Best Budget Fitness Trackers

We all know the benefits of wearing a fitness tracker – but sometimes the price on wearables can be outrageous. In this article we’re going to look at the best budget fitness trackers to help you reach your fitness goals

Don’t Want To Wait? Here’s Our Favorite

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If you don’t want to get confused with the list of options for best cheap fitness trackers and just want to know the single best option to get, then we would recommend you to buy the YAMAY Fitness Tracker.

This fitness tracker is an appealing mixture of features, design, and price. It monitors both heart rate and blood pressure to give you a more precise picture of your activity and fitness. It also has different sports modes, GPS connectivity, sleep monitoring, making it worth every penny you’ll pay for it and one of the best cheap fitness trackers out there.

Read the full review of this tracker below.

Yamay Fitness Tracker – Best Overall

If you are looking to get the features of a high-end fitness tracker without blowing your budget, then this YAMAY tracker is worth considering. YAMAY has struck the perfect combination of price and functionality in this device that you wouldn’t normally find in budget fitness trackers. We consider it to be the best cheap fitness tracker, and here’s why.

Review

To begin with, the YAMAY fitness tracker doesn’t just feature a heart rate monitor, but it also offers blood pressure measurements. Receiving these two sets of data gives you a more well-informed insight into your cardiovascular health and its link with your physical activity. This is perfect for everyone looking to stay healthy.

The tracker also gives you the number of miles you have walked every day, along with the total step count. We also like the activity tracker mode of this device. You can track and do tests during 14 different high-endurance physical activities in a more streamlined manner – from hiking to basketball.

YAMAY fitness tracker features GPS connectivity. This means you can connect it to your smartphone and can track your hiking and cycling routes in real-time. The GPS connectivity also allows you to bring the essential features of your phone on your wrist. You can receive calls and read text messages directly through the fitness tracker.

It’s also nice to look at and it has a decent display. We like that it’s IP68 waterproof, meaning that it won’t get destroyed by water. But it won’t collect data underwater, which is only a minor setback.

Pros

• One full charge for complete 1-week use
• Very effective heart activity monitor
• Features a sedentary reminder
• Compatible with the latest iOS and Android upgrades
• Available in eight different band colors

Cons

• It won’t track your activity underwater
• The vibration can be a bit too hard on your wrist

LETSCOM Fitness Tracker – Best Overall #2

LETSCOM has designed a really handy and highly functional fitness tracker with the price tag under $30. Budget fitness trackers usually have elementary features only. However, that’s not the case with this LETSCOM gadget. If you are serious about maintaining an active lifestyle and getting fit, then this fitness tracker will righty serve you.

Review

Let’s start with its heart rate monitoring that is not just a counter but an intuitive feature that offers better insight into your HR activity. It monitors your heart rate throughout the day and develops an in-app report that compares resting, average, and maximum heart rates.

Similarly, the sleep tracking of this LETSCOM device is also intuitive. It doesn’t just count your total sleeping hours but also differentiates between deep, light, and wake-sleep so you can determine the quality of sleep.

The other impressive feature of this machine is its customized tracking of 14 different exercises. From hiking to running and cycling, it can track your physical activity during all the high-endurance activities. You can also connect this customized tracking to your phone’s GPS to navigate through your route in real-time. It will also save the route of your workout on the map for later analysis.

It is worth noting that this LETSCOM gadget doesn’t just come handy when you are sweating it away. It is a true fitness tracker and assistant. It will be at work even when you are sitting idle or eating your dinner. It will track the calories you are burning every day.

It will also send you a sedentary alert when you are sitting in the same position for too long. This seemingly trivial feature helps you in getting rid of the chronic lethargy we face on a daily basis.

Pros

• Smart GPS connectivity – receive all important SMS messages and emails on your wrist
• One charge lasts an entire week
• Built-in USB port
• Waterproof

Cons

• The screen could have a better layout
• Swapping bands is a bit difficult

SIKADEER Fitness Tracker – Budget Fitness Tracker for Seniors

With its easy interface and multiple smart features, the Sikadeer fitness tracker has proven itself worthy of your attention. It has everything a senior will need in a tracker: heart rate tracking, blood pressure tracking, and more. Read on to find out more about this fitness tracker.

