The best Fitbit to buy in 2023, tested by a personal trainer

Fitbit's newest flagship, the Sense 2, nails just about everything a quality fitness tracker should be. It offers a wide variety of activity tracking and useful fitness insights; tracks sleep, stress, and menstrual cycles; and has built-in GPS and a battery that lasts around five to six days on a single charge.

It does lack in one major area, however: smarts. Though it's touted as a "smartwatch," it doesn't quite stack up in that department the way an effective smartwatch should. For starters, it doesn't offer third-party app support, which is disappointing, and it doesn't allow access to things like Google Assistant. It also doesn't have the capacity to store or play music. 

But those drawbacks don't equate to being a dealbreaker. The Sense 2 offers a suite of useful health and wellness insights that put it on par with some of the best in the industry. There's a skin temperature sensor, ECG readings, and a real-time stress tracker.

The stress tracker is especially interesting as it not only charts your body's stress levels but also provides feedback on how to lower it and can paint a picture of how your body handles stress overall. 

It's also an accurate fitness tracker. Its built-in GPS synced well during our tests and it's compatible with a variety of activities and exercises. Plus, its interface is easy and intuitive to use, making it a great watch for beginners.  

Read our full review of the Sense 2

If you want a tracker to record your workouts and daily movement, but you don't care about fancy features like answering calls via your watch or connecting with Alexa or Google Assistant, then the Charge 5 is your match. 

This tracker records and displays all the stats you want from your workout: current and average exercise pace, distance, heart rate zones, total time, steps taken, and calories burned. Within the Fitbit app, you can also see a map of your run, complete with intensity zones showing where your heart rate climbed highest and dipped lowest. 

One of its best features is its built-in GPS, which is often a rare inclusion on wearables this small. This allows it to natively provide accurate activity tracking, which is a huge plus for those who don't like to tote their smartphone while working out.  

It's not completely without smart features, either. You can sync your calendar and get app updates, as well as text, email, and phone call notifications. The Charge 5 also offers in-depth sleep tracking that charts sleep patterns and habits and allows you to see how much REM, deep, and light sleep you get each night.  

The battery life on the Charge 5 is longer than both the Versa and the Sense, too. Plus, the design is smaller and takes up less space on your arm, which is nice for folks with smaller wrists. It's also compatible with a variety of the best Charge 5 bands, which help upgrade its look or make it more useful for certain activities. 

Fitbit's Inspire line of entry-level activity trackers is the brand's most basic offering. Its latest model, the Inspire 3, features a slim, vertical screen that sits comfortably on your wrist while offering a suite of advanced health and fitness tracking features right at your fingertips. It even has a skin temperature sensor and can track your sleep habits. The original Fitbit has come a long way. 

But what makes the Inspire 3 especially attractive is its price, which makes it attractive for beginners or those new to wearing activity trackers. At under $100, it delivers a wearable experience similar to the Sense 2 but without the large touchscreen, downloadable apps, or built-in GPS. It's also compatible with a range of the best Inspire 3 bands to change up its look a bit.

That may seem like the Inspire 3 lacks key features, but those are typically hallmarks of a smartwatch, and the Inspire 3 is a bona fide fitness tracker. That is, it offers straightforward health and fitness features in an easy-to-use and intuitive package. It uses the same fitness tracking tech as all of Fitbit's other wearables, tracks heart rate, skin temperature, and sleep patterns, and even offers the brand's new Daily Readiness Score feature. 

That's a lot in such a small, budget-friendly package. Advanced athletes may view the lack of built-in GPS as a dealbreaker, but for anyone looking for a basic, straightforward activity tracker, the Inspire 3 is the best in Fitbit's lineup. 

Read our full review of the Inspire 3

The Versa is Fitbit's line of true smartwatches. And while the Fitbit Versa 4 is the latest model, the older Fitbit Versa 3 is the better option.

What makes the Versa 3 especially attractive is its compatibility with third-party apps, which Fitbit scrapped when developing the Versa 4 (perhaps Google wants people to look to the Google Pixel Watch for a true smartwatch experience). 

But it's not just the third-party app support that gives the Versa 3 an edge over the Versa 4. It's also a more reliable fitness tracker. Whereas the Versa 4 is plagued by connectivity and tracking issues, the Versa 3 tracks activities like a charm, leaning on its built-in GPS to deliver consistently accurate data. 

Plus, it has a similarly large display, useful for glances at real-time stats while you work out. You can easily check things like total workout time, average pace, and heart rate zones by tapping the watch face, even mid-activity.

