Whatever your fitness goals are, living a healthier life is a lot easier when you have something to automatically keep track of your activity throughout the day. Fitbits are great tools for this, but with so many to choose from, which one should you buy and why? We think the Fitbit Versa is best Fitbit you can buy in 2019, offering a great blend of features, specs, and design at a price your wallet will love.
Best Overall: Fitbit Versa
Fitbit makes a lot of fantastic fitness wearables, but if you ask us, the best one you can buy right now is the Fitbit Versa.
Combining the best bits of a smartwatch and fitness tracker into one, the Versa is lightweight and slim enough that it can fit onto even the smallest of wrists and not look obnoxiously big the way competing watches can. On the hardware side of things, it has a great-looking LCD display, a battery that lasts up to four days on a single charge, and is waterproof up to 50M.
You'll find all of your usual fitness features here, such as all-day activity and sleep tracking, 24/7 heart-rate monitoring, and automatic workout detection. The Versa will also give you little reminders to move throughout the day, has on-screen workouts you can follow using the Fitbit Coach program, and female users can use it to track their menstrual cycle.
As a smartwatch, the Versa is better than ever. Its limited app selection continues to grow each and every day, you can reply to texts and other notifications right from your wrist, and store over 300+ songs on the watch that you can listen to without needing to be paired to your phone.
For just $200, this is one of the most feature-rich wearables you'll find in this price range.
Pros:
- Slim, lightweight design
- Colorful LCD display
- 4+ days of battery life
- Local music storage
- On-screen workouts
- 24/7 heart-rate tracking
Cons:
- Limited app selection
- Fitbit Pay only available on the Special Edition
Best Overall
Fitbit Versa
The best Fitbit you can buy.
Overall, the Fitbit Versa is the best Fitbit you can buy in 2019. It's lightweight, has a ton of features, and comes in at a pretty good price.
Best Cheap Smartwatch: Fitbit Versa Lite
As the name would suggest, the Fitbit Versa Lite is essentially — well — a lite version of the Versa. It has the same design, display, and basic feature-set, save for a few missing features.
Perhaps the most significant omission is the fact that you can't save local music files on the Versa Lite. This is a big draw to the regular Versa, but you won't find it here. Also missing are the on-screen workouts, the ability to track your floors climbed throughout the day, and swim lap tracking despite the Versa Lite being waterproof.
Here's the thing, though. If you don't care about any of those features, everything else about the Versa Lite is identical to the normal Versa — all while being $40 cheaper. (Not to mention it's available in a few new colors!)
People that want a completely feature-rich experience are better off with the Versa, but if you're OK with the omissions that the Versa Lite makes, you might as well get it and save a few bucks in the process.
Pros:
- Same design as the Versa
- Available in fun colors
- 4+ days of battery life
- 24/7 heart-rate monitor
- Waterproof up to 50M
- Cheapest smartwatch in Fitbit's lineup
Cons:
- No on-screen workouts
- Can't store/play songs
- Doesn't track floors climbed or swimming laps
Best Cheap Smartwatch
Fitbit Versa Lite
The best cheap smartwatch that Fitbit makes.
If you want the Versa experience while spending as little as possible, the Versa Lite cuts back on a few features in favor of a lower price.
Best Fitness Band: Fitbit Charge 3
We have a lot of love for the Versa and Versa Lite, but at the same time, we also understand that not everyone is ready for a full-fledged smartwatch. For them, one of our top recommendations goes to the Fitbit Charge 3.
Fitness bands are Fitbit's bread and butter, and the Charge 3 has all of the fitness goodies you could ask for. There's all-day and sleep tracking, a heart-rate sensor, reminders to move, automatic workout detection, etc., etc. The screen is considerably smaller than the Versa's, but even so, you can still view all of your activity stats directly on your wrist throughout the day.
The Charge 3 does have some added "smart" features, such as being able to receive notifications from your phone and allowing you to respond to some of them. You'll also find basic apps for the weather, setting a timer, etc., but that's about it.
There's one thing we haven't talked about yet, though, and that's battery life. The Fitbit Charge 3 can run for up to seven days on one charge, meaning you should only have to juice it up once a week 👏.
Pros:
- Simple and lightweight design
- Activity, sleep, and female health tracking
- 24/7 heart-rate sensor
- Battery lasts up to 7 days
- Shows smartphone notifications
Cons:
- No music storage
- Very basic apps
Best Fitness Band
Fitbit Charge 3
The best Fitbit fitness band you can buy.
Not ready to step up to a smartwatch just yet? The Charge 3 delivers all of the fitness tracking features you could ask for in a simple, compact design.
Best Budget Tracker: Fitbit Inspire
If you like the idea of the Charge 3, but $150 is too rich for your blood, you can get almost all of its features for well under $100 with the Fitbit Inspire. Not only is this the most affordable Fitbit you can buy, but it's also the lightest. In fact, it's so light that you might forget you're wearing the thing!
