Fitness trackers help a long way towards your wellness goals, and are well worth the investment. Find out which is best for you!
What to Look for in a Fitness Tracker
It’s the new year, and it’s time for your new year’s resolutions. Did you decide that 2026 will be your year to start (or ramp up) your health journey? Then picking up a fitness tracker is a good idea.
You don’t need a fitness tracker in order to start working out and getting better sleep, but they help a lot in reaching your goals. Namely, fitness trackers will log all sorts of information—heart rate, how deeply you’re sleeping, the length of your workouts, and so on—and provide data that you can use to make informed choices. You don’t need to try and guess what’s right for you and your body, as you’ll have what you need to make informed decisions.
Here’s one thing that can help you hit your 2026 health and fitness goals
Watch this.
All this said, the world of fitness trackers is vast, and it can be overwhelming to find the best one for your needs. Depending on the brand and price, you’ll have access to different vitals and sensors, and some may use unique smartwatch OSes that may or may not be compatible with Android or iOS. But, we’re here to help, with six smartwatches that will fit almost anyone’s needs.
A final note: Many fitness trackers are smartwatches, and many smartwatches have fitness tracking, but the two terms are not interchangeable. Regardless of the fitness tracker you decide on, make sure it has both the tracking and smartwatch features you want before purchasing it. Don’t assume it’ll have everything you need!
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Apple’s lineup of smartwatches is the best on the market, and they also make fantastic fitness trackers. The Apple Watch Series 11 is the best choice for most people, offering a balance of features and price to suit a variety of needs.
With the Series 11, you can track a variety of exercises, and even take advantage of Apple Fitness+ with its variety of workout plans. What’s even cooler is that when you start a Fitness+ video, the watch will track and show you your vitals in real time.
With the Apple Watch Series 11, you’ll also get an unparalleled number of health features to keep track of your health. In addition to the standard heart rate and sleep monitors, you’ll also have the ability to track your blood oxygen, check your heart rate with an EKG, and plenty more. New to the Series 11 is the ability to detect hypertension, which is a far from common feature in smartwatches.
The main downside to the Series 11, or any Apple Watch, is obvious—you need to be a part of the Apple ecosystem to use it. More importantly, you’ll need an iPhone for the watch to connect to, so if you only have a Mac or iPad, you’re out of luck. Also, the Series 11 doesn’t have great battery life compared to the competition, with an average of 24 hours before you need to recharge.
- Heart Rate Monitor
-
Yes
- Color Screen
-
Yes
- Notification Support
-
Yes
- Battery Life
-
Up to 24 hours
- Operating System
-
WatchOS 26
- Case Material
-
Aluminum or titanium
The Apple Watch Series 11 offers the ability to sense high blood pressure and a sleep score similar to many health app competitors.
- Fantastic exercise and health metrics
- A good balance between price and feature set
- Also a great smartwatch, beyond the fitness tracking features
- You need an iPhone to connect to and can’t use an iPad or Mac
- Subpar battery life
If you’re not an Apple user, you unfortunately can’t use an Apple Watch. However, that doesn’t mean you’re out of luck. There have been some excellent Android smartwatches released on the market over the past few years, and of them, the Google Pixel Watch 4 is the one that impresses us the most.
To start, the Pixel Watch 4 simply looks great, with a minimalist, domed screen. It doesn’t look too fancy for a workout, nor too sporty for an office event. The silicone band is also ideal for working out, making it easy to clean off sweat. But the big upgrade with the Pixel Watch 4 is Wear OS 6. Our reviewer notes that the new OS adopts the same aesthetic as modern Pixel phones, and everything feels more responsive and fluid overall.
The Pixel Watch 4 is finally the Android smartwatch to beat
The baby steps are adding up.
Of course, it’s fitness tracking we’re here for, and the Google Pixel Watch 4 doesn’t disappoint in that regard, either. The smartwatch will automatically start tracking workouts, and dual GPS helps ensure accurate outdoor workout information. You’ll also get sleep tracking, heart rate monitoring, and more.
The suite of fitness features may not be as extensive as those of the Oura Ring 4 (which can be overwhelming), but the amount of tracking offered is great for the average user.
