Are you looking for an all-purpose smartwatch to use for exercise, health, and wellness? Fitbit’s wristband trackers and smartwatches include numerous versatile tools that can help you track your diet, exercise, steps, sleep, swimming, and much more. Fitness tracking smartwatches like the Fitbit Versa are a proven way to stay on track with any exercise program. These handy wearables can be expensive, though, so we rounded up all of the best cheap Fitbit deals that will make smartening up your workouts a little lighter on your wallet.
New Fitbit models were announced recently, including the Fitbit Sense, Versa 3, and Inspire 2, so watch for more price activity as we get closer to the new models’ launch this Fall. After something different? Take a look at our list of the best Fitbit alternatives instead.
Today’s best Fitbit deals
Fitbit Versa
The Fitbit Versa gets its name from its versatility and is a great alternative to the Apple Watch (it resembles it in design, too!). At a reasonable price, you’re getting all the smartwatch functionality you need for both smartwatch and fitness tracking uses.
While you won’t have a vast selection of apps like the Apple Watch has, Fitbit’s proprietary OS brings all the notifications and fitness data you’ll ever need right to your wrist in an easy to navigate user interface. Android users can also take calls directly from the watch and send quick text replies, too. If you want, you can even load up to 300 songs right to the Versa using either the preloaded music apps or downloading them directly to the watch itself.
The Versa can track all kinds of workouts from running to biking, weights, swimming, interval training, and full-body exercises either manually or automatically. An on-watch coaching app guides you through preformatted workouts, and the watch logs information on your distance traveled as well as calories, steps, and heart rate. In our opinion, it’s the best Fitbit available. While there is a new version of the Fitbit Versa out, we think the original version will be more than enough for most users.
Fitbit Charge 3
Unlike the Fitbit Versa, the Fitbit Charge 3 is more fitness tracking-centric versus functioning as a smartwatch. Navigation of the Charge 3 is done through the touchscreen, which provides you the basics on steps taken, calories burnt, floors climbed, distance, and heart rate information. An integrated SPO2 sensor measures blood oxygen levels and analyzes your sleeping patterns.
The Charge 3 can display a host of notifications, including calls, texts, app alerts, and music playback, with Android users gaining the capability to send quick replies. Another great feature of the Fitbit Charge 3 is its long battery life: In our tests, we were getting up to a week’s worth on just a single charge.
Fitbit Inspire
If you don’t need a smartwatch and are just looking for a basic fitness tracker at a great price, the affordable Fitbit Inspire is certainly it. There are two versions of this particular Fitbit: the Inspire, which we’re recommending here, and the Fitbit Inspire HR, which adds heart rate tracking. Unless you’re doing fitness activities where knowing your heart rate is useful like running or jogging, save yourself some money by picking up the cheaper standard Inspire.
Even without the heart rate monitoring functionality, you’ll still be able to monitor steps, distance, hourly activity, active minutes and calories burned, and track your sleep (it can even wake you up by lightly vibrating your wrist). You’ll still get the automatic tracking that more expensive Fitbits have, and impressive battery life of up to five days on a single charge.
Fitbit Ionic
The Fitbit Ionic is one of Fitbit’s oldest smartwatch models, but it is by no means lacking in functionality as a result. In addition to the fitness tracking capabilities that you’d expect out from Fitbit, you’ll get all the creature comforts of modern smartwatches, including a dedicated app store, NFC tap-to-pay, and Bluetooth and Wi-Fi support. Add to this built-in GPS with GLONASS, and we’d argue that the distance tracking with the Ionic is by far the best of any of the Fitbit models.
Speaking of that fitness tracking, you’ll get continuous monitoring of steps, heart rate, sleep patterns, stairs climbed, and burned calories. The Ionic supports customizable exercise routines as well as automatic detecting of various workouts, so you never forget to track, and on-watch coaching through multiple workouts and activities.
While the Ionic is a fitness tracker first, the smartwatch functionality lets you use various apps just like you would on an Android Wear or Apple Watch. Like the Versa, it has dedicated storage for music, which you can add either manually or access through a variety of music apps.
How to choose a Fitbit
With quite a few models to choose from, it can be confusing as to which model to select. So let’s look at each one with our recommendations for who they might be useful for.
If you’re looking for basic activity tracking, the Fitbit Inspire is great as it checks all the boxes for what a good activity tracker needs. If you don’t need (or want) a smartwatch, this is the one to pick. However, we’d recommend stepping up to the Inspire HR if your workouts involve watching your heart rate: the basic model doesn’t offer that.
Those wanting a little more smartwatch functionality as well as more accurate and comprehensive activity and fitness tracking, the Charge 3 is a better option. This is also the cheapest Fitbit that offers connectivity with your smartphone to display notifications, and if you’re using an Android device, to send quick replies.
Next up is the Fitbit Versa, which we’re big fans of because of its smartwatch-like functionality. You’ll be able to answer calls and send quick replies from this particular watch, and a host of preloaded apps will allow you to use it much like a traditional smartwatch. However, you’re limited to what apps Fitbit includes.
For those that want flexibility in what apps they use, then step up to the top of the line Ionic. As we mentioned, it has its dedicated app store, and with NFC, built-in GPS, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth, it is by far one of the most smartwatch-like offerings from Fitbit right now.
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