Factor in its other health features like sleep monitoring, menstrual cycle tracking, and 24/7 heart rate monitor, and the Versa 3 is much more powerful than the latest model. It's one of the best smartwatches Fitbit sells and the best version of the Versa. 

Read our full review of the Versa 3

Although the Fitbit Luxe looks similar to the Inspire 3, it has a few subtle design features that give it some style. There's a stainless steel casing that achieves a nice, clean look for either office or a night out; a bright AMOLED screen; and the ability to swap out the band for something like a chic mesh or metal option.

As a quality health and fitness wearable, the Fitbit Luxe tracks basics like running and cycling. It offers insights into sleep patterns, stress management, and fitness trends. Some features require a paid subscription to Fitbit Premium (as is the case for several watches in this guide), but even the basic features are highly useful. 

One area where it lags is in the smartwatch department, but it was never designed to be one in the first place. However, it can still display text and phone call notifications, and you can use things like timers and alarms, but that's about the extent of it. It also has a battery that lasts upward of six days.

Read our full review of the Fitbit Luxe

Most fitness trackers are inherently designed for adult use. Then, there's the Fitbit Ace 3, an activity tracker designed entirely for kids ages six and up, outfitted with features such as parental controls, a custom kid-friendly stat viewer, and fun customization options.

What makes the Ace 3 great for kids is its whimsical approach. There are band options with Minion-themed designs, as well as colorful custom watch faces. It is also water-resistant up to 50 meters or 164 feet, so kids can wear it in the pool. 

One of the Ace 3's best features is its focus on gamification. The wearable offers various challenges and badges that can provide motivation for kids as they achieve a certain step goal or complete an activity. 

It's also a great communication tool for parents as it's able to deliver text notifications. What's particularly great about this is that parents can utilize the parental controls to manage exactly what connections are permitted on the watch. These controls are set up via the Fitbit app and require a family account, but they can be customized at any time, with or without the watch nearby.

These parental controls are what ultimately make it the better purchase for kids than, say, the Inspire 3. While the Inspire 3 offers a similar tracking experience, the ability to customize and tailor everything from the wearable's settings to the specific activity goals makes the Ace 3 a more family-friendly option. 

Fitbit Premium is the brand's monthly membership option that offers access to more in-depth health and fitness features like nutrition insights, advanced sleep tracking, and the Daily Readiness Score. 

It also provides access to things like guided meditations, exclusive video workouts, in-depth goal setting, various unique challenges, and other health insights such as blood oxygen level readings, heart rate variability, and breathing rate. 

All Fitbit Premium features are accessible via the Fitbit app and do a lot to elevate the base Fitbit experience, especially for wearables like the Sense 2 or Versa 4. The brand does offer a free 90-day trial to all new Fitbit users, allowing you to test out the service before committing to its recurring membership fee (which runs $10 per month or $80 per year). 

In addition to testing past iterations of Fitbit trackers and smartwatches when they were launched, I tested each on the list below for several days (some weeks, even) wearing them 24/7 in most cases. I wore each during different types of workouts, from runs and walks to strength sets and yoga. I also wore the trackers to bed and for mindfulness sessions. Here are the key features I looked for when testing:

Workout tracking

To successfully record stats during a workout and easily check these as you go, it's important that a watch clearly displays numbers, and quickly and continuously connects to the GPS, particularly if it's built into the watch. I judged the trackers and watches on whether I could easily see my current pace, distance, and time, and if I had quick access to see other metrics like average pace and heart rate. 

Additionally, I ran another fitness tracking app on my phone to test the accuracy of the watch's distance and pace. For every Fitbit featured, the numbers were always relatively close (and within the normal range you'd find if you compared almost any other fitness tracker). 

Because Fitbit offers automatic tracking, I also did a few workouts without manually pressing the start button to confirm that it picked up my movement, which it almost always did. 

Tracking and comfort while sleeping

I wore each of these watches and trackers to bed to test the automatic sleep tracking. I checked these stats in the morning to make sure it recorded my time in bed and wake-up times throughout the night. I also wore the devices when occasionally taking naps throughout the day, which they also picked up on. 

The devices needed to be comfortable enough to wear all night in order to get those stats, too. While the bands occasionally stuck to my skin if I got sweaty at night, it never disturbed my sleep — I only ever noticed this after waking up. 

Battery life

I tested the battery life of each Fitbit by charging it to 100% battery and wearing it through workouts, nights of sleep, and throughout the day to see how long each would last. They all surprised me, too — the life lasted even after several workouts, including those using the built-in GPS (which typically drains batteries quickly). The Inspire 2 was the most impressive for battery life. 

