Best Fitness Trackers under $50 in 2022

Why the Xiaomi Mi Band 2 is the best

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Most people looking for a fitness tracker are looking for a band that can do everything — the Xiaomi Mi Band 2 delivers.

The three core metrics every entry-level fitness tracker should have are all present; steps, distance traveled, and calories burned. The Mi Band 2 tracks all these stats superbly, thanks to some serious modifications to the internal sensors from the original Mi Band.

What surprises us the most about the Mi Band 2 is all the extra features that typically aren't available on low-budget trackers. Sleep tracking has become an important feature to a lot of users. The Mi Band 2 will not only track sleep, but also give you a detailed outline of whether your body was in a stage of light sleep or deep sleep throughout the night. On top of that, the Mi Band 2 features a heart rate monitor, which, as we said before, usually pushes the price of a tracker quite high.

What surprises me most about the Mi Band 2, are all the extra features that typically aren't found in low-budget trackers.

However, the heart monitor of the Mi Band 2 isn't without flaws. One of the drawbacks is you can't see your heart rate directly on the screen — you need to open the Mi App to check it. If you don't mind that small inconvenience, you should find the Mi Band 2 more than capable of telling you how hard your cardiovascular system is working.

On paper, the Xiaomi Mi Band 2 battery life is 20 days on standby with its 70 mAh battery. Even with heavy everyday use, that should be enough juice to keep you going for all your activities in between charges.

The icing on the cake here is its design. The tracker itself is an aluminum alloy modular piece that fits inside a silicone band — pretty standard as far as trackers go. But the Mi Band 2 manages to look a little more polished than its low-budget competitors. It has a touch-enabled OLED display that shows you the time and also lets you scroll through your daily stats. Plus, the band is relatively slim for a tracker that includes a heart rate monitor, which means it should fit comfortably on your wrist and look great!

If that was the icing, here is the cake: it's also quite water-resistant. The Mi Band 2 has an IP67 rating, which allows it to be fully submerged in three feet of water for 30 mins without showing any damage. You'll take this tracker with you everywhere!

What's your favortie budget tracker?

Let us know in the comment below!

Updated May 2018: I've swapped in the Fitbit Flex 2 for the Zip. Yes, it's $10 over $50, but it's definitely worth it.

Luke Filipowicz
Staff Writer

Luke Filipowicz has been a writer at iMore, covering Apple for nearly a decade now. He writes a lot about Apple Watch and iPad but covers the iPhone and Mac as well. He often describes himself as an "Apple user on a budget" and firmly believes that great technology can be affordable if you know where to look. Luke also heads up the iMore Show — a weekly podcast focusing on Apple news, rumors, and products but likes to have some fun along the way. 


Luke knows he spends more time on Twitter than he probably should, so feel free to follow him or give him a shout on social media @LukeFilipowicz.