Many of the best fitness trackers can perform well in the water but there are nuances to what they can do. The main difference is their water resistance rating, ideally with you wanting more than 5ATM (submersible up to 50 meters) and even some of the best budget fitness trackers can offer this. Some will be able to offer you customizable workouts, track your strokes and pace and give detailed data, whereas others will only be able to track your swimming distance through GPS.
Leo Gebbie, a Wearables Analyst, told us that more advanced smartwatches can offer deeper insights, which "can help more advanced swimmers to better track their performance in the water. Smartwatches with GPS also tend to offer an open water swimming mode." However, Leo warns against their accuracy: "The GPS signal is essentially lost every time the watch dips below the water, meaning it is far harder to obtain a smooth track of where a user has swum."
The quick list
The best fitness tracker for swimming overall
With 100m water resistance, the Polar Grit X is a more solid build than any Garmin with a stainless steel bezel and Gorilla Glass screen. This watch identifies your swimming style out of four options and can record your time, pace, distance, stroke and rest times plus you can use it for open water swimming.
The best for smaller budgets
An outstanding budget fitness tracker for those delving into tracking their swims for the first time. It offers 150+ workout modes, including swimming modes and has unbelievable battery life.
The best alternative to a watch
If you're a keen swimmer, the FORM Smart Swim 2 is a great alternative allowing you to see live stats right in front of your eyes without having to check your wrist. We loved how they guided us through the workout with ease allowing us to focus on our swim. These goggles can be used in pools and open water with differing features to improve your swimming technique.
The best for beginners
This watch is so versatile — it can track your swims, but is designed with endurance athletes in mind, so it has great performance outside of the pool, too. It's perfect for active people who want to start tracking their exercise with good accuracy.
The best for subtlety
Unlike your normal fitness tracker, the Whoop MG is more inconspicuous. It boasts 10m water resistance for up to two hours. We even tested it when wild swimming and found it to be unphased. Perfect for those looking for in-depth fitness data to ponder over.
The best for customization
With 50m water resistance, the Apple Watch Series 8 can handle swimming but its selling point is its connection to third-party apps and customizable swimming workouts. We'd recommend this watch for those looking for variety in their training.
The best for multisports
With a multitude of workout features and more than decent water resistance of 10ATM, this watch is ideal for those looking for a fitness tracker that does more than just track swims.
The best fitness trackers for swimming we recommend in 2025
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The best fitness tracker for swimming overall
✅ You want a reliable, accurate fitness tracker: Although dated compared to newer models, the Polar Grit X offers great accuracy for fitness tracking.
✅ You partake in open water swims: The 100m water resistance and durable build makes this watch perfect for open water swimming.
❌ You swim in remote outdoor locations: There is no multi-band GPS meaning accuracy can be impacted in remote locations.
❌ You want a smooth interface: A dated model that can sometimes feel a bit clunky to use.
🔎 Polar Grit X: A sturdy fitness tracker that can be taken in the pool or in the open water, able to accurately track your swimming style, distance, time and rests with ease ★★★½
The Polar Grit X is a solid fitness tracker that we mainly tested for runs and workouts but it does have great water resistance up to 100m. It has a range of battery life depending on what you're using it for, with the most being 100 hours in power-saving mode. Of course, if you're using it for open water swimming, you will be using the GPS and this brings it down to 40 hours which is still more than adequate, albeit a bit of a pain. Although it has a Gorilla Glass screen and stainless steel bezel, it's light weighing only 64g.
Price: The Polar Grit X is one of the more expensive fitness trackers out there, even though it is now considered an older model. It normally comes in around the $379 mark which sounds steep but it still packs a punch and is worth the investment if you don't mind not having the latest fitness tracker tech.
Water resistance: The reason we've rated this as the best overall is because of its amazing water resistance. You can wear this fitness tracker down to depths of 100m which means it is suitable for many types of swimming and what's even better, it is wearable in both pools and open waters.
Accuracy: What's surprising about this fitness tracker is its accuracy even though it is not the latest release. We tested it in runs and workouts and found it had decent stat accuracy with our reviewer commenting that for heart rate and location tracking, it worked "if not perfectly". It also performed well during our test workouts in recording our distances and locations, performing similarly to the Garmin Forerunner we tested against. For swimmers, the Polar Grit X can track your swims and identify your swimming style from four types with Polar noting that 'Freestyle' is the only swim style recognised for open water swims. The tracker can also record your times, pace, distance and rests for each swim.
