Fitbit buyer's guide: Everything you need to know

Jimmy Westenberg / Android Authority

Table of contents

What is Fitbit?

Why Fitbit?

Experts' take

Which Fitbit is for you?

Tracking features

Smartwatch features

Fitbit app

Fitbit Premium

Fitbit Pay

Fitbit accessories

Fitbit and Google

Fitbit issues

Fitbit rivals

Older Fitbit devices

FAQ

More coverage

Polls

This article is all about Fitbit. It’s designed to inform you about all aspects of the brand, including its main products and services, its biggest rivals, and much more. It should answer all the major questions you have about the company and its devices and help you decide which of its smartwatches or fitness trackers (if any) you should get. Let’s dive in.

What is Fitbit?

Fitbit is currently one of the most well-known names in the wearables market. The company has many products in its lineup that are suitable for different budgets and fitness levels. Whether you want a simple fitness tracker, a high-end smartwatch, or even a smart scale, Fitbit has you covered.

Related reading:

Fitbit vs. Garmin: Which ecosystem is right for you?

Fitbit’s product portfolio is one of the most extensive in the fitness world. There really is a Fitbit device out there for everyone. Are you looking for a cheap, basic activity tracker? There’s a Fitbit for that. What about an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink GPS smartwatch? There’s a Fitbit for that, too. The company offers fitness wearables for most use cases, from high-end smartwatches to kid-friendly fitness bands.

We like to describe Fitbit as — ironically enough – the Apple of the fitness world (just forget the Apple Watch exists for a second). Okay, maybe the iPhone of the fitness world. Fitbit devices are made for everyone. They might not be

the best

at certain things, but they were made to be on everyone’s wrists.

What experts think of Fitbit products

Jimmy Westenberg / Android Authority

We have several reviews for Fitbit products on our website, mostly done by our resident fitness guru Jimmy Westenberg. This section contains his thoughts on a couple of popular Fitbit products so that you can get a general overview of how good or bad they are in real life.

In his

Fitbit Sense review

, Jimmy said the device nails the basics. It has a great design and build quality, an accurate GPS, and great battery life. It also offers detailed sleep tracking and has an improved quick-release strap. However, the EDA and SpO2 sensors could use refining, and the software suffers from a few bugs. Regardless of its issues, the Sense is all-around better than the Versa 2, but until all the software issues are fixed, you’re better off buying the Fitbit Versa 3.

Fitbit Sense

$299.95

Speaking of which, our own C. Scott Brown

reviewed the Fitbit Versa 3

and noted that this is the best Fitbit smartwatch most people should buy. Seeing as how it’s nearly identical to the Sense but without some of the more experimental features, it’s easy for us to recommend the Versa 3 for anyone looking for a nice smartwatch or a daily activity tracker.

Fitbit Versa 3

$229.95

The Fitbit Charge 4 is the best fitness tracker you can currently buy.

Jimmy also took the

Fitbit Charge 4 for a spin

and had plenty of great things to say about it. He loved the design, the built-in GPS, and the battery life, among many other things. He wasn’t too happy about the finicky inductive button and the heart rate sensor that can be laggy at times. These are small issues, though, as the Charge 4 is still the best fitness tracker you can currently buy.

Fitbit Charge 4

$129.95

The Fitbit Inspire 2 is a decent alternative to the Charge 4 if you’re interested in trying the Fitbit ecosystem out for the first time. It comes with a six-month free trial to Fitbit Premium for new users, making it an even better value. Read more in our

full review

Fitbit Inspire 2

$99.95

Buying the right Fitbit for your needs

When buying a fitness tracker, it’s important to know what you want and need. Spending extra money on features you don’t need doesn’t make sense, but you also don’t want to buy something that doesn’t have the features you need. For example, if you’re a runner, you should buy a device with built-in GPS and long battery life. If you just want something to track your activity and don’t care about all the extra bells and whistles, a simple fitness tracker will be more up your alley.

We have a dedicated article about the best Fitbit devices to get, which you can

check out here

. But if you’re in a hurry, you can get a general overview of Fitbit’s lineup below.

The Fitbit Versa 3 is

the best Fitbit smartwatch

. The Versa 3 is nearly identical to the pricier Fitbit Sense, only without a few extra sensors that you may not use anyway.

The Fitbit Sense is

the best Fitbit for health tracking

, thanks to its ECG, EDA, and skin temperature sensors.

