The Best Fitness Trackers for All Types of Activities

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Notable features:Heart-rate monitor, built-in GPS |Battery life:Up to seven days |Connectivity:iOS and Android compatible, call and text notifications, Google Maps, Google Wallet

If all you want to do is log and track your workouts, count steps, and monitor your heart rate, then a Fitbit is what you need, not a fancy GPS watch. There are many more-advancedsmartwatchesout there, but the Charge 6 is my top fitness-tracker recommendation because of its straightforward, easy-to-use features — including a heart-rate monitor and an accelerometer, alongside light water resistance and Bluetooth compatibility — and affordable price. I think it’s the best value pick in the Fitbit lineup: While it doesn’t have the larger screen of theVersa 4or the lower price tag of theInspire 3, it has built-in GPS to help track runs and bike rides, plus access to Google Maps, which gives you turn-by-turn directions, as well as Google Wallet.

I’ve used the Charge 6 for more than a month now while running, hiking, cycling, and doing HIIT workouts. When I’m working from home, I appreciate that the default watch face shows my heart rate and flashes through other metrics, too, including my total steps, calories burned, and active-zone minutes, plus the date and the watch’s battery percentage. If you want to customize your watch face, you can choose from one of the 29 other designs, including an analog clock or a retro-style flip clock. I found the Fitbit app’s interface uncomplicated, with all your daily data included in one digestible list. Keep in mind that you’ll need a Google account to use it, and if you want to access your data, you’ll have to download the Fitbit app on your smartphone.

Notable features:Touchscreen, built-in GPS, built-in Alexa, 50-meter water resistance, Google Maps, Google Wallet, blood-oxygen tracking |Battery life:Six days |Connectivity:iOS and Android compatible, Fitbit Premium

If you like the simplicity of the Fitbit Charge but want a bigger touchscreen display, I recommend the Versa 4. It launched at the end of 2022, but I think it’s still a great fitness tracker for beginners. The interface is super user-friendly, and the 40.5-mm. screen makes it easier to read than a band-style fitness tracker like the Charge 6. It has some solid health-monitoring features, too, including heart-rate, sleep, and stress tracking, along with step counting. Notably, it’s equipped with an altimeter (a sensor to track elevation gain), which, surprisingly, the Charge 6 does not have. The Versa 4 also offers support for Amazon’s Alexa and Bluetooth calling via a paired device.

Corey Lewis, personal trainer and co-founder of the digital wellness platform1AND1 Life, wears his Versa for a range of activities, including hiking, yoga, bike riding, and weight lifting.He likes how the Fitbit community — much likePeloton’s, in which users can post achievements and network with other members — motivates him to train harder. Fitbit provides a leaderboard with challenges, awards, and the ability to set personal goals. Personal trainerSean Alexander, founder ofSimple Approach, uses his Versa for lifting weights, swimming, tennis, and hot yoga. “One of my personal favorite features is the built-in HIIT timer that allows me to preset intervals for ‘resting’ and ‘working’ times before my workout, and then it will automatically start a timer for my active and rest moments at the push of a button,” he says. It’s much cheaper than an Apple Watch, so it’s a good one to try if you’re just dipping your toes into the world of fitness trackers.

Notable features:Touchscreen, GPS, 50-meter water resistance, blood-oxygen sensor, electrocardiogram (ECG) app |Battery life:36 hours (on low-power mode) |Connectivity:Syncs with larger Apple ecosystem (Siri, Apple Health, Apple Fitness+, Apple Pay, etc.)

The Apple Watch is ubiquitous for a reason. It essentially acts as an extension of your iPhone on your wrist. That’s why the Ultra 2 is our top recommendation for a multipurpose fitness tracker — it can track a ton of activities while keeping all that data synced and connected across the entire iOS ecosystem. Although the Ultra 2 and the Apple Watch Series 10 have similar fitness-tracking capabilities — for example, they both runwatchOS 11and have all the same sport modes — we prefer the Ultra 2 because of its sturdy titanium casing, large 49-mm. screen, and 36-hour battery life. The Ultra 2 also offers water resistance to 100 meters, versus 50 meters for the Series 10. (Not to mention that it’s scuba-diving compatible, with a depth gauge up to 40 meters, compared with the Series 10’s six meters).Plus, the Ultra 2 has an additional customizable Action Button for launching the Workout app directly or even starting a specific workout, like a run or bike ride. Yes, it’s pricier than the other fitness trackers on this list, but I think it’s worth it for active users, since it seamlessly blends everyday functionalities and fitness tracking with better battery life.

