<h3 class="body-h3"><strong>How do I pick the right fitness tracker?</strong> </h3><p>Here are some key specs to consider when deciding which fitness tracker or smartwatch to go for.</p><p><strong>Fitness stats</strong>: If you’re looking to buy a new fitness tracker, chances are you love a stat or two. Nowadays, you’d expect all models to record your steps, distance covered and heart rate as standard. But some also provide a more in-depth insight into your workout by monitoring factors such as your blood-oxygen saturation levels and <a href="https://www.runnersworld.com/uk/training/a761676/rws-training-pace-calculator/" target="_blank">VO2 max</a>. Others, such as the <a href="https://www.whoop.com/en-gb/membership/strap/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Whoop Strap 4.0</a>, present information as scores to provide a series of easy-to-understand, tangible metrics.</p><p><strong>Sleep tracking</strong>: All trackers on our list offer this as a function, though each brand tends to go about it a bit differently. Some will just tell you how long you’ve been asleep for, while others will track the amount of heavy, light and Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep you’re getting. A few will even use this data to provide helpful tips for improving your snoozing.</p><p><strong>Battery life</strong>: Many fitness trackers will last at least seven days on a single charge, while some can manage three weeks or more. Smartwatches, such as the <a href="https://www.johnlewis.com/apple-watch-series-8-gps-41mm-regular/midnight/p6345563?s_ppc=2dx92700070984466779_mixed_technology_BAU&tmad=c&tmcampid=2&gclid=EAIaIQobChMImdSy4MzF_wIVDMDtCh0m7wJmEAQYASABEgJ7a_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Apple Watch Series 8</a> and the <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Google-Pixel-Watch-smartwatch-Champagne/dp/B0BDZFD26C/ref=asc_df_B0BDZFD26C/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=633532409722&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=11677638080161776197&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9045627&hvtargid=pla-1882662659715&psc=1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Google Pixel</a>, tend to have a shorter battery life. Many models also have a quick charging feature, which is perfect if you need a last-minute bit of juice to track a lunchtime run.</p><p><strong>Waterproofing</strong>: If you like to mix up your training by hitting the pool a few times each month, keep an eye out for a tracker that’s water resistant or swim proof. Some will only be able to give general data for your swim session, while others will automatically detect which stroke you’re doing and the number of lengths you’ve completed. </p><p><strong>GPS:</strong> As a runner, chances are you’ll want a tracker or watch with <a href="https://www.runnersworld.com/uk/gear/tech/a30513694/best-running-watches/" target="_blank">GPS functionality.</a> While some devices come with a built-in GPS chip, cheaper models often rely on an accelerometer, which can quickly become inaccurate. Having a GPS chip improves location accuracy, elevation and distance so you can map your route more accurately, but this isn’t so important if you’re using the watch for the gym. </p><h2 class="body-h2"><strong>How we test</strong> </h2><p>Our <a href="https://www.runnersworld.com/uk/gear/a40597767/runners-world-lab/" target="_blank"><em>RW</em> Lab</a> experts tested over 50 market-leading fitness trackers and smartwatches to find the models that will help you upgrade your health and fitness regime.</p><p>They put each watch through a series of different workouts, from strength training to running, before rating them on design, ease of use, comfort and, crucially, overall performance.</p><p>Our winners (proudly displaying the esteemed <em>RW</em> Expert Tested logo) provided insightful in- and post-workout stats and recovery recommendations, were accurate when tracking steps and distance and didn’t run out of juice too quickly. There were also comfortable to wear and looked good on our wrists.</p><p>The fitness-tech aficionados that they are, our editors have also put forward their favourite, which impressed during use.</p><h2 class="body-h2"><strong>12 best fitness watches and trackers for runners </strong>in 2023 </h2>" />
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1
Best entry level fitness tracker/smartwatch
Table of Contents
Garmin Vivomove Trend Hybrid Smartwatch
1
Best entry level fitness tracker/smartwatch
Garmin Vivomove Trend Hybrid Smartwatch
A departure from the rugged Garmins we’re used to, the Vivomove Trend is part of the brand’s hybrid collection – combining classic analogue style with smartwatch functionality – and we’re big fans.
Design-wise, the watch is petite and lightweight, it felt comfy when strapped onto our wrists and, best of all, it has a hidden touchscreen – just flick your wrist or tap the screen to watch the ticking hands move away so you can see your stats and smart notifications.
The display, which is bright and easy to read, reveals metrics such as heart rate, step count, sleep, stress and blood oxygen levels, and you can access additional features via the Garmin Connect App including menstrual cycle, hydration and respiration tracking. It comes with all your usual workout modes, including cardio, strength training, cycling, swimming (it’s waterproof to a depth of 50 metres) and running. Just note that it doesn’t have built-in GPS, so you’ll have to tuck your phone into your pocket for GPS support. We would have liked to see more data on the in-workout screen, but you easily review these in the app after your session.
