Fitness trackers are huge. They’ve gone from being a pricey little gadget meant for athletes and fitness nerds to one of the hottest electronics and accessories for everyone. Plus now you can find fitness tracking features in jewelry, watches, smartwatches, or even your smartphone. If you’re interested in more insights into your health, fitness level, and the amount of activity you get each day or maybe you want to lose weight or change your lifestyle, using a fitness tracker is a great tool. Here are some of the most popular activity trackers available on the market this year.
LETSCOM HR Activity Tracker Band
No surprise, one of the most popular fitness trackers this year is one of the most affordable trackers available. LETSCOM offers most of the tracking features people need–including wrist-based heart rate monitoring–at a fantastic price point. It offers all the basic tracking like steps, calories burned, and even sleep monitoring. You can get these stats by using the OLED touch display or by syncing with the LETSCOMM smartphone app to see in depth graphs and tracking.
The multi-sport tracking offers 14 different exercises to accurately record your workout. If you’re a runner or a cyclist, you can get Connected GPS at a fraction of the price of Fitbits and other smartphones. That will give you distance and pace information as well as route tracking. You can also get smartphone alerts right on your wrist, including calendar, calls, and messaging alerts from apps like Facebook and Whatsapp. With all these features available as such a great price, it’s easy to see why the LETSCOM HR trackers is one of the most popular activity trackers this year.
Available colors: black, blue, green, purple, red
Good for: office workers, people who workout while listening to music
Tracks: steps, distance, calories burned, sleep quality, heart rate
Notable features: OLED touchscreen, time & stat display, program for left or right hand, move reminders, goal completion alerts, heart rate monitoring, auto sleep tracking, vibrating alarm, water-resistant, 4 day rechargeable battery, built-in USB charging, Bluetooth 4.0 syncing, app for Android 4.4+ & iOS 7.1+, call and message alerts, remote camera shooting, music control
Fitbit Charge 5 Heart Rate + Fitness Wristband
The fantastic thing about the latest Charge model is they’ve built in the heart rate monitoring so you don’t have to buy a pricier HR model. At the mid-range price point in the Fitbit line-up, the Charge is a fantastic fitness and activity tracker for people who don’t want the extra expense and features of a smartwatch. It features and OLED touchscreen display that gives you the time plus all the stats you need right on your wrist. Sync it with your smartphone via Bluetooth to receive call, text, and calendar notifications.
It features all the standard tracking you expect from a Fitbit, plus a Cardio Fitness Score generated from the PurePulse continuous heart rate monitor. This helps you improve your fitness level over time and your heart health. Another big reason to consider the Charge is the multi-sport mode which allows you to track a variety of workouts like running, biking, and weightlifting. Plus the SmartTrack features automatically recognizes what activity you’re doing and records the workout for you. Plus, if you’re a cyclist or runner, the Charge has built-in GPS to track your route and give you more detailed real-time stats like pace and distance. Fitbit really designs their trackers with fitness in mind, making them one of the most popular fitness trackers available. Check out all the notable features below and you may decide this is the tracker for you.
Available colors: Black/graphite stainless steel, lunar white/soft gold stainless steel, steel blue, platinum stainless steel (plus endless band options)
Tracks: steps, heart rate, GPS, distance, calories burned, active minutes, floors climbed, stationary time, auto sleep tracking
Notable features: interchangeable bands, PurePulse wrist-based heart rate, Cardio Fitness Score, silent alarms & auto sleep tracking, 7-day battery life, multi-sport modes, move reminders, SmartTrack auto activity tracking, OLED touchscreen with on-screen stats, guided breathing prompts based on heart rate, smartphone notifications, swimproof
GPS means you can leave your phone at home
Store music for your run
7 day battery life
No apps or smartwatch functionality
Garmin Vivosmart 4 Fitness Tracker
One of our favorite trackers for cycling is also one of the most popular fitness band on the market. The big selling point for the Garmin Vivosmart is the wirst-based heart rate monitoring and the built-in GPS tracking. That’s right, you don’t need your smartphone to use GPS tracking for running and cycling.
The touchscreen display makes it easy to monitor your stats in real-time, as well as receive smart notifications from your phone. For fitness tracking, the Vivosmart has all the basics for steps, calories burned, and distance. It also features Move IQ, which can automatically track exercises like walking, running, biking, swimming (this band is waterproof), and ellipticals. The band also provides in depth running metrics like distance and pace, while also keeping track of your personal records. If cycling is your main exercise or commute, you can purchase the fitness tracker bundled with a cadence sensor to give you data like pedal strokes per minute. While this tracker is great for everyone, cyclists and runners should really seriously consider it.
Available colors: black, gold with berry band, rose gold with gray band, silver with blue band
Tracks: heart rate, calories burned, steps, distance, floors climbed, activity intensity & minutes, treadmill running, sleep monitoring (total sleep and quality)
Notable features: smart notifications (calls, texts, music, etc.), time display, move reminders, barometric altimeter, control music or VIRB action camera, daily goals, Garmin Connect community, 7 day battery life, waterproof 5 ATM
Samsung Gear Fit2 Pro Smart Fitness Band
Samsung refers to their Gear Fit2 Pro as a “Smart Fitness Band” and it’s the perfectly blend between an expensive smartwatch and a durable waterproof fitness band. If you’re a swimmer, this band is perfect for you. It’s waterproof to 50 meters and provides fantastic swim tracking via the Speedo On app which works with pool and open water swimming. This band is also great for fitness fanatics who workout and play multiple sports. The Gear Fit2 Pro automatically detects and logs your activity and monitors your heart rate continuously. So if you’re running, playing b-ball with your friends, or just dancing around the kitchen, you’ll get indepth information on calories burned and heart rate.
The Gear Fit2 Pro also lets you be more independent when you work out because you can leave your phone behind. The tracker has built-in GPS so you can track your route while running or cycling. Plus you can bring your music with you so you can have your favorite jams on hand. If you’ve been considering a smartwatch but one something with a sleeker design or more of a fitness focus, the Gear FIT2 Pro is perfect for you.
Available colors: Liquid Black, Diamond Red
Tracks: Steps, Calories, Exercise Tracking, Heart Rate, GPS Route, Sleep Cycle
Notable features: Waterproof, Stand Alone Music Player, Smartphone app (Android & iOS), 3000 apps, Customizable Watch Faces, Smart Notifications, 2+ Day Rechargeable Battery
Garmin Forerunner 25 GPS Running Watch
Runners take note, Garmin’s newest version of the Forerunner is one of the most popular fitness trackers this year. What looks like a simple digital watch is actually a powerful activity tracker. It provides the basic steps, calories, and distance tracking, but runners will love the built-in GPS to track your running route.
If you’re looking for smart notifications, just sync it with your smartphone for text and call alerts, plus it will automatically upload all your activity data to the Garmin Connect community. While it’s more basic than some of the other more expensive Forerunner trackers, it’s priced perfectly for new runners and hobbyists that want simple tracking and activity monitoring.
Available colors: White/Pink, Blue/Black, Black/Purple, Red/Black
Tracks: Steps, Calories, Distance, Personal Records
Notable features: Smart Notifications, Move Reminders, 8-10 Hour Training Mode Battery, 8-10 Weeks in Activity/Watch Mode, Optional Heart Rate Monitor
Still searching for the best fitness tracker? Check out our activity tracker comparison chart to see all of the fitness bands we’ve reviewed.