The best fitness trackers of 2024: Tested and reviewed

See where the Apple Watch Series 9, Galaxy Watch 6, Oura Ring, and Whoop 4.0 fall on our list.
By Leah Stodart and Jae Thomas with additional reporting from Mashable writers  on 
All products featured here are independently selected by our editors and writers. If you buy something through links on our site, Mashable may earn an affiliate commission.

Overview

Best budget fitness tracker

Fitbit Inspire 3

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Best for sleep and recovery tracking

Whoop 4.0

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Best non-bracelet wearable

Oura Ring

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Best for Apple users

Apple Watch Series 9

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UPDATE: Feb. 15, 2024, 3:00 a.m. EST We're currently in the process of overhauling this roundup with new picks for 2024. We're in the process of testing the Fitbit Charge 6 and the Google Pixel Watch 2, and we also plan to evaluate the Apple Watch Ultra and the Apple Watch SE for potential inclusion.

Best deals on fitness trackers this week

You can't buy motivation. But, you can buy one of the best fitness trackers of 2024 that lights a fire under your ass to take more than 500 steps in a day, and that's not nothing.

The rhetoric around fitness has changed quite a bit over the past few years (as made clear by Every Fashion Brand Ever releasing a line of matching leggings and sports bras). We can thank the self-care revolution for this one. Actively monitoring your fitness progression isn't just for athletes or people training for their hometown's 5K. It's a building block of wellness that people are baking into their daily groove, just like keeping up with a skincare routine or eating your vegetables.

Ever since the pandemic closed most gyms (with some starting to open back up), home fitness and smart home gyms are having a moment — and we don't think they're going anywhere, even when it's 100% safe to fight with sweaty strangers over the last elliptical again.

Fitness trackers fit really nicely into this widening self-made fitness market, which is one of the main reasons they've become so popular. Yes, they're a cool gadget, but beyond building up your tech arsenal, fitness trackers can help people find their way into self-care and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Here are just some of the features the best fitness trackers will offer you:

  • Workout tracking

  • GPS tracking

  • Virtual rewards for staying active

  • Sleep tracking

  • Recovery suggestions

  • Mindfulness apps

  • Heart rate monitoring

  • Menstrual cycle tracking (which may be problematic in certain cases)

  • Body temperature measurements

  • Blood oxygen monitoring

  • Fall detection

  • Phone calls and notifications from your wrist

  • Tap-to-pay

  • Access to music

When it comes to exercising, they're the next best thing to having a trainer — suggesting workouts, watching your heart get stronger, and letting you know when it's time for a breather — all on your own time. Whether your preferred form of exercise is the gym, a long run, a few laps in the pool, a 10-minute workout on YouTube, or a casual walk around the neighborhood, it'll be there to catch all of your PRs and motivate you with challenges.

It's not just the time that you're sweating that matters: Restorative exercises and recovery are just as imperative to keep an eye on. At-home yoga could be therapeutic on your days off from HIIT, with meditation sprinkled in there to keep stress or anxiety from eating at your will to get off the couch. A great fitness tracker can help with both of these things, as well as lay out a recovery plan when your body needs to rest — a constant reminder to love yourself just as hard as you push yourself.

This type of mindfulness isn't always easy, and the best fitness trackers are the ones that will keep you in check throughout your workout as well as the rest of your day. Casual activity tracking, trackers that monitor your sleep (sometimes going as deep as times spent in each stage of sleep), heart rate, body temperature, and blood-oxygen levels can provide insight as to how much energy you can put toward a workout on a given day. They'll also give you a head's up if you've been exercising too hard — all of which can aid in optimal performance and overall health.

man's wrist with fitbit inspire 3 small fitness tracker

Fitbit Inspire 3

Best budget fitness tracker

Check out our full review of the Fitbit Inspire 3.

Who it's for:

If you don't want a small smartphone on your wrist at all times, the Fitbit Inspire 3 is a simple, easy-to-use pick for a fitness tracker. Whether you're low-tech and need something for basic health and fitness metrics, or you just don't want to spend a small fortune on a smartwatch, the Inspire 3 offers everything you need and nothing you don't. It has a comprehensive suite of health and fitness tracking features, a slim, low-profile design, and a straightforward user interface that makes it a great pick for most people. And, at sub-$100, it's budget-friendly, too.

Why we like it:

During testing, reviewer Sam Stone mentioned that nearly every function worked perfectly. From step tracking to sleep monitoring to automatically detecting workouts, Stone said that "The Fitbit Inspire 3 fit seamlessly into my existing workout routine, and seeing some analytics even pushed me to work harder in some cases."

Stone noted that the battery life of the Inspire 3 was a bit shorter than advertised, and he also had some slight issues with the SmartWake feature and heart rate monitoring during incredibly sweaty workouts, though neither were dealbreakers. Potential buyers should also note that the Inspire 3 does not include GPS functionality like the Fitbit Charge 6 (which we're currently testing).

"Sure, there are one or two kinks that could be worked out," said Stone. "But overall it’s an incredible device that is super helpful for someone hoping to get into a fitness routine, or push themselves that much further at the gym.

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black whoop strap on man's wrist

Whoop 4.0

Best for sleep and recovery tracking

Check out our full review of the Whoop 4.0.

Who it's for:

For people interested in in-depth sleep and recovery tracking, the Whoop 4.0 gives more data points than any user could wish for. The sleek tracker measures your daily activity strain, heart rate, sleep quality, and more to give you a daily recovery score. You'll fill out a questionnaire each day that helps you see how different factors (like alcohol and stress) impact your overall recovery. This tracker doesn't have a screen, which means fewer distractions during the day, but it does require a $239 per year membership, which adds up in comparison to other trackers that are a one-and-done purchase.