The Vivomove Trend is the very first Garmin model to offer wireless charging – no need to scramble around looking for a lead – plus a quick 15-minute charge will give you up to 24 hours of battery. All in all, it’s a top choice if you want a watch to monitor your health and fitness without wearing anything obviously sporty.
Key specifications
| Screen size | 1.01inch |
|---|---|
| Compatible with | iOS, Android |
| GPS | Yes |
| Battery life | Up to 5 days |
Android users looking for a sleek, simple wearable, should consider Google’s debut smartwatch. Like the Vivomove Trend, the Pixel Watch will look just as good on your wrist at a dinner party as it will in the gym thanks to its glossy pebble-shaped face and subtle silicone strap. But what about its performance?
Given it’s Google’s first foray into wearable tech, our experts were impressed. They heaped praise on the crystal-clear, responsive AMOLED display and rated the smooth digital crown for scrolling through apps. On that note, you can access all Google’s services, including Gmail, Calendar, Google Maps and Google Assistant, allowing you to essentially run your life from your wrist. Our testers found the voice recognition worked extremely well, but there’s also a teeny keyboard if you want to tap out messages. It also runs third-party apps like Spotify and Strava.
The Pixel Watch boasts Fitbit’s health and fitness tracking features, with 40 workout modes, sleep stages, menstrual tracking and metrics including breathing rate, HR viability, heart rate zones, as well as basics like step count, calorie burn. With a premium Fitbit subscription (you get six months free with the device, then it’s £7.99 a month), you can unlock extras such as a ‘readiness score’ to let you know whether to push for a PB or take a rest day, a breakdown of your daily stress levels, mindfulness sessions, workout videos and more.
One major downside is the lacklustre battery life – it lasts less than 24 hours without exercise – but that’s also the case with many of its smartwatch competitors. For Android users who want a fully-fledged smartwatch and high-quality fitness tracking in one, it has plenty to offer.
Key specifications
| Screen size | 1.21inch |
|---|---|
| Compatible with | Android |
| GPS | Yes |
| Battery life: | Up to 24 hours |
Cons
- Battery life shorter than dedicated GPS watches
- Workout data not as detailed as running watches
- Doesn’t work with Android
For dedicated iPhone users, this Apple watch is tough to top. Though not specifically designed for running, it is a trusty companion for your interval sessions and long runs alike. The Series 8 offers enhanced GPS (with full systems satellite support), a large, bright always-on display that’s a doddle to read when on the move, and heart rate zones to help you hit the right level of exertion. There’s also automatic run tracking and a BackTrack feature to help you retrace your steps if you get lost on a trail run (we’ve all been there). In terms of metrics, you can see everything from distance, pace and cadence to stride length, ground contact time and vertical oscillation (how much you bounce up and down as you run).
Beyond your daily jaunts, the Series 8 is rammed with advanced health and fitness monitoring features, including a new skin temperature sensor for menstrual cycle and ovulation tracking, in-depth sleep stats (including how long you spent in each sleep stage), a blood oxygen monitor and an ECG sensor.
All that and you also get a seamless smartwatch experience, with calls, messages, contactless payments, music and more. According to our experts, call quality was impressive, notifications were easy to read and manage and having all their apps in one place was seriously convenient.
Given its mediocre battery life (up to 18 hours or 36 using low power mode), it’s not one for trail runners, athletes or ultra fans, but it will do the job nicely for the casual road runner.
Key specifications
| Screen size | 1.5 or 1.8inch |
|---|---|
| Compatible with | iOS |
| GPS | Yes |
| Battery life | Up to 18 hours (36 on low power mode) |
4
Best for outdoorsy adventures
Samsung Galaxy Watch Pro
4
Best for outdoorsy adventures
Samsung Galaxy Watch Pro
Cons
- Heavy, bulky design
- Some health tracking features only available for Samsung phone users
If you’re in the market for something more fitness-focused, consider this rugged Samsung design, which can compete with the likes of Polar and Garmin. Though bulky, the titanium case, sapphire crystal display (which is twice as durable as previous models) and chunky strap mean it’s a top choice for all your outdoorsy endeavours, from hiking to mountain biking and trail running.
Our testers confirmed it felt ultra robust when strapped onto their wrists, and they rated its next-gen features, including a ‘track back’ setting that allows you to find your way back to your starting point should you get lost, downloadable GPX routes with step-by-step directions and a dependable 80-hour battery life. It also worked a treat for gym sessions, with 90 workout modes and the option to track individual exercises. You can customise the in-workout screen to see the stats that are most relevant for you (including heart rate zones), the post-workout summaries provided plenty of actionable info and the large, bright screen proved easy to read mid-session.