The Fitbit Charge 4 is

the best fitness tracker you can buy

— Fitbit or otherwise — as its built-in GPS is great for runners.

The Fitbit Ionic is

a great Fitbit smartwatch for runners

, thanks to its long battery life and GPS.

The Fitbit Versa 2 is

the best cheap Fitbit smartwatch

The Fitbit Inspire 2 is

the best bare-bones Fitbit fitness tracker

. Plus, it comes with a full year of Fitbit Premium.

The Fitbit Ace 3 is

the only Fitbit tracker you should consider for your kids

Fitbit Charge 5: What we want to see from Fitbit’s next fitness tracker

What do Fitbit devices track?

Jimmy Westenberg / Android Authority

Tracking features differ from device to device. You can check out the main activity metrics below. Just make sure the model you’re looking for supports the activity metrics you need.

Steps:

Every single Fitbit tracker will show you how many steps you’ve taken in a given time. You can also set a daily goal of how many steps you want to take, and your device will notify you once you reach it.

Distance:

If you want to know the exact distance you walked,

ran

, or swam, getting a Fitbit with

GPS

is the way to go. Only a few Fitbits have built-in GPS for accurately tracking distance, pace, and cadence. Other models have

connected GPS

capabilities, which means they use your phone’s GPS for a signal (and also means you need to keep your phone nearby while you’re exercising).

Floors climbed:

Fitbit devices track your floors climbed using a built-in barometric altimeter. Combined with your steps taken, the altimeter registers a single floor climbed after it senses you’ve climbed roughly 10 feet.

Heart rate:

All recent Fitbit devices track your heart rate via an

optical heart rate sensor

. They track your resting heart rate throughout the day and active heart rate while you’re exercising. Newer Fitbits (Charge 4 and later) will also show you which heart rate zone you’re in while you’re exercising.

Active Zone Minutes:

Fitbit devices also track a metric called Active Zone Minutes. Similar to

Google Fit’s

Move Minutes and Heart Points, you are awarded Active Zone Minute points based on how many minutes of moderate to vigorous activity you achieve during your workouts. It’s a more intentional metric to track than, say, your step count, which can be quite erratic and doesn’t often show your actual activity levels.

Calories:

Based on your distance, activity, and many other factors, your Fitbit device will show you an estimated amount of

calories

you have burned while walking or exercising. This is a great feature for those trying to lose weight.

Jimmy Westenberg / Android Authority

Sleep:

Fitbit devices can

track your sleep

, so you can better understand your sleep patterns and quality. The feature turns on automatically, so you don’t have to do anything to use it. It shows you your time spent asleep and awake, as well as your sleep stages (light, deep, and REM). When you wake up, you’ll be given a

Sleep Score

based on how well you slept.

Blood oxygen saturation:

Certain Fitbit devices have

pulse oximeters

for tracking your blood oxygen (aka

SpO2

) levels. Your device will track your levels overnight and show you an oxygen variation graph in the morning, which can potentially warn you of more serious health conditions.

Menstrual cycles:

Just about every Fitbit can keep track of your

menstrual cycle

. You can record your period length and log symptoms. The Fitbit app will also give you estimated fertility windows, ovulation, and your next period date based on your data.

Atrial fibrillation (AFib):

The Fitbit Sense comes equipped with an electrocardiogram (

ECG

) monitor for detecting potential heart issues like atrial fibrillation, which is a type of irregular heart rhythm.

Stress:

The Fitbit Sense tracks your body’s stress levels with its electrodermal activity (EDA) sensor. The EDA sensor applies small, unnoticeable electrical charges to your skin to measure how they interact with your body’s sweat levels. This is supposed to give you an understanding of how stressed you are throughout the day. This is opposed to other devices that track stress via

heart rate variability

. If you need help taking a breather throughout the day, Fitbit devices (not just the Sense) also offer on-device guided breathing exercises.

Skin temperature:

The Fitbit Sense also has a skin temperature sensor — no fancy name here. The sensor automatically records your body’s skin temperature at night in hopes of warning you of early signs of illness. It does so by comparing your body’s overnight temperature versus your personal baseline to show you trends over time.

What smartwatch features do Fitbit devices offer?

Jimmy Westenberg / Android Authority

Fitbit devices offer a variety of smartwatch features. Some Fitbits offer all of these functions, while others only offer a few. Here’s an overview of all the smart features Fitbit wearables provide.

