Fitness trackers allow you to monitor your health, exercise regimen, how well you sleep, your overall step count, and so much more. These are no longer basic step counters, and most of the best fitness trackers come with powerful heart rate monitors and a plethora of other health tracking tech that can ensure you're at peak physical fitness.

If you're keeping an eye on your weight and overall heart health, or you want a tool to help encourage you to work out more, you will likely find one of the top options for your wrist below. We've taken and tested fitness bands of various prices and styles, so we'll be running you through our picks for the best fitness trackers, with options from household names like Fitbit, Garmin, Samsung, and a few other manufacturers that may surprise you.

Best fitness trackers available right now

Fitbit's Inspire 3 tracker is a fantastic option for anyone looking for a capable fitness tracker for general use. It tracks all kinds of health metrics, including heart rate, blood oxygenation, skin temperature, and of course, activity. It's water-resistant up to 50 meters, and, despite its small size, the Inspire 3's battery lasts up to 10 days on a single charge, so you don't have to worry much about it while wearing it.

The Inspire 3 can track 20 different exercise types, though you can only choose from six at a time on the tracker's tiny screen; you'll have to choose which it displays from the Fitbit app. Though the tracker doesn't have a built-in GPS, it can use your phone's GPS connection to track outdoor activities like running and hiking. While it's a shame you can't use the Inspire 3 for outdoor workouts without your phone, skipping a built-in GPS is part of why the device is so slim — and so affordable. The Inspire 3 retails for a very reasonable $100 and is often discounted to $80 or even $70. At these prices, there's not a whole lot to complain about here.

The Fitbit Charge 5 is feature-rich, occupying a niche between a simple fitness band and a full-blown smartwatch. The Charge 5 launched at an MSRP of $180, but it's since come down to a more palatable $150. The design isn't as sleek as the Luxe, but the Charge 5 is still comfortable to wear, and there are many color options.

The OLED screen here is also impressive, offering intense brightness levels and great colors, making it easy to see your stats directly on your wrist. That's even true in direct sunlight. We particularly enjoyed the extensive fitness features, including an ECG monitor to watch your overall heart health. There's also stress management software to keep track of your daily routine outside of exercise.

In our review, we found the battery life on the Charge 5 exceptional, with it offering at least a week with the always-on display turned off. It can sometimes last longer than that if you're using it sparingly. If you're willing to spend money and like the slightly larger design than the Luxe, the Fitbit Charge 5 is a top choice for a new fitness tracker.

For all of $50 (and often less on sale), Xiaomi's Mi Band 7 (or Smart Band 7, internationally) tracks your activity and sleep, keeps tabs on metrics like heart rate and SpO2, and delivers notifications, making it plenty capable for its price point. Activity tracking doesn't seem as accurate on the Mi Band 7 as on many pricier bands, and it also lacks many advanced features like contactless payments and built-in GPS — but again, it retails for just 50 bucks.

Xiaomi has introduced the newer Mi Band 8, which boasts improvements like a 60Hz display and a refined design. The Mi Band 8 still isn't officially available in the US, however, and most health and fitness features are the same between the two models. If the Mi Band 7 appeals to you, you're not missing much versus the newer generation.

The Garmin Lily is a smartwatch designed for those with smaller wrists, and it's the first device in our ranking you could technically call a smartwatch. Garmin sells simpler fitness trackers, but we'd recommend the Lily ahead of them as it offers everything you need on its screen in a slimline and small form. The design and the watch's bright display are the highlights of the Lily, and if you like both of those elements, you'll enjoy the experience here.

Plus, you get all the benefits of Garmin's specialist app that works well on Android phones. Features here aren't as extensive as you may expect from Garmin; the Lily offers exercise tracking, Body Battery to know when you're too tired to work out, and sleep tracking, but there's no onboard GPS, and you won't get contactless payment technology either. Otherwise, it's suitable for anyone with slender wrists who wants a watch to match.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 tops the list of our favorite Android smartwatches thanks largely to its snappy performance and the fact that, along with the Watch 4 series and a profoundly pricey Montblanc watch, it enjoys semi-exclusive access to Wear OS 3. The Galaxy Watch 5 features automatic activity tracking, always-on heart rate monitoring, and body composition and SpO2 testing. It can even take ECG measurements when paired with a Samsung phone.

The smaller 40mm version's battery will last about a day and a half — average for smartwatches but low for fitness trackers. The 44mm version will last slightly longer, but it still doesn't come close to the week-long battery life you'll find in a proper tracker like the Fitbit Charge 5. But although it may not be a fitness tracker first, the Galaxy Watch 5 is an excellent smartwatch that also does a great job tracking your health stats. So if you don't mind charging more often, you can get a great fitness experience here.

A midrange entry in the Garmin portfolio, the Forerunner 255S Music retails for $400 — in either 41mm or 46mm sizes (though the 46mm is officially called the Forerunner 255 Music, no S). It's got all the Garmin trappings, including built-in GPS tracking for outdoor workouts, robust tracking of several fitness parameters, and excellent battery life of up to 12 or 14 days, depending on the size you get, plus the ability to save music from Spotify for phone-free playback.

