The best Fitbit 2021: which Fitbit is right for you?

Fitbit is one of the biggest and best names in fitness tracking wearables, and it makes a wide range of trackers, both basic and advanced, at a range of prices. It even makes some smartwatches, so if you’re looking for the best Fitbit then there’s plenty to choose from.

Do you want the basic Fitbit Inspire? Or how about the feature-packed Fitbit Charge 4? Or maybe you want the full smartwatch experience of the Fitbit Versa 2?

Those are just a few of Fitbit’s many trackers, and in creating this guide we considered them all – both those sold directly from Fitbit itself and older options like the Fitbit Flex 2, which are still available from third-party sellers.

As you’ve probably realized, there’s not one best Fitbit for everybody, since everyone has different needs and budgets, so in this guide you’ll find a range of different Fitbits and should be able to find something that’s ideal for you.

And if you want to find out more about any of the Fitbit wearables we’ve included, make sure to click through to our reviews, for an in-depth look at each of them. You can also find a range of cheap Fitbit prices and sales available right now. You also might want to check out our best running watch, best fitness tracker and best cheap fitness tracker guides, for other, non-Fitbit options.

Fitbit Versa 3

(Image credit: Fitbit)

1. Fitbit Versa 3

Fitbit's most popular smartwatch, now with GPS

Screen: Yes | Heart rate tracker: Yes | Waterproof: Yes | Activity tracking: Yes | GPS: Yes | Battery life: Up to 6 days | Compatibility: Android/iOS

Great-looking display
Built-in GPS
Lightweight and comfortable
Poorly designed side button

The Fitbit Versa 3 is one of the best wearables on the market, and our number one pick for the best Fitbit you can buy today. It looks stunning, with an aluminum case, and bright, crisp screen, and is packed with useful tools for both everyday wear and activity tracking.

You can receive smartphone notifications (which are customizable), make contactless payment via Fitbit Pay, control your music, monitor your blood oxygen saturation (SpO2), be guided through calming breathing exercises, and track your sleep. The Fitbit Versa 3 can track 30 different types of exercise (indoors and out), and the resulting GPS data can be synced automatically to services like Strava, as well as being displayed in the Fitbit app.

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,

The Fitbit Versa 3 will need charging more frequently 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.

Read our full Fitbit Versa 3 review

Fitbit Charge 4

(Image credit: Fitbit)

2. Fitbit Charge 4

One of the best fitness trackers you can buy

Screen: Yes | Heart rate tracker: Yes | Waterproof: Yes | Activity tracking: Yes | GPS: Yes | Battery life: Up to 7 days | Compatibility: Android/iOS

On-board GPS
Fitbit Pay
Spotify controls
No color screen

The Fitbit Charge 4 is the best Fitbit you can buy today, and neatly bridges the gap between activity bands and fully fledged fitness trackers. It's simple and discreet enough for everyday wear, but has all the features you need for tracking workouts too.

The on-board GPS makes it a viable option for runners who'd prefer to leave their phone at home. 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 recommended by various health organizations. These are based on heart rate training zones, but simplified so they're easy to understand, and you'll be set specific goals depending on your age and general fitness, as measured by the device.

The Fitbit Charge 4 costs the same as the Charge 3 did at launch, which is an impressive feat considering the upgrades under the hood. There's still no color screen, but this is a superb fitness tracker that has the features that really count.

Read the full Fitbit Charge 4 review

Fitbit Sense

(Image credit: Fitbit)

3. Fitbit Sense

A stylish smartwatch to help manage your mental wellbeing

Screen: Yes | Heart rate tracker: Yes | Waterproof: Yes | Activity tracking: Yes | GPS: Yes | Battery life: Up to 6 days | Compatibility: Android/iOS/Windows

Detailed mood and stress logging
Very comfortable to wear
On-board GPS
Step counts not 100% accurate

The Fitbit Sense is the company's most advanced fitness tracker to date, with on-board GPS, an ECG sensor to detect signs of atrial fibrillation, and a new stress monitor that uses changes in the conductivity of your skin to estimate how much pressure you're under. 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 and rides (which can be synced to Strava automatically).

