Best Fitbit 2021

Best Fitbit iMore 2021

• Best Overall: Fitbit Sense
• Best Value: Fitbit Inspire 2
• Best Smartwatch: Fitbit Versa 3
• Best Tracker: Fitbit Charge 4
• Best Kids: Fitbit Ace 2

Best Overall: Fitbit Sense

The Fitbit Sense is by far Fitbit's most advanced and feature-packed smartwatch and possesses all of the premium features Fitbit has to offer. On top of a built-in GPS and Fitbit's all-day activity tracking; some of the newest, most noteworthy features include EDA scans for stress management, stress management scores, ECG monitoring, on-wrist skin temperature monitoring, oxygen saturation monitoring (Sp02), and Active Zone Minutes.

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 fitness and wellness. See your SpO2 nightly average and range with a SpO2 clock face, and view trends over time with Fitbit Premium.

Active Zone Minutes is a newer Fitbit feature. Active Zone Minutes is a heart-based training tool that will buzz your wrist when you enter your personalized target heart rate zones. This feature enables you to effectively and accurately track your calorie burn and get the absolute most out of every sweat session. The Fitbit Sense offers up to six days of battery life depending on how you use it and a built-in GPS. 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 a lot of new, advanced tech on top of premium health and fitness tracking. Also, note that if you want to check up on your blood oxygen levels, that feature is only available when you're using one of the Sp02 clock faces.

Best Value: Fitbit Inspire 2

If you're looking to save some money while also sacrificing some advanced features, the Fitbit Inspire 2 might be the option for you. A cool thing about the Fitbit Inspire 2 is that it comes with a free one-year Fitbit Premium trial for new Premium users. Fitbit Premium offers personalized guidance, insights, and motivation to help you reach your goals. It's also the least expensive adult tracker on this list. You get a lot of bang for your buck, so it's our pick for Best Value.

The Inspire 2 has a super sleek, lightweight design if you're into wearing something more 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 accurately track calorie burn. It has killer battery life and can operate for up to 10 days on a single charge.

On the downside, the sleep tracking seems to be hit or miss. It sleep tracks based on movement, so if you don't move, it might assume you're asleep. 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 download 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: Fitbit Versa 3

The Fitbit Versa 3 is the newest addition to the Fitbit family. The Versa 3 is a motivational health and fitness smartwatch with new features like a built-in GPS, workout intensity map, Active Zone Minutes, and Sp02 monitoring. It comes in three colors so you can pick the one that suits your vibe. 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. You'll feel a buzz when you reach your target heart rate zones during exercise, and you can celebrate when you earn extra minutes outside of exercise. All the more incentive to move! It has a built-in GPS so you can track your distance, pace, and workout intensity within the 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. This can help you learn when there may be an indication of important changes in your fitness and wellness. 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 will receive a Sleep Score to better understand your sleep quality. You can use the Smart Wake feature to call you to consciousness during the optimal stage of sleep so you wake up feeling 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 swimproof 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 (Premium monthly memberships 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, and therefore must have your phone on you if you want to listen to music while you work out. You also won't get EDA scans or ECG monitoring like you do with the Fitbit Sense.

Best Tracker: 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 bands. We love the Charge 4 because it features a built-in GPS, Active Zone Minutes, cardio fitness score, 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 tracker. 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 that will give you a buzz when you reach your target heart rate zones.

It will give you a personalized Cardio Fitness Score so you can get a better understanding of your fitness level and how you can improve over time. It'll also give insight on how much time you spend in light, deep, and REM sleep stages so you can track your stats over time 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 deliver real-time guidance to optimize your workouts.

It comes with a free 90-day trial of Fitbit Premium to help you stay active, sleep well, and manage stress levels. It offers all of Fitbit's health and fitness tracking so you can track daily activity and workouts. It's also swimproof 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 of time and are using it all day, 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 Kids: Fitbit Ace 2

Fitbit's model specifically designed for children, the Ace 2 lets kids see stats, goal celebrations, parent-approved friends, and call notifications. It gives your kids reminders to move; plus, it records steps, active minutes, and comes with a handy timer and stopwatch. It's brightly colored and cool to customize. Kids can make it their own by picking from three color options, a customized clock face, and choosing their avatar cover photos for the app.

On the downside, animated clock faces require more frequent charging, and this tracker only tracks steps, activity, and sleep, so the features are somewhat limited. There is also no built-in GPS.

Bottom line

It's easy to get lost in the sea of Fitbit products and accessories, and Fitbit is a brand name that is highly regarded and highly reputable. So, we understand that it's challenging to find the best one. After researching extensively, we feel that the Fitbit Sense is the best Fitbit overall because it has all of the premium features Fitbit has to offer. It delivers excellent health and fitness tracking; plus, it provides tools to help you manage stress, monitor your Sp02, listen to your favorite tunes, and stay connected with smart technology.

The Fitbit Sense tracks it all, including ECG, EDA, skin temperature, Active Zone Minutes, 24/7 heart rate, all-day activity, swim, sleep, female health, and general wellness. It has smart features like Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant, Fitbit Pay, and the ability to download all of your favorite apps. It's lightweight, sleek, and has hundreds of customizable clock faces to choose from so you can really make it your own. 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.

Credits — The team that worked on this guide