Fitness trackers, despite the name, are for everyone — not just runners and gym rats. That's because fitness trackers can help you keep an eye on your overall well-being and health through features like step logging, calories, sleep, and even your heart rate.
In this roundup, you'll find the best fitness trackers and smartwatches that stand out the most in 2025. Whether you want something sleek and slim, a more affordable option, or a fitness tracker that'll help you run marathons, there's something here for everyone. With options from Fitbit, Apple, Garmin, and more, here are our picks for the best fitness trackers you can buy in 2025!
The best fitness tracker overall
Fitbit Charge 6
- Lightweight and comfortable to wear
- Robust health-tracking tools
- Built-in GPS
- Google apps work well
- Fast, responsive software
- Nearly a week of battery life
- Unreliable notifications
- No local music storage
- Many features require Fitbit Premium
Why you should buy this: It's a well-priced, extremely feature-packed fitness tracker with a week of battery life.
Who it's for: Anyone who wants a great fitness charger and doesn't want a smartwatch.
Why we picked the Fitbit Charge 6:
The Fitbit Charge 6 has reminded us exactly why we love Fitbit's fitness trackers. Fitbit updated the Charge's design language with the Charge 5, adding smooth, rounded corners and leaving behind the boxier design of the past. It's a look that's more in line with the latest Apple Watch Series 10, and it means the new Fitbit fitness tracker is something you won't be ashamed to be seen wearing. It's made from aluminum, glass, and silicone, so it feels as good as it looks. The new Fitbit Charge 6 also has a side button that provides haptic feedback, which you can use to wake the screen or go back to the watch face.
We know it looks good, but good looks that aren't backed up by great fitness tracking are useless. Thankfully, the Charge 6 is great in this regard. It's a dedicated fitness tracker, and it's as capable as you'd hope, with over 40 exercise modes. A number of those start automatically, so it'll capture walks and hikes without you needing to start them, and while the GPS can lag behind slightly when starting a tracked exercise, it always caught up without severely impacting our workouts. Workouts are only part of the story, though, as the Charge 6 also has an impressive suite of wellness features. It can keep an eye on your blood oxygen saturation and your stress levels, and there is also an ECG app.
While it's certainly not a full smartwatch, the Fitbit Charge 6 does have some support for notifications from a paired phone, though it's not super reliable. Unfortunately, it's tied pretty heavily to the companion app on your phone. On the plus side, Fitbit's app is pretty good. The data you need is easy to see upon opening the app, and a few taps offer deeper insight into how you've been sleeping or performing in your workouts. A Premium subscription is required to give you all the data you might want, which is an annoyance.
The Fitbit Charge 6 also offers a seven-day battery life, which is pretty standard for this level of fitness tracker. Best of all, it's reasonably priced, so you won't be shelling out a huge amount of money for it, and it certainly offers a lot of bang for your buck.
The best fitness tracker runner-up
Garmin Vivoactive 5
- Exceptional fitness and health tracking
- Long-lasting battery life
- Gorgeous AMOLED display
- No subscription needed
- Software can be tricky for new users
- Smart features still limited
Why you should buy this: The Vivoactive 5 is a jack-of-all-trades smartwatch and fitness tracker that is relatively affordable.
Who's it for: Anyone who wants an everyday fitness tracker that is beautiful, comfortable, and affordable.
Why we picked the Garmin Vivoactive 5:
Garmin is a brand that is well-known for its rugged smartwatches and fitness trackers for runners, but the Vivoactive 5 has something for everyone. The Vivoactive 5 is made with aluminum and plastic, and it's super lightweight and comfortable to wear all day long, even if you wear it to track your sleep. And the Vivoactive 5 is compatible with standard 20mm straps for traditional watches, so your choice of band is pretty much limitless.
You get a 1.2-inch AMOLED display with 390 x 390 resolution. Everything on it looks clear, colorful, and gorgeous. It also has an always-on display, and although it drains the battery life a bit, it's a better option than using the unreliable lift-to-wake feature. Plus, the display is super visible in bright light.
The Garmin Vivoactive 5 has all of the health features you'd expect, such as heart rate, respiration, energy, stress, sleep, pulse oxygen, and more. And like the Apple Watch, you can get stand reminders in case you've been sedentary too long or short breathing exercises if it detects high stress. And for fitness tracking, the Vivoactive 5 does very well, - you can even get coaching programs to help you stay in shape.