8/10
- Heart Rate Monitor
-
Yes
- Color Screen
-
Yes
- Notification Support
-
Yes
- Battery Life
-
Up to 40 hours with always-on display
The Pixel Watch 4 is made to work seamlessly with your Pixel (or other Android) device. The domed display offers a fantastic view of anything you need on your smartwatch, from the time to in-depth fitness insights.
- Wear OS 6 is fast and responsive
- Workout auto-detection and summaries are great for unplanned walks or exercises
- Great battery life that can be extended by turning off the always-on display
- Fitness tracking may not be as granular as other options
For budget buyers, the Fitbit Inspire 3 packs many features to help keep you active and motivated without breaking the bank. It offers more than 20 exercise modes, automatic sleep tracking, 24/7 heart rate tracking, stress management scores, and more, all for less than $100 at full price.
Even though that’s a great budget price on its own, the device goes on sale often—as of the time of writing in January 2026, the Inspire 3 is currently on sale for $70. You can’t beat a price like that.
In addition to its health and wellness metrics, this discreet fitness wearable helps you stay connected through calls, text messages, and smartphone notifications. It lacks built-in GPS but works with connected GPS via your smartphone. There’s no voice assistant compatibility here either, but that’s to be expected at this price point.
As an extra incentive, the Fitbit Inspire 3 includes a six-month membership to Fitbit Premium, which provides trainer-led video workouts, your daily readiness score, sleep profile, and mindfulness sessions. With a full annual subscription costing $80, a free trial is a welcome addition, allowing you to judge for yourself whether it’s worth the additional cost.
It’s also economical on battery life, too, giving you up to 10 days of wear from a full charge, so your fitness tracking needn’t be interrupted by constantly charging your device. Plus, with the Fitbit Inspire 3’s slim and lightweight form factor, you’ll barely even notice that you’re wearing it.
- Heart Rate Monitor
-
Yes
- Color Screen
-
Yes
- Notification Support
-
Yes
- Battery Life
-
Up to 240 hours
- Small bands
-
Yes
- Large bands
-
Yes
The Fitbit Inspire 3 is a sleek fitness tracker that monitors your activity, heart rate, sleep, and stress levels, offering personalized insights. With a lightweight design, vibrant display, and up to 10 days of battery life, it keeps you motivated every step of the way without breaking the bank.
- On the smaller side with a thin band, making it great for smaller writes
- You can receive smartphone notifications, which you can’t always get with budget trackers
- The smaller size may not appeal to those with bigger hands and wrists
- There’s no built-in GPS available
Best Budget Fitness Tracker for Kids: Fitbit Ace LTE
Aside from earning you some serious ‘cool’ points with your pre-tweens, there are some practical reasons why investing in a kids’ smartwatch is a good idea and the Fitbit Ace LTE is one of the best on the market.
Subscribe to the Fitbit Ace data plan, and your child will have access to every game in the Fitbit Arcade. These are movement-based games they can play with their Fitbit Ace, which will keep them active and engaged for hours, recording their achievements and rewarding their hard work with fun animations, trophies, and more.
Fitbit Ace LTE Review: I Wish I Had This Smartwatch When I Was a Kid
The most fun I’ve had reviewing a product.
Not only that, but the Ace Pass provides access to features such as GPS location sharing, so you can keep tabs on your child while they’re out playing with friends or catching the bus to school. It also enables them to make smartphone-free voice calls and send messages to you to let you know when they will return home. Plus, you can add up to 20 contacts who can call or message them via the Fitbit Ace app.
Handy features such as the School Time mode allow you to disable games and notifications while your kids are in class, allowing them to focus on their schoolwork with minimal distractions. It’s also packed with kid-friendly fun features, such as customizable eerie characters that ‘celebrate’ when daily movement goals are achieved.
Although the prospect of taking out an additional data plan may put some potential buyers off (approximately $10 a month), The Fitbit Ace LTE is tons of fun for younger children and provides much-needed peace of mind for parents, allowing them to stay in touch throughout the day.
9/10
- Onboard GPS
-
GPS/GNSS with Google Location Accuracy
- Display
-
Corning Gorilla Glass 3, OLED display (333 ppi with DCI-P3)
- Battery
-
328 mAh
- Connectivity
-
4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi 2.4GHz
Fitbit Ace LTE is the ultimate kids’ smartwatch with built-in LTE connectivity for calls, texts, and GPS tracking. Encourage active lifestyles, stay connected, and enjoy peace of mind with fun activity challenges and parental controls.