However, one thing it lacks compared to newer models like the Garmin Epix 2, is multi-band GPS. Multi-band GPS uses different frequencies to reduce the errors caused by obstacles such as tall buildings or trees. This technology can help fitness trackers' accuracy when you're in more challenging environments. As the Polar Grit X doesn't have this, it's worth bearing this in mind if you swim in disused quarries or remote locations as accuracy may be affected.
Battery life: The Polar Grit X has various battery life depending on what you're using it for. For swimming, the GPS will be enabled so you can expect a mediocre battery life of 40 hours before it needs charging.
Design: The Gorilla Glass and stainless steel bezel make the Polar Grit X a highly durable fitness tracker that will last a long time. Even though it has the stainless steel bezel and Gorilla Glass screen, it remains light at 64g meaning it won't become too cumbersome while swimming. We also noted in our review that there was minimal use of color for the display and that sometimes the interface wasn't that intuitive so this is something to bear in mind if you lack patience.
Read more: Polar Grit X
Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
Water resistance | Able to swim in deep waters | ★★★★★ |
Accuracy | Great at tracking workouts, although some dated tech | ★★★★ |
Battery life | Sufficient battery life for an older model | ★★★★ |
Design | Love the durability of this tracker | ★★★★ |
The best budget option
✅ You’re new to tracking your swims: This is an uncomplicated option for those looking for a budget fitness tracker to track their swims.
✅ You want great battery life: It’s hard to believe a budget fitness tracker can offer such extended battery life, but it’s true, the Xiaomi Smart Band 10 does just that, with it lasting nearly the three-week testing period without a charge.
❌ You want to do open water swims: This fitness tracker doesn’t have its own GPS so will rely on your smartphone’s GPS — this may be an issue for accurate tracking when open water swimming.
❌ You need a larger watch face: While we liked the slender design, it may be too small for others.
🔎 Xiaomi Smart Band 10: You can’t really get better than this budget fitness tracker. With 150+ workout modes to choose from, including swimming modes, this tracker will more than satisfy you if this is your first delve into tracking your swims. ★★★★½
Xiaomi are a great option for anyone looking for a budget fitness tracker. We previously rated the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 quite highly, but have since tested the Xiaomi Smart Band 10 and can see where improvements have been made (and awarded it four and a half stars out of five in our review). The Smart Band 10 offers running courses, real-time underwater heart rate monitoring and sleep improvement plans — things that were not covered by its predecessor. Of course, the interesting one there for swimmers is the real-time underwater heart rate monitoring. Plus, it has 5ATM water resistance so you know it’s safe to swim with it on.
Price: This fitness tracker is unbelievably cheap for what it offers, coming in at $45. That’s staggering when it offers 150+ workout modes, 5ATM and 21-day battery life plus so much more.
Water resistance: With water resistance of 5ATM, you can safely swim with this fitness tracker on your wrist. In reality, this means the tracker can withstand pressure to the equivalent depth of 50 meters, which is more than sufficient for your average swim. While you can wear this watch for open water swimming, one thing to be mindful of is the fact that it doesn’t have its own GPS, so it will rely on your smartphone’s GPS. More expensive models have their own on-board GPS, therefore tracking may be a little more inaccurate if open water swimming.
Accuracy: As noted above, open water swimming tracking may be slightly less accurate than pool swimming due to the lack of independent GPS. However, we generally found the workout tracking on this fitness tracker to be accurate and, although we haven’t tested it in the water yet, we expect it to be good at capturing your lengths and turns in a pool.
Battery life: This is one of the best features of the Xiaomi Smart Band 10 — a genuine 21-day (or near enough) battery life. We only had to charge it once during our intensive testing period and even then, it had 17% remaining battery. For $45, you won’t be disappointed with the battery life, and when it comes to swimming, even if you go every day, you won’t have to worry about your tracker running out of juice partway through a swim.
Design: The slender and unobtrusive design of the smart band is ideal for those not wanting to feel they are wearing a bulky fitness tracker in the pool. With no external buttons either, there is nothing that will irritate your wrist or be accidentally nudged, leading to inaccurate readings. The straps are also interchangeable, so you can find the perfect one for your swims.
Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
Water resistance | Adequate for pool and open swims | ★★★★ |
Accuracy | Generally accurate at capturing workouts but open water swim may be less so due to no independent GPS | ★★★ |
Battery life | Outstanding battery life | ★★★★★ |
Design | Slender, lightweight and unobtrusive | ★★★★★ |
The best alternative to a watch
✅ You want to improve your swimming technique: Great technique tips throughout a swimming session will help you improve your efficiency.
✅ You're looking for accurate data: The Form Smart Swim 2 goggles did a great job at tracking our swims and impressed us with just how accurate it was, with no need to press any buttons.
❌ You have a budget: These do not come at a cheap price but we think they're worth the money if you have it to spend.
❌ You'd rather have data after you swim: These goggles give you the live data as you swim which might not suit some users. Post-swim data does sync with the FORM app for analysis after.
🔎 FORM Smart Swim 2: We were blown away by the accuracy of the live data and loved how easy these were to use, you literally get in the water and the goggles do the rest ★★★★½
The FORM Smart Swim 2 has been classed as the world's first smart goggles and if this is the starting point for this tech, we're excited to see where it goes in the future! There is a small unit on the side of one of the lenses which is where the tech lives. From here, a digital readout appears when you put the goggles on. As soon as you're in the water, the goggles are doing the work. It gives you real-time feedback on your heart rate, split times and distance and so much more. You can personalize this information to suit your needs. The great thing about these smart goggles is that you can focus on swimming while the tech captures all the information.
Price: We'd recommend these smart goggles for serious swimmers looking to improve their technique as they do not come cheap. They sell for around $279 so it's a big investment if you don't go swimming often.
Water resistance: Being a pair of swimming goggles, these are suitable for both pool and open water swims. They come with replaceable eye seals for added comfort and to secure the fit helping to reduce the chances of any water leaking in.
Accuracy: Our reviewer was impressed with the accuracy of the FORM Smart Swim 2 goggles and loved how the second you got in the water, they started tracking automatically. There was no need for her to press any buttons if she paused with it also detecting turns seamlessly. Our reviewer did mention ensuring you get the nose piece to fit properly as this is important for connection and thus accuracy of the data. It comes with 5 interchangeable nose pieces to help you get the perfect fit.
Battery life: These smart goggles have 14 hours of battery life on a single charge which is more than adequate for a swim or even a few! Our reviewer found a ten-minute boost before a swim gave two hours in the pool.
Design: Upon opening, you need to connect the goggles to the FORM app on your smartphone. The app guides you through the process of fitting the nose pieces. Once you're set-up, you can configure the app to show the data you want to see while swimming. The unit can be moved from the left or right eye and the display can be seen for prescriptions up to -3.
Read more: FORM Smart Swim 2
Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
Water resistance | Designed only for use in the water | ★★★★★ |
Accuracy | Superb accuracy at tracking swims | ★★★★★ |
Battery life | Great battery life with one charge | ★★★★★ |
Design | Thorough and carefully designed | ★★★★ |
The best for beginners
✅ Comfort is important to you: We found this adventure watch to be light and comfortable on the wrist, which bodes well for swimming, too.
✅ You want accurate workout tracking: The Coro Pace Pro enables you to confidently track your workouts accurately.
❌ You are likely to partake in adventurous water sports: The 5ATM water resistance may mean this watch won’t suffice in tougher water sports events.
❌ You want a solidly built watch: We found this watch to have a fragile build so it might not suit those looking for something more durable.
🔎 Coros Pace Pro: This is a great option for those looking to start tracking their swims. It’s capable of so much, so there’s versatility here if you want to use it beyond swimming. Seeing as it lacks more advanced features, it’s ideal for beginners, especially as all workout stats are displayed nicely in the app with detailed explanations given. ★★★★
With the Coros Pace Pro being made with endurance athletes, runners and cyclists in mind, it more than suffices as a fitness tracker you can use while swimming. With 5ATM water resistance, you can wear this watch in pools or open water. There are various water sports modes you can choose from, such as open water swim, pool swim or flatwater. With endurance athletes as one of the main customers of this watch, it has been designed with triathletes in mind. So why are we recommending it as the best for beginners? That comes down to its easy-to-understand metrics that can be viewed in the app, which are all explained in good detail.
