The Best Fitness Trackers in 2022

Whether you’re at the start of your fitness journey or a seasoned runner, swimmer, or lifter, there’s a fitness tracker for you – which can make finding the best fitness tracker a little tricky.

With prices ranging from tens of dollars to hundreds, it’s a product category that’s only growing. Most track your calories and steps, while some can track your heart-rate, and others offer downloadable apps like you’d find on your phone.

Here are our picks for the best fitness trackers you can find in 2022.

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Apple Watch Series 7 - $399

Apple’s Watch has gone through annual iterations, and it’d be fair to say that the Series 7 is the finest of the lot – even if its upgrades are modest over the Series 6 (and even the Series 5).

The Series 7 makes the screen bigger while maintaining its predecessor’s footprint, and overhauls some UI elements to make the device easier to use – even in the middle of a run or spin session.

‍Positives: Great design, hundreds of apps, clear display

Negatives: Battery needs charging after around a day or two, much less useful without an iPhone

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Apple Watch SE - $249

The Apple Watch SE may be considerably cheaper than the Series 7, but it’s got plenty of the same features. If you’ve got an iPhone, you’ll find a wealth of apps to download, plus the design is great despite offering a slightly smaller display than its more expensive brother.

It does lack an always-on display, though, and even without it you’ll need to find a charger after a day or so of use. Still, we’d wholeheartedly recommend it, especially compared to the Series 3 – which we expect to be phased out in the coming months.

‍Positives: Looks great, plenty of apps, decent price

Negatives: Battery life is lacking, you’ll need an iPhone to make the most out of it

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Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 - $249.99

Samsung’s latest Wear OS watch is, in many ways, to Android users what the Apple Watch is to iPhone owners. It smartly uses the One UI overlay on top of Wear OS, making it a joy to interact with whether you’re checking notifications or your heart rate.

It’s also jam-packed with sensors, although you’ll need a Samsung phone to take advantage of some of them. Blood oxygen, body fat percentage, and even skeletal muscle mass are at your fingertips.

‍Positives: Fast, huge number of sensors, great price

Negatives: Best to have a Samsung phone

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Fitbit Sense - $299.95

Fitbit made its name with cheaper fitness trackers, but the Sense marks a push for the premium side of things – and has a price to match. 

It trumps many of its competitors with six days of battery life, and offers Google Assistant and Alexa as standard, but its party piece is being able to measure your stress levels through how sweaty your palms are. That’s alongside a wealth of other sensors as you’d expect from Fitbit.

‍Positives: Slim design, loads of sensors, works great with iOS and Android

Negatives: No onboard storage for music

Fitbit Charge 5 - $180

If you’re looking for something that’s small enough to where it almost feels like you’re not wearing it at all, the Fitbit Charge 5 is worth a look.

This slimline device still offers ECGs, heart-rate monitoring, and all of the goodness of a GPS connection so you can leave your phone at home – unless you want to listen to music. As an all-round package, though, it’s tough to beat at this price.

‍Positives: Great battery life, excellent sleep tracking and array of sensors, small footprint

Negatives: No music functionality without your phone, slim screen may be an issue for some.

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Oura Ring Gen3 - $299 

While the other options on this list can be strapped to your wrist, the Oura Ring Gen3 is just that – it’s a ring. That means it’s much smaller, and just slips on.

While it began life with many of its features disabled, it’s improved significantly in the months since, although you’ll need a membership to benefit from meditations and more. Even without it, though, you’ll be able to track your sleep, activity, and menstrual cycles.

‍Positives: Low-profile, but still offers plenty of sensors.

Negatives: Best with a $6 subscription

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Those are our picks for the best fitness trackers in 2022. Which have you tried, and did your favorite make our list? Let us know!

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