Fitbit Charge 4 vs. Fitbit Inspire HR: Which should you buy?

Fitbit Charge 4 Hero
Fitbit Charge 4 Hero (Image credit: Fitbit)

The Charge 4 is Fitbit's latest and most powerful fitness band. It has all of the health features you've come to expect while also adding some smartwatch-like features and built-in GPS. If you don't care about those and want to save some cash, the Inspire HR is still an excellent product.

How do these two fitness bands compare?

If you're in the market for a wearable that'll track your daily activity and help you lead a healthier life, the Charge 4 and Inspire HR are both well-equipped in these regards. Both fitness bands count your steps, calories burned, stairs climbed, distance, and more. Each tracks a variety of different workouts and comes outfitted with a heart-rate monitor that'll keep tabs on your ticker all-day long.

Both the Charge 4 and Inspire HR have an excellent foundation for basic fitness tracking.

The Charge 4 and Inspire HR also share the same outstanding battery life that's rated for up to seven days on a single charge and can track your sleep if you wear either one throughout the night.

Where the Charge 4 gets the upper-hand is with more minute health features. With this tracker, you can receive real-time GPS and pace-tracking without a smartphone on you, while it also supports a broader range of activities and workouts.

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Header Cell - Column 0 Fitbit Charge 4Fitbit Inspire HR
All-day activity tracking✔️✔️
Automatic exercise recognition✔️✔️
Sleep tracking✔️✔️
Continuous heart-rate monitoring✔️✔️
BatteryUp to 7 daysUp to 7 days
Waterproof✔️✔️
Female health tracking✔️✔️
Guided breathing sessions✔️✔️
Phone notifications✔️🤔 (texts, calls, and calendar appointments only)
Quick replies to texts✔️
Fitbit Pay✔️
Built-in GPS✔️
Spotify music✔️

The Charge 4 also gets an edge when it comes to non-fitness features. Although the Inspire HR can show basic call, text, and calendar appointment notifications from your phone, that's about it. The Charge 4, on the other hand, retrieves any notification your phone gets and even allows you to send off quick replies to texts, WhatsApp messages, etc.

Also, while the app selection for the Charge 4 isn't anywhere close to what you'll find on something like the Apple Watch, it does have basic apps for checking the weather, your calendar, set an alarm or timer, and more. Lastly, the combined power of built-in GPS and Fitbit Pay make this a really complete fitness tracker.

Joe Maring

When Joe isn't acting as the News Editor for Android Central, he can be found helping out with articles here and there at iMore. He was last spotted at Starbucks surrounded by peppermint mochas. Have a tip? Send an email to joe.maring@mobilenations.com!