Fitness trackers in the form of an app or a wearable device are becoming increasingly popular as people become more and more health conscious.
While some of these trackers really do provide excellent feedback and motivation, there are quite a few duds out there that really don’t do much of anything.
We have rifled through the massive amounts of fitness trackers (and there are a lot!) to come up with the five best fitness trackers for under $100.
While some of the top trackers might not be on this list as they top out well over $100, the below five fitness trackers are top notch for their price.
5 Best Fitness Trackers Under $100 For Gym, Swimming, Runners & Seniors
1 Garmin VivoFit 2 Activity Tracker – Best Fitness Trackers Under $100 With Heart Monitor
The Garmin VivoFit 2 is an all-in-one activity tracker. With the ability to track steps, calories burned, heart rate and even sleep, the Garmin VivoFit 2 can do it all.
Due to the inclusion of a heart rate monitor, the Garmin VivoFit 2 gives very precise and accurate heart rate monitor readings for your workouts.
This also means that the calories being burned are more accurate than fitness trackers that don’t use a chest strap.
This fitness tracker will count the calories you burn not only by just steps or distance traveled but by your heart rate, which means that it can track the calories being burned during almost any activity.
Some of the key features of the Garmin VivoFit 2 include:
- 1 year battery life
- alerts that remeind you to get active after being stationary too long
- learns your activity level and pushes you towards daily goals
- shows steps, calories, distance and time on the display
- monitors sleep
- syncs automatically to Garmin to save and share progress
One of the best features about the Garmin VivoFit 2 is the way that it learns your activity level. This allows the tracker to set a new goal for you each day, gently pushing you to better your fitness and health.
2 FitBit Flex
The FitBit is one of the most popular fitness trackers on the market. With an entire line of fitness trackers, the FitBit brand offers something for everyone.
The FitBit Flex is one of the most affordable FitBit trackers given all that it can do for the price.
It tracks distance traveled, steps and calories burned to help you reach your daily goals. The Flex even tracks your activity time and stationary time, letting you know when you need to get up and move around a bit.
Continue to wear the Fitbit Flex at night to track your sleep cycle and learn how to sleep better with the information that the Flex provides.
The Flex also has a silent alarm that will wake only you when it is time to get up in the morning. You can also sync your information and stats wirelessly and automatically so that you can keep track of your progress on your phone and online.
3 Polar FT4
The Polar brand has a broad range of fitness trackers similar to the Fitbit brand. Unlike the Fitbit trackers though, most Polar trackers come with a heart rate monitor band which allows for an entirely different set of fitness tracking.
While most fitness watches focus on the basics of steps, distance traveled and calories burned, the Polar FT4 tracks your heart rate, intensity level and calories burned.
This type of tracking is perfect for the more advanced athlete or someone who is looking to maintain within a target heart rate area while also tracking calories.
The Polar FT4 is a fantastic fitness watch, however it does have its limits. Since the Polar FT4 is geared more towards workouts and fitness alone, there is no sleep or step tracking.
The heart rate monitor strap might also be uncomfortable at first for those who are not used to wearing one. It is important to mention, however, that the use of a heart rate monitor strap makes the Polar more accurate than other fitness trackers that only track steps as it is actually counting the beats of your heart.
4 Misfit Ray
The Misfit Ray is a sleek and attractive looking fitness tracker. In fact, the Misfit Ray is so sleek that we doubt anyone would even guess that you are wearing a fitness tracker on your wrist instead of a bracelet!
This is due in part to the company creating a fitness tracker with clean lines that is as much about fashion as it is about fitness. The Misfit Ray contains 8mm spring bars that allow it to be worn as a watch, bracelet or even necklace.
In terms of function, there isn’t much that the Misfit Ray can’t do. With fitness tracking to keep you motivated including steps taken, distance, calories burned and activity tagging, the Misfit Ray also monitors sleep duration and quality.
The Ray is also water-resistant up to 50 meters, so it can be worn at nearly all times.
Similar to other Misfit trackers, the Ray needs no charging or hook-ups to work. The Ray contains a replaceable battery that lasts up to 6 months.
The Misfit Ray is also compatable with nearly all smartphone devices that allows you to set movement reminders, alerts, text notifications and alarms.
5. Fitbit Zip
One of the first fitness trackers that was developed by Fitbit, the Fitbit Zip, is one of the more basic fitness trackers.
This tracker clips onto the waist instead of the wrist and tracks distance, steps and calories burned.
Like most other fitness trackers, the Fitbit Zip syncs automatically to your computer so that you can share your goals and accomplishments with others.
Though this fitness tracker doesn’t track sleep like most of the others above, the Fitbit Zip is a great fitness tracker to start out with if you are new to them!
Conclusion
Fitness trackers are gaining in popularity daily, so what are you waiting for? Each of the five listed fitness trackers can help to motivate you to reach your fitness and health goals.