Best fitness trackers and smartwatches for general fitness

I wore a Fitbit for two years before upgrading to a Garmin for triathlon training. The Fitbit was great for what I needed at the time: step counting, sleep tracking, and a gentle buzz on my wrist when I’d been sitting too long. Not everyone needs a $500 GPS watch with open water swim tracking and lactate threshold estimates. If your main goals are general fitness, gym workouts, and casual running, a simpler device does the job for a lot less money.

This guide is for people who want health and fitness data on their wrist without paying for features they’ll never use. If you’re training for triathlon or running races with GPS, I wrote a separate guide on triathlon watches that covers what you need.

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What to think about before buying

The biggest decision is tracker vs smartwatch. Fitness trackers (thin bands like the Fitbit Charge) focus on health data and battery life. They track steps, heart rate, sleep, and basic workouts, and they last a week or more on a charge. Smartwatches (like the Apple Watch or Garmin Venu) add apps, notifications, music, and a bigger screen, but they chew through batteries faster and cost more.

If you mostly want to know how active you are and how well you slept, a tracker is enough. If you want your phone notifications, music controls, and a bigger color screen on your wrist, you want a smartwatch. Both track the basics well.

Compatibility matters too. Apple Watch only works with iPhones. Samsung watches work best with Samsung phones. Garmin and Fitbit work with both iOS and Android. Check before you buy.

Battery life ranges wildly. Some trackers last two weeks. Some smartwatches last 18 hours. If you want to track sleep without charging every night, battery life should be high on your list.

Best fitness trackers and smartwatches right now

Fitbit Charge 6, $100

The Charge 6 is the tracker I’d recommend to most people who want the basics done well. It tracks steps, active zone minutes, heart rate, sleep stages, and has built-in GPS for outdoor walks and runs. The 7-day battery life means you charge it once a week instead of every night.

Google bought Fitbit, so the Charge 6 integrates with Google apps. You get Maps and Wallet on the device, and your health data syncs to the Fitbit app (which is solid) and Google Health. It also works with gym equipment that supports GymKit-style heart rate broadcasting, so you can see your heart rate on the treadmill display.

At $100 it’s less than a quarter of what a full-featured GPS watch costs, and for gym-goers and casual exercisers it covers everything that matters. The screen is small but readable, and the slim profile means it doesn’t get in the way during lifting or everyday wear.

Garmin Venu Sq 2, $250

If you want more screen and more features than the Fitbit without spending Apple Watch money, the Venu Sq 2 is the middle ground. The AMOLED display is bright and readable, the battery lasts up to 11 days in smartwatch mode, and it tracks 25+ sports including gym workouts, running, cycling, and swimming.

It also pulls in Garmin’s health ecosystem, which includes Body Battery (an energy level estimate), stress tracking, and detailed sleep analysis. If you eventually get into more structured training, the Garmin ecosystem scales up to their full triathlon watches and all your historical data comes with you.

The main limitation is no cellular or music storage on the base model. The Music Edition ($300) adds onboard music if that matters to you. For most gym-goers and casual runners, the base model is plenty.

Samsung Galaxy Fit 3, $60

For a no-frills activity tracker at the lowest possible price, the Galaxy Fit 3 covers the basics. 1.6” AMOLED display, 100+ workout modes, heart rate monitoring, sleep tracking, and up to 13 days of battery life. The aluminum body feels more premium than its price suggests.

It works best with Samsung phones but pairs with any Android device. The catch: it does not work with iPhones at all. If you’re on iOS, skip this and get the Fitbit.

At $60, this is the entry point. You’re not getting GPS, advanced health metrics, or a deep app ecosystem. You are getting step counting, workout tracking, and notification alerts for less than the cost of a month at most gyms.

Apple Watch SE (2nd Gen), $250

If you have an iPhone and want a smartwatch, the SE is the sweet spot in Apple’s lineup. You get the same chip as the more expensive models, access to every Apple Watch app, fall detection, crash detection, and all the fitness tracking features that matter for general use.

It tracks workouts, monitors heart rate, and integrates with Apple Fitness+ if you use that. The always-on display is missing (that’s reserved for the Series 10), but for workout tracking and daily notifications it’s not a dealbreaker. Battery life is about 18 hours, which means nightly charging.

I wouldn’t recommend this for serious training because the fitness tracking ecosystem isn’t as deep as Garmin’s. But for general fitness, gym sessions, and someone who wants their workout earbuds and watch to play nicely together, Apple’s integration is hard to beat.

What I’d buy

For most people: the Fitbit Charge 6 at $100. It does everything a general fitness tracker should do, the battery lasts a week, and it doesn’t distract you with features you won’t use.

If you want a smartwatch experience: the Garmin Venu Sq 2 at $250 if you’re on Android, or the Apple Watch SE at $250 if you’re on iPhone.

If you just want the cheapest thing that works: the Samsung Galaxy Fit 3 at $60 does the basics on Android for less than a nice dinner out.

And if you’re getting more serious about training and wondering whether you need a dedicated heart rate monitor or a full triathlon watch, those guides cover the step up when you’re ready for it.