10 Best Fitness Tracker Watches 2025 in the United States

The Apple Watch Series 11 GPS 42mm is a strong choice for anyone looking for a fitness tracker that goes beyond basic activity monitoring. It offers accurate heart rate monitoring and built-in GPS, which helps track your runs, walks, or cycling routes without needing your phone nearby. Its sleep tracking is enhanced by a sleep score feature, giving you clear insights to improve rest. The watch is water resistant up to 50 meters, so you can swim or shower without worry, and it’s dust resistant, adding to its durability. The always-on Retina display is bright and easy to read even outdoors, which is great during workouts.

Battery life lasts up to 24 hours with normal use, which means you’ll likely need to charge it nightly. However, it supports fast charging, giving you several hours of use with just a short charge. In terms of health features, it stands out by detecting signs of hypertension, sleep apnea, and irregular heart rhythms, plus it offers ECG and blood oxygen measurements—tools usually found in more medical-focused devices. Safety features like fall and crash detection add peace of mind, especially for active users.

The watch connects seamlessly with your iPhone, allowing calls, messages, and music on the go. It also offers some motivational fitness coaching through Apple Fitness+ subscriptions. One consideration is that battery life might feel limited for those who want multi-day use without charging, and some health alerts require professional interpretation. Its lightweight design ensures comfort during all-day wear, including sleep. This watch fits best for users wanting a comprehensive fitness and health companion with smart features, especially if they already use Apple devices. If you want detailed health monitoring combined with good fitness tracking and strong safety tools in a stylish, durable package, this model is worth considering.

The Garmin fēnix 8 is a robust and premium multisport GPS smartwatch designed for athletes and adventurers. It features a bright 1.4-inch AMOLED display protected by a scratch-resistant sapphire lens, ensuring durability. One of its standout features is the long battery life, offering up to 29 days in smartwatch mode and up to 84 hours in GPS mode, making it ideal for extended use without frequent charging. The built-in LED flashlight adds convenience for nighttime activities, and the titanium bezel enhances its ruggedness.

This watch offers comprehensive activity tracking with sport-specific workouts, real-time stamina tracking, and a diverse range of built-in sports apps, making it highly suitable for varied fitness routines. The heart rate monitoring, advanced sleep tracking, and respiration tracking provide 24/7 health insights, although it should be noted that the data is a close estimation and not medically accurate. The multi-band GPS with SatIQ technology ensures superior positioning accuracy, and the dynamic round-trip routing feature is great for planning workouts. Water resistance up to 40 meters and support for scuba and apnea diving highlight its suitability for water sports enthusiasts.

Furthermore, the integration with smartphones allows for making and taking calls, using voice assistants, and accessing notifications directly from the wrist. However, the watch's weight of 102 grams might be considered heavy by some users, and the high price point reflects its premium features and materials. Additionally, the advanced metrics and features may be more than what an average fitness enthusiast requires. This makes the Garmin fēnix 8 an excellent choice for serious athletes and adventurers seeking a high-performance, durable, and feature-rich smartwatch.

The Apple Watch SE 3 (GPS, 40mm) is a solid choice for those wanting a versatile fitness tracker combined with smart features. It offers continuous heart rate monitoring and can alert you about unusual heart rhythms, which is great for health awareness. The built-in GPS tracks your