If you are thinking of buying a new fitness tracker, you have a wide selection of options to choose from. Fitbit, one of the leading names in the fitness industry, has more than a dozen different needs.
So how can you find the best Fitbit for you? It all comes down to your needs. Ask yourself the following questions to find a suitable Fitbit device for your unique needs.
- What do I need from a fitness tracker?
- Which feature is most important to me?
- Which feature is better-staying, but can money be sacrificed?
- How do I plan to use this device? Do I need a waterproof model for swimming?
- How much is my budget for a new fitness tracker?
Which Fitbit is best for you?
Once you understand your needs, it’s easy to compare different Fitbit models and find the one that’s best suited for your preferences.
To help you make that decision, we’ve divided this article into activity-specific sections so you can find the best Fitbit device for the activities you often do.
The best fitbeat for a workout
If you are a runner or exercise often, these are the features to look for in a Fitbit device:
Basic
Whether you’re a professional athlete with years of experience behind you, or a complete newcomer still practicing their first mile, you’ll want to look for basic features like:
- GPS (to map your route)
- Music player / streaming
- Step and distance tracking
Beyond these basics, here are some additional features that make workouts more effective and fun:
Smarttrack
With SmartTrack, the device can automatically detect and record your workouts, as well as track all your statistics, such as your workout duration, calorie burn, and heart rate zones. This feature is very useful for users who do not remember to start tracking / switching in tracking mode while exercising.
Oxygen saturation (SpO2) monitoring
This feature monitors the level of oxygen in your blood, which can add subtlety to your workout statistics and detect any breathing problems.
Active zone minutes (AZM)
AZM tracking helps you understand how you are moving, how often and how fast. This is great if you want to meet specific activity goals, such as having 22 active zone minutes per day.
The best fitbit option for a workout
Fitbit Sense
Fitbit Sense is one of the most advanced activity trackers for people who enjoy working out. This suggests ECG and blood oxygen monitoring for better exercise metrics. Sense also offers monthly health tracking – a feature that very few (if any) fitness trackers offer.
In addition to enhanced functions, it has common fitness tracker features like GPS, reminders, music player, third party apps and much more. The best part? It can be controlled with a voice assistant, so you can use it hands-free in the middle of your workout session.
Fitbit Versa 3
Fitbit Versa 3 is lighter and more affordable than the Fitbit Sense while offering almost the same features. It offers SpO2 tracking, heart rate monitoring, and sleep cycle tracking, among other health metrics. It comes with a built-in GPS, hourly activity tracker, “daily preparation score” and stress management tools to help you lead a fitter, healthier life.
The device also has a long battery life for hassle-free use. You can choose between hundreds of watches to match your choice, and the flexible infinity-style band keeps you comfortable even after prolonged use.
The best fitbeat for mental health
Although Fitbit is most commonly used for fitness tracking, recent versions have begun to offer more lifestyle-based features to improve stress management and overall well-being.
If you’re in the market for a Fitbit device to help manage anxiety and stress, here are some mental health-focused features to look for:
- Stress monitoring: Some Fitbit devices measure stress through electrodermal activity (EDA), heart rate variability, and sleep monitoring. These features are important for busy people who often work in fast-paced environments.
- Guided meditation: Having hand-directed meditation (literally) goes well with stress monitoring features. Whenever you see your stress score going up, meditate on one or two of these as you go along.
- Music: For many people, music is a huge part of their mental health management. Whether it’s you, a powerful music player or better, online streaming on your Fitbit device can really help.
The best fitbit option for managing mental health
Fitbit Lux
Fitbit Luxe launched Fitbit’s new “Stress Management Score, Which measures your stress levels by analyzing your heart rate, sleep levels, and physical activity. In addition, it offers guided workout and mindfulness mediation that can help with stress management.
Fitbit Luxe can help you sleep or focus better with “me-time” mode, which shuts off your screen and mutes your notifications to limit confusion. It tracks menstrual health so you can understand how your period can affect your well-being and mood.
Fitbit Charge 5
Fitbit Charge 5 is great for adding more exercise to your life. The device offers 20 exercise modes with SmartTrack for real-time tracking. You also get heart rate change notifications, active zone minutes and sleep tracking to better understand your progress towards your health and wellness goals.
Need some stress relief? The Fitbit Charge 5 has an EDA (Electrodermal Activity) sensor that can measure your body’s response to stress. Paired with the Fitbit app, you can access a comprehensive “Health Metrics” dashboard to evaluate respiratory rate, skin temperature changes, blood oxygen levels, and other key wellness statistics.
Best fitbit for casual use
If you want to use a Fitbit device frankly, look for options to offer decent features at an affordable price.
Some features to watch include:
- Step count
- Workout tracking
- Sleep monitoring
- Heart rate monitoring
- Music function
- Smartphone notification
- Water resistant
- Decent battery life
Other semi-enhanced “well-being” features include:
- On-screen workout
- Guided meditation
- “Stress score”
- Music storage
- Voice assistant
The best fitbit option for casual users
Fitbit Versa Lite
Fitbit Versa Lite offers some great features for casual users, such as fitness and sleep tracking, automatic workout recognition, music control and heart rate monitoring. It has a water-resistant, customizable watch face and offers guided mediation sessions.
The device is nice to look at, but lacks many of the features found in other fitness trackers. For example, it lacks onboard GPS, on-screen workouts, and SpO2 monitoring. Although this is not a bad thing. It is only designed for beginners or users who are trying something new in the world of fitness trackers.
Fitbit Inspire
If you want an affordable, hassle-free tracker that gets the job done, Fitbit Inspire might be a good option for you. It offers 10 days battery life, provides a daily preparation score and monthly health tracking.
The device tracks active minutes, calorie burn, steps, distance and fitness milestones. It lacks some key features like GPS, heart-rate monitoring and swimming tracking, but makes it very affordable (for casual users).
Which Fitbit is best for you?
Although most Fitbit devices offer the same basic features, there is a difference in what advanced features they offer. For example, only devices in the Fitbit Charge 4, Fitbit Ionic, Fitbit Sense, and Fitbit Versa series offer SpO2 monitoring, so if this feature is important to you, you’ll have to choose from these device options.
Similarly, if you want to work with the “Stress Score” feature, you need to choose from the Fitbit Versa 3, Versa 2, Charge 4 and Inspire 2 devices.
At the end of the day, your Fitbit choice depends on what you need from your fitness tracker. If you feel stuck, revisit the questions in the first section of this article to find out which features you need, which ones are good and which ones you don’t care about at the moment. Hopefully, this will help you find the best Fitbit device for you.
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