Review

This tracker counts the calories burned through exercise, which can be helpful with tracking your diet. Also, it keeps a count of your steps, your sleep patterns, and even your blood pressure. This option is great for some seniors who need to watch their blood pressure every day.

It also has a long-lasting battery and it only takes about an hour to fully charge it. The battery can last you up to 5-8 days before needing to be recharged. This fitbit-style watch will serve you nicely with all of your key activities and metrics.

As for why it’s such a great smart choice, it can easily be connected to your smart device. The tracker itself is equipped with a caller ID display, and you can even check your email while going for a walk, for instance. For the asking price, this budget fitness tracker represents a fantastic budget option for seniors.

Pros

• Simple and effective
• Tracks your heart rate, blood pressure, and steps
• Connects to your smartphone
• Long-lasting battery after a short charge
• Affordable price

Cons

• Some data might not be accurate
• No way to contact the company

Fitbit Inspire HR – Best for Swimming and Hiking

Fitbit is one of the premium manufacturers of fitness gadgets. In fact, it is the pioneer of this tech niche. If you are looking for a device that can track your swimming performance, then you’ll have to consider this product. It features Fitbit’s patented SmartTrack technology that automatically adapts to the workout the user is carrying out.

Review

Whether you are a runner, a swimmer, or a cyclist, Inspire HR will adjust itself to pick up the heart rate and distance accordingly. This Fitbit device is not just waterproof, but will also track your activity while swimming.

You can use it for up to 50 meters underwater, and it will keep on picking and recording the vitals and other readings. Besides the main screen or dial, the band of the Fitbit wearable is also made of high-grade elastomer. This means it is not going to wear and tear under constant water exposure.

We also like this Fitbit gadget because it gives quite an accurate estimate of daily calorie consumption. The machine is able to give precise calorie readings because it takes into account 24/7 heart rating, including resting and active phases for the calculation.

The battery time of the Fitbit fitness tracker is also quite good. With the full charging that takes two hours, you can keep on using the tracker for five days. Besides monitoring your high-endurance physical activities, this fitness gadget is also good with its sleep monitoring. It is capable of separately calculating light, deep, and REM sleep.

Pros

• Great fitness tracker for swimming
• Very sturdy and durable
• Tracks all your main activities as well as measurements
• Accurate measurements
• Versatile

Cons

• A bit pricier than other budget fitness trackers (but you won’t find a cheaper fitness tracker for swimming)
• Can be a bit heavy in the pocket

Huawei Band 4 Pro – Best Budget Fitness Tracker for Teenagers

Huawei has been stepping up its game lately in the fitness tracker department, and the Band 4 Pro is the latest showcase of that. If you’re on a budget and you need a great all-around fitness tracker, then you can’t go wrong with the Huawei Band 4 Pro. It has everything you need from a fitness tracker for active teenagers.

Review

First off, this product features an onboard GPS tracker, and it has also managed to add a water-resistant design. This means that you can take this fitness tracker with a 0.95-inch AMOLED touch color screen (YES! It has a color screen), and you can still manage to see all your stats right on your wrist.

When we tested this product, we found that the heart rate monitor was very accurate. It’s a great fit for those teenagers that are fit, although it might not be the best for pro athletes. The great thing about it is the customizability. With the Huawei Watch Face Store, you can choose from different styles, including sports, cartoons, intelligence, and more.

All-in-all, the Band 4 Pro is an affordable and comfortable all-around option for teenagers. It will do everything that a fitness tracker must do, including some decent customization options that will make it an appealing option for young people especially.