It's a great looking watch too, with an almost identical design to the Fitbit Versa 3, but features a new Infinity Band strap that makes it extremely comfortable to wear, even at night.

Our main 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 it's an excellent device that's easy to recommend.

Read the full Fitbit Sense review

Fitbit Charge 3

(Image credit: Fitbit)

4. Fitbit Charge 3

A great deal if you can live without on-board GPS

Screen: Yes | Heart rate tracker: Yes | Waterproof: Yes | Activity tracking: Yes | GPS: Yes, through phone | Battery life: 4/5 days | Compatibility: Android/iOS/Windows

Bigger screen than Charge 2
You can swim with it
Monochrome screen
Still no GPS

The Fitbit Charge 3 lacks the on-board GPS and Spotify controls you'll find on the Charge 4, but is still an excellent fitness tracker and one of the best Fitbits you can buy – particularly now it's dropped significantly in price.

It has a much larger screen compared to the last few versions of the Charge series, and comes with fitness features such as a heart rate tracker, guided breathing, swim tracking and improved notifications.

If you opt for the Fitbit Charge 3 Special Edition, you'll get Fitbit Pay compatibility as well. It connects with the GPS on your phone to keep track of your runs as well, but unfortunately can't keep tabs on your location without your phone. With that in mind, it might not be the best option for serious runners.  

Everything is just a bit better on the Charge 3, and considering it's the same price at launch as the Charge 2 it'll likely be a suitable tracker for anyone looking for a Fitbit in 2020.

Read the full Fitbit Charge 3 review

Fitbit Inspire HR

(Image credit: Fitbit)

5. Fitbit Inspire HR

Inspiration to get off the sofa

Screen: Yes | Heart rate tracker: Yes | Waterproof: Yes | Activity tracking: Yes | GPS: Yes, through phone | Battery life: 5 days | Compatibility: Android/iOS/Windows

Premium design
Lots of tracked metrics
Lacks swim tracking
No Fitbit Pay

The Fitbit Inspire HR has been superseded by the recently announced FItbit Inspire 2, but it's still an excellent basic fitness tracker that will serve you well if your needs are relatively straightforward.

It’s reasonably affordable yet comes with a lot of features including – obviously – heart rate tracking, as well as activity tracking, sleep monitoring, and guided breathing exercises. There’s also connected GPS, but no onboard GPS.

Other highlights of the Fitbit Inspire HR include great battery life of around five days in our tests, and a sleek, surprisingly premium design, making this one of the best-looking Fitbits you can buy. It’s also waterproof, though doesn’t come with any real swim-tracking skills.

Basically, if you don’t need to track your activity in the pool, don’t mind taking your phone with you on runs and don’t need something that’s more of a smartwatch, this is the best Fitbit option – and if you do need those other features you’ll have to pay more.

Read the full Fitbit Inspire HR review

Fitbit Versa 2

(Image credit: Fitbit)

6. Fitbit Versa 2

Alexa and more on your wrist

Screen: Yes | Heart rate tracker: Yes | Waterproof: Yes | Activity tracking: Yes | GPS: No, only connected | Battery life: 5 days | Compatibility: Android/iOS/Windows

Improved lightweight design
Always-on display option
Lacks GPS
No offline Spotify playback

The Fitbit Versa 2 has now been superseded by the Versa 3, but it's arguably still one of the most versatile devices that the company offers.

You can get notifications through to your wrist, use Amazon Alexa functionality, and access a variety of third-party apps directly on your wrist. That's all on top of the great fitness features like a heart rate tracker and exercise monitoring that you’ll get from most Fitbit products.

Plus, the Fitbit Versa 2 has better battery life than most smartwatches, lasting around five days on a single charge, and with its lightweight design it won’t weigh you down while exercising.

There's no built-in GPS here though, so you'll have to take your phone on any runs you go on if you're after a device to track your location.

Fitbit recently recently announced a new watch in the Versa lineup, the Fitbit Versa 3, which will add Google Assistant support and on-board GPS to the Versa 2's feature set. We look forward to testing it, and will update this guide once we've put it through its paces.

