Fitness trackers have become a must-have accessory that makes health monitoring an everyday convenience. Whether you're tracking your workouts, sleep, or stress levels, these devices provide valuable insights into your well-being. With various tech, sports, and wellness brands flooding the market, it can be hard to choose the right one for you.
Each brand offers unique features, so choosing the right one depends on your needs and preferences. A lot of the decision is simply based on your daily activity, what you want to track, and what features are most beneficial to your lifestyle.
In this guide, we’ll compare some of the most popular fitness watches: Garmin, Apple Watch, Fitbit, and Whoop. Garmin is a company that specializes in sports metrics, while Apple Watch shines through with its smartphone abilities. Fitbit serves as a wonderful watch for the everyday person, and Whoop focuses on in-depth recovery and performance tracking, making it ideal for athletes and fitness enthusiasts.
Garmin
Garmin has one of the largest selections of models, with both affordable options and high-end specialized watches. They are known to be great for athletes and outdoor activities due to their ability to provide metrics for hiking, mountaineering, swimming, and cycling. Depending on the model, Garmin fitness trackers can range from $250 to as high as $2000 USD.
The Garmin Forerunner 55 is one of the best fitness tracker watches on the budget-friendly side. It provides essential tracking features for various sports with a lightweight design and decently long battery life of up to 2 weeks in smartwatch mode and 20 hours in GPS mode.
On the other end, the Garmin MARQ Commander (Gen 2) is a premium choice–one of their most high-end watches, designed for serious athletes looking for advanced features. These higher-end watches target specific sports and activities, giving you unique metrics depending on your watch selection. For example, their mountaineering watch can display topographical maps, track your blood oxygen level at different altitudes, and distinguish between specific skiing or climbing metrics in the same expedition. These watches are individually catered to whatever sport you value most, helping you track your performance and improvement. Overall, there are tons of watches to choose from, so everyone can find one that works best for them.
Apple
Apple Watch intertwines fitness tracking with the functionality of a smartphone. It is one of the most popular brands on the market that offers various features, from heart rate tracking, sleep monitoring, to features like music, text messaging, and call notifications. However, due to its wide functionality, its battery life can be limited compared to other brands. Apple Watches require users to charge their devices almost daily. However, if you’re someone who values staying connected and prioritizes phone calls, emails, and app notifications, this could be a more suitable device. While all other watch brands can sync with smartphones, Apple Watch is the most effective and efficient in navigation and providing real-time updates.
The Apple Watch SE (2022) is one of the more affordable options, offering essential features like heart rate monitoring, activity rings, and workout tracking features for running, cycling, and swimming. This watch is currently on the market for around $250 USD.
On the other hand, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 ($800 USD) is designed for more serious athletes with advanced fitness metrics such as dual-frequency GPS, elevation tracking, multisport modes, and rugged durability. They offer specialized features tailored for extreme sports and offer up to 36 hours of battery life, which is significantly higher than Apple’s typical 18 hours. While the SE suits casual fitness tracks, the Ultra 2 can accommodate the needs of those seeking precise tracking in challenging athletic environments. Then, for those who love to run, there's a Nike version of this watch with specific running features. And for the fashionistas with expensive tastes, you can up your style with the Hermés Apple Watch for upwards of US$1200.
Fitbit
Fitbit continues to be in popular demand for people looking for a simple and functional fitness tracker. Similar to other brands, Fitbit offers basic tracking like heart rate, sleep, and stress at a more affordable price point. They are far less bulky than the Garmin watches and offer plenty of sleek and stylish watches for everyday wear. They also have plenty of bands to wear for any occasion.
One of Fitbit's most affordable options is the Fitbit Charge 6, which is currently on the market for $150 USD. It is one of the best fitness trackers for women and men. The watch stands out for its colorful display and great battery life that lasts up to a week. This fitness tracker is suitable for those who want a sleek, easy-to-use device and still offers essential features like heart rate tracking, step count, step monitoring, and active zone minutes.
On the other hand, Fitbit Sense 2 is one of the most advanced smartwatches, designed for users who want comprehensive health and fitness tracking. It features continuous heart rate monitoring, electrodermal activity, skin temperature, stress management tools, and detailed sleep tracking, all in a sleek, lightweight design. However, it may not be the best fit for users looking for extensive smart features or third-party app support. Despite being on the higher end of Fitbit, it is still cheaper relative to other brands compared in this article, being priced at $299.95 USD.
WHOOP
Whoop fitness track is a relatively new brand in the market. Its unique design focuses on health and performance optimization, making it especially popular among athletes and serious fitness enthusiasts. Unlike traditional fitness trackers, Whoop is worn as a wristband without a screen, prioritizing continuous monitoring of your body's recovery, strain, and sleep. Additionally, Whoop operates on a subscription-based model. When purchasing their membership plan, you will receive a WHOOP device, charger, band, 24/7 customer support, and app access, which includes detailed analytics, performance tracking, and personalized recommendations for optimizing recovery and fitness.
The WHOOP One costs $199 USD and is designed for general fitness enthusiasts, offering essential metrics like sleep tracking, strain recovery, and also acts as a heart rate variability monitor. It provides valuable insights into recovery and workout intensity, making it ideal for those looking to optimize their fitness without being overwhelmed by complex data.
In contrast, the WHOOP Life is a more expensive subscription of $360. It is tailored for elite athletes and serious fitness enthusiasts, offering advanced features such as more granular muscle strain data, metabolic metrics, specialized recovery insights, and a 14-day battery life. This model provides a deeper look into athletic performance, helping users fine-tune their training and recovery for peak performance. This makes it perfect for users who need detailed performance metrics to optimize their athletic potential.
Conclusion
Choosing the best fitness tracker or fitness watch ultimately depends on your personal health goals and what you want to track. Each watch has its unique twist that benefits a different array of people. In addition to watches, these companies also offer scales, rings, blood pressure cuffs, thermometers, and more that are specialized to monitor different aspects of your health. For example, the Oura ring is a ring you can wear to bed that specializes in tracking your sleep, while Omron has wearable blood pressure monitors.
