The Best Fitness Trackers for 2022

The fitness tracker isn't dead, and if you're reading this, you're probably one of the people keeping these little devices alive. Smartwatches have all but taken over the mainstream wearable space, but the humble fitness tracker remains an option for those who want a gadget to always do one thing right. Despite the headwind, there are still plenty of fitness bands to choose from. Engadget tested many of them and picked the best ones for most people.

What do fitness trackers do best?

The answer seems simple: Fitness trackers are the best for tracking exercise, whether it's a 10-minute walk around the block or the half marathon you've been training hard for. Of course, smartwatches can do it too, but fitness bands have the upper hand in some areas: focus, design, battery life, and price.

When I say "focus," I'm referring to the fact that fitness trackers are made to track activity well; anything else is extra. They often don't have the bells and whistles of a smartwatch, which could distract from their activity-tracking capabilities. They also tend to have fewer sensors and internal components, making them smaller and lighter. Fitness trackers are also a better option for those who just want a less noticeable device on their wrist throughout the day.

Battery life tends to be better with fitness trackers. While most smartwatches last one to two days on a single charge, fitness bands last five days to one week - and that's with all-day and all-night use.

When it comes to price, there is no competition. The most useful smartwatches start at $175 to $200, but you can get a solid fitness tracker starting at $70. Yes, there are more expensive bands (and we recommend a few here), but you'll find more options under $150 in the fitness tracker space than in the smartwatch space.

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When should you buy a smartwatch?

If you need a little more from your wearable, you'll probably want a smartwatch instead. There are things like watch apps, notifications, and even more robust fitness features that smartwatches have those fitness trackers don't. With one, you can control smart home appliances, set timers, and reminders, check weather reports, and more. Some smartwatches let you choose which apps you want to receive notifications from, and the options go beyond just call and text notifications.

But the extra fitness features are probably the most important thing to think about when deciding between a fitness tracker and a smartwatch. The latter devices tend to be larger, giving them more room for things like GPS, barometers, onboard music storage, and more. While you'll find built-in GPS on select fitness trackers, it's not common.

Fitbit Charge 5

Fitbit's Charge 5 has everything most people would want in a fitness tracker. First of all, it's not a smartwatch. This means it has a slightly lower profile on the wrist and can last for days on a single charge while tracking activity and sleep. It also has a full-color AMOLED display – a big improvement over the smaller grayscale screen on the previous Charge 4. This display, along with a thinner design, makes the Charge 5 feel more premium than its predecessor.

The Charge 5 has EDA sensors for stress monitoring, and will eventually support ECG measurements and daily readiness scores (the latter only for Premium subscribers). These are on top of the existing features that have been carried over from the Charge 4 – most notably Fitbit Pay support and built-in GPS. The former lets you pay for coffee or groceries with just a flick of your wrist, while the latter helps map outdoor runs, bike rides, and other activities. The built-in GPS remains the star of the show here – it's fast and accurate, making the Charge 5 the best choice if you want a versatile fitness wearable.

Garmin Vivosmart 5

A more subtle-looking alternative is the $150 Garmin Vivosmart 5. It's thinner than the Charge 5 and fits a little better with bracelets and other jewelry you might wear regularly. But its attractive design is only part of its appeal—Garmin knows how to track fitness, and the Vivosmart 5 is proof that you don't have to drop hundreds on one of the company's fitness watches to get a capable device.

It has many of the same features as the Charge 5, except for built-in GPS. It does, however, support tethered GPS, so you can map outdoor runs and bike rides if you bring your phone with you. The Vivosmart 5 tracks all-day heart rate and activity, sleep, and exercise, and we've always appreciated how many exercise profiles Garmin has to choose from. You can customize which items appear on your device and change them at any time. You'll also get other health information, such as Garmin's Body Battery score, which tells you how long you'll have to wait after a hard workout before you can train at peak performance again, heart rate tracking, sleep phase data, women's health tracking, and more.

The Vivosmart 5's biggest downside is the aforementioned lack of built-in GPS and its slightly more difficult mobile app. But on the other hand, Garmin devices can sync with Apple Health, while Fitbit devices still don't have this feature.

Best budget: Fitbit Inspire 3

If you only have $100 to spare, the Fitbit Inspire 3 is the best choice. It removes all the luxury features from the Charge 5 and keeps only the essentials. You don't get built-in GPS or Fitbit Pay or Spotify, but you do get excellent activity tracking, automatic exercise detection, smartphone notifications, and more. The updated version has a sleeker design and includes a color touch screen and connected GPS, the latter of which lets you track your pace and distance when you're running or cycling outdoors with your phone on you.

The Inspire 3 is definitely the trendier of the two Fitbit devices on this list. Its interchangeable bands allow you to change the look and feel of your tracker whenever you want, and it's slim enough to blend in with other jewelry you might be wearing. We were also impressed by the battery life: Fitbit promises up to 10 days on a single charge, and it worked for us. After four days of continuous use, the Inspire 3 still had 66 percent of the battery left.

Withings Move

All of the above fitness trackers are attractive in their own way (bonus points for those with interchangeable bands), but they share a similar look. There aren't many alternative designs for these devices anymore. The $90 Withings Move watch is an exception and is traditionally one of the trendiest fitness trackers you can get. It's an analog watch with multiple health-tracking features, including step, calorie, distance, and sleep tracking, connected GPS, automatic recognition for over 30 workouts, and a waterproof design. But we really love it for its button cell battery that lasts up to 18 months before needing to be replaced.