Software-wise, the Vivoactive 5 uses Garmin's proprietary software, so it's a little different from the standard smartwatch. But it's pretty simple and intuitive to use. Battery life is exceptional, as it can last around 11 days on a single charge. And the best part? You get access to all of the Vivoactive 5's health features without having to pay a monthly subscription.
The best fitness tracker for iPhone
Apple Watch Series 10
- The thinner design is a big deal
- Jet Black looks phenomenal
- Subtle (but welcome) screen upgrades
- I love the new speaker
- Excellent health/fitness features
- Improved charging speeds
- No blood-oxygen tracking
- Sleep apnea is also on the Series 9
- Still just one-day battery life
Why you should buy this: This is the current flagship Apple Watch and the one with the best internals.
Who it?s for: Honestly, anyone with an iPhone.
Why we picked the Apple Watch Series 10:
The Apple Watch Series 10 offers a compelling blend of technology and style, making it a standout choice for fitness enthusiasts and tech-savvy users. Its larger, brighter display, which boasts improved resolution and color accuracy, ensures you can easily read messages, notifications, and health metrics at a glance, even in bright outdoor conditions. The thinner design enhances comfort for all-day wear and complements a wider range of wrist sizes and personal styles.
At the heart of the Series 10 is the advanced S10 SiP (System in Package), which delivers a noticeable performance boost. This results in faster app launches, smoother transitions between screens, and more fluid interactions that make using the watch seamless and intuitive. Additionally, the device runs on the latest watchOS, which introduces even more capabilities and features tailored for daily life and workouts.
The Series 10's health and fitness features are particularly noteworthy. Coupled with heart rate monitoring, ECG capability, and sleep tracking, the watch provides a comprehensive suite of tools for monitoring health and fitness goals.
Furthermore, faster charging technology reduces downtime, so you can spend more time using your watch and less time tethered to a charging cable. The always-on display feature keeps critical information accessible at all times, allowing users to check the time, notifications, and workout stats without raising their wrists or tapping the screen.
While the Series 10 may not represent a radical departure from previous models, it refines the Apple Watch experience with meaningful improvements across the board, solidifying its position as a smartwatch market leader. With a range of customizable bands and watch faces, users can express their personality, whether they're at the office, gym, or out on the town.
The best fitness tracker for Samsung phones
Samsung Galaxy Watch 7
- Attractive, enduring design
- Choice of size, color, and band
- Fast processor
- Bright, clear screen
- All the durability you need
- One-day battery life
- Slow charging
- Some features require a Samsung phone
Why you should buy this: Like its predecessors, this is a workhorse smartwatch; nothing too flashy with plenty of features.
Who's it for: Samsung device owners who don't want to pay extra for the Galaxy Watch Ultra.
Why we picked the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7:
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 is a top-notch option for Android users, particularly those deeply integrated into the Samsung ecosystem. Its sleek and refined design looks good on the wrist and feels premium, making it suitable for both casual and formal settings. The vibrant, easy-to-read display provides excellent clarity, allowing users to quickly check notifications, messages, and health metrics even in bright sunlight.
One of the Galaxy Watch 7?s most impressive aspects is its comprehensive health and fitness tracking capabilities. It includes advanced sleep analysis that helps users understand their sleep patterns, offering insights into sleep quality and duration. It also features body composition measurements that give users a detailed look at metrics like body fat percentage, muscle mass, and hydration levels, making it a valuable tool for those looking to monitor their fitness journey closely.
Navigating the watch is effortless, thanks to a responsive interface powered by Wear OS. This operating system supports many applications that enhance the smartwatch experience. Users can easily customize watch faces and access popular apps directly from their wrists, adding a level of personalization that many appreciate.
While the battery life is decent, some users may find it lacking, mainly when using features like GPS and continuous health monitoring. Moreover, certain advanced features are restricted to Samsung phones, which might limit user experience with devices from other manufacturers. Despite these minor drawbacks, the Galaxy Watch 7 maintains its status as a well-rounded smartwatch at a competitive price point, making it a compelling choice for anyone looking to enhance their tech experience daily.
The best fitness tracker for Pixel phones
Google Pixel Watch 3
- It finally comes in a bigger size!