Pros

• Great versatile fitness tracker
• Affordable yet advanced
• Some great customization options
• It has a color AMOLED screen
• User-friendly

Cons

• Not as comfortable as Band 3 Pro
• The app still needs some refinements

Lintelek Fitness Tracker – Best Budget Fitness Tracker for Women

This trendy fitness watch comes from Lintelek and is a fashionably designed fitness tracker that has a slim fit and a wide color selection. In addition, it offers some neat features for tracking your heart rate, activity, and sleep, a simple downloadable app, USB charging system, extended battery life, and 14 different sport modes.

Review

This model comes with many of the standard features you have come to expect but does so with an attention to detail that makes it stand apart from the pack. These features include:

• A downloadable app that improves the overall functionality of the tracker
• Real-time heart rate monitoring
• Programmed to monitor multiple daily activities
• Designed with a USB charging system
• Extended battery life

With a set of features that make this by far one of the best options available for any of your ladies looking for a fitness tracker, the Lintelek Fitness tracker is easy to use and offers a level of compatibility that is a cut above the rest.

An appealing thing about this fitness tracker is that it has a ton of customization options to choose from. You can choose from a wide variety of colors when it comes to your band. If you don’t like the purple color that’s in the image, then you can also choose from several different colors to suit your taste.

Pros

• Wide variety of color choices
• Easy and simple to use
• Compatible with many different devices
• Elegant and beautiful looking
• Excellent price for what you’re getting

Cons

• Issues with the notification system

Huawei Band 3 Pro All-In-One – For Tracking Calories

This Huawei Band 3 Pro fitness band has many features at such a great price. One of its best features is that it gives you a quick vibration alert if you stay still for too long. It will also show you how many calories you’ve burnt so far, which will allow you to track them and lose weight or achieve your goals faster and easier.

Review

The rest alert feature is a great advantage, especially for those who work at their desks for long periods of time and need to be reminded to get up for a quick stretch. The display is easy to read and provides you with a step counter, distance covered, calories burned, in addition to the date and time.

There’s also a heart sensor as well as built-in GPS which means you can go on runs without the need of lugging your phone with you. It’ll record your route and energy levels. It’s also great to use when you want to track your activity with different types of sports, whether you prefer walking, swimming, or ball sports.

All in all, it’s a nice fitness tracker that becomes one of the best fitness trackers for tracking your calories if you consider the features it has. And if you consider its price, it’s definitely worth checking out.

Pros

• Affordable
• Versatile
• Will track all of your main data, including calories
• 12-Day battery life and short charge time
• Waterproof and well-built
• Built-in GPS

Cons

• Limited screen watch designs
• Too small screen for receiving notifications

Xiaomi Mi Band 4 – Best Budget Fitness Tracker for Triathletes

Triathletes need a complete fitness tracker that should be a good mixture of performance, durability, and reliability. You’re getting all of that with the Xiaomi Mi Band 4, which is an excellent option for triathletes if you’re on a budget. It features the right sports modes as well as water resistance that makes it perfect for such needs.

Review

The Xiaomi fitness tracker isn’t exclusive for English speakers or users only, it includes a Chinese language setting as well. The standout feature of this fitness tracker tracker is the water protection feature that can withstand water up to 50 meters in depth. You’ll be able to do all types of sports with it, too.

The watch has six different sports modes: treadmill, exercise, outdoor running, cycling, walking, and swimming. It will count your steps and measure your heart rate, and you’ll also get alerts for your heart rate as it will warn you if you get too inactive or if it’s too high.

A short charge time is also important for triathletes, as well as how long a single charge can last. You may charge it for a few hours, for instance, and the watch will last for up to 20 days – especially if you don’t use it all the time. It has an impressive battery life.

In addition, the Xiaomi watch features the sleep tracking mode, which will help you measure how well you sleep and what happens as you sleep. And with the bright and colorful AMOLED display, you’re getting your money’s worth for certain here.

