Best Fitbit 2021

Best Fitbit iMore 2021

• Best overall: The Fitbit Sense
• Best value: The Fitbit Inspire 2
• Best smartwatch: The Fitbit Versa 3
• Best tracker: The Fitbit Charge 4
• Best fashion forward: The Fitbit Luxe
• Best kids: The Fitbit Ace 3

Best overall: The Fitbit Sense

The Fitbit Sense is by far Fitbit's most advanced and feature-packed smartwatch and possesses all of the premium features Fitbit offers. On top of a built-in GPS and all-day activity tracking; some of the newest, most noteworthy features.

The EDA scan app detects electrodermal activity, which may indicate your body's response to stress, and reveals a graph in the Fitbit app to illuminate it. You'll receive a daily stress management score to better understand how your body is handling stress. The on-wrist skin temperature sensor tracks your skin temperature each night to show how it varies from your personal baseline, so you can be aware of your trends over time.

The ECG app will assess your heart for atrial fibrillation or a heart rhythm irregularity. If anything seems out of whack, you'll be notified immediately and can share the results with your doctor if necessary. The Sense tracks SpO2, the level of oxygen in your blood, to help you learn when there may be an indication of important changes in your overall wellness. See your SpO2 nightly average and range with a SpO2 clock face, and view trends over time with Fitbit Premium.

Active Zone Minutes are a heart-based training tool that will buzz your wrist when entering your personalized target heart rate zone. This feature enables you to effectively and accurately track your calorie burn and get the most out of every workout. The Fitbit Sense offers up to six days of battery life, depending on how you use it. Note that the battery life significantly diminishes while you're using GPS. You can also store and play music and podcasts on Deezer or Pandora and control the Spotify app from your wrist.

Purchasing this product comes with a free six-month trial of Fitbit Premium for new Premium users only. After six months, or if you're already a Premium user, a monthly membership is required to access all of the features the Fitbit Sense has to offer. This smartwatch is pricey, but it is jam-packed with many new, advanced tech on top of premium health and fitness tracking.

Best value: The Fitbit Inspire 2

If you're looking to save some money and don't mind sacrificing a few features, Fitbit Inspire 2 might be the option for you. The Inspire 2 has a super sleek, lightweight design if you're into wearing something low-profile on your wrist. It features Active Zone Minutes and all-day activity tracking. That means it will give you a buzz when you reach your target heart rate zones and will keep tabs on your daily steps, distance, hourly activity, and calories burned.

Like all Fitbit smartwatches and trackers, it's swim-proof up to 50 meters. It offers 24/7 heart rate monitoring to help you maximize your exercise sessions, see heart rate zones, track sleep stages, and effectively track calorie burn. It has killer battery life and can operate for up to 10 days on a full charge.

On the downside, sleep tracking seems to be hit or miss. It tracks based on movement, so it might assume you're asleep if you don't move. That being said, if you're a super active sleeper, it might not be able to track your sleep at all because it thinks you're awake. Also, note that this is a tracker, not a smartwatch, so you won't be able to do things like downloading your favorite apps or store and stream music. There is no built-in GPS, but you can connect to your phone's GPS to track distance and pace.

Best smartwatch: The Fitbit Versa 3

The Fitbit Versa 3 is a motivational health and fitness smartwatch with new features like built-in GPS, workout intensity maps, Active Zone Minutes, and Sp02 monitoring. It comes in three colors, so you can pick the one that suits your style — black with black aluminum, midnight with soft gold aluminum, and pink clay with soft gold aluminum.

It features Active Zone Minutes, which focus on heart-based training, and a built-in GPS so you can track your distance, pace, and workout intensity within the Fitbit app. When you check your workout intensity map in the app after you exercise, it will display your heart rate zones throughout your route so you can see where you put in the most effort. The Versa 3 offers oxygen saturation (Sp02) monitoring that measures the level of oxygen in your blood. You can see your Sp02 nightly average and range right on your wrist with one of the Sp02 clock faces and view trends over time.

It has a battery life of up to six days, depending on how you use it, and offers advanced sleep tracking. You can track your time in light, deep, and REM sleep and receive a Sleep Score to better understand your sleep quality. You can use the Smart Wake feature to wake you during the optimal stage of sleep, so you feel refreshed and ready to conquer your day. It's loaded with all of Fitbit's featured health and fitness tracking. Plus, it's lightweight and swim-proof up to 50 meters.