App usability

One huge perk of Fitbit is the built-in stress-reducing apps, so how easy these were to use was a key part of testing. I tried Fitbit's mindfulness program, the Relax app, on all devices, and the EDA scan app on the Sense, which contributes to stress management numbers. I looked for ease of use, visuals, and the stats provided after recording a mindfulness session, like changes in heart rate. 

Are Fitbits worth it?

If you're in the market for a reliable fitness wearable, then yes. A Fitbit can be beneficial for anyone who keeps active each day, even if that activity is walking a few blocks around the neighborhood or lifting weights at home.

They do an excellent job of counting steps, tracking a wide range of activities, and providing other useful health information like sleep insights and calories burned. You don't need to be an avid fitness pro or athlete to get a lot out of a Fitbit and with so many options in the brand's lineup, finding one that's "worth it" means just picking out the option that best fits your lifestyle.

Fitbit vs. Apple Watch: Which is better?

This ultimately comes down to personal preference. The Apple Watch is undoubtedly more powerful and full-featured but if you don't need access to a suite of apps, then a Fitbit will suffice. Both watches offer deep tracking capability for activities like running, cycling, and lifting weights, and each comes standard with its own user-friendly interface. 

One area where Apple outdoes Fitbit is in terms of its ecosystem. Anyone using an iPhone can get more out of an Apple Watch compared to a Fitbit (but as touched on below, it's not always enough to be considered a dealbreaker). 

And although the Apple Watch now offers a deep well of fitness and activity tracking capability, they still lean more heavily toward being a smartwatch (similar to Fitbit's Versa line), so if it's basic fitness tracking you're after without the frills, something like Fitbit's Charge would be more your speed. 

What are the advantages of owning a Fitbit?

Perhaps the biggest advantage of a Fitbit is that no matter the price point or type (tracker versus smartwatch), it comes with all the foundational features you want in a health and fitness tracker. This includes the ability to automatically track sleep and activity, which is the best thing about the brand, in my opinion.

Then, all the models track pace, distance, and calories burned during your workouts, and calculate your heart rate training zones, including fat burn, cardio, and peak. For sleep, you not only get the total hours you slept, but the time you spent in deep and REM sleep, plus the percentage of time you spent below your resting heart rate. 

With some models, these stats are easier to access than others — namely, the Sense, Versa 2, and Versa 3 because their larger screens are easier to read at a glance. But even with the smaller, more narrow faces of the Charge 4, the numbers are very large which is really nice to have. The Inspire 2 is definitely the hardest to glace stats quickly off of.

The Fitbit app itself, accessed via your phone, is easy to navigate and clearly displays steps, miles, active zone minutes, daily calorie burns, mindfulness days, exercise, and activity per hour. It also reminds you to take 250 steps per hour. Additionally, you can track your menstrual cycle, food and water intake, and weight (though these require more manual entries). 

What are the disadvantages of owning a Fitbit? 

The main disadvantage of owning a Fitbit would be its lack of ecosystem outside of the wearable itself and the Fitbit app. The Apple Watch or, for instance, Samsung's Galaxy each offer advanced compatibility with iOS- and Android-compatible smartphones, respectively. That allows each to offer features specific to those devices and operating systems.

However, this shouldn't be seen as a total dealbreaker. Not having the ability to customize text responses or notifications doesn't have to be something that precludes you from buying a Fitbit. 

What's the battery life like on a Fitbit?

Each Fitbit in the line has top-notch battery life, lasting days even with auto-activity and auto-sleep tracking turned on, so you don't have to worry about charging it every night. 

Officially, the battery for all Fitbits featured lasts from six days up to 10 days, depending on the device and your usage. In my experience, the Versa 2, Versa 3, and Sense last an average of six days on one charge, the Charge 4 for seven days, and the Inspire 2 a whopping 10 days.

Can you customize a Fitbit?

Fitbit offers plenty of options to customize the look of your device. Each watch or tracker comes with a basic band but all have a variety of different colors and material bands you can purchase, from stainless steel mesh for a professional look to expressive prints to more breathable sports bands. The only watch on our list that doesn't offer a sport-specific band is the Inspire 2.

You can also customize the watch faces, both for aesthetics and readability and to personalize shortcuts on the devices and what's displayed on the main app page. The Sense and Versa 3 have the most options for watch faces; you can even download third-party designs or use your own photos, which you can't do with the other models.