Garmin vs Fitbit: which is better?

Garmin vs Fitbit , which should you choose? Generally, Garmins are for fitness nerds, Fitbits are for those who would prefer a tracker with a more friendly face. That has been the traditional take on these two brands, and it still mostly holds up in 2024. Garmin’s trackers tend to offer significantly better core stat accuracy and reliability than Fitbits. The latest models also have more advanced GPS navigation. However, Fitbits tend to have a more deliberate sense of style, and their prices don’t reach anything like the heights of the top Garmin trackers. The Fitbit Sense 2 and Charge 6 also have a couple of features not seen in Garmin rivals, such as ECG/EKG hardware to monitor sinus rhythm.

Fitbit vs Apple Watch: which is better?

Fitbit vs Apple Watch , which is better? Fitbit makes a wider array of wearables than Apple. Conversely, all Apple Watches look roundly similar aside from how much of the front is covered by a screen. The Fitbit Versa and Sense watches get much closer to the Apple Watch style. However, even these last significantly longer than Apple’s watches off a charge. This makes Fitbits better for sleep tracking, and Fitbit has one of the best sleep-tracking features on the market. On the other hand, an Apple Watch will have a better heart rate sensor than a Fitbit’s. It also has the best app ecosystem of any watch.

Are fitness trackers worth it?

In short, yes. "Fitness trackers have many useful features and have helped myself and my clients with data collection you can then use to make better fitness decisions," Nathan Kennedy, a certified personal trainer, told Live Science. "Most fitness trackers track number of steps taken, heart rate, and sleep patterns. Some also have connected apps that allow you track your overall progress, set goals as well as offer guidelines to help you achieve your fitness goals." Many fitness trackers have “stress” monitoring, and guided mindfulness breathing exercises to help you lower that stress level. Even cheap models will also relay notifications received, and this can be a useful if you want to spend less time on your phone after work.

Can fitness trackers make you fitter?

Fitness trackers can help you get fitter and healthier. Studies have shown that using smart wearables can help you increase physical activity levels and improve body composition, according to a 2022 meta-analysis published in the journal Lancet Digital Health . "Fitness trackers not only encourage exercise and weight loss, but may also help lower blood pressure and cholesterol in people with Type 2 diabetes and other health conditions," Kennedy told Live Science.

Do fitness trackers help with motivation?

In short, yes, they can. "Accountability is much higher when using a fitness tracker as you get the sense personal motivation or if you’re in a group challenge with your friends," Kennedy said. "Trackers can provide feedback to help people monitor their progress toward activity goals and can remind wearers of them. Some trackers come with or integrate with mobile apps that inspire a variety of behavior changes. Ideally, trackers can help users to develop lifestyles that make it easier to integrate physical activity into daily life. The easier it is for the user to get into a lifestyle that works for them the bigger the chance of them achieving their end goal is."

Are fitness trackers accurate?

Fitness trackers record a bunch of metrics, each of which introduces accuracy headaches. For step counting, how does a tracker separate steps from hand movements while you work sat at a desk? How can a yoga tracking mode really judge calories burnt when it does not know your muscle tension or perhaps even the positions you adopt? The best fitness trackers now offer good reliability in a few crucial areas, though, heart rate and location — which look at the distances you run or walk. We find Apple Watches and some of the latest Garmin watches, like the Fenix 7, are top-tier performers for heart rate tracking. Apple led the pack for years, but others are starting to catch up. A 2019 study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research found the Apple Watch offered “clinically acceptable accuracy” for HR tracking during exercise, a higher standard than it might sound — and that was for an old Apple Watch variant. However, it also found the watch overestimated calories burnt. Almost all fitness trackers with GPS will provide fairly good distance stats, particularly if you give them time to lock-on properly before starting your session. A lot of other trackers still struggle a little with heart rate readings, though. Interval training and very high exertion in general can be problematic, although in truth this is not a huge issue for most people. Are you really going to pore over the heart rate graph in your tracker’s app? SpO2 (blood oxygenation) readings can be more problematic, because we find most wearables can throw out highly suspect results at times. You will often get better results on a second or third attempt, but we frequently see readings that suggest we should head straight to the hospital from high-end trackers. That said, a study published in Nature concluded the old Apple Watch Series 6 is a reliable enough way to monitor SpO2 in patients with lung conditions. The best way to approach a fitness tracker’s stats is to compare your exercise results to your own, from previous sessions. Comparing with a friend’s tracker will expose the way different brands’ algorithms color the results. You should also make sure your tracker’s strap is snug and firmly strapped on before starting a tracked exercise session. This will get you the best results from the heart rate sensor.

