Fitness Trackers That Will Get You Motivated and Help You Stay That Way

After ruining my previous fitness tracker in the washing machine, I gave up on fitness trackers for 10 years. But that changed when my husband gave me a Whoop 5.0, and I am obsessed.

The Whoop 5.0 is a lightweight, adjustable wristband without any display or screen, so it doesn’t distract with alerts and notifications. I love the detailed metrics and tracking capability, like activity and recovery feedback. It can track how much time my body spends in different performance zones during exercise, stress levels, sleep, skin temperature, and my period. There’s even a healthspan marker; my current healthspan age is four years younger than I am.

One key differentiator of the Whoop is its charging capabilities: It charges while you’re wearing it with a portable power pack, and a charge lasts for up to 14 days. Whoop has three membership options ($199 to $359 per year), and access to certain metrics depends on your membership level.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by all of the options and stats, Whoop offers a free one-month trial before committing.

Oura rings popular choice for people looking for something more discreet than a watch. It’s a sleek ring fitness tracker that you can wear on any finger, but Oura recommends wearing it on your index, middle, or ring finger for best results. The newest model, the Oura Ring 5, is 40 percent smaller than the 4, starting at just 2.28 millimeters thick and weighing 2 grams and up (depending on which size you choose). Despite its petite size, the Oura Ring 5 measures more than 50 health and wellness metrics, including blood oxygen, heart rate, movement, and sleep. The rings are made of titanium, and you can customize your ring with either a metallic or ceramic finish in a variety of colors. If you’re not sure what size to get, you can request a complimentary sizing kit.

Oura owners like the long-lasting battery and detailed monitoring of their sleep, heart rate, body temperature, stress, and menstrual cycles. They find the app intuitive and like the daily readiness score. You can even personalize the app to help spot patterns and habits. The Oura Ring 5 comes with a charging station that charges in just 80 minutes, and charges can last six to nine days — longer than the Oura 4’s five to eight days. An Oura membership is $5.99 a month or $69.99 per year, and the Oura app is available in several languages, including English, German, French, Japanese, and Spanish, and integrates with over 40 apps for a customizable experience.

If you’re just looking for precise heart monitoring without any bells and whistles, the Polar H10 Heart Rate Sensor is our pick. It’s a 2-ounce ECG heart monitor that you wear strapped around your chest. The strap has silicone dots to prevent slipping during intense training and sweating.

The Polar H10 can connect to the Polar Flow app, more than 70-plus fitness apps, like Strava, Adidas Running, and Wahoo. You can also record training sessions and broadcast stats to specific gym equipment.

While the Polar H10 isn’t rechargeable, it runs on a coin battery that can last about 400 hours and is simple to replace. The monitor is water-resistant up to 30 meters, so you can shower or swim wearing it and still track your heart rate. It’s available in two sizes: extra small to small and medium to extra large. The strap (machine washable) comes in red, black, or a combination of black and gray.

For comprehensive tracking without the bulk or the screen, the Google Fitbit Air emphasizes smart tracking and integration with the Google Health coach (powered by Gemini AI). There’s no screen to distract you from your activities, but rest assured that it’s tracking your heart rate, activity, sleep, body temperature, oxygen, stress level, and more.

Weighing just 3.9 ounces and water-resistant up to 50 meters, this is a wearable that’s easy to forget you’re wearing, especially since the battery lasts up to five days on a single charge. It comes with three free months of Google Health Premium, which offers benefits like a personalized fitness plan for the week based on your goals and the activities it’s tracked.

For tech-savvy individuals who like to stay engaged and informed, the brand new Apple Watch Series 12 is a multi-functional health tracker, watch, and smartphone in one. It’s like an à la carte wellness experience. Select and download various iPhone apps, like the Activity Tracker, Heart Rate, ECG, Vitals, and Cycle Tracking apps, and “watch” as the Apple Smart Watch monitors and aggregates metrics. Of course, it also tracks your steps and calories, and you can call and text from it.

Like the Series 11, the Series 12 offers versatile and expansive health and data tracking to dial in to sleep health and sleep apnea symptoms, heart rate, blood oxygen levels, and menstruation and ovulation insights. It even uses optical sensors to monitor how your blood vessels respond to your heartbeat to detect possible signs of high blood pressure (hypertension). (Consult a doctor for any health concerns.) The biggest difference in the 12 is that it promises to take even more accurate readings, including heart-rate variability (HRV), and provides a readiness score (measuring recovery).

While users appreciate the digital display, it’s quite sensitive to touch, so it’s sometimes possible to pause tracking when you don’t intend to. We do love that you can choose from a basic watch model with a matte or polished aluminum finish and a durable glass display, or opt for the polished aero-grade space titanium or ceramic versions with sapphire crystal display for $300-$500 more. Band options include a smooth and water-resistant silicone rubber, soft textiles for easy wear, or a sturdy stainless steel.