The Ultra 2 comes recommended by athletes across multiple disciplines, and it’s likely your best bet if you plan on doing a mix of different activities. Lucy Kapell and Joe Kaufman, competitive swimmers with the Westchester Masters Swimming Association, rely on the watch for tracking their laps both in the pool and outside. “It calculates lap swims accurately, and the settings can be easily adjusted for the length of the pool,” says Kapell. Since it measures heart rate and calories burned, it’s also useful for workouts where you don’t need to carefully track metrics like speed or distance.Gloyoga instructor Gustavo Padron, fitness instructor and sports physical therapistLeada Malek, and Equinox group-fitness instructorAmanda Katzuse the watch’s heart-rate function to measure the intensity of their workouts. Padron says, “Paying attention to my heart rate can help me decide if I need a chill or more intense class.”

While the Ultra 2’s list of apps is long and impressive, it’s also our recommendation for arunning watchspecifically because of its safety features. “If I fall off a trail or anything like that, it can tell if it’s a really dangerous fall, versus if I just jumped over something,” saysHellah Sidibe, a runner and former professional soccer player. “If I’m unconscious, the watch can call the nearest emergency crew.” Strategist tech writerJordan McMahon, who uses his Apple Watch mainly for weight training and cycling, also likes it for its under-the-radar tracking abilities. He says it was a crucial part of his recovery from a car-accident-related back surgery. “I had to retrain my body to handle long-distance walks, and I never had to remember to start tracking my distance because the watch automatically recognizes when you’re on a walk (at about 20 minutes in) and will ask you if you want to track it,” he says. “Having the ability to not just access all that information, but to track and manage it with minimal effort, made that recovery process less of a chore and more of a journey.”

Other users, includingFit Careeristfounder Corrie Alexander andBliss From Balancefitness blogger Michelle, like how the watch syncs with iPhone workout apps for following along with specific workouts. For example, Michelle says Peloton addicts will appreciate how the watch links to the Peloton app for feedback during classes. No matter what type of exercise they’re doing, fitness pros agree that the Apple Watch keeps their workout progress on track. As Katelyn DiGiorgio, vice-president of training and technique atPure Barre, says, “The activity rings on the Apple Watch have kept me more engaged than other fitness trackers I’ve used. I love the visual of closing a circle on each of the three simple activity-ring tracks — standing, moving, and exercise — each day. It becomes addicting.” Anthony Guidarelli, CTO ofCityRow, and Meredith Simmons, aMindbodyPilates instructor, agree that meeting goals on their Apple Watches keeps them accountable.

Notable features:Touchscreen, built-in GPS, 50-meter water resistance, blood-oxygen tracking |Battery life:Up to 21 hours |Connectivity:iOS and Android compatible, Garmin app

For less than half the price of an Apple Watch Ultra 2, consider the Vívoactive 6, Garmin’s newest model, which was just released in April 2025. We previously recommended the Vívoactive 5, but the Vívoactive 6 is a better multipurpose fitness tracker, thanks to Garmin’s user-interface improvements — like increased display brightness and a revamped organization of the control center and apps — plus an increased 8 GB storage capacity (compared with the previous 4 GB). It also has a smart alarm, meaning you can set your Vívoactive 6 to gently vibrate and wake you up at the optimal time based on your sleep cycle. It’s also slightly thinner and lighter than the previous model.

It has more than 80 preloaded GPS and indoor-sports apps, including modes for tracking running, cycling, pool swimming, Pilates, elliptical workouts, rowing, kayaking, and activities forwheelchair users. Apart from its activity-tracking abilities, the Vívoactive 6 gets high marks for its discreet design: It has only two low-profile buttons on the right side of the watch, as well as a bright AMOLED touchscreen face. Like with the Apple Watch Ultra 2, you can also receive emails, texts, and alerts on your watch when it’s paired with your iPhone or Android smartphone (though only Androids can respond to texts with the on-watch keyboard). The Vívoactive 6 also has incident detection — similar to Apple’s crash or fall-detection safety features — which automatically sends a message to emergency contacts with your live location, or you can send one manually if you’re alone andfeeling unsafe.

Shannon Curran, a Westchester Masters swimmer, uses it for running, walking, and pool swimming. “It has GPS — good for walking and running — and it will map your walk via the Garmin App,” she says. “I particularly like that it follows the number of laps that I’ve swum in real time so if I lose count during a longer set, I can check my watch.” We also appreciate that it can track a wide range of sports, such asin-line skating.Mike Grebinsky, an instructor withEmpire Skate Club, says the watch’s cycling mode works well for tracking speed and distance while skating. He likes the extra-long battery life and how he can lock the screen so it displays just the metrics he needs. “When I skate, I have to pay a lot of attention to the roadway, so I don’t have much time to look at my watch,” he says. Peter Reynolds, who runs the cycling style blog theDiscerning Cyclist, calls the Vívoactive “a stylish everyday watch with good tracking” and “really strong battery life.”