Price: The Coros Pace Pro typically costs around $299. So while being quite pricey for beginners, it is a good investment for those wanting to use a fitness tracker for more than just swimming.
Water resistance: With 5ATM water resistance, this means you can swim in pools and open water to a depth of 50 meters. What this means in reality is that the watch can withstand pressure equivalent to a depth of 50 meters. And, while 5ATM may not be the best water resistance for an adventure watch such as this in terms of endurance events, it more than suffices for your average swim. You can also wear this watch when showering, in the rain and it can easily withstand light splashes.
Accuracy: Overall, we found the accuracy of the Coros Pace Pro to be good. We mainly tested it during hiking, but found the GPS tracking to be great. This bodes well if you wish to use the GPS tracking for open water swimming. However, we did find that the heart rate measurement may not always be as accurate. When it comes to swimming, the watch uses its accelerometer and internal compass to detect turns when in pool swim mode, and it also captures lengths swam.
Battery life: The Coros Pace Pro offers good battery life with either 20 days when in watch mode or 38 hours when in GPS mode. Depending on what you’ll be using this watch for (and whether or not GPS is important to you), you will get varied battery life out of it. For pool swimmers, GPS isn’t necessary, so you may get the extended 20-day battery life.
Design: While most adventure watches are bulky and sometimes a little uncomfortable to wear, the Coros Pace Pro sets itself apart as we found this light and comfortable on our wrist — a bonus when in the water, too. The display is bright and colorful, with good visibility in various lighting conditions, which is ideal when under blaring swimming pool lights or in bright daylight when open water swimming. The silicone strap was also comfortable to wear.
Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
Water resistance | Sufficient for pool and open water swims | ★★★ |
Accuracy | GPS tracking is great, generally accurate workout tracking | ★★★★ |
Battery life | Decent for swimming but drained more quickly if in GPS mode | ★★★ |
Design | Light and comfortable to wear for an adventure watch | ★★★★ |
The best for subtlety
✅ You want in-depth fitness stats: We loved the Whoop MG for its ability to send 24/7 fitness tracking data to our phone, constantly tracking every aspect of our health to help build a bigger picture.
✅ You want to analyse data after your swim: No screen = no distraction while you're swimming. The Whoop MG is great for those who want to mull over their fitness data over a coffee after their swim.
❌ You don't want to pay monthly: The Whoop MG is based on a monthly subscription plan where the strap is then sent once you're subscribed. For those wanting a one-off payment, the Whoop MG isn't for you.
❌ You need more water resistance: The Whoop MG has a low water resistance rating which is still fine for short, shallow swims but those looking to do more adventurous swimming activities will need to consider a watch with at least a 10ATM rating.
🔎 Whoop MG: Refreshing design where the screen isn't the focus. Ideal for swimming to allow you to be in the moment ★★★½
The Whoop MG has an unusual design compared to other fitness trackers due to there being no screen. This is refreshing as screens dictate so much of our lives — it's wonderful to be allowed to be present during a swim. The lack of a screen wasn't that much of an issue for us, although our reviewer did note it better suits activities where you don't need to check your stats during the session, swimming being one. The Whoop MG is great for swimming as there is no need to faff with buttons and screens before getting in the water, all you need to do is get in and swim. The tracker sends the data to your phone through a Bluetooth connection so you can browse in-depth fitness data from your swim afterwards, perhaps over a coffee.
Price: The Whoop MG is based on a monthly subscription service. You can pay for various memberships with the 24 month membership working out around $16 per month whereas the annual is around $19 a month. However, you can get a one-month trial for free.
Water resistance: This fitness tracker has the lowest water resistance rating of our selection, with it being submergible in depths of 10m. Whoop also say it can only be submerged for a maximum of two hours. This is still sufficient for swimming but ensure your swim as shallow and kept shorter. Our reviewer did test this tracker during a wild water swim and it held up fine. However, Whoop advise it's best used in chlorinated water.
Accuracy: The highlight of the Whoop MG is the strain and recovery scores. We found the strain and recovery scores a good tool for knowing how prepared we were for exercise and for help in adjusting our workouts. There are also individual metrics that the tracker monitors. With all of this data, it helps you to understand yourself better and make better habits. It does more than just monitor your swims — it can let you know how much you can handle in your next swim and which behaviours might be hindering your performance.