Pros

• Six workout modes included
• Resistant to water in depths of up to 50 meters
• Measures your heart rate and sleep quality
• AMOLED display
• Relatively long battery time (up to 20 days – crucial for triathletes)

Cons

• No GPS tracker
• No sleep tracking during the day if you fall asleep then

Honor Band 5 – Best Budget Tracker for Walking

At an astonishingly affordable price, you can track your fitness activity, monitor your sleep and keep your heart rate in-check! Also, the Honor Band 5 is waterproof up to 50 meters deep and has a battery life of up to 7 days with normal use. This makes it an excellent budget option for those who want to track their walking activities.

Review

The Honor Band 5 is perfect for those who like going on long walks. This fitness tracker’s battery will hold up to 20 hours of battery time, making it perfect for long ventures out in nature or in the city. At the same time, it will still have enough juice for the rest of the day, and it will last even beyond that.

It offers everything you’d want from a fitness tracker. It will track your heart rate and your blood oxygen levels, giving you a good idea of how your cardiovascular system is performing. It is quite satisfying to see how your entire system improves overtime with a simple activity like walking!

At the same time, Honor Band 5 provides you with a sedentary reminder which will get you going once you’re sitting still for too long, making it one of the best fitness trackers for walking.

Pros

• 20 hour battery time
• Will track your heart rate and oxygen levels, as well as sleep tracking
• Sedentary reminder
• Accurate
• Great value for money

Cons

• The charging adapter needs to be clipped onto the band
• GPS tracker requires phone app

Garmin Vivoactive – Best for Bikers

Garmin watches have always maintained high quality and promising features, and that’s exactly what you’ll get with Garmin Vivoactive. While more advanced features seem tempting, you should only pick what you currently need. This one’s quite impressive (compared to its price) for the average biker.

Review

With a preloaded cycling app and predetermined exercise modes, the tracker excels in providing all the necessary requirements for an enjoyable ride, available in 3 colors and various options for the watch bands.

One of the key features the tracker has is its stress monitoring (by estimating your heart rate variability). You could also have a quantitative assessment of your workout’s intensity, keep track of speed and distance, and even inactivity using its GPS tracking app.

The screen makes it easy for you to read in the sunlight, which can be a problem when you’re riding a bike. It’s bright and colorful, which is important when you are out in the sun.

Yet its most important feature is its battery life, which could last seven days (13 hours when accounting for excessive usages of other apps and GPS tracking), allowing for longer rides during the day.

Pros

• GPS+GLONASS system (Russian system allowing for more accurate tracking)
• Sleep tracking
• Receiving notifications
• Durable
• Up to 13 hours of battery life

Cons

• Bulkier than most watches
• Inflexible for charging outdoors (proprietary charger)

Best Fitness Tracker on a Budget – Buying Guide

If you want to explore more options apart from the above list, then always try to factor in these features to make the best inexpensive fitness tracker purchase.

Display

Let’s start with the feature that immediately grabs our attention, the display. Buying an inexpensive fitness tracker doesn’t mean you have to put up with black and white color schemes and small screens. The above reviews have made it quite clear that budget-friendly fitness trackers also feature bigger screens with color displays.

However, the touch screen is one thing that you may not find in fitness trackers lying at low price points.

Heart-Rate Monitoring

Heart-rating monitoring is a more crucial feature than the step counting feature that every watch must have. So you should make sure that the budget fitness tracker you are interested in features a comprehensive heart-rate monitor.

By comprehensive, we mean an HR monitor that can record your resting and active heartbeat and furnish in-app reports on it. Getting a detailed report regarding heart rate helps you in determining the effects of your physical activity in a better manner.

Calorie Counter

You will find this feature in most of the inexpensive fitness trackers we have reviewed here. Many people can’t understand how fitness trackers can determine daily calorie consumption. We are also skeptical about a fitness watch’s capacity to count the number of burned calories, so take it with a pinch of salt.

How to know if a calorie counter of a fitness tracker is a decent one and produces near-accurate values? The best way to know if your fitness tracker features a good calorie counter is to have a look at several other related features.

For instance, if a fitness tracker asks for your gender, age, weight, and height and then calculates your basal metabolic rate, it is a sign that this wearable device will give a closer number of calorie consumption. Look for those features when choosing a budget fitness band.