Why we like it:

During testing, reviewer Sam Stone didn't mind the lack of a screen with step and heart rate tracking that most other fitness trackers tout, and was instead able to stay more focused on his workouts while testing the Whoop 4.0. Stone also noted that Whoop's habits journal helped him note the effect of alcohol on his sleep and habits that affected his mental health. Though Stone mentioned that parsing through all the data that Whoop offers was "akin to taking the SAT," he also says that the Whoop 4.0 "is a fitness band that is built to create a workout routine that will stick."

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oura ring next to a normal ring

Oura Ring

Best non-bracelet wearable

Check out our full Oura Ring review.

Who it's for:

Known for its sleep tracking features — including a negative temperature coefficient sensor that scans while you snooze — the Oura Ring is a low-profile fitness tracker that gives users in-depth info about their sleep, workouts, recovery, mindfulness, and more. Sleep tracking is where this device shines though, and Mashable Senior Editor Chris Taylor says "I was mostly impressed with the quality of sleep tracking." If you care more about wellness and health tracking than workout-specific tracking, Oura is where it's at.

Why we like it:

Taylor says he found himself booting up the Oura app nearly every morning to check on his sleep quality. "You get not just a sleep score out of 100, but also a readiness score and a short paragraph that reviews your progress and predicts how you're going to face the challenges of the day, such as working out."

Oura also claims it can tell users when they're getting sick before symptoms even show up, and says it can predict menstrual cycles accurately based on temperature variability. Though Mashable staff hasn't tested those last two features, Oura is definitely at the top of its game when it comes to wellness and prediction features.

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Check out our full review of the Apple Watch Series 9.

Who it's for:

If you're already knee-deep in the Apple universe, the Apple Watch Series 9 will easily integrate into your lifestyle. The Precision Finding feature is ideal for iPhone users who are constantly losing their phones, and it comes with 64 GB of storage, making it great for folks who like to store a lot of music on their watch. If you have a Series 6 or earlier Apple Watch, we recommend springing for the Series 9 upgrade. "But if you already have a Series 8, or even a Series 7, there are few reasons to upgrade right now," says Mashable Senior Editor, Stan Schroeder.

Why we like it:

Though it doesn't look much different than its predecessor, the Series 9 comes with a solid screen improvement from the Apple Watch Series 8, making it easier to read in direct sunlight and causing less squinting when looking at it in the dark, according to Schroeder. He also notes that Apple's latest watch features an impressive new A15 bionic chip, a 64-bit dual-core processor, and a four-core Neural Engine — bringing up to 30% faster performance than the Series 8. It's worth noting that the Apple Watch Series 9 is currently being sold without a blood oxygen sensor, due to an ongoing patent dispute.

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Frequently Asked Questions


A fitness tracker is essentially a bracelet with sensors that send data to your phone to provide an expanded picture of the data it collects, and usually requires a phone for GPS and music. A smartwatch is essentially a fitness tracker plus your phone, but on your wrist. It has GPS built-in (sometimes using cellular data, which usually just acts as an extra line on your smartphone carrier bill) and can download apps. With something like an Apple Watch, you can send voice messages or take calls, have a conversation via iMessage, and get all your social media notifications to your wrist.


Anyone who said "screw it, I'm dropping $2,000 on an exercise bike" over the past few years would probably like to know which tracker can best log their cycling data.

If you already have an indoor bike, check to see which watches or software the bike is compatible with. For instance, the Peloton bike features Apple GymKit integration for Apple Watches and can also be synced with a Fitbit account. NordicTrack's iFit also offers two-way Apple Watch integration. Most modern trackers and watches are equipped with an accelerometer to accurately measure "distance" on a treadmill.


Any respectable tracker should be able to accompany you on a run in the rain without crapping out. At this point, almost every tracker goes past splash and sweat resistance to hit a 5 ATM rating, meaning the device can withstand pressure equivalent up to 50 meters (164 feet). These should be fine to wear in the shower, in the ocean, or in a hot tub.

Swimmers have a bit more to consider than the waterproof rating. Look for a tracker with built-in GPS that can not only follow you underwater, but accurately track your laps and pace. Dedicated modes for pool swims and open water swims are ideal. For more guidance on fitness trackers for swimming and other water sports, check out our roundup for the best waterproof fitness trackers.

Leah Stodart
Leah Stodart
Senior Shopping Reporter

Leah Stodart is a Philadelphia-based Senior Shopping Reporter at Mashable where she covers essential home tech like vacuums and TVs as well as sustainable swaps and travel. Her ever-growing experience in these categories comes in clutch when making recommendations on how to spend your money during shopping holidays like Black Friday, which Leah has been covering for Mashable since 2017.

Leah graduated from Penn State University in 2016 with dual degrees in Sociology and Media Studies. When she's not writing about shopping (or shopping online for herself), she's almost definitely watching a horror movie, "RuPaul's Drag Race," or "The Office." You can follow her on X at @notleah or email her at [email protected].

Mashable Image
Jae Thomas
Deputy Shopping Editor

Jae Thomas is a Colorado-based Deputy Shopping Editor for Mashable. They specialize in pet tech, smart fitness gear, finding the perfect gift, and sourcing the top deals on shopping holidays like Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Jae has worked at Mashable since 2020, where they've written countless deals roundups and product reviews. Before Jae came to Mashable, they received a B.A. in Journalism and English Literature from New York University and wrote food and lifestyle content for publications like Bon Appétit, Epicurious, The Daily Beast, Apartment Therapy, and Marie Claire.

When they're not testing products or writing about online shopping, you'll find Jae whipping up an elaborate meal, hiking, camping, or training their dogs, Miso and Dashi. Reach out to them on X at @jaetaurina or by email at [email protected].


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