Notable features:Fabric band, sleep tracker, screen-free display, membership required,IP68water resistance, AI-powered coaching, women’s health insights, no built-GPS |Battery life:14 days |Connectivity:iOS and Android compatible, Whoop app

This discreet black strap doesn’t have a screen or any type of display — instead it relies on a companion app where users can view their data and personalized insights. If you’re looking for a fitness tracker to provide a holistic view of your overall health, you should consider the Whoop, especially if you’re focused on performance. It measures your strain, or daily exertion, and gives you a recovery score, which is a combination of metrics measured by the strap sensor (heart-rate variability, resting heart rate, sleep performance, and respiratory rate). Whoop says the higher your recovery score, the more prepared your body is for physical activity. “I like using this strap not only for tracking my daily activities (you can’t view your statsduringthe activity because of the lack of a screen, only on the app afterward), but also for all the time I spend not doing them, such as when I’m resting and sleeping,” Rellosa explains. While other fitness-tracking apps will simply tell you how much sleep you got, Rellosa says Whoop’s reports are much more detailed. “It will not only tell me how much time I spent in deep sleep and how many times I woke up, but if I have a less-than-ideal night of sleep, it will calculate how much more sleep I need the next night to make up for poor sleep quality,” Rellosa says. (Just note: While logging this sleep data may seem helpful, twosleep doctorswe interviewed told us that fitness trackers like the Whoop cannot accurately tell you about your specific sleep stages, such as your REM cycles; what you’re getting is just an approximation.) Certain memberships, including the Whoop Peak and Whoop Life, will also tell you how much time you spent in a high-stress zone during the day, which is helpful to know throughout the workday. All of this granular tracking might feel overly exhaustive, but for athletes who geek out on metrics, the Whoop can offer much more data than just step count and heart rate.

Lots of top athletes (including professional basketball playerSue Birdand Citius Mag founderChris Chavez) use the Whoop strap. It’s also a good choice for weekend warriors looking to maximize their fitness. Rex Chatterjee, creative director of the digital-media firm Dune Road Lifestyle and a former competitive bodybuilder, says Whoop gives him a holistic view of his body’s current state, and Rachel Lapidos, senior lifestyle-and-beauty editor at Bustle, likes how, compared to a tracker that only measures steps or distance, Whoop provides more personalized feedback on her workouts. “With the recovery score, I feel like I’m doing my body more of a favor since I know that if my score is low, I should take it easy rather than push myself, and vice versa,” she says.

Anthony Chavez, a master trainer atCorePower Yoga, is also a Whoop fan, and like Chatterjee, he appreciates the focus on overall health and behavior. “I’ve even begun to notice trends in the metrics based on how hydrated I am or how a glass (or two) of wine will affect my sleep and overall recovery the next day,” he says. Andrea Fornarola, founder of the barre and dance-fusion studioElements Fitness, calls the Whoop her “newest obsession,” and Nathan Forster, CEO and founder of the on-demand workout platformNEOU, says it’s his tracker of choice.Swerveinstructor-operations director Jenna Arndt andSoulCyclemaster instructorMaddy Cicconemention Whoop’s “strain coach,” which, as Arndt explains, guides you “how hard to push based on your recovery level.” And the strap doesn’t come with GPS, so you can’t track distance on a run by wearing the strap alone. You can, however, use the Whoop app on your phone during a distance activity and use GPS tracking for your workout that way.

[Editor’s note: Whoop has discontinued the standard monthly membership option for new users. Some features, like Healthspan, ECG, and irregular heart rhythm notifications (IHRN), can only be unlocked with certain device models. You can read more about the three new memberships — Whoop One, Whoop Peak, and Whoop Life — and pricinghere.]

Notable features:Touchscreen, built-in GPS, 50-meter water resistance, built-in LED flashlight, full-color mapping |Battery life:Up to 15 days |Connectivity:iOS and Android compatible, Garmin app

I’ve been a fan of Garmin’s Forerunner line for years — in fact, my first running watch was a Forerunner 220, and I later upgraded to a Forerunner 735XT when I committed to running in college at the Division I level. In May, Garmin released two new Forerunners: the Forerunner 570 and the Forerunner 970, the latter of which is the brand’s premium running and triathlon watch. As the updated version of theForerunner 965, the Forerunner 970 features a brighter scratch-resistant sapphire crystal display, a built-in LED flashlight, and a built-in mic and speaker. I’ve been testing the Forerunner 970 for over a month, and I absolutely love that packed into a sleek, durable GPS watch is tracking for tons of activity modes, including running, triathlon, multisport, pool or open-water swimming, road biking, indoor biking, HIIT, winter sports, water sports, racket sports, and more. One of my favorite features of the Forerunner 970 is that the watch gives me both a morning report — featuring a customizable overview of my sleep score, training outlook, heart-rate variability status, today’s weather, and more — plus an evening report, with a reminder of my sleep needs, tomorrow’s workout, and a weather report. I also appreciate that it has “running tolerance” data, which helps me understand each run’s impact on my overall training load, and an ECG, or electrocardiogram, app that utilizes sensors on the watch to record and detect signs of an irregular heart rhythm, known as atrial fibrillation. (Just note: To unlock a few other features — such as “running economy” and “step speed loss” — you’ll need the newHRM 600heart-rate monitor, which is sold separately.)