Battery life: Whoop states a solid battery life of 7-8 days which, with 24/7 health monitoring, is impressive. It is also more than sufficient for those wanting to take it swimming. We loved how we could charge the battery pack independently of the sensors so you never lose health tracking.
Design: People won't know you're wearing a fitness tracker with the Whoop MG — it's so subtle in its design. The strap is also unlike other fitness trackers being a 'SuperKnit' design. You can tighten or loosen the strap like a rucksack strap before placing it over your hand onto your wrist. Another highlight of the Whoop MG is the daily journal as this helps you log things outside of your exercise to help you see patterns in what you're eating, drinking or doing and how this is impacting your recovery score.
Read more: Whoop MG
Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
Water resistance | Low rating but good for pool swims | ★★★ |
Accuracy | Great in-depth stats to browse after exercising | ★★★★ |
Battery life | Fab for 24/7 health monitoring | ★★★★★ |
Design | Unique and comfortable | ★★★★★ |
The best for customization
✅ You use third-party apps: The Apple Watch Series 8 works with third-party swimming apps so if you already use them, you can continue to do so with this watch.
✅ You want customizable workouts: For those who don't use third-party apps, the Apple Watch Series 8 makes it easy to create custom workouts without needing external apps.
❌ You're wanting a long battery life: As with most Apple watches, the battery life is short on the Series 8 so if you're wanting to use this watch for more than the odd swim, consider a watch with a longer battery life.
❌ You've got an Android phone: Sadly, the Apple Watch Series 8 only pairs with an iPhone so Android users may want to consider the other watches in this guide instead.
🔎 Apple Watch Series 8: A reliable fitness watch for those looking to track their swims. Able to customize workouts and work with third-party apps, this watch is hard to beat ★★★★½
The Apple Watch Series 8 is a great fitness watch for swims. It has a water resistance rating of 5ATM meaning it is water resistant to 50m and suitable for swimming but not heavy-duty watersports or diving. Depending on the exact model of the Apple Watch Series 8 that you get, the weight can be anything from 32g to 52g — a reasonable weight for a swim. The GPS is also good on this watch and although we didn't test it in the water, it should be able to track your outdoor swims with ease.
Price: The Apple Watch Series 8 sells for around $250 which isn't bad considering what this watch has to offer with specialist swimming workout modes.
Water resistance: This watch has a 5ATM water resistance rating meaning you can use it for swimming. Apple says you can use this watch for both pool and open water swimming with its own mode for open water swimming.
Accuracy: The Apple Watch Series 8 has good accuracy in terms of its stats and measurements. Our reviewer particularly liked that there were more mid-exercise statistics offered, compared to previous models, for a deeper dive into your health and workouts. The GPS on Apple Watches is always great which bodes well for any outdoor swims you might want to track.
Battery life: This is where this watch falls short — only 18 hours of battery. This isn't surprising seeing as Apple watches are renowned for lower battery life. There is a low-power mode that turns off WiFi and 4G and the 'Always-on' display mode. It also reduces the amount of notifications from your iPhone. This feature can save you some battery which is why it may suit those wanting to use it for particular workouts, like swimming, or for those not bothered about tracking every second of their day.
Design: We found the watch comfortable to wear with the strap causing us very few problems. Our reviewer was impressed with the graphics with him commenting that the "on-screen graphics are even richer than what you’d see in a high-end Garmin." Sadly, we found the app menu to be overloaded with icon dots and no titles making it harder for those unfamiliar with Apple watches to know what each app does. However, the USP of the Apple watch is the fact that it works with third-party apps so you can plan a swim training session on one app and sync it to your watch for when you're in the pool. Even better, if you'd rather not use third-party apps, you can customize your workouts straight on your watch. Best of both worlds.
Read more: Apple Watch Series 8
Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
Water resistance | Works well indoor and outdoor for normal swimming sessions | ★★★★ |
Accuracy | Great for tracking all workouts | ★★★★★ |
Battery life | Limited but sufficient for swimming | ★★★ |
Design | Love the variety in swim workouts | ★★★★★ |
The best multisport watch
✅ You want a long battery life: Offering either 18 days in watch mode or 55 hours in GPS mode, this fitness tracker has great battery life.
✅ You’re looking for an affordable multisport watch: This is an affordable sports watch when compared to similar models offering similar specifications.