Do fitness trackers accurately count calories?

Most fitness trackers can tell you how many calories you burn, and some models can even guide you on the choice of activity that matches your energy requirements. However, these calorie measurements may not be entirely accurate, according to a 2020 systematic review and meta-analysis published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine . Researchers pulled results from 60 studies and found that, on the whole, fitness trackers tended to underestimate energy expenditure, especially during sedentary and household tasks. They also noted that different wearables can produce vastly different readings. That is because fitness trackers do not measure calories directly — they use a combination of different data points to assess your approximate energy expenditure. These metrics often include physical activity levels, heart rate and basal metabolic rate (BMR), meaning the minimum number of calories the body needs to maintain normal bodily functions, such as breathing or pumping blood, Dr. Alka Patel , a lifestyle medicine physician and longevity expert based in London, told Live Science. Most devices calculate your BMR based on height, weight and age, and then put this information into a complex algorithm. This means that calorie values obtained by a fitness tracker may not be as accurate as those obtained through validated clinical tests. However, these devices may still be useful for monitoring calorie trends, meaning changes in energy expenditure over time, Patel said. To make sure your fitness tracker is as accurate as possible, keep your device close to the body, Patel noted. Most wearables use optical sensors, meaning they use light to detect changes in blood flow under the skin. “If you're wearing a loose-fitting bracelet or loose-fitting ring, the readings are not going to be accurate,” she said.

Can fitness trackers measure blood pressure?

Right now there’s only one mainstream consumer wearable that has true standalone blood pressure monitoring, the Huawei Watch D. And it is not widely available. Samsung has offered blood pressure readings in its top watches since 2020’s Galaxy Watch 3. However, the feature is only unlocked in certain countries/markets, and is much more limited than the Huawei Watch D’s version. Where the Huawei Watch D adopts the method used by blood pressure cuffs with a specialist strap that inflates, the Galaxy Watch uses the heart rate reader on the back to evaluate pulse transit time. Fitbit is researching a similar method, using pulse arrival time. However, such methods that do not demand bespoke hardware do need to be regularly recalibrated using a traditional blood pressure cuff. Samsung says results should be taken with one every four weeks, for example. Rumors of a blood pressure feature for Apple Watches have circulated for a while, but the latest report suggests we won’t see it released until September 2024. However, you can use an Apple Watch to log blood pressure readings taken elsewhere, in the Apple Health app. Apple sells Withings’s BPM Connect smart blood pressure cuff at the Apple Store. Blood pressure via a wearable? It’s not quite there yet. And as the Huawei Watch D is expensive, hard to get hold of, and something we have not tested, you are better off with a more traditional cuff-style design for now.

Can fitness trackers detect sleep apnea?

Sleep apnea is a disorder that causes repeated bouts of breathlessness or shallow breathing during sleep. Around 30 million people in the US may have this condition, but the vast majority of cases are not diagnosed and treated, according to the American Medical Association . That is because the key symptoms of sleep apnea — gasping for air, loud snoring and lapses in breathing — occur throughout the night, and people with this disorder are not awake when they happen. So given that many fitness trackers come with sleep tracking features, can smart wearables detect sleep apnea? In short: not yet. Devices currently available on the market are not accurate enough to provide a valid diagnosis of sleep apnea. However, fitness trackers have potential to be used in the future, according to a 2020 review published in the Journal of Thoracic Disease . Fitness trackers provide several data points that, when combined and interpreted together, can indicate whether someone has sleep apnea, Dr. Alka Patel , a lifestyle medicine physician and longevity expert based in London, told Live Science. People with this condition often sleep for fewer hours and have worse quality of sleep than individuals without sleep apnea. For example, they tend to spend less time in deep (non-REM) sleep , the stage of sleep critical for growth and recovery, she said. During an episode of sleep apnea, the heart rate and oxygen saturation levels may drop, and then increase and recover after the episode is over. People with sleep apnea also tend to toss and turn in their sleep. All of these parameters can show up on a fitness tracker. However, it is for a healthcare professional to put these metrics together, interpret them and then confirm the sleep apnea diagnosis with clinically-approved tests, Patel said. That is because commercially available fitness trackers often under- or overestimate sleep duration and may not accurately distinguish whether someone is awake or not. They may also fall short of providing reliable cardiovascular measurements or accurately detecting sleep stages, the 2020 review authors noted. If you are concerned about the readings on your fitness tracker, it is best to consult your doctor.