Samsung’s Galaxy Watch9 is like a personal sleep coach on your wrist and makes an excellent choice for those looking to fine-tune their sleep. It’s a smartwatch with Galaxy AI integration that measures your sleep stages, resting heart rate, and may even detect signs of moderate sleep apnea. And because it’s thinner than previous Galaxy watches, it’s more comfortable to wear while you sleep, too. The Galaxy Watch9 can also track menstruation and ovulation, body composition, and offers metabolic health insights by analyzing your diet. It also calculates daily energy scores and emphasizes performance with encouragement and engagement.

The watch is made of lightweight aluminum with two watch face sizes (40mm/44mm). You can use the Samsung "Augmented Reality” feature on your Android phone to virtually try on various Galaxy watch styles. Samsung has a kid-friendly watch too, so the whole family can stay active together. However, the battery life is short, with a charge lasting about 30 hours. (Enabling the “always-on” display drains the battery quicker, so consider limiting those features to ensure a longer battery life.)

The Garmin vívoactive 6 is water-resistant up to 50 meters and can withstand snow, rain, showers, diving into water, and surface swimming. It can track your activities, heart rate, and stress, and features breath work and meditation exercises, plus insight into women’s health and hormones.

The built-in sports app tracks biking, swimming, running, and tennis, plus backpack rucking, golfing, and a wheelchair mode for wheelchair users. Runners may like the running dynamics platform, which offers running cadence and stride length analytics, race-day pacing plans, and options to build your own intervals.

Like many of the smartwatches on this list, you need to download an app to view all of your stats. Garmin has its own operating system, GarminOS, which is compatible with Android and iOS.

Wearers can activate Google Maps and receive texts and calls from the watch. The vívoactive 6 features a scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass 3 lens and a quick-release, durable silicone watch band. We like the color combinations, like the lunar gold bezel with the bone-hued band or the matching metallic pink watch and band for a bold statement. 

This pick from Fitbit tracks key heart health insights, such as cardio fitness scores and active zone minutes. It aggregates heart rate and heartbeat performance, sending irregularity notifications.

If you like working out at the gym, the Google Fitbit Charge 6 can project your heart rate on compatible treadmills, ellipticals, rowers, and stationary bikes, allowing you to stay present during your fitness sessions. It features 40 exercise modes. If you forget to track your movement, it recognizes and records your activity using its SmartTrack feature.

Fitbit Charge 6 has integrated Google apps — Wallet, Maps, YouTube — making it a cinch to pay with a simple tap of your band, follow a specific walking route, or stay motivated with some beats. Users can call and text contacts as well. It comes with a free three-month trial of Google Health Premium.

The battery can last up to seven days, and it takes about two hours to fully charge.

For a budget-conscious wearable, we think the Amazfit Bip 6 smartwatch meets the mark without sacrificing performance. It has extensive smart technology, like intuitive fitness coaching and training, and sleep, food, and hormonal health insights in addition to heart rate, sleep, blood oxygen, and stress insights.

The Amazfit Bip 6 relies on the Zepp app, which is compatible with iOS and Android. You can create a custom strength-training plan and sync it to your watch while it tracks reps and rest, or train for your next 5K or marathon with the AI Zepp Coach.

It can track more than 140 activity modes, including cycling, running, swimming, and even HYROX race tracking. Users can stay connected with voice commands, texts, and Bluetooth calls, and download maps and GPS for outdoor workouts. The rechargeable battery is built to last up to two weeks and fully charges in about two hours. It charges on a USB-C charging base, but to cut down on waste, the Amazfit Bip 6 doesn’t come with a charging cord. 

At nearly $1,000, the Garmin fēnix 8 is built for durability, endurance activities, and all-around adventuring. There are tons of bells and whistles: This watch is thermal-, shock- and water-resistant, dive-safe, and tested to U.S. military standards. A Garmin Coach feature assists with specific training goals. The watch offers race pace estimates and uphill stats measurements, and you can download mountain routes and track climbs and golf courses. Plus, you can toggle between multisports activities. It’s ideal for triathletes and other endurance performers.

The Garmin fēnix 8 produces a daily morning and evening report and measures heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, and breathing. It features abnormal heart rate alerts and offers tracking insights for women’s health, hydration, jet lag, stress, and altitude acclimation. There’s even a multi-mode flashlight for nighttime treks, including a red light and strobe light. The fine-tuned GPS enables terrain mapping, and a round-trip feature offers various return routes.

When paired with the Garmin Connect app, users can tap into smart notifications, music, contactless pay, and a stock tracker. When used in “smartwatch” mode, it can last up to 10 days. It’s worth noting that some users noted a steep learning curve with all of these features.