Getting in shape is hard no matter how long you've been doing or what level you are for exercise and fitness. I've been using Fitbit wearables since 2013 and own nearly every one of them whether budget ones or their best because I'm a fitness junky. If you're looking to get into Fitbit here are four outstanding options in 2019 right now and, luckily for you, I use all four. Which one is right for you? I've rounded up the pros and cons of each including price range, features, and who should buy them. These are the best Fitbit wearables for 2019.
Best overall — Fitbit Versa Lite
Why you can trust Windows Central Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
Both the Fitbit Versa and the Fitbit Versa Lite share much more in common than they differ, but the $160 price tag for the Versa Lite makes it the better deal for most people who want a smart watch-ish wearable. Featuring a color 1.32-inch display with 300x300-pixel resolution, an excellent heart rate sensor, sleep tracking, and the ability to add hundreds of unique watch faces (including Bitmoji), the Versa Lite is the best Fitbit for most people.
Giving up things like tap-to-pay, the ability to store music directly on the device, barometric altimeter, and guided workouts is a shame, but they're also not critical features necessary to get the most out of a Fitbit. As someone who hits the gym five days a week and bikes on the weekend, these are features I found easy to surrender. Storing music is great on the Versa, but frankly, the process to add that music is so messy and cumbersome you may do it once and never attempt it again. Fitbit Pay contactless payment system is only found in the $230 Fitbit Versa Special Edition making the $70 price jump unreasonable for most people.
Who should buy it: Anyone who wants a fitness wearable that acts as a smartwatch, but doesn't need Fitbit Pay or the ability to store music on the watch.
Best value — Fitbit Charge HR
Being $10 cheaper than the Versa Lite the Charge HR has effectively the same features but in a more traditional bracelet form factor. The price bump over the similar Inspire HR is justified if you plan to use it with any modern iPhone or Android phone as you get notifications for email, phone, SMS, and more plus the ability to respond with quick replies (Android-only).
Everything else including best-in-class sleep tracking, heart rate tracking, swapping bands, and various exercise modes like biking, running, treadmill, weights, and more make this a popular choice for a non-smartwatch-like design. Sure, you don't get the apps of the Versa and Versa Lite, but those aren't very good anyway.
The Charge HR also gets the best battery life of all the Fitbits here hovering around the seven-day mark, which is outstanding. The display is excellent, it's comfortable to wear, and it does everything that the Versa Lite does in a smaller package. If you want a little flair, get the Charge HR Special Edition in white with NFC for Fitbit Pay contactless payments for $169.
Who should buy it: If you prefer a band wearable instead of watch style the Charge HR does nearly all the same as Versa Lite. Also, best for those who hate recharging.
Best basic wearable — Fitbit Inspire HR
If you're not ready to commit to something more expensive, the Inspire HR is a solid choice at $99. This thin, light band has all the basics like sleep tracking, a step counter, specific exercise modes, smartphone notifications, heart rate tracking, and all the social features of every other Fitbit, but no other frills. It gets around 4–5 days of battery life and is the ideal choice if you like to wear something else like an analog watch or a "real" smartwatch. While I love the more advanced Fitbit tech, the Inspire HR is good enough for me at the gym, and that price makes it easy to afford.
Who should buy it: Someone who wants the core basics of a fitness wearable, but also thin and light without going over $100.
Best feature set — Fitbit Versa Special Edition
While the Versa Lite is the best for most people, the Versa Special Edition ($230) is the best for overall features where price is not a factor. The Special Edition features NFC tap-to-pay using Fitbit Pay – see participating banks – and comes in a special graphite aluminum color with a woven band. You get all the Versa apps, advanced sleep tracking, ability to reply to notifications (on Android), heart rate tracking, and all the other features of the regular Fitbit Versa including storing up to 300 songs directly on the watch. The Speical Edition model is what I use, but I also recognize that most people are OK without the full Versa feature-set making the Versa Lite the smarter choice - but options are good!
Beyond the Fitbit Versa Special Edition is the Fitbit Ionic $230, which has built-in GPS as the only differentiator. However, while the price is good, that model is now a few years old and likely due for a refresh sometime in 2019, making it hard to recommend if you want the latest tech.
Who should buy it: Fitbit fans who want the best Versa including Fitbit Pay for instant payments and a nice (but light) watch strap.
Bottom Line
As Fitbit continues to expand its line of fitness wearables choosing the one best for you becomes more complicated.
Don't overthink it too much though as even the basic $99 Inspire HR does most of what a fitness wearable should do in 2019. While there is a cheaper Fitbit Inspire ($69) minus the "HR", heart rate monitoring is one of the best uses of this technology and it is worth the extra $30 for the privilege.
Moving to Charge 3 you will get a few more options including an altimeter for stairs climbed and blood oxygen sensor, but that sensor is not yet used by Fitbit making it more of a future-proofing ability to help detect sleep apnea (when it rolls out later in 2019). Charge 3 also brings a better touch display and longer battery life making it more of a quality upgrade than features.
The Fitbit Versa Lite ($159) and Versa ($199) represent the more modern wearable as a smartwatch than a band approach. The color displays are great and the hundreds of watch faces make these much more interesting. Jumping to Versa Special Edition ($230) gets you everything including NFC tap-to-pay (Fitbit Pay), a special band and some unique colors. Whether the extra $30 is worth it depends on how much you want to rely on your Versa.
The only downsides to Fitbits — especially the Versa — comes down to having connected GPS used with your smartphone (versus standalone) and not a great app experience. For the latter, these are most fitness wearables with some hints of a true smartwatch, but only a little. Connected GPS is fine if used on occasion, but if you're looking for a standalone experience only the aging Fitbit Ionic ($230) will do that if you're OK with the way it looks.
Regardless of which you pick, all of these Fitbits make great personal wearables or gifts for others. Just pick according to your budget, goals, and personal preferences and you'll be on the path for improved personal health starting today.
