzes your body's electrodermal activity. This can be used as a way to measure how your body responds to stressors, with Fitbit hoping it'll give you a better understanding of the stress you feel during the day and encourage you to take care of your mental health in addition to your physical. There's even a temperature sensor, giving you minute-by-minute readings of how your body temperature changes throughout the night while you sleep.
All of these sensors are really cool and have a lot of potential, but it's up to you to decide if they're worth the extra money. If not, you might as well save your cash and just go with the Versa 3.
At Google I/O 2021, Fitbit's CEO confirmed that the next premium Fitbit smartwatch would run Google's Wear OS, and that other Wear watches moving forward will have Fitbit software onboard. We look forward to seeing what these new devices will look like, but for now, the Sense is where it's at.
Pros:
- Same great hardware as the Versa 3
- Robust activity and sleep tracking tools
- Built-in GPS
- ECG and EDA sensors
- Monitors your body's temperature
Cons:
- Expensive
- New sensors won't be useful to everyone
Best premium Fitbit
Fitbit Sense Advanced Smartwatch
Sense everything
Offering the same foundation as the Versa 3, in addition to a bunch of extra sensors, the Fitbit Sense has a lot to offer.
Best cheap smartwatch: Fitbit Versa 2
The Versa 3 is our go-to Fitbit recommendation, but for shoppers working with a more limited budget, 2019's Fitbit Versa 2 still stands out as a great option. Admittedly, it's not as fully featured or refined as Versa 3, but if your goal is to get a Fitbit smartwatch while spending as little as possible, it's worth your consideration.
Let's start with what's the same. The Fitbit Versa 2 has all of the same health/fitness tracking features as the Versa 3. This means activity, sleep, menstrual tracking, and more. You're getting an older version of Fitbit's PurePulse heart-rate sensor, though, and there's no built-in GPS. In other words, if you want to map your run or walk, you'll need to bring your phone with you.
You'll also find many of the same smartwatch features, including notification support, Amazon Alexa, and room to store over 300 of your favorite songs.
Pros:
- Same health tracking as Versa 3
- Great design
- Local music storage
- Amazon Alexa built-in
- Competitive price
Cons:
- Doesn't have built-in GPS
- Bad watch bands and charger
Best cheap smartwatch
Fitbit Versa 2 Health and Fitness Smartwatch
Lots of smarts for less
If you're OK sacrificing GPS and some hardware refinements, the Versa 2 is a solid smartwatch offering for less.
Best budget tracker: Fitbit Inspire 2
If you like the idea of the Charge 4, but it's too rich for your blood, you can get almost all of its features for less with the Fitbit Inspire 2. Not only is this the most affordable Fitbit you can buy, but it's also the lightest. It's so light that you might forget you're wearing the thing!
That small size means you miss out on the built-in GPS from the Charge 4, but unless you're an avid runner or cyclist, that shouldn't be a deal-breaker — especially when you consider the Inspire 2's price.
Outside of the missing GPS, the Inspire 2 comes with almost everything else you could ask for. It tracks your all-day activity and sleep and automatically detects exercises. 24/7 heart-rate monitoring is included, too, as is a full-year membership to Fitbit Premium at no added cost! Combine all of that with up to 10 days of battery on a single charge, and you end up with a really capable tracker.
As wonderful as the Inspire 2 is, it is more utilitarian than fashion-focused. If you're interested in a similarly-sized tracker that looks a bit more luxurious, you might want to check out the Fitbit Luxe. That tracker has a stainless steel finish, a color AMOLED screen, and a host of stylish bands and accessories.
Pros:
- Fitbit's lightest tracker
- 10-day battery life
- Heart-rate sensor
- Activity and sleep tracking
- Swimproof
Cons:
- No GPS
- Small display
Best budget tracker
Fitbit - Inspire 2 Fitness Tracker
Get fit on a budget
Want to spend as little as possible? The Inspire 2 delivers all of the fitness-tracking features needed for an exceptional price.
Best Fitbit for kids: Fitbit Ace 3
Living a healthy lifestyle is just as crucial for your kids as it is for yourself. So for the youngsters in your family, Fitbit has a tracker specifically for them in the form of the Fitbit Ace 3.
Essentially a repackaged version of the Inspire line, the Fitbit Ace 3 has activity and sleep tracking, pushes kids to get at least 60 minutes of active time each day (per CDC recommendations), is swim-proof, and lasts for up to eight days on a single charge (an improvement of three days over the Inspire 2).
Fitbit's added a few nifty tweaks on the software side of things to ensure kids have the best and safest experience possible. For example, kids get a unique Kid View on the Fitbit app that only shows select data, including their stats, any badges they've earned, and clock faces they can choose for the Ace 3. In addition, parents/guardians have a Parent View on their own app, allowing them to see their kids' activity and approve various connections/permissions.
Available in two fun color combos, the Ace 3 is the go-to Fitbit if you want something tailored specifically for a younger user. Fitbit has release a couple of fun Minions-themed bands as additional accessories.
Pros:
- Rugged, waterproof design
- Activity and sleep tracking
- Up to eight days of battery
- Special Kid and Parent Views for the Fitbit app
- Bedtime reminders
Cons:
- A kid-focused fitness tracker might not be for everyone
Best Fitbit for kids
Fitbit Ace 3 Activity Tracker
This one's for the kids
For younger users that aren't ready for the full Fitbit experience, the Ace 3 is designed specifically with them in mind.
Bottom line
As you can see, Fitbit makes a lot of great fitness trackers/smartwatches. Deciding which one is right for you can be a little tricky, but for most people, we think the best choice is the Fitbit Versa 3.
The Versa 3 does a great job at being both one of the best Android smartwatches and one of the best fitness trackers in one petite package. All of the popular fitness-tracking features are here, including some more powerful ones such as on-screen workouts and built-in GPS. The hardware's also top-notch, with Fitbit making considerable improvements over the Versa 2.
As a smartwatch, there's also a lot to like. You can receive and respond to your phone notifications, download popular apps such as Uber, Starbucks, and Spotify, and store up to 300 local songs right on your wrist. The Versa 3 also comes with a microphone, allowing you to use your voice to reply to texts and ask endless questions to Alexa (and soon the Google Assistant).
If you want a smartwatch with some of the best fitness features around, the Versa 3 is a great pick — and our choice for the best Fitbit in 2021.
Credits — The team that worked on this guide
Joe Maring Joe loves talking about all things tech, but smart wearables are what get him excited (just ask the drawer of smartwatches in his office). He also likes coffee and goes to Starbucks far too often.
Jeramy Johnson is proud to help Keep Austin Weird and loves hiking in the hill country of central Texas with a breakfast taco in each hand. When he's not writing about smart home gadgets and wearables, he's defending his relationship with his smart voice assistants to his family. You can follow him on Twitter at @jeramyutgw.
by Joe Maring