The first fitness trackers were very expensive. They not only cost a lot of money, they were complicated and didn’t have a lot of features. For that reason, the only people using them were wealthy or very serious athletes who wanted to monitor their sports training performance.
Fast forward to today and fitness trackers are not only loaded with features, they are also much cheaper to buy.
Yes, you can still spend hundreds of dollars on a state-of-the-art fitness tracker, but for most exercisers, a more budget-friendly model will do just fine. And some of these cheaper models are still packed with very useful features. Most cost about the same and can be worn in place of a decent wristwatch.
With so many makes and models to choose from it can be hard to know where to start when buying a budget fitness tracker. To help you, I have reviewed three of the best options around. There are cheaper fitness trackers around but the models I’ve selected offer the best value in terms of features versus price.
If you want a fitness tracker but don’t want to break the bank buying it, any one of these will serve you well.
1. Fitbit Alta Fitness Tracker
- Track steps, distance, calories burned and active minutes
- See stats and time with a bright OLED tap display;Battery life up to 5 days. Battery life and charge cycles vary with use, settings, and other factors; actual results will vary. Radio transceiver: Bluetooth 4.0
- Automatically track how long and how well you sleep, and set a silent, vibrating alarm ; The Fitbit Alta wristband is made of a flexible, durable elastomer material similar to that used in many sports watches. The Alta tracker and clasp are made with surgical-grade stainless steel ; Syncs Wirelessly : Android and Windows devices
- Personalize with interchangeable metal, leather and classic bands sold separately ; Battery life up to 5 days. Battery life and charge cycles vary with use, settings, and other factors; actual results will vary. Battery type: Lithium-polymer. Charge time: One to two hours
- Get call, text and calendar notifications at a glance when phone is nearby.Syncing range: Up to 45 m
Fitbit are a well-known brand for fitness trackers, making a wide range of popular products. The Alta Fitness Tracker only just slips into the under $100 category, but the wide range of features offered make it worth including.
It’s designed to help you stay motivated by tracking all-day activity like steps, distance, calories burned and active minutes, and scores your workouts with SmartTrack automatic exercise recognition. It will also track your sleep and the easy-to-read LED screen keeps your goals in focus with stats, time, and call or text notifications on display.
Amazon reviewers award the Alta Fitness Tracker 3.8 out of five stars, with 56% of the 11,000+ reviews giving the full five out of five.
2. Letsfit Fitness Tracker HR, Activity Tracker Watch with Heart Rate Monitor
If you are looking for a cheap but functional fitness tracker, this bargain offering from Letsfit is the ideal choice. Costing around $30, it has many of the functions that are more normally found on expensive models, such as a heartrate monitor and sleep monitoring. It is, however, only water resistant so it’s not suitable for swimming.
Available in nine colors, the Letsfit Fitness Tracker HR, Activity Tracker Watch with Heart Rate Monitor scores an impressive 3.9 out of five stars on Amazon.com, with 53% of users giving it the full five out of five.
- 【Please use the tracker with "VeryFitPro" app. Download the app by scanning the QR code in the user manual.】All-day Activity Tracking: Accurately record all-day activities like steps, distance, calories burned, active minutes and sleep status
- 【"ZHWY" is an authorized seller of Letsfit products, products purchased from a non-authorized seller/distributor may be fake and will not be covered by our warranty.】Multi-Sport Tracking: 14 exercise modes help you better understand every activity data (you can set up to 3 different sports modes from 14 sports modes to display on the tracker screen); tap the tracker to monitor a variety of exercises and read exercise data report in app
- Auto Heart Rate and Sleep Monitoring: Track real-time heart rate automatically and continuously; know your all-day heart rate and view heart rate curve to get a clear picture of your health; automatically track your sleep duration and consistency with comprehensive analysis of sleep quality data
- Never Miss Calls and Messages: See call, SMS and SNS notification on your wrist to keep your phone out of sight and your goals in focusCustomer Service: 7*24H email reply, 60 days replacement or refund, 12 months warranty.
- Built-in USB Plug: Built-in USB plug makes it easy to charge with any USB block and computer; no charging cable and dock needed; one single charge gives you up to 7 days of working time
3. Garmin Vívofit 2 Activity Tracker
Garmin are another well-known manufacturer of fitness gadgets, especially sports watches and GPS navigators. It has many functions including an alarm to remind you to get up and move, tracks steps, calories, and distance, and can be paired with a chest strap to monitor your heart rate (chest strap sold separately.) It also monitors sleep. The Garmin Vívofit 2 Activity Tracker syncs automatically with Garmin Connect, the free online portal that stores your workout information for easy tracking.
Available in a wide range of colors, the Garmin Vívofit 2 Activity Tracker scores 4.0 out of five stars with 54% of users awarding it the full five out of five.
- Move bar w/audible alert - Reminds you to stay active throughout the day by displaying a red move bar and sounding an alert after one hour of inactivity. Additional segments lightup for every 15 minutes of inactivity. Walk for a couple of minutes to reset.
- BACKLIT DISPLAY - The display is always on so you won't miss a beat. Turn on the backlight to see your stats, even in the dark.
- ACTIVITY TIMER - Record activities with or without a heart rate monitor. Water rating:5 ATM. Display resolution : Segmented LCD. Sleep monitoring (monitors total sleep and periods of movement or restful sleep)
- 1 + year battery life - vίvofit 2 stays on for more than a year without having to change the battery, so you don't have to worry about recharging.
- Auto Sync - vίvofit 2 automatically syncs with paired mobile devices at strategic times throughout the day, such as when a goal is met or when several steps have been taken since the last sync.
Which one is right for you?
If price is your main concern, the Letsfit Fitness Tracker Watch (available at Amazon.com) with Heart Rate Monitor is a great choice. It’s got a good array of features, and the low price makes it an absolute bargain.
If you want big-brand features and reliability, but don’t want to empty your wallet in the process, the Garmin Vívofit 2 Activity Tracker (available at Amazon.com) is a good choice. There is a new, updated version of this tracker now available, the Vivofit 3, but the older model gets better reviews and is a little cheaper which makes it a very good buy.
Fitbit make some of the best and most well-known fitness trackers around, but they can be expensive. The Fitbit Alta Fitness Tracker is an entry-level tracker that provides a cost-effective way to get into the Fitbit way of life. Available at Amazon.com.
More Fitness Trackers
1 Email Every Friday
2 Simple & Healthy Recipes
One Article with Tips and Tricks to Boost your Well-being
100% FREE: One email per week, exclusive content, no ads, and, of course, you can unsubscribe anytime you want.
Last update on 2019-03-27 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
