Every year, thousands of new fitness trackers hit the market, promising to improve your health and fitness in some way. But the price tags on a lot of these trackers tend to be quite high – especially for the most reliable brands. So, what can you do if you only have a small budget?
The way we see it, there are two options. Firstly, you can buy a used model as these are always much cheaper than brand new ones. Facebook Marketplace is a good place to look for used goods but eBay is often more reliable when it comes to quality. Plus, this link will allow you to access coupons for eBay that could save you additional money! The other option for when you have a smaller budget is to look for the best budget model on the market. But does any one tracker really stand out as the best choice? We’ve found some of the best fitness trackers for under $200.
1. Fitbit Charge 4
While the Fitbit Charge 3 and Charge 2 are very good fitness trackers, the Charge 4 is one of the best health trackers you can buy for under $200. It has a much better screen than the Charge 3, has more advanced heart rate tracking, and supports Fitbit Pay, which lets you pay for items with your Fitbit account. As well as being the most stylish Fitbit tracker, it also allows you to change your fitbit luxe bands to go with whatever outfit you have, featuring a premium look and feel.
It’s compatible with both Android and iOS devices, offers granular sleep and heart rate monitoring, and even includes a barometer for measuring air pressure. It also has an updated version of Fitbit’s heart rate variability feature, which tracks your pulse’s variability, not just your resting heart rate. It can track seven days of workouts, and while it doesn’t have GPS tracking for running, swimming, or cycling, you can still track all of these activities with your phone.
2. Samsung Galaxy Watch Active
The Galaxy Fit Active is Samsung’s first smartwatch built specifically for fitness tracking. It’s got a large 1.2-inch screen, custom watch faces, and it’s water-resistant to 50 meters. We find the overall design and build quality to be excellent. The screen is large enough to look nice on most wrists, the watch face customization is pretty cool, and heart rate monitors are accurate and reliable.
This may just be like the other Android-powered fitness tracker, but it tries to differentiate itself from others by offering a few unique features that make it stand out from the crowd. First and foremost, it boasts GPS tracking capabilities. This is a feature you won’t find on most fitness trackers, but it’s a welcome addition if you’re after the accuracy of a top-tier fitness-tracking device and don’t want to deal with the hassle of strapping on a heart rate monitor strap.
3. Garmin Forerunner 45S
For under $200, the Garmin Forerunner 45S is one of the best fitness trackers you can buy. This fitness tracker sets itself apart from other fitness trackers with a host of useful features. It is the most robust fitness tracker under $200, with the most advanced features for such a low cost.
Not only do you get GPS tracking on your runs, but it also offers all the features of higher-end GPS devices. It has a built-in optical heart rate monitor and a color display that will show you a map of your route, so you can easily identify the places you visited. Of course, it also has integrated GPS tracking, so you can easily track your runs and beat your old time. The only downside is that the 45S lacks wrist-based heart rate monitoring.
4. Withings Steel HR Sport
Withings has just released the new Steel HR Sport at $200. This watch is a new version of last year’s Steel HR that adds better battery life, an altimeter, and a much-requested touchscreen. But this new version also gets rid of the other features that made the Steel HR such a hit: the touchscreen display, the pedometer, and the heart rate monitor. Why? Because the company feels the Steel HR Sport is a fitness tracker that should be focused on fitness, not on all the other features, it once had to make it a decent smartwatch.
5. Polar A370
The Polar A370 is Polar’s most affordable wearable fitness tracker, and it does not disappoint. It tracks steps, distance, calories burned, active minutes, active days, and sleep-with a lot of ease. It has a simple, modern design, a large display, and a battery that lasts up to 6 months. It’s also a great choice for people on a budget because it’s backed by a one-year warranty.
At first glance, the Polar A370 may not seem like a device that you would want to wear on your wrist every day since it’s made primarily of plastic and doesn’t look anything like a traditional fitness tracker. However, the A370 is a fitness tracker that has many of the features that traditional fitness trackers have, but at a much lower cost.
Fitness trackers are incredibly popular accessories, thanks to their ability to track your steps, distance traveled, calories burned, and even your sleep patterns. They can track your workouts, and the data can be uploaded to your phone for easy access. But are they worth the money? If it has the features you are looking for in a fitness tracker, it is certainly worth your money.