Exclusive: Fitbit wants to transform your kids’ hockey and football games

If you’re looking for a new Fitbit, you’ve come to the right place – we’ve put the whole range of watches to the test to bring you a definitive list of the very best. We’ve put all these Fitbits through their paces in real world conditions, during workouts and everyday life, so you know exactly how each one feels to use, and the data you can expect to receive each day.

The Fitbit Luxe is our current pick for the best Fitbit of 2022. The best fitness tracker is one that you’re happy to wear all day, and with its crisp OLED display and premium design, the Luxe fits the bill perfectly.

If you’re starting to get more serious about your workouts (particularly running) then we highly recommend the Fitbit Charge 5, which was released in September 2021. It packs all the best features of Fitbit’s premium watches into one small stainless steel case, including on-board GPS, stress-monitoring, an ECG sensor, Fitbit Pay, and all-day heart rate monitoring.

If you run more than a couple of times a week, you might find that a dedicated running watch suits you better. Take a moment to check out our guide to the best running watches to see your options – there are some great beginner-friendly devices available. We’ve also rounded up the best swimming watches if you’re most at home in the pool.

The best Fitbits

The Fitbit Luxe is the company’s smartest, sleekest fitness tracker to date, and the best Fitbit you can buy today. 

The Luxe looks great, but doesn’t sacrifice features for style. It monitors steps, sleep, stress levels, heart rate, respiration and workouts, and also features a blood oxygen saturation sensor. In our tests, the heart rate tracking was particularly impressive, rivalling that of a high-end running watch for high-intensity gym sessions.

All these stats are shown on a super clear and bright AMOLED display (a big upgrade from the monochrome screen of watches like the Fitbit Inspire 2_ which shows your daily stats in full color with smooth animations. We were impressed by how much data Fitbit has managed to fit onto such a compact screen, and it’s all clearly laid out and easy to navigate. We found the touch interface smooth and responsive as well.

The more you wear your Fitbit, the more you’ll get from it as it builds up a more complete picture of your health, lifestyle and habits, and the Luxe is one that you won’t want to take off.

Read our full Fitbit Luxe review

The Fitbit Charge 5 takes the best features from all of the company’s other devices and rolls them into one sporty package. You get on-board GPS for tracking runs, walks and bike rides without carrying your phone; an EDA (electrodermal activity) sensor to measure changes in stress levels, an ECG app, and (like the Fitbit Luxe) a bright AMOLED display that makes it a pleasure to use.

The Charge 5 is a fitness tracker built for people who are starting to take their workouts seriously, but aren’t ready to invest in a dedicated running watch or swimming watch. There’s a great range of workout tracking modes (you can select your five favorites for quick access), and heart rate monitoring is particularly accurate. In our tests, it was as responsive as a premium sports watch.

Unlike the Fitbit Charge 4, the Charge 5 doesn’t let you control your Spotify playlist or other music from your wrist, but that’s a minor quibble, and it’s an otherwise excellent fitness tracker. The ECG app wasn’t available when the watch first came out as it needed approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but it’s now unlocked and ready to use.

Read our full Fitbit Charge 5 review

The Fitbit Versa 3 is a great looking smartwatch, and (alongside the Sense) is one of the most powerful Fitbits around right now. It can give you handy smartphone notifications, make contactless payments, control your music, monitor your blood oxygen saturation, track your sleep, and guide you through breathing exercises when the pressure gets too much. It also tracks dozens of workout types, with GPS for outdoor cardio sessions, and in our tests it stood up well against dedicated sports watches.

Voice commands are supported too, with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant integration, and you can download additional third-party apps through the Fitbit App Gallery. We found that the Fitbit Versa 3 will need charging more often than some other watches in this list, but if you don’t mind clipping on its charger every six days or so, it’s easy to recommend.

It’s all capped off with a 1.58in AMOLED display, which is exceptionally bright and clear, making it easy to read notifications and check your workout stats at a glance. We’re not fans of the touch-sensitive ‘button’ on the side of the case, which can be tricky to tap, but it’s a relatively minor issue.

It’s quite possible that we’ll see a Fitbit Versa 4 later this year, though details are scarce so far. We’ll keep you updated as soon as we know more.

Read our full Fitbit Versa 3 review

The Fitbit Sense is a super advanced watch that can track your stress levels be measuring the conductivity of your skin (basically, changes in conductivity are a sign of adrenal activity, which means stress). This data syncs with the Fitbit app, where you can also record your mood and any factors that might have influenced how you’re feeling so you can look for patterns.

The Sense is an excellent sports watch as well, with a huge range of activity tracking options. You can configure your favorite workouts so they appear as quick shortcuts when you press the touch-sensitive button on the left-hand side of the Sense’s case, and there’s on-board GPS to map runs, walks and bike rides.

It’s a great looking watch, with an almost identical design to the Fitbit Versa 3, but a different range of colors. Its soft silicone strap that makes it extremely comfortable to wear, even at night.

Our only complaint is that the step tracking can be a little inconsistent, recording steps even though you’ve told the device you’re taking part in a cycling activity. Otherwise the Fitbit Sense is a superb watch that’s easy to recommend.

If you’re looking for a device that offers similar features in a more compact package, the Fitbit Charge 5 also includes the same stress tracking sensor.

Read our full Fitbit Sense review

The Fitbit Inspire 2 is a small, slim little watch that will gently encourage you to make healthier choices throughout the day – whether that’s getting up from your desk to stretch, grabbing an extra glass of water, or taking the stairs rather than the elevator.

It’s extremely easy to use, with a small but clear touchscreen operated using taps and swipes, and a single side button. It will track your heart rate and activity levels all day, with little celebration animations when you hit your target, and there are 20 exercise modes to choose from when it’s time for a workout.

There’s sleep tracking as well, and all your stats will be nicely presented in the Fitbit app, where you check for patterns and set yourself goals.

Perhaps best of all, it can keep running for well over a week on a single charge, so you don’t need to worry about plugging it in every night. A great choice if you’re just starting to get more active and wants a little encouragement. 

Read our full Fitbit Inspire 2 review

The Charge 4 has now been superseded by the Charge 5, but is still a solid choice, particularly for runners on a budget. It looks smart enough for everyday wear, but has all the features you need for tracking workouts too, including on-board GPS. This is much more accurate than connected GPS (which piggybacks on your phone), and means you can leave your handset at home if you like.

There’s also Fitbit Pay for contactless payments, and if you are carrying your phone, you can use the Charge 4 to control your Spotify playlist.

When paired with the Fitbit App, the Charge 4 will also track Active Zone Minutes – a measure of exercise intensity. These are based on heart rate training zones, but simplified so they’re easy to understand. You’ll be set specific goals depending on your age and general fitness, which is a very handy way to make sure you’re getting enough exercise each week.

The Fitbit Charge 4 is very reasonably priced too, and can often be found very cheaply on Amazon. There’s no color screen, but this is a superb fitness tracker that has the features that really count.

Read our full Fitbit Charge 4 review

The Fitbit Ace 3 is made just for kids, and encourages them to get more active. It tracks steps, plus fun activities like trampolining and school sports, with achievements to keep them engaged.

There’s no all-day heart rate monitor (which makes sense, since kids’ resting heart rate changes as they grow), and no calorie counting or GPS. However, if your kid has their own phone, they can use the Ace 3 to receive app notifications. 

The Ace 3