Best budget fitness trackers 2017: We compare the best value budget fitness wearables around right now, from the likes of the Fitbit Flex 2 and Jawbone’s UP3 to the Withings Go and the Misfit Ray. These are the best budget trackers for under £100 that you can buy in the UK in 2017.
The following fitness tracking gadgets might not make you fit directly but they’ll certainly help you to reach your health goals. If you’re interested in staying healthy, don’t yet own a fitness tracker yet and don’t want to spend too much on a new device, these are some great options that won’t break the bank.
Fitness trackers are now more affordable than ever, come in many shapes and sizes to suit all tastes and offer more than simple step tracking too. While movement tracking is essentially what these wearables are all about, some of these budget gadgets come with heart rate monitors built-in which allow you to track your health progress even more accurately.
If you’re looking for something with built-in GPS to accurately track running, cycling and swimming distances, you’ll have to splash a bit more cash. These trackers at the ‘under £100’ mark tend to strip out such features, to stay affordable.
Budget fitness trackers use motion sensors to track steps and give a fairly accurate measure of distance, calories burned and of course a very accurate number on steps taken or strokes swam in a few cases. Some even detect your sleep sessions and help you improve in that area too. The idea is to let you see how active you are, set achievable goals, then push yourself to be fitter. Simple, but effective.
Here are some of the best fitness tracker options out there in 2017.
Fitbit Flex 2
Fitbit is all about activity tracking, so its well-developed latest generation of fitness trackers are some of the best out there.
Despite the low £80 asking price, the Fitbit Flex 2 is good looking, highly capable and comes with a comprehensive app. In fact this is one of the best fitness trackers out there – even without taking into account the fact that this is more affordable than a lot of the competition.
The Flex 2 will track steps, calories burned, distance covered and active minutes each day. It’ll even alerts you to keep moving when it detects you’ve been stagnant for too long. Even better, this little beauty is water resistant so you can track your swimming strokes too. It’ll also connect to your smartphone and alert you to calls, texts and more with its vibration feature and LED lights.
Read our full Fitbit Flex 2 review for more info.
Jawbone UP3
If you want to improve your sleep through tracking as well as getting fit, this is the wearable for you. Despite the £70 price, the Jawbone UP3 is a really well designed wrist adornment that manages to cram in the sensors you need. Not only will this cover all the usual step, calorie and activity tracking, but it’ll also measure your resting heart rate.
The bioimpedance sensor on the UP3 has huge potential for the future to help it measure more than just resting heart rate. For now, as a sleep tracker, the UP3 not only measures light, deep and REM sleep but also offers tailored advice based on scientific research to help you improve your kip time.
Check out our full Jawbone UP3 review.
Withings Go
Another long-standing name in activity tracking is Withings. The Withings Go is a rather unique wearable that can be wrist worn or clipped to clothing for adaptive tracking options. This device uses an E-Ink low-power display too, so you can see your activity progress at a glance without having to dig out the accompanying app.
That efficient screen and built-in battery mean no need for a recharge; simply swap out the battery after a whopping eight months of use. That includes night-time use for sleep tracking too. Plus it all works with the company’s well established Health Mate app for tracking and analysis of just how well you’re progressing to meet your goals. All that and it’s only £50 here in the UK in 2017.
Head over to our in-depth Withings Go review for our full thoughts.
Xiaomi Mi Band 2
When it comes to super affordable health devices, you don’t get much better than Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi with its Mi Band 2. This $27 (£22) wearable tracks steps, calories and even has a built in heart rate monitor. It’ll offer inactivity alerts using a vibration mechanism and can connect to your smartphone for call and text notifications.
The band somehow also manages, for that price, to offer an OLED display and water resistance too. Feature packed then, at an almost throwaway price.
Misfit Ray
If looking good is high on your list of wants for a fitness tracker, Misfit is the company that tailors exactly to that demand. The Ray, despite being £80, is made from aircraft-grade annodised aluminium with a finish that will surely impress.
Under that metallic body sits plenty of sensors for tracking steps, calories burned, distance and even swimming strokes. Plus there are LED and vibrating alerts and a battery that lasts a hefty six charge-free months before needing a swap out. The Ray even features a button allowing you to remote control your smartphone – for taking a photo away from your phone with just a tap, as an example.
Garmin vivofit 3
This might be older than some but it’s affordable despite being a top tracker brand. Garmin’s vivofit 3 offers a display and button control for quick updates on calories, steps, time and more.
This also offers vibration alerts from a connected phone, a well-established app and automatic syncing of data. It also has a whopping one year battery life before needing a cheap swap-out. That, combined with water resistance and sleep tracking means you never need take it off. Impressive for £90.
Moov Now
This £50 fitness tracker can be wrist worn, ankle worn, clipped on – whatever. It’ll track running, walking, swimming, cycling, boxing, gym training, the lot. It’ll even help improve your running technique by giving feedback on things like impact of footfall, or boxing tips. So one aimed at the more active, for sure.
The accompanying app analyses fitness and coaches to help improve, including real-time coaching via the app. The Moov now lasts six months before a battery swap is needed and syncs all your data to a connected phone wirelessly. There is also the Moov HR hardware extra as an option that allows for heart rate tracking too.
Fitbit Charge HR
Despite offering heart rate tracking, activity tracking and even auto sports recognition for running and cycling, the Charge HR can be found in 2017 for under £100. This wrist-wearable also features a feedback display, five day battery life and is backed by the comprehensive Fitbit app. You even get an altimeter so you can measure stairs climbed as part of your daily fitness routine.
Read next: Fitbit Alta HR vs Flex 2 vs Charge 2, which is best for me?
Misfit Flash
Following on from the Shine, Misfit’s Flash looks rather tidy with a round watch-like design and LED covered face for alerts and even displaying the time. This will track the usual steps, calories, distance and even sleep, but also covers swimming and cycling sessions after automatically detecting them.
The Misfit Flash can be wrist-worn or clipped on and comes in a vibrant range of colours. Plus it’ll last for six months before needing a battery change. There’s also a button allowing you to use this as a smart remote via a connected phone. Not bad for a meagre £25.
TomTom Touch
This smart wearable from TomTom actually offers a feature that most others don’t – body composition. Yup, this sleek little wrist-wearable is able to detect and measure body fat and muscle percentage. So while you still get step counting, active time, calories burned, distance walked, time slept and the like tracked, the TomTom Touch can actually show how all that’s affecting your body too.
The Touch also has built-in heart rate tracking, a touchscreen display for quick results feedback, sports mode for exercise and a dedicated smartphone app. It’ll even offer notifications for a connected phone’s calls and texts. A comprehensive offering indeed, hence the official £130 price – although it is available for under £100 on some third-party sites in 2017, which is why we’ve included it in this best budget fitness trackers round-up.
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