Can fitness trackers detect heart problems?

Fitness trackers can tell you a lot about the inner workings of your heart, such as the frequency of your heartbeat. Some devices can even help you choose the best activities to boost your cardiovascular health. But can fitness trackers detect heart problems, too? The answer to this question is not straightforward. “There have been many advancements in the technology used in fitness trackers, and the ability for people to track their heart rate is helpful, but it shouldn’t be a replacement for medical care,” Dr. Mark Estes III , a Pittsburgh-based cardiologist and past chair of the American Heart Association’s scientific publishing committee and Council on Clinical Cardiology, told Live Science by email. Smart wearables tend to use photoplethysmography, a technology that employs optical sensors to detect blood flow and determine heart rate. If you look at the underside of a smartwatch, you might see a bright light emitted by one of these sensors. Studies have shown that heart rate measurements picked up by fitness trackers tend to be relatively accurate. Still, they are not as precise as electrocardiogram (ECG) ― a recording of electrical signals in the heart obtained by placing electrodes on the skin, which is used to diagnose conditions like coronary heart disease and arrhythmias — according to a 2020 meta-analysis published in the Journal of Sports Sciences . The accuracy of heart rate readings also varies between different devices, and may depend on activity. For example, fitness trackers tend to be more precise at measuring heart rate during sleep than during high-intensity exercise, such as running. Lastly, heart rate alone may not be enough to identify a cardiovascular condition, Peter Charlton , a British Heart Foundation Research Fellow in the Department of Public Health and Primary Care at the University of Cambridge, told Live Science. However, certain smart wearables may be able to detect signs of atrial fibrillation , a condition in which the heart beats too quickly, too slowly or has an irregular rhythm. “Some fitness trackers can identify an irregular heart rhythm, and their accuracy is sufficient to warrant a further clinical investigation,” Charlton said. But again, wrist-based devices cannot fully substitute for an ECG test, he cautioned. For example, a 2022 study published in the journal Circulation found that some Fitbit devices were highly accurate at predicting whether someone may have atrial fibrillation. However, these fitness trackers could not identify the condition during exercise. That is because photoplethysmography sensors could only detect heart rhythm irregularities during periods of inactivity, the study authors noted. The takeaway? “If you receive any alerts from your fitness tracker about possible abnormalities or experience any other symptoms like dizziness or shortness of breath, it’s important to contact your doctor for further testing,” Estes said.

Why is GPS important in fitness trackers?

GPS is arguably the most powerful tool for fitness trackers. It’s why runners, keen walkers and cyclists should make sure their next fitness tracker has it. GPS triangulates your position with the help of satellites. One of these satellite arrays is called “GPS”, but today’s best watches also support others like GLONASS and Galileo. Each of these satellite arrays is maintained by a different country, or set of countries. By tracking your location, fitness trackers can produce maps of your runs, hikes and rides. These make historical records much more useful, so you can actually remember which workout an entry refers to. Accurate distance data is also important because it affects so many other readings. If the recorded distance is too low, the tracker will think you are slower than you are. And this in turn could affect fitness metrics like VO2 Max. It works the other way around too, of course — too long a recorded distance and the tracker will say you are faster than you really are. We always recommend a full GPS watch to runners in particular, but there is a second type of GPS. It’s Connected GPS. This is where the tracker does not have its own GPS chip, but can take GPS data from your phone, over Bluetooth. Many cheaper trackers without GPS have Connected GPS. And if you plan on running with your phone anyway, to listen to music or podcasts, it’s a decent stand-in. With no GPS at all, your tracker has to extrapolate distance using its motion sensors. It can count your strides and evaluate the pace of them to differentiate between running and walking. This can work pretty well with a good algorithm running behind the scenes, but GPS is better. And considering how cheap Connected GPS wearables get, we don’t recommend entirely non-GPS watches to many folks these days.

Best fitness trackers 2024

The best fitness trackers come in all shapes and sizes. While some smart wearables focus predominantly on tracking your vital stats — such as the budget-friendly Xiaomi Smart Band 7 or the innovative Oura ring — others can be a convenient one-stop shop for all your needs. For example, many of the best Garmin watches can map your running trails, tell the altitude, and even warn you when the weather conditions are about to change. Smartwatches like the Apple Watch Series 8, on the other hand, can act as a handy extension to your phone, thanks to smart features like contactless payment solutions, notification alerts or music playback.