Pedometer

A pedometer is the most elementary part of any fitness tracker. Even the cheapest of the devices have a built-in pedometer. However, not every fitness tracker features the same pedometer model, and this is where you need to be smart in your search for a wearable that is within your budget.

The most basic pedometer just measures the steps you have taken by counting the sideways swings your body makes while walking/running. A more functional pedometer also calculates the total distance you have covered through these steps by taking into account your stride length, estimated through your gender and age.

GPS Connectivity

For people who take care of their physical fitness through running and cycling, having this feature in a fitness tracker is very important. GPS allows you to map your routes in real-time. You can also get to explore new routes when your fitness tracker is GPS powered.

The traveling distance gathered through GPS is more detailed and accurate and offers a more in-depth insight into your high-endurance physical activity. It’s great if you’re highly active or if you’re a runner.

You have two options when it comes to getting GPS in a fitness tracker: built-in GPS and linked GPS. Fitness trackers with built-in GPS lie at the higher end of the price range. However, these trackers are complete wearable devices that can work independently of smartphones. Others will use your phone’s GPS capabilities.

Compatibility and Companion App

Before choosing your fitness tracker, have a quick look at its compatibility and companion app. Make sure that the tracker is compatible with both Android and iOS. Also, review its companion app on the respective app stores to find out about its features, responsiveness, and bug-freeness.

Sleep Monitoring

Many people don’t think about the sleep monitor feature while buying a smart fitness device. As you can see in the above reviews, sleep monitoring is an important feature of nearly all the fitness trackers. A good sleep monitoring device tracks your deep, light, and REM sleep sessions separately to determine your sleep quality, which is reflective of your health and lifestyle.

Water-Resistance

Nearly every fitness tracker, irrespective of its price tag, is waterproof to some extent. However, you need to be precise about this feature while picking your fitness tracker. If you are looking for a sweat and splash-proof wearable, then any fitness tracker with IP66 or IP67 waterproof rating will be good enough. However, you will need a fitness tracker with an IP68 rating if you want to use it underwater.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is the Best Inexpensive Fitness Tracker?

From our reviews, we’ve determined that you can’t go wrong with the Yamay fitness tracker if you’re truly looking for the cheapest option with the most features. If you’re looking for a bit sturdier that you can use for activities like swimming, you can always go for the Fitbit Inspire HR band, although it will cost slightly more, although that’s what you can come to expect from Fitbit.

Are Cheap Activity Trackers Any Good?

The market of budget fitness trackers is becoming overly saturated to the point that you don’t know which company to trust. Many of them use false advertising, but the watches we’ve featured here are mostly correct.

Cheap trackers obviously don’t have the advanced features such as a touch-screen or advanced built-in GPS tracking. But for basic activities such as heartbeat monitor and pedometer, getting a cheap watch might make more sense than you might think.

Which Fitness Tracker Is the Most Accurate?

This is a complex question to answer because it’s hard to objectively measure which one is the best at accuracy. Some trackers are quite accurate in terms of heartbeat monitoring, but it’s also true that there are many inaccurate ones, especially when it comes to calorie counting.

Fitbit trackers tend to be quite accurate when it comes to tracking your vitals and your activity, though. Fitbit might be a bit more expensive than other budget trackers, but you’re getting quality with them for certain.

What Is a Cheaper Alternative to Fitbit?

Letscom, Yamay, Xiaomi Mi Band 4, and Sikadeer are all great cheaper alternatives to the Fitbit watch, although Fitbit has established itself among the best – if not the best trackers in the world. Fitbit trackers are thus a bit more expensive, so you may consider a cheap watch alternative to it.

Final Verdict

After reviewing many budget fitness trackers, we’ve learnt that Yamay is one of the best cheap fitness trackers you can get, as it’s a well-rounded watch with all the necessary features the average user would need.

If you want something a bit more advanced but still in the budget range, then you can opt for Fitbit Inspire HR, which is a great watch by Fitbit considering the money you’d have to pay for it.