Speaking of wearing the Inspire, you can wear it a couple of different ways. Out of the box, it comes with a standard watch band so you can keep it on your wrist. However, you also have the option of buying a clip-on accessory that allows you to clip the Inspire onto your belt, waistband, or bra.
Despite its small size, the Inspire comes with almost everything you could ask for. It tracks your all-day activity, sleep, and automatically detects exercises. That should be enough for most users, but if you step up to the Inspire HR for a few dollars more, you also gain 24/7 heart-rate monitoring, in-depth sleep stages for your sleep tracking, guided breathing sessions, and connected GPS with your phone.
Pros:
- Fitbit's lightest tracker
- Tracks your activity and sleep
- Can be worn on your wrist or clipped onto a belt, waistband, or bra
- Up to 5 days of battery life
- The most affordable Fitbit
Cons:
- You have to pay extra for a heart-rate sensor
- Doesn't track swimming laps
Best Budget Tracker
Fitbit Inspire
Fitbit's best budget tracker.
Trying to spend as little as possible? The Fitbit Inspire delivers all of the core fitness-tracking features you need at a price that's hard to argue with.
Best with GPS: Fitbit Ionic
The Ionic was Fitbit's first proper smartwatch, and in 2019, it shows. While it is surprisingly comfortable to wear, the Ionic is definitely on the clunky side of things and isn't the prettiest to look at. However, if you can get over the less-than-stellar aesthetic, the Ionic brings a lot to the table.
Perhaps the biggest reason to get the Ionic over anything else is the fact that it's the only Fitbit with built-in GPS. This means you can go running with the Ionic, leave your phone at home, and still map precisely where you ran, walked, or biked. You'll also see your elevation climbed and split times.
Outside of built-in GPS, the Ionic also comes with Fitbit Pay included by default. This allows you to add your debit/credit card to the Ionic and use it to pay for things at stores that accept NFC/contactless payments. Rounding out the feature set is local music storage, up to 5 days of battery life, a heart-rate sensor, on-screen workouts, and waterproofing up to 50M.
You'll pay a pretty penny for the privilege of owning the Ionic, but it's hands-down the most powerful Fitbit you can buy.
Pros:
- Built-in GPS
- On-screen workouts
- Store up to 300 songs
- Fitbit Pay
- Waterproof up to 50M
- 5+ days of battery life
Cons:
- Bulky design
- Expensive
Best with GPS
Fitbit Ionic
The best (and only) Fitbit with GPS.
If you want a Fitbit with built-in GPS, your default choice is the Ionic. Along with GPS, you also get Fitbit Pay and great battery life!
Best for Kids: Fitbit Ace 2
Living a healthy lifestyle is just as crucial for your kids as it is for yourself. For the youngsters in your family, Fitbit has a tracker specifically for them in the form of the Fitbit Ace 2.
Essentially a repackaged version of the Inspire, the Fitbit Ace 2 has activity and sleep tracking, pushes kids to get at least 60 minutes of active time each day (per CDC recommendations), is swim-proof, and lasts for up to five days on a single charge.
On the software side of things, Fitbit's added a few nifty tweaks to ensure kids have the best and safest experience possible. Kids get a unique Kid View on the Fitbit app that only shows select data, including their stats, any badges they've earned, and clock faces they can choose for the Ace 2. Parents/guardians are granted a Parent View on their own app, allowing them to see their kids' activity and approve various connections/permissions.
Available in two fun color combos, the Ace 2 is the go-to Fitbit if you want something tailored specifically for a younger user.
Pros:
- Rugged, waterproof design
- Activity and sleep tracking
- Up to 5 days of battery
- Special Kid and Parent Views for the Fitbit app
- Bedtime reminders
Cons:
- A kid-focused fitness tracker might not be for everyone
Best for Kids
Fitbit Ace 2
The best Fitbit for kids.
For younger users that aren't ready for the full Fitbit experience, the Ace 2 gives them all of the core features while being safe and secure.
Bottom line
As you can see, Fitbit makes a lot of great fitness trackers/smartwatches. Deciding which one is right for you can be a little tricky, but for most people, we think the best choice is the Fitbit Versa.
Smartwatches are the way of the future, and the Versa does a phenomenal job at being both a great fitness tracker and capable smartwatch in one package. All of the popular fitness-tracking features are here, including some more powerful ones such as on-screen workouts. The hardware's also top-notch, especially the Versa's design and battery life.
As a smartwatch, there's a lot on offer. You can receive and respond to notifications from your phone, download popular apps such as Uber, Starbucks, and Walgreens, and store up to 300 local songs right on your wrist.
If you want a smartwatch with some of the best fitness features around, the Versa is a great pick — and our choice for the best Fitbit in 2019.
Credits — The team that worked on this guide
Joe Maring Joe is Android Central's News Editor. He loves talking about all things tech, but smart wearables are what get him really excited (just ask the drawer of smartwatches in his office). He also likes coffee and goes to Starbucks far too often. Have a tip? Send an email to joe.maring@mobilenations.com or hit him up on Twitter @JoeMaring1
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