It also has a handy feature for triathlon training that lets you seamlessly switch between running, cycling, and swimming tracking with a button. There's even support for contactless payments via Garmin Pay, a feature the previous-generation Forerunner 245 lacked. If you're a serious outdoor athlete, the Forerunner 255 Music should be on your shortlist for a new tracker.

The Withings ScanWatch is unlike any other product on this list but still checks a lot of fitness tracker boxes. It's designed to look like a traditional analog watch rather than a smartwatch, and it has hidden fitness tracking tech such as a heart rate monitor and a daily step counter. This watch even features an ECG monitor, which isn't a given outside top-end devices. The battery life is between two weeks and a month, depending on how much you use it — remarkably better than most other wearables you can buy right now.

What the ScanWatch can do is still limited, and its most significant limitation is the information it can provide you from a simple look at your wrist. There's a step counter toward the bottom of the watch face, and a small screen provides you with some key details. These include your step count, current heart rate, ECG results, etc. It isn't the most expansive set of results, but you can find everything neatly put away in the app on your phone if you want to.

A smart ring won't provide many of the benefits of other options on this list — they don't deliver notifications or even tell time. But what they lack in sheer utility, smart rings make up for in an unobtrusive form factor. The third-gen Oura Ring is the top dog in the smart right world right now, and it can track your activity and sleep with the best of 'em. It keeps count of your steps, and when the ring detects periods of higher-than-average activity, Oura's companion app has you tag which type of exercise you were doing and adjusts your calorie burn estimates accordingly.

The Oura Ring is a much more passive device than many other fitness tracking options; it won't nag you to stay active throughout the day. If you're just looking for something to help keep track of the activity you're already getting, though, the Oura Ring's a great way to do it in a lightweight and stylish package.

Don't want a big screen on your wrist? The Whoop 4.0 is an acquired taste, but it may be right up your alley. Unlike everything else on this list, Whoop 4.0 is paid for through a subscription service. It's not cheap but gives you access to Whoop's unique platform and a "free" fitness tracker. The minimum term is 12 months with a monthly cost of $30 per month, or you can sign up for a two-year contract, which drops the monthly price to $20. This isn't for everyone, but it is a way to break down an expensive purchase into more affordable monthly payments.

The screen-less design is one of the unique elements here, and we particularly like it for anyone who wants a device that tracks but doesn't distract you during the day. These sensors work throughout the day, and sleep-tracking and menstrual cycle-tracking features also exist. However, we found it's better suited to endurance athletes than people who focus more on strength training.

Unlike every other fitness tracker on this list, you can charge the Whoop 4.0 while wearing it. That means you won't ever miss a moment of tracking steps and your heart rate. It works through an attachable charger, which you likely won't want to wear for long periods as it makes the device far heftier. It then charges the device in two hours, and Whoop estimates it'll last five days from that charge. If you want a screen-less device that can track an incredible array of statistics about your health, this may be the pick for you in this list.

This list would be remiss without including one of the best smartwatches around. There's no denying that the Apple Watch is among the best products for tracking your health every day, and we've opted for the cheaper Watch SE for our roundup. Before digging into its merits, you must know that this device won't work with an Android phone. You'll need an iPhone to pair the Apple Watch SE, so don't buy this if you're an Android-only household.

If you are ready to dive into an Apple product, you'll get a premium design that pairs perfectly with an iPhone. The Watch SE works seamlessly with iOS products, and it's one of the best devices on this list for providing you with notifications and more. There's no always-on display here, but its 1.78-inch display looks great on your wrist. It's powerful enough to run any apps from the Apple Watch App Store, plus Apple continues to support this device. Again, don't buy this if you own an Android phone.

What's the best fitness tracker for you?

Those are our top picks for the best fitness trackers, and you'll likely find an option in this list that is appropriate for you. Our top two picks come from Fitbit, and there's a reason it is a household name when it comes to wearable technology. The Fitbit Inspire 3 is slim and affordable, but we particularly like the Fitbit Charge 5 for its onboard GPS and contactless payments.

If Fitbit isn't for you, you may want to opt for the Xiaomi Mi Band 7, which comes with many of the same features in a package at a fraction of the price of the Charge 5. However, that lower price means the experience isn't as slick as Fitbit, so it isn't for everyone.

Those seeking a more robust outdoor tracking experience can look to the Garmin Forerunner 255S Music or Garmin Lily. If smart features are what you're after, the best Android smartwatches are capable fitness trackers in their own right — though, of course, they can't match the battery life offered by a dedicated fitness tracker.

Finally, if you're looking for something a little different — or, depending on your tastes, more familiar — the Withings ScanWatch and its hybrid design can be quite compelling. The ScanWatch is the smartwatch to buy if you want to be able to wear it without anyone noticing you're tracking your health; a lot of people will believe this is an everyday watch. If you want to go the opposite way, check out the Whoop 4.0, which offers a unique design on this list, and it's perfect for anyone who doesn't want to be distracted by their health companion.