❌ You want smart features: This watch doesn’t offer solar charging or contactless payments.
❌ A user-friendly interface is important to you: We liked this watch but found the interface to be less than intuitive.
🔎 Suunto Race 2: With plenty of workout features, good battery life and being comfortable to wear on the wrist, this watch is a great option for those looking for a multisport watch. Plus, it has adequate water resistance of 10ATM so it would suit those looking to do more adventurous water sports, too, as well as normal swimming. ★★★★
Being a close contender with the Garmin Forerunner 970, the Suunto Race 2 is one of the best multisport watches currently available. It has an extensive array of workout tracking features, including various swimming modes such as pool and open water swims and the ability to track over 115 workouts — and even includes those you may never have heard of, such as mermaiding! Plus, it costs less than other premium watches, such as Garmin watches, so there’s plenty to like.
Price: The Suunto Race 2 typically costs around $499, which sounds like a lot, but this watch offers a huge amount for this price. Plus, it’s $250 cheaper than its close competitor, the Garmin Forerunner 970.
Water resistance: While 5ATM is more than sufficient for pool and open water swims, the Suunto Race 2 offers 10ATM. This effectively means it can withstand pressure down to the equivalent of 100 meters. So, not only is it ideal for pool and open water swims, but you can also wear this watch when partaking in various water sports, such as snorkelling.
Accuracy: The GPS navigation on the Suunto Race 2 performed well. This watch has five satellite systems (GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS, BEIDOU), which is what places it up with the Garmin and Coros watches. Open water mode uses this GPS to track your swim. We generally found the tracking to be accurate on this watch across both workout modes and sleep. Sadly, some features were less accurate, such as calories burned and step count. Furthermore, the heart rate tracking was a bit iffy at times, which may be a bugbear when it comes to swimming. However, the swimming modes on this watch capture stroke count and heart rate, as well as having extra features, such as SuuntoPlus Swim Sections & Drills, for those looking to enhance their performance.
Battery life: Offering either 18 days in watch mode or 55 hours in GPS mode, the Suunto Race 2 gives you great battery life, which takes the faff out of having to constantly pop it on charge.
Design: With its stainless steel or titanium finish, this watch is durable, making it ideal to wear for a variety of sports. You can also swap and change up the straps, which is a nice customization. We liked this watch’s design as it felt more feminine than other sports watches, with its sleek and elegant design. During our two-month testing period, it never scratched or showed any signs of wear and tear.
Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
Water resistance | One of the best ratings at 10ATM | ★★★★★ |
Accuracy | GPS amazing but other features less accurate | ★★★★ |
Battery life | Sufficient but drained quickly when in GPS mode | ★★★★ |
Design | Durable and performed well during our two-month testing period | ★★★★★ |
Best fitness trackers for swimming: Comparison
Water resistance rating | Pool or open water | Battery life | |
Polar Grit X | 10ATM | Pool and open water | 7 days, 40 hours with GPS, 100 hours in power-saving mode |
Amazfit Active | 5ATM | Pool and open water | 14 days typical usage, 30 days in battery saver mode, 16 hours with continuous GPS use |
FORM Smart Swim 2 | Unspecified but designed for swimming | Pool and open water | 14 hours |
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 | 5ATM | Pool and open water | 40 hours |
Whoop MG | Up to 10 m for 2 hours | Pool - chlorinated water only | 7-8 days |
Apple Watch Series 8 | 5ATM | Pool and open water | 18 hours |
Our expert consultants
Leo is the Principle Analyst and Director of CCS Insight. He leads their connected device research with focus topics including the smartphone, wearables, virtual and augmented reality, PC and tablet, smart home and semiconductor markets. He also manages research focused on second-hand devices and the circular economy. Leo is based in San Diego and leads the company’s presence in the Americas. He holds a BA in Geography from the University of Oxford.
Best fitness trackers for swimming: Frequently Asked Questions
What does the water resistance rating mean on a fitness watch?
Fitness watches are given different water resistance ratings. The watches we've covered in this guide have either been rated as 5ATM or 10ATM. This means the watches can be submerged in water to a depth of either 50 meters (5ATM) or 100 meters (10ATM). However, this doesn't mean they can be submerged for long periods. So, while they can be in deeper water, they are really only sufficient for swimming and showering. Most fitness trackers come with their own guidance on how long they can be submerged, so do follow those instructions to ensure no damage to your fitness watch.