It also offers a breadth of health and recovery insights, with a 3-in1 bioactive sensor for measuring heart rate, blood oxygen levels and body composition, and nightly sleep reports to help you improve the quality of your kip. Those with a Samsung phone can enjoy extra features including ECG and blood pressure management.
Key specifications
| Screen size | 1.4inch |
|---|---|
| Compatible with | Android |
| GPS | Yes |
| Battery life | Up to 80 hours |
5
Best for holistic health tracking
Fitbit Sense 2
5
Best for holistic health tracking
Fitbit Sense 2
Cons
- No access to third-party apps
- Lacks music playback
- Slight lagging when scrolling through apps
The Fitbit Sense 2 stands out from the crowd for its revolutionary wellbeing and stress tracking features. It has a continuous cEDA sensor, which tracks electrodermal activity in your skin and will ping you when it senses your body is under stress. Clever, huh? Our testers raved about the mindful breathing sessions, daily stress management scores and the option to log your feelings, saying they were more mindful of their mental health when wearing the watch.
It also monitors your heart rate, blood oxygen levels, skin temperature and sleep and uses this data to provide a ‘daily readiness score’, letting you know whether your body can handle intense exercise, or you should prioritise rest. If you are ready to go hard, there are 41 exercise modes, from yoga to gymnastics, with detailed data screens and heart rate zone tracking. We particularly liked the active zone minutes, which tell you when you’ve reached your weekly goal.
Though it has a built-in microphone and speakers so you can make and receive calls, you can’t access any third-party apps, there’s no music playback or Wi-Fi and you can’t use Google Assistant. On the plus side, you get up to six days of battery life on a single charge and there’s a fast-charge feature.
If you’re looking to live more mindfully and you’re not fussed about the lack of smart features found on the Apple and Samsung models above, this is your guy.
Key specifications
| Screen size | 1.1inch |
|---|---|
| Compatible with | iOS, Android |
| GPS | Yes |
| Battery life | Up to 6 days |
Pros
You don’t need to spend a fortune on a fitness watch for innovative features, as this Amazfit gem proves. For less than £70, you get built-in GPS for phone-free runs, over 60 workout modes, sleep and stress monitoring, music playback and a mammoth two-week battery life. It also has third-party integration with Apple Health and Strava, and offers smart basics including alarms, to-do lists, weather reports and message notifications. Whew!
The Bip 3 Pro was an instant hit with our experts, who loved the slick Apple-esque design with its bright responsive touchscreen and the smooth silicone strap, which felt comfortable to wear at night and during workouts. The lightweight style didn’t get in the way of their sessions, and they were particularly impressed with the post-workout summaries, which break down your heart rate, pace, calories and even whether your workout was aerobic, anaerobic or fat burning. For deeper health insights and trends over time, you can log into the accompanying Zepp app – according to our testers, it’s extremely user friendly and offers helpful tips on how to interpret the data.
Any drawbacks? The pre-set heart rate zone measurements needed tweaking and it doesn’t have the premium feel of the Apple Watch, but that’s hardly surprising when you consider the pocket-friendly price. Overall, a savvy buy for anyone on a budget.
Key specifications
| Screen size | 1.7inch |
|---|---|
| Compatible with | iOS, Android |
| GPS | Yes |
| Battery life | Up to 14 days |
The Honor watch's health and fitness package is commendable. The offering includes no fewer than 100 trackable activities, built-in GPS and route tracking, plus heart rate, stress, sleep and Sp02 monitors – you can keep track of these via intricate graphs on the crisp AMOLED screen. For runners, there’s targets, pace reminders and the option to track automatic or manual splits.
This Android-only device provides a decent level of smart features – our experts said taking calls and sending messages was a faff-free experience (the audio quality was top notch) and they appreciated the music player, which allowed them to leave their phones at home when pounding the pavement. They did find the lack of core features such as third-party apps, contactless payments and a voice assistant a tad disappointing but this may or may not bother you.
Key specifications
| Screen size | 1.43inch |
|---|---|
| Compatible with | Android |
| GPS | Yes |
| Battery life | Up to two weeks |
New to running and shopping for your first fitness watch? This simple design from Polar will provide all the key data and metrics on your running activity. On the vibrant, easy-to-read screen, you can see your pace, distance, duration and heart rate – this is shown at the top of the display and the digits change colour depending what heart rate zone you’re in. Our runners loved this feature, saying it was easy to glance down and keep track of their HR when on the move, but you can also toggle through to see more detailed stats and elevation info.