Smartphone notifications:

Most Fitbit devices mirror your smartphone notifications, allowing you to see messages, emails, and app notifications directly on your wrist. If you’re an Android user, you can even reply to messages with preset message responses.

On-wrist phone calls:

The Fitbit Sense and Versa 3 both have a microphone and speaker. As long as your wearable is connected to your phone, you can receive phone calls right from your watch.

Voice assistants:

Some Fitbit smartwatches offer two voice assistants:

Amazon Alexa

and

Google Assistant

. Both work well, though they are limited in functionality compared to the version you’d find on a smart speaker.

Offline music playback:

You can

store music

on some Fitbit smartwatches for offline playback. If you don’t like taking your phone along with you on a run or bike ride, this feature is for you. Fitbit watches are compatible with Deezer, Pandora, and local music files. Unfortunately, Spotify is not available for offline playback.

Smartphone music controls:

Not every Fitbit can store your music for offline listening, but most of them can control the music playing on your smartphone. This means you can leave your phone in a backpack and skip tracks from your wrist.

Third-party watch faces:

Fitbit offers various customizable first- and third-party watch faces in the Fitbit App Gallery. Some options are paid, but many are free.

Third-party apps:

Fitbit smartwatches support

first- and third-party apps

that can be installed directly onto the wearable. Strava, Uber, Starbucks, and plenty of others are supported, though quite a few big names are missing, too.

Fitbit Pay:

Fitbit has its own contactless payment service called Fitbit Pay. We’ll explain more about it later.

The Fitbit app

Jimmy Westenberg / Android Authority

The Fitbit app is one of Fitbit’s best products. It’s available for

Android

iOS

, and

desktop

. You need the Fitbit app installed on your mobile device to pair your Fitbit tracker. You’ll also use the Fitbit app to view your health and fitness stats tracked by your wearable.

Fitbit buyer's guide: Everything you need to know

The app is split up into five tabs: Today, Discover, Community, Premium, and COVID-19.

The Today tab houses all of your stats and information for the current day. You’ll see your steps taken, floors climbed, calories burned, distance traveled, Active Zone Minutes, stress, sleep, exercises, heart rate, and everything else your Fitbit tracks daily. Simply tap on any of the metrics to bring up more detailed graphs and weekly summaries on that particular metric. You can edit what metrics show up in your Today view, too.

This is a small gripe, but I’d like to see Fitbit add a month view to its app. Right now, if you need to see a previous day’s stats, you’re required to tap through each day one by one. Some other popular fitness apps have month-view calendars, which let you jump to a previous day with just a few taps.

The Discover tab is a catch-all section containing suggestions for guided programs and workouts, challenges, watch faces and apps, mindfulness sessions, and various wellness reports.

The Community tab is essentially a mini social network. You can join gro

ups with like-minded people based on certain sports or activities. I’m a member of the running, yoga, vegetarian, hiking, and healthy eating groups. You can also connect with friends who own Fitbit devices.

Fitbit users can post photos or updates, which show up in the feed view. You can comment on posts and cheer people on. Just be careful of your privacy. You don’t need to be someone’s friend to comment on a post, and you should be careful about posting sensitive information or photos on your feed.

If you’re a Fitbit Premium subscriber, you’ll find all of your benefits in the Premium tab. More on this below.

And finally, Fitbit also provides helpful info and resources relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. You can get tips on how to stay healthy indoors, book a virtual doctor’s visit via PlushCare, join research surveys, and even get the latest updates from the WHO.

Overall, we’re big fans of the Fitbit app. It’s straightforward to use. Fitbit doesn’t let you dig into the data as much as some other

fitness apps

, so you may need to visit the Fitbit web interface to see things like more detailed heart rate information. Even so, the app should be good enough for most Fitbit users.

Fitbit Premium: What is it, and do you need it?

Fitbit Premium launched in 2019. It’s a premium membership service that offers Fitbit diehards detailed insights into their fitness and health metrics. The membership includes daily reminders, tips, advanced sleep stats, training plans, workout videos, and more. It will set you back $10 per month, but you can try it out for free for 90 days. You can also save a bit of money by opting for a yearly subscription that goes for $79.99. Or, kick things up a notch and add one-on-one health coaching with a real professional for

$54.99 a month

Fitbit Premium

$9.99

The service is available more or less globally, but only in English for now. Fitbit is working on adding new languages, including German, Japanese, French, Spanish, Italian, Swedish, and Dutch. We’ll be sure to update this article when that happens.