The right fitness tracker can be invaluable to achieving your health and fitness goals. It is like having a pocket-sized personal trainer — it will help you make better fitness decisions and hold yourself accountable, Nathan Kennedy, a certified personal trainer, told Live Science. If you want to know more about the potential benefits of using fitness trackers, or how reliable they really are, scroll down to our Fitness tracker FAQs section to see what the experts say.

We know that picking the right fitness tracker can be tricky, which is why we have spent countless hours trying and testing some of the best models on the market. We looked at design, features, comfort, durability and performance, as well as looks, ease of use, and connectivity with third-party devices. You can check our How we test section down below for more information on our fitness tracker testing protocol.

The quick list

Best overall

Apple Watch Series 8

Best for iPhone users

This Apple Watch has all the best of Apple's high-end features and design tweaks while costing considerably less than the newer models. The caveat? One-day battery life.

Read more below

Best for tracking workouts

Garmin Fenix 7

Best for tracking workouts

This rugged multisport GPS smartwatch offers some of the best fitness tracking features money can get. However, it is quite chunky and expensive.

Read more below

Best on a budget

Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 7

Best under $50

This sleek-looking fitness tracker is packed to the brim with health tracking features and it costs less than $40 — but it compromises on accuracy and screen responsiveness.

Read more below

Best running watch

Garmin Forerunner 965

Best running watch

Designed with runners in mind, the Forerunner 965 boasts a sleek and durable design, excellent navigation systems, and plenty of features to help boost your running performance.

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Best for stress management

Amazfit Balance

Best for wellness

One of the lightest watches we have tested, the wallet-friendly Amazfit Balance impressed us with its compact build, range of apps for stress management, and accurate health tracking features.

Read more below

Best for sleep tracking

Fitbit Charge 5

Best for sleep tracking

Light and compact, yet brimming with advanced health tracking features, the Charge 5 is a great choice for those who want to improve their sleep hygiene.

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Why you can trust Live Science Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best ones for you. Find out more about how we test.

The best fitness tracker for iPhone users

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Apple Watch Series 8

Best for iPhone users: This stylish all-rounder offers an impressive display, great tracking accuracy and rich app ecosystem.

Specifications

Screen: 1.6/1.34-inches and 1.77/1.49-inches OLED

Water resistance: 5ATM

GPS: Yes

Compatibility: iOS

Battery life: 18 hours

Reasons to buy

Software improvements fitness geeks will love

Good GPS and heart rate accuracy

Ovulation tracking is a thoughtful addition

Reasons to avoid

Short battery life, as usual

Not much change from last year

Costs more than much of the competition

Buy it if

✅ You want accurate health tracking features: You can trust Apple's sensors — particularly when it comes to their heart rate measurements.
✅ You need a great all-rounder: It comes with countless apps and additional features, and it is comfortable to wear, too.

✅ You want to track your menstrual cycle: It features top-class temperature sensors and relevant software.

Don't buy it if

❌ You want a long battery life: It lasts just one day on a single charge.
❌ You are an Android user: Only compatible with other Apple devices.

If you are looking for great GPS and heart rate hardware, The Apple Watch Series 8 is a fantastic fitness tracker and our favorite of all the watches we have tested. We liked it so much that we gave this iconic wearable a massive 4.5 stars in our Apple Watch Series 8 review — and we even prefer it to the newer, more expensive Apple Watch models.

Apple really does offer best-in-class when it comes to health and safety features. In the Series 8, you will find an ECG monitor that can detect abnormal heart rhythms, a blood oxygen monitor and sleep tracking too. There is also an advanced gyroscope for fall detection, as well as ovulation tracking for those with a menstrual cycle. These are all features that you can find in other trackers, but in our experience the heart-tracking capabilities of Apple outstrip its competitors.

On top of that, the watch has an app library that’s bigger than all of its rivals put together. You can find second-party apps that will improve your yoga flows, help track your workouts and guide you on meditations. Compared with its predecessor, the Apple Watch Series 8 also offers more in-depth data on activities like running, including heart rate zones. You can even create custom workouts and save them to your watch.

But it is not without its faults; the watch is only compatible with iPhones and battery life only lasts for one day. Still, we think the model is the best combination of value, features and performance available on the market.

Read our full Apple Watch Series 8 review

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Best smartwatch for tracking workouts

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