- Tons of fun movement-based games for kids
- Excellent software that isn’t dumbed down for kids
- Smartphone-less voice calls and messaging
- Upfront cost and Ace Pass subscription are on the higher side
Best Fitness Tracker for Battery Life: Amazfit Active 2
When I reviewed the Amazfit Active 2, I came away very impressed. This is a sleek looking smartwatch that does a great job of tracking your vitals, and it is only $100 to boot. Amazfit also gives you two wristbands—and orange band meant to be used for workouts, and a faux leather band to dress the watch up. It’s truly made to be both a fitness tracker and smartwatch.
But even beyond all that, the Active 2 has incredible battery life. The battery lasts over a week before needing a charge, and you can also extend the battery life more by turning off the always-on display. That’s far better than an Apple Watch (which might last two days if you’re lucky) and most other fitness trackers, which may last three or four days.
Amazfit Active 2 Review: Threatening to Take Apple’s Throne
This smartwatch is a bit blunt with its advice, but its superior health tracking more than makes up for it.
Just know that if you pick up the Active 2 (or nearly any Amazfit smartwatch), the device uses Zepp OS as opposed to WearOS. While Zepp OS didn’t have too much difficulty syncing with Apple Health during my review, there were some annoying hiccups and an occasional disconnect that would never happen with a smartwatch as integrated into my chosen mobile ecosystem like an Apple Watch would.
9/10
- Display
-
AMOLED
- Connectivity
-
Bluetooth 5.2
- Dimensions
-
43.9 x 43.9 x 9.9mm
- Weight
-
31.65g Premium); 29.5g (Standard)
The Active 2 smartwatch is designed for fashion-conscious, health-focused people who value style and functionality. With BioTracker technology for precise heart rate and sleep tracking, 160+ workout modes, and up to 10 days of battery life, this smartwatch will track everything you want and then some.
- Battery life lasts up to 10 days
- Looks less like a fitness tracker and more like a nice analog or smartwatch
- Fantastic price
- Zepp OS can be finicky, especially the Calendar app
- Runs into syncing issues if connected to more than one device
Of course, there are fitness trackers beyond a smartwatch. Right now, smart rings are becoming more and more popular, and the Oura Ring 4 is the best smart ring on the market right now.
The Oura Ring 4’s claim to fame is that it’s simply unobtrusive. The ring itself looks like any other band you may wear, nor is it all that thick. Once you pick up a sizing kit and get the ring that fits you, you really just put it on and you’re good to go. You don’t need to deal with bulky smartwatches and wristbands that feel weird when you’re typing (or at least that’s how they feel in my case).
Oura Ring 4 Review: Sleep and Activity Tracking With a Finger
The Oura Ring 4 tracks your sleep, activity, and health any time from your finger.
Despite being small, this smart ring doesn’t skimp on the metrics, either. The Oura Ring will measure your heart rate (as well as heart rate variability), your sleep patterns, and other important vitals. From there, Oura will give you important context for these statistics, giving you advice and actions you can do to be healthier. So, you’re not just getting all of this information and being unsure of what to do with it.
But while the Oura Ring 4 is really cool and helpful, you’ll be paying to go with a smart ring over the more common smartwatch. Not only is the ring itself $500, but many features are locked behind an Oura Ring subscription which costs $6/month or $70/year. Many smartwatches are both cheaper and keep many of the more important features out of a subscription tier, so it’s up to you to decide if the price is worth it.
8/10
- Heart rate monitor
-
Yes
- Notification support
-
Through app
- Battery life
-
Up to 8 days
- Integrations
-
iOS, Android, apps
The Oura Ring 4 is a comprehensive tracker for more than 20 fitness metrics, offers optimal sleep time suggestions, nightly SpO2 tracking, stress level monitoring, and more.
- Not a smartwatch (which is fairly obvious but a pro regardless)
- Unobtrusive and looks just like any other ring you wear
- A sizing kit lets you figure make sure you get the right size
- You’ll need a subscription for a lot of features
- Scratches more easily than you’d like