On the downside, there is no personal music storage on the Versa 3. You can store music for offline use via Pandora or Deezer Premium (sold separately), but you won't be able to upload your own tunes on this watch. You can stream playlists from Spotify, Pandora, and Deezer, but you must be connected to your phone via Bluetooth. You also won't get EDA scans or ECG monitoring like you do with Fitbit Sense.

Best tracker: The Fitbit Charge 4

The Fitbit Charge 4 is Fitbit's most advanced tracker and comes in three different color options: black, rosewood, and storm blue. You can make it your own even more with one of the best replacement bands. We love the Charge 4 because it features a built-in GPS, Active Zone Minutes, cardio fitness scores, sleep tracking, as well as 24/7 heart rate tracking. It is the only Fitbit tracker that offers built-in GPS.

Leave your phone behind and explore the outdoors with pace and distance on your Charge 4. You'll see a workout intensity map that shows your route and effort in the app when you're done. You can also monitor how your heart rate changes along your route. How cool is that? The Charge 4 also has Active Zone Minutes to give you a buzz when you reach your personalized target heart rate zone.

It will deliver a personalized Cardio fitness score to get a better understanding of your fitness level and how you can improve over time. It'll also give insight into how much time you spend in light, deep, and REM sleep stages so you can track your stats and ultimately get better rest. The Charge 4 keeps tabs on your heart rate 24/7, so it can accurately track your calorie burn and delivers real-time guidance to optimize your workouts.

It offers all of Fitbit's health and fitness tracking so you can track daily activity and workouts. It's also swim-proof up to 50 meters and has a battery life of up to seven days. You can even connect and control your Spotify from your wrist. You can like songs and browse recent playlists and podcasts.

Take note that some users complain the battery life is much shorter-lived than seven days. It depends on how and how often you use this tracker. If you have your GPS on for extended periods every day, you'll need to charge it more frequently. Also, you can't store music with the Charge 4. You can connect and control your Spotify app (if your phone is nearby) but won't be able to connect to Pandora or Deezer.

Best fashion forward: The Fitbit Luxe

Fitbit Luxe is available for pre-order and will ship out in June 2021. This fitness tracker has got some serious style. This fashion-forward fit band features a slim design, polished stainless steel casing, and bracelet-like bands, making it a gorgeous piece that works with any outfit or occasion. When it comes to features, it's got plenty.

Fitbit Luxe features Active Zone Minutes, 24/7 heart rate, Sp02 monitoring (which Sp02 watch face), all-day activity and sleep tracking, stress management tools, and guided breathing sessions. It's outfitted with SmartTrack, which automatically recognizes and records your workouts. It offers 20 pre-loaded exercise modes, so you'll get real-time stats while you sweat.

It only has a five-day battery life, which is a lot less than some of Fitbit's other trackers like Fitbit Inspire 2. It also does not have built-in GPS, though you can connect to your phone for connected GPS tracking.

Best kids: The Fitbit Ace 3

Fitbit Ace 3 comes in three cool colors: blue, black, and yellow. Animated clock faces grow and develop as your kids move throughout the day. This nifty fitness tracker features all-day activity tracking to show your kids healthy habits that add to healthier lifestyles. It offers sleep tracking so you can set bedtime reminders and alarms.

The Ace 3 is waterproof up to 50 meters, so your kids can rock it in the bath, lake, or pool. They can also challenge their families to step competitions and send approved friends messages or cheers in the Fitbit app. Kids earn virtual badges and get to have fun on-screen celebrations when they reach their goals. On the downside, you can't download apps on this tracker, and it's not well suited for older kids. Also, the features are somewhat limited.

Bottom line

It's easy to get lost in the sea of Fitbit products and accessories. Fitbit is a brand name that is highly regarded and highly reputable, so we understand the challenge of finding the right one for your lifestyle. After researching extensively, we feel the Fitbit Sense is the best overall because it's loaded with all of the premium features Fitbit has to offer.

It delivers comprehensive health and fitness tracking. Plus, it provides tools to help you manage stress, monitor your Sp02, listen to your favorite tunes, and stay connected. This advanced smartwatch gives you a huge bang for your buck and pulls out all the stops when it comes to features, versatility, and style. Whether you're looking for a feature-heavy smartwatch or a basic fitness tracker, we've got you covered with this list of the best Fitbit of the year.

Credits — The team that worked on this guide