What is the best fitness tracker for swimming?
Our guide is here to show you our round-up of the best fitness trackers for swimming but the right one for you will come down to what you need your fitness tracker to do. Most are water resistant, can track swims and distance with GPS and can differentiate stroke and pace etc. Some offer customizable swim workouts whereas others don't. What one you choose will depend on the data you want to see from your swim — some people want a bit of data whereas others want a lot. Another thing to consider is, that if you're wanting a fitness tracker for more than swimming, it's worth considering the other features you may need outside of the pool.
What are the benefits of using a fitness tracker to track your swims?
Using a fitness tracker when swimming can be a great way of improving your swim times and technique. Most fitness trackers will log your heart rate, distance, time and stroke which can give you a lot of data on how you're performing in the pool. Others offer swim workouts which can help increase your stamina and help you train. Having a fitness tracker on while swimming can help you stick to your goals of swimming so many lengths before you get out of the pool. They're a great way to keep you motivated on your fitness journey and they offer interesting stats for viewing after your swim to keep you improving.
How do fitness trackers track swimming?
Just like when you use a fitness tracker for any other exercise, your watch will use the sensors found on the back to monitor your swim. Depending on the tracker, these sensors collect data on your movement, distance, calories burned and body temperature amongst other things. Alongside these sensors, the GPS on your fitness tracker can log the distance swam which is particularly helpful for those who prefer wild swimming. They also monitor your heart rate so you can see how much of a cardiovascular workout you're getting. Some can even automatically detect the stroke you're using!
How to choose the best fitness tracker for swimming for you:
Consider where you'll be swimming: Most fitness trackers can handle pool swimming so as long as you have sufficient water resistance for swimming, you can choose any of our favorite fitness trackers in this guide. However, for those of you more likely to engage in open-water swimming, be sure to check the manufacturer's guidance before purchasing. Some fitness trackers perform better in pools than in open water. You will also want to check the GPS function of any fitness tracker you're thinking of buying for open-water swimming. As mentioned by Leo Gebbie, our expert, the GPS signal is lost every time the arm dips below the water so you will want decent GPS tracking to ensure a more accurate distance is captured.
Consider the battery life: You may want to wear your new fitness tracker all day, every day, to track your other health stats as well as your swims. If you're not likely to have anywhere to charge it every day, for example, you're on the go a lot, we suggest going for one that lasts longer. If charging on the go isn't an issue for you, battery life won't restrict you much, apart from having time regularly where the watch can't track your health stats.
Level of swimming: Some fitness trackers are more suited to those partaking in triathlons or undertaking serious training to improve whereas others are sufficient for the everyday person who is looking to increase their fitness. Be sure you choose a fitness tracker based on your level of swimming and the sort of data you will find useful to improve your swimming. The level of detail you may want may be different to someone else. Rather than get carried away in the tech and what the watches can do, consider if you need it to do it for you. Otherwise, we may have a great fitness tracker but you may not be using many of its functions!
How we tested these best fitness trackers for swimming
How we test the best fitness trackers for swimming
Location: All of the fitness trackers in this guide have been tested and reviewed by our expert team here at Livescience. Our reviewers tested these fitness trackers during home workouts, gym workouts, hiking and runs. The Whoop and Form Smart Swim 2 were tested in the water. Although we haven't tested all of the fitness trackers in this guide during swimming sessions, we did our research as to how they performed for others in the water. We can vouch for them being reliable fitness trackers and decent brands with them featuring in our best fitness trackers guide.
Length of time tested for: Our reviewers had the products for a while, with most being tested for over a month during various workouts and worn day-to-day to capture the health stats. The trackers were also worn during sleep. The Form Smart Swim 2 are the exception with them only being tested in the water.
What tests do we do: The majority of these fitness watches were tested in the gym, during home workouts, hiking and runs. The Whoop and Form Smart Swim 2 were tested in the water. The Whoop was tested during a wild swimming session whereas the Form Smart Swim 2 was tested in the pool and open water.
Expertise of writers: All of our reviewers have years of experience in the health and fitness world.
Products we've also tested
Here are some other fitness trackers we've tested. They are all suitable for swimming and as none of the Garmins we tested made it into this guide, we've included a couple below in case you're a big Garmin fan.