A previous version of this story mentioned the Forerunner 945 as our pick for endurance-minded multisport athletes. Paul Johnson, founder ofComplete Tri, told us, “It tracks everything you can imagine and looks stylish enough to wear when dressed up, too.” The same is true for the Forerunner 970. It has a stylish titanium bezel around the display, and the 47-mm. case size is small-wrist friendly. I own the French gray colorway with soft gold titanium, but it’s also available in solid black and a flashier white with neon-yellow design.

Notable features:Titanium bezel, sapphire glass, speaker and mic, climbing carabiner, |Battery life:65 hours of All Systems GPS (46-mm.) or 41 hours (42-mm.) |Connectivity:iOS and Android compatible, Coros app

For outdoor athletes or adventurers who need offline navigation, the Coros Apex 4 is an excellent choice. Whether you’re a trail runner or going for a hike, this watch allows you to download landscape and topographic mapsstraight from the Coros app to your watch so you can navigate in remote areas with or without cell service. This allows you to view your location instantly using pre-downloaded map data to help you navigate your route. It also has back-to-start navigation and checkpoint markers for pinning important locations along your trail.

The 46-mm. model has an impressive 65-hour battery life in full GPS mode (the 42-mm. has a 41-hour battery life), making this an ideal fitness tracker if you don’t want to worry about your watch dying during a multiday hike. The display is also very easy to read. Instead of a super-high-contrast AMOLED screen, the Apex 4 has a MIP display (memory in pixel, which is a low-power, reflective screen technology). When I tested the Apex 4 over the past few months, I found that the touchscreen is still readable in direct sunlight or when I’m running through a shadowy trail.

What I love most about the tracker is its simplicity. Unlike other trackers and smartwatches with more than four button options (which often make them bulkier), the Apex has just three: a dial you can turn and push, a back button below it, and a new Action button (bottom left) that controls the backlight and can be used to swap between activity-data pages. The watch also comes with a portable adapter that can connect to any standard USB-C cable. The adapter comes in a protective key-chain case, so I always have it on hand.

But don’t just take it from me: Sidibe, who swears by an older Apex model — the Apex 2 Pro — ranWestern States, a 100-mile trail race in California, and wore four different GPS watches for the entirety of the race. All of their batteries died during the race except for the Apex 2 Pro’s. “It had 39 percent battery left, and I was using it for almost two weeks afterward,” he says.

Magdalena Boulet, the president of GU Energy Labs, an Olympic marathoner, and the winner of several 100-mile trail races, needs a tracker with a battery life that can stand up to her intense training schedule. While she’s tried other brands, nothing has come close to the long-lasting Coros Apex. “I love being able to wear it all day and charge it about once a week despite putting miles on the trails or bike-commuting to work daily,” she says. “It even charges really quickly.” Besides the battery life, she’s impressed by the Apex’s accuracy and how quickly its GPS picks up a satellite signal.

Notable features:Goggles, 10-meter water resistance |Battery life:14 hours |Connectivity:iOS and Android compatible, Form app

If you don’t want to keep looking at your wrist while swimming, try these smart goggles.“The heads-up display is great for feedback while you’re swimming,” Westchester Masters member Andy Feldman says. “They track total distance, lap splits, stroke count, and average speed, and they seem to accurately distinguish one stroke type from another.” The goggles link up to a smartphone app that syncs to other popular tracking apps such as Training Peaks and Strava.

Notable features:Touchscreen display, GPS |Battery life:Up to 26 hours |Connectivity:iOS and Android compatible, Garmin app

Since handlebar-mounted bike computers are easy to see while riding a bike and track tons of cycling-specific metrics, cyclists tend to prefer them over watch-style activity trackers. Neile Weissman and Bob Gilbert of theNew York Cycle Clubsay Garmin’scomputers are among the most popular because of their range of functions, large screens, and frequent firmware updates. Besides tracking speed, time, distance, and altitude, this model gives you turn-by-turn navigation on a preselected route and even has an alarm you can set to prevent your bike from getting stolen. When paired with a heart-rate monitor (on your wrist or around your chest), it’ll give you feedback on VO2 max and recovery.

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