Fitbit Premium is device agnostic. It connects to the Fitbit smartphone app — not your wearable — so it works with all Fitbit devices. That includes smartwatches such as the Fitbit Versa 3 and fitness trackers, including the Fitbit Inspire 2 and Charge 4.

Also read:

Fitbit Premium review: Is it worth it?

In his review, which is linked above, our very own Jimmy Westenberg said that Fitbit Premium feels like a young product. There aren’t many guided programs available, and there’s not much on offer for intermediate and advanced users. What’s more, much of the content available (health tips, workout videos, etc.) can be found online for free. With that in mind, Fitbit Premium doesn’t seem like the best deal at $10 per month.

However, the service has potential, and some people will definitely find it useful. The best thing to do is to take advantage of the free trial it offers to see whether or not it’s up your alley.

What is Fitbit Pay?

Fitbit Pay is the company’s own contactless payment service. It allows you to make payments at payment terminals around the world with supported Fitbit products. The full list of supported devices is below:

Fitbit Sense

Fitbit Versa 3

Fitbit Charge 4

Fitbit Versa 2

Fitbit Charge 3

(special edition only)

Fitbit Versa

(special edition only)

Fitbit Ionic

The payment service can be used in loads of countries, including the US, UK, Australia, Canada, Singapore, and the UAE, just to name a few. For the full list of supported banks and cards,

head here

Using Fitbit Pay is a breeze. Once you set up the service via the smartphone app, all you have to do is press and hold the left button on your smartwatch for a few seconds, then hold the watch face towards the payment terminal. The service can be used at any location or payment terminal that can handle contactless payments.

For more detailed info on the payment service, check out our

dedicated guide about Fitbit Pay

What Fitbit accessories are available?

Smartwatches are essentially fashion pieces, so it’s no surprise that Fitbit offers various replacement straps for its entire wearable line.

Fitbit offers additional straps for all its recent devices on its website. Currently, there are first-party straps available for the Fitbit Sense, Versa 3, Versa 2, Versa Lite, Versa, Charge 4, Charge 3, Inspire 2, Inspire HR, Inspire, Ace 3, and Ionic. You can also buy replacement charging cables for these devices on the website.

Replacement straps on Fitbit.com

Fitbit partnered with several different fashion brands to create unique straps for its devices for its recent launches. You can purchase Victor Glemaud or Pendleton straps for the Sense and Versa 3, Recco straps for the Versa 2, as well as Horween leather straps for almost all devices.

Not liking what you see on Fitbit.com? Or do you own an older Fitbit device like the Blaze or Charge 2? Check out Amazon’s selection of third-party straps for these devices. Oftentimes, third-party sellers offer more varieties of straps for much less. It’s a good way to get the style you want out of your wearable while also saving some money.

Fitbit Luxe replacement bands on Amazon

Fitbit Sense replacement bands on Amazon

Fitbit Versa 3 replacement bands on Amazon

Fitbit Charge 4 replacement bands on Amazon

Fitbit Inspire 2 replacement bands on Amazon

Fitbit Inspire HR replacement bands on Amazon

Fitbit Inspire replacement bands on Amazon

Fitbit Versa 2 replacement bands on Amazon

Fitbit Versa Lite replacement bands on Amazon

Fitbit Charge 3 replacement bands on Amazon

Fitbit Versa replacement bands on Amazon

Fitbit Ionic replacement bands on Amazon

Fitbit Ace 2 replacement bands on Amazon

Fitbit Ace replacement bands on Amazon

Fitbit Alta HR replacement bands on Amazon

Fitbit Charge 2 replacement bands on Amazon

Fitbit Flex 2 replacement bands on Amazon

Fitbit Alta replacement bands on Amazon

Fitbit Blaze replacement bands on Amazon

Fitbit and Google: What’s the deal?

Fitbit is now officially owned by Google. Let’s talk about that.

Google first

announced

it was buying Fitbit on November 1, 2019. Then, months went by without any notable updates from either company. However, the

, and Australia’s regulatory bodies announced separate antitrust probes into the major acquisition in the following months.