If you’re egged on by numbers and want to keep track of your progress, the Polar Pacer app provides plenty of data from your runs, and gives you the lowdown on your night's kip, detailing your sleep stages and sleep quality. It will also give you a training load value, letting you know how much strain your body was under during a session and provides suggested workouts and recovery based on your monthly load – particularly useful if you’re at the start of your running journey. There are also fitness tests to help you see how your training is going, fuel reminders so you don’t forget to eat that gel on your long run, and a handy carb calculator to ensure you’re getting the right fuel for exercise.
Look to the Polar Pacer Pro for a more comprehensive suite of training, racing and recovery features, but for entry level or casual runners, this tracker ticks all the boxes.
Key specifications
| Screen size | 1.2inch |
|---|---|
| Compatible with | iOS, Android |
| GPS | Yes |
| Battery life | Up to 35 hours |
9
Best for small wrists
Huawei Watch Fit Elegant
9
Best for small wrists
Huawei Watch Fit Elegant
Now 12% Off
Another one that looks more like a smartwatch, but this Huawei is a bona fide fitness tracker in disguise. The brilliantly responsive touch screen sets it apart from many of its competitors and it’s fully customisable, meaning you can have the stats most important to you displayed front and centre.
The Watch Fit also has plenty of fitness features to dive into for tech fans, recording almost 100 different exercises while accurately tracking sleep, steps, pace and more. It’s easy on the eye, too, which always helps. However, we wish you didn’t have to connect to the app to alter your daily movement targets.
Key specifications
| Screen size | 1.64 inch |
|---|---|
| Compatible with | iOS, Android |
| GPS | Yes |
| Battery life | Up to 10 days |
Tiny price tag aside, this fitness tracker impressed on test. The sleep tracking feature records your forty winks and gives useful tips on how to optimise your time between the sheets, while the band reminds you to move if you stay sedentary for too long, and a 'find my phone' feature proved useful on more than one occasion.
Steps, distance covered and heart rate were all tracked accurately, and the watch face can be changed to suit your chosen aesthetic. It doesn't automatically log exercise sessions – you’ll need to start this yourself – and there’s no in-built GPS for mapping running routes. But, for less than £35, who are we to complain?
Key specifications
| Screen size | 0.95 inch |
|---|---|
| Compatible with | iOS, Android |
| GPS | No |
| Battery life | Up to 14 days |
The Inspire 2 lasted an impressive 10 days between charges — one of the longest results of all the trackers we tested. It accurately tracked 20 exercises (seven automatically), it's waterproof and comes with a year’s free access to Fitbit Premium – a series of guided workouts and nutrition programmes found on the app.
Other benefits include a built-in heart-rate monitor and menstrual-health monitoring. You will need to take your phone with you if you want to track pace and location for outdoor exercise, but we don't think that's a dealbreaker.
Key specifications
| Screen size | 1.4 inch |
|---|---|
| Compatible with | iOS, Android |
| GPS | Yes, via smartphone |
| Battery life | Up to 10 days |
Pros
- Charger attaches directly to the band, so you can simultaneously wear and charge
- In-depth analysis of recovery, strain, and sleep metrics
Cons
- Subscription fee can become expensive for long-term use
It’s safe to say that any heart rate monitor good enough for LeBron James and Michael Phelps is good enough for us. Fortunately, you don’t have to earn an eight-figure salary to enjoy the tracking benefits of this celebrity-endorsed armband. With a £30 monthly payment, the Strap 4.0 allows anyone to give it a try without the commitment that goes along with the one-time purchase of a premier device.
On the flip side, this can be a pricey option for those who decide they can’t live without the monitor’s outstanding features. The investment is likely worth it for competitive athletes, as it also tracks heart rate variability and offers interchangeable bands composed of high-tenacity filaments.
'WHOOP is really for anyone looking to perform at a higher level,' Whoop CEO, Will Ahmed, told Runner's World. 'That includes the world’s best athletes, that includes competitive runners, but it also includes everyday people like you and me who want to be more optimal in our daily lives.'
Group Testing Manager Fitness
Yanar is our Fitness Group Testing Manager. She manages health and fitness product testing across all the magazines, overseeing all testing processes and ensuring our lab and panel tests are conducted to the highest standards. Yanar has spent 15 years as a health and wellness content editor and writer for national titles such as Runner’s World, Men’s Health and Women’s Health. Yanar is a Level 3 qualified PT, trained yoga teacher and a registered yoga therapist. She has been into fitness and wellness her whole life. After many years running races and marathons, she now trains and competes in CrossFit and Olympic lifting. She passionately advocates strength training for women to build a stronger mind and body for life.
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