- Gorgeous, well-made hardware
- Smaller bezels, more display
- Well over 24-hour battery life
- Excellent running features
- Robust health tracking
- Reliable and easy-to-use software
- Underside scratches easily
- Some Fitbit features require a subscription
Why you should buy this: You've been waiting for a larger Pixel Watch; as it's finally here.
Who's it for: Pixel users who want their phone on their wrists.
Why we picked the Google PIxel Watch 3:
The Google Pixel Watch 3 is a compelling smartwatch for several reasons. First, it features a larger, brighter display, enhanced resolution, and vibrant colors than its predecessor. This makes viewing notifications, apps, and fitness stats easier at a glance, even in bright outdoor conditions.
The integration of advanced Fitbit features elevates its fitness tracking capabilities significantly. Users benefit from precise heart rate monitoring that tracks real-time fluctuations, sleep tracking that analyzes sleep stages, and personalized running guidance that adapts to your performance and goals. This allows users to optimize their workouts and improve their overall health.
In addition to fitness tracking, the watch provides helpful health metrics such as SpO2 levels, stress tracking, and an ECG app, ensuring users have access to comprehensive health insights. Convenient features like fall detection enhance safety by automatically alerting emergency contacts if a fall is detected.
Powered by Google AI, the Pixel Watch 3 offers personalized recommendations and insights, taking into account user preferences, activity patterns, and health data. This could include tailored workout suggestions, reminders to stay active, or tips on improving sleep quality.
Moreover, its sleek design and comfortable fit -with customizable bands and a lightweight structure -make it suitable for everyday wear, whether at the office, during workouts, or in casual settings. The seamless integration with other Google services, including Google Assistant, allows users to manage tasks, get directions, and control smart home devices right from their wrist, adding to its functionality.
The Google Pixel Watch 3 combines style, fitness tracking, and innovative features into one comprehensive package. Its robust capabilities and aesthetic appeal make it a worthwhile investment for those seeking an all-encompassing smartwatch experience.
The best fitness tracker for kids
Fitbit Ace 3
- Easy to use
- Comfortable, kid-sized fit
- Engaging, animated interface
- Fun, family challenges
- Clasp can break
- Works best with a parental Fitbit
Why you should buy this: It's a feature-packed, reward-filled fitness tracker that encourages kids to keep moving.
Who it's for: Parents looking for a tough fitness tracker for children ages 12 and under.
Why we picked the Fitbit Ace 3:
It's a fully-fledged fitness tracker, repackaged for kids. Like most of Fitbit's earlier bands, the Fitbit Ace 3 is composed of a fitness tracker unit that fits into a silicone band. This modular design means it's easy to keep clean - since you just have to pop the unit out if you want to give the band a deep clean - but also means it has some pretty strong durability. The silicone itself is fairly strong, but if you've got rough-and-tumble kids, then it's likely you'll need to swap out a battered band eventually, and Fitbit's design means it's easy to do. When they outgrow the more child-focused Ace 3 bands, you can also use any Fitbit Inspire or HR 2 bands to add a more grownup feel.
It doesn't compromise on features just because it's a kid's band. It has a three-axis accelerometer for step tracking and some fairly detailed sleep tracking. There's also a heart rate sensor, but its use is disabled by default. These sensors mean there are quite a few metrics to break down for you, and we did find the "adult" view in the smartphone app to be, well, a little annoying to use. Swapping between the views requires entering a password every time, and that can get very tiring when there's no option to use biometric login data.
Thankfully, that doesn't translate over to Fitbit's own display for the kids. It gathers a lot of data but doesn't swamp kids with it, and it mostly focuses on step count. There are a number of fun watch faces to choose from that show your kid's step count, including one where a rocket launches when the daily step goal has been reached. Much like the urge to close the rings on an Apple Watch, this visual feedback seemed to help kids exercise more.
While we have some issues with the software from the adult's side, the Fitbit Ace 3 is an excellent fitness tracker for young children. Older kids may find it too childish, but for those under 12, this should work extremely well.
The best fitness tracker for runners
Garmin Forerunner 265
- Extremely comfortable
- Lovely AMOLED screen
- Incredible health/fitness tools
- Highly customizable
- 4-plus days of battery life
- Doesn't require any subscriptions
- Limited smart features
- Proprietary charger
Why you should buy this: This is a super comfortable running smartwatch and fitness tracker with an AMOLED screen, powerful health and fitness tools, and highly customizable for your needs, whatever they are. It also has over four days of battery life.