Fast forward to January 14, 2021, when Google

announced

it had officially acquired Fitbit. In its announcement, Google hardware chief Rick Osterloh clarified that the deal was about “devices, not data.” This harkens back to a constraint Google

agreed to

for the deal to receive EU approval in December 2020. Specifically, Google agreed not to use health and wellness data collected from Fitbit devices for its own ad business for at least 10 years.

But there’s a potential roadblock for the two companies, in that the US Department of Justice is still investigating the deal, even though Google’s announcement made it seem like it had received the go-ahead from all regulatory bodies. In a statement, the DOJ said it remains committed to conducting the review “as thoroughly, efficiently, and expeditiously as possible.” Furthermore, it appears the DOJ’s 14-month investigation time limit had passed without an extension, prompting Google to move forward with its announcement in January. “We continue to be in touch with [the DOJ], and we’re committed to answering any additional questions,” Google told

Android Authority

in a statement.

Google buying Fitbit is beneficial for both companies, but Google's history of canceled products has us worried.

Google buying Fitbit is beneficial for both companies. Fitbit has experienced financial troubles in recent years and has struggled to stay on top of sales forecasts. Joining one of the biggest companies in the world is a great way for Fitbit to reroute its trajectory.

We’d be remiss not to talk about our concerns. Google has an unfortunate reputation for killing products (the

Google Graveyard

speaks for itself), and that issue extends to acquisitions. Google actually

purchased

Motorola in 2011, only to strip it of its IP and sell it off to Lenovo just a few years later. We’re sure hoping that doesn’t happen with Fitbit, but we can’t really be certain.

By your powers combined: Is it too late for Google’s wearable alliance?

Google, of course, has its own

Wear OS

operating system that runs on third-party smartwatches from various brands. Google actually tapped Samsung for assistance with

the next major version

of the platform, which is due later this year. But what does that mean for Fitbit? After all, Fitbit has its own smartwatch OS, too.

Fitbit CEO James Park

confirmed

at Google I/O 2021 that Fitbit would launch a Wear OS-powered smartwatch in the future. We do not have any other details on that watch, but we’ll certainly hear more as development of the watch proceeds. We’re also unsure what this means for Fitbit OS, the software that powers the Sense and Versa smartwatch lines.

There’s still a lot we don’t know about the future of Fitbit and Google’s wearable ecosystems, but we’ll be sure to keep you updated as we learn more.

Problems and solutions

Fitbit devices are great, but they have their share of problems. Not every user will encounter them, but at least it’s a good idea to be aware of the most common ones.

The first one worth mentioning relates to syncing. Some users have reported having trouble syncing data from their Fitbit to their Android devices. There are many potential solutions available that can get rid of the problem quite quickly, so you shouldn’t worry about this too much, although it is annoying when experienced.

Users also frequently report issues about their Fitbit not receiving notifications from their Android device, not charging properly, and not updating properly. We won’t list all of the issues here since we have a

dedicated article on this topic

that also contains potential solutions for each problem. What’s important to know is that there aren’t any major issues with Fitbit devices that should stop you from buying one.

Fitbit and the competition

Jimmy Westenberg / Android Authority

Fitbit has a lot of rivals that make comparable or even better devices for the money. Its main competitors include

Garmin

Apple

Polar

, Xiaomi, and Samsung, just to name a few. If you’re looking for alternatives to Fitbit devices, there are plenty of them to choose from. We won’t list them all in this article, but you can check out the best ones for specific Fitbit products below. In case you want to dive deeper into this topic, check out our dedicated

Fitbit alternatives article

at the link.

The

Garmin Venu 2

Garmin Venu

, and

Garmin Vivoactive 4

are the best Fitbit Sense and Fitbit Versa 3 alternatives you can buy, thanks to their smartwatch features and robust fitness tracking suite.

The

Apple Watch Series 6

is the best Fitbit Sense and Versa 3 alternative for iPhone users, thanks to its unparalleled smartwatch features.

The

Garmin Venu Sq

is the best Fitbit Charge 4 alternative you can buy. While it has a smartwatch form factor, its feature set is similar to that of the Charge 4’s.

The

Xiaomi Mi Band 6

is the best Fitbit Inspire 2 alternative you can buy, thanks to its cheap price point and solid fitness tracking.

The

Coros Pace 2

is the best Fitbit Ionic alternative. It’s available at a good price and is one of the best midrange running watches you can find.