Read the full Fitbit Versa 2 review

Fitbit Flex 2

(Image credit: Fitbit)

7. Fitbit Flex 2

The Flex 2 is a great budget tracker

Screen: No | Heart rate tracker: No | Waterproof: Yes | Activity tracking: Yes | GPS: No | Battery life: 5 days | Compatibility: Android/iOS/Windows

Fun software
Comfortable and light
Battery life not great
Slow to charge

Do you want a fitness tracker that is easy to use and uncomplicated? The Fitbit Flex 2 may be the best device for you.

You'll be able to use this while swimming as it's waterproof and it'll also keep an eye on how well your dips in the pool are going. On top of that it comes with all the other basic tracking features you'd expect plus a slim and light design too.

It's a touch cheaper than the Fitbit Charge 2 as well, so it may be the perfect Fitbit tracker for you.

If you're considering buying a Flex 2 for yourself, it has great fitness tracking on board and a super subtle design that's bound to appeal to almost everyone. The only thing it's seriously lacking is a screen, so for an upgrade consider a Versa instead. 

Read the full Fitbit Flex 2 review

Fitbit Versa Lite

(Image credit: Fitbit)

8. Fitbit Versa Lite

Lighter on features and price

Screen: Yes | Heart rate tracker: Yes | Waterproof: Yes | Activity tracking: Yes | GPS: No, only connected | Battery life: 3-4 days | Compatibility: Android/iOS

Comfortable to wear
Solid battery life
Lacks on-screen workouts
No GPS

This is a remarkably similar product to the original Fitbit Versa below, but it has dropped a couple of features so the company can sell it for a lower price. That price isn't always that much cheaper, so we'd recommend checking deals on the original Fitbit Versa (and now the Fitbit Versa 2) before opting for the Fitbit Versa Lite.

You'll get connected GPS, a solid heart rate tracker and a variety of smartwatch features with the Fitbit Versa Lite. You need to know it won't be able to track swims, doesn't have storage for music and there's also no Fitbit Pay.

All of that said, this can be far cheaper than the company's other smartwatches so you may find that a good trade off when looking to buy a new Fitbit.

Read the full Fitbit Versa Lite review

Fitbit Ionic

(Image credit: Fitbit)

9. Fitbit Ionic

Fitbit's first smartwatch offered something a bit different

Screen: Yes | Heart rate tracker: Yes | Waterproof: Yes | Activity tracking: Yes | GPS: Yes | Battery life: 3-4 days | Compatibility: Android/iOS

Bright display
Variety of fitness options
Slow interface
Severe lack of apps

If you're after a smartwatch from Fitbit, there's also this. The Fitbit Ionic isn't the fantastic smartwatch some hoped it would be but it succeeds if you're looking for a fitness-focused device that can tackle running, weight lifting, swimming and much, much more.

Dedicated workout programs and Fitbit Pay are among the other highlights of the Ionic, but it doesn't perform as well as say the Apple Watch 4 or Samsung Galaxy Watch if you're looking for a full blown smartwatch experience. 

It's not cheap either and the Fitbit Ionic is also low in our list of the best Fitbit products because it's just very expensive for what it can offer you. However, if you're an outdoor runner the Ionic is your best bet. Not only is it durable, but it has built-in GPS, meaning you can leave your phone at home. 

Read the full Fitbit Ionic review

Fitbit Inspire

(Image credit: Fitbit)

10. Fitbit Inspire

One that covers the basics

Screen: Yes | Heart rate tracker: No | Waterproof: Yes | Activity tracking: Yes | GPS: No | Battery life: 5 days | Compatibility: Android/iOS/Windows

Easy to use
Attractive design
Very limited features
No GPS or heart rate monitor

The Fitbit Inspire is basically a cheaper alternative to the Fitbit Inspire HR for anyone who doesn’t need a heart rate monitor. It's now been replaced by the Fitbit Inspire 2, which we're currently in the process of reviewing.

That somewhat limits its skills, but there’s still a lot to like here, including an attractive, petite design, activity tracking, sleep tracking and up to five days of life.

Sadly there’s no GPS here – not even the connected kind – so this is more for people who want a very basic activity tracker than a real workout companion, but it’s priced accordingly and what it does it does well.

Read the full Fitbit Inspire review



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