Who's it for: Though other Garmin wearables are designed for serious runners, the Forerunner 265 is still great for even the casual runner who just wants some great health and fitness tracking in their smartwatch.
Why we picked the Garmin Forerunner 265:
The Garmin Forerunner 265 is similar to other Garmin offerings in terms of design. When you look at it, the first thing you'll think of is a running smartwatch because the entire casing is composed of "fiber-reinforced polymer." While the design is not super eye-catching, the utility of the design makes up for it.
You'll also find the Garmin Forerunner 265 incredibly comfortable to wear, thanks to the silicone watch band that has plenty of holes for you to find the perfect fit. Five physical buttons let you easily navigate the interface, and once you use the Garmin Connect app, you can reassign shortcuts to them, too. The buttons have nice tactility to them and are not hard to press. The Forerunner 265 has a 5 ATM water-resistance rating, which will protect the smartwatch from up to 50 meters of water submersion.
The display on the Forerunner 265 also got a huge upgrade from its predecessor, as it ditched the MIP (memory-in-pixel) display for a modern AMOLED with 416 x 416 resolution. That means everything is easy to read, blacks are black, and colors are super vibrant and pop out at you. This AMOLED display is easy to read outdoors, even in sunlight. Plus, the new screen means you have touchscreen support, unlike the previous Forerunner 255, which relied on buttons to navigate through the interface.
When you want to record a run with the Forerunner 265, it's easy to do — just press the dedicated "RUN" button on the side and pick your run type. Over time, the Forerunner 265 will give you a suggestion each day, which is personalized for you based on your records. They're optional, of course, but they can really shake up your normal routine if you want something different. Perhaps an hour-long run at your base pace, or a run to improve your VO2 max, sprint speed, or even a recovery run if you need a rest.
But the Forerunner 265 isn't just great for running; it's also fantastic at other health and fitness tracking. You get step count, heart rate tracking, heart rate variability (HRV), sleep, and VO2 max with SpO2 levels. Garmin takes all of these metrics to give you a Training Readiness score, which shows how fit your body is to train that day. It also keeps tabs on your stress levels throughout the day, which can be high-stress, medium-stress, low-stress, or resting periods. Stress levels also get a score. The last score is Body Battery, which is basically how much energy you have each day. Your sleep/restful periods will recharge that, but working out and stress decrease it.
Oh, and let's not forget the fact that you don't need any kind of subscription to get access to the powerful health and fitness data that the Garmin Forerunner 265 provides.
The best smart ring fitness tracker
Oura Ring 4
- Beautiful finishes
- Comprehensive sensor array and data
- Reliable syncing and app
- Clear data presentation
- Helpful general advice
- Finicky sizing
- Subscription required
Why you should buy this: It offers a lot of what smartwatches do in a smaller package.
Who it's for: Anyone who wants to track fitness and wellness, but doesn't want a smartwatch.
Why we picked the Oura RIng 4:
The Oura Ring 4 stands out as a top-tier health and wellness tracker due to its comprehensive approach to monitoring your body's signals. Its sleek and discreet design not only makes it comfortable to wear 24/7 but also ensures that it seamlessly fits into any lifestyle, whether you're at home, at work, or during workouts.
This advanced ring allows for continuous tracking of key metrics such as sleep stages, heart rate variability (HRV), and temperature trends. The sleep tracking feature provides invaluable insights by breaking down your sleep cycles into various stages, including deep sleep, REM sleep, and light sleep, while also identifying potential disruptions like sleep interruptions or unusual wake times.
The heart rate variability data is essential for assessing your body's stress levels and overall recovery, while temperature trends can signal changes in your health, such as the onset of illness. The Oura Ring 4 excels in offering these data points in an easy-to-understand format through its user-friendly app.
Beyond tracking, the Oura Ring 4 provides personalized guidance and recommendations tailored to your unique health profile. Whether you're looking to optimize your sleep patterns, increase daily activity, or enhance your recovery routines, the ring offers actionable insights based on your collected data. For instance, it can suggest optimal bedtimes, activity levels, or relaxation techniques to align with your body?s signals.
If you're serious about understanding and improving your well-being, the Oura Ring 4 serves as a powerful tool that empowers you with the data and insights necessary to achieve your health goals. The combination of real-time feedback, detailed analytics, and personalized recommendations makes it an indispensable asset for anyone looking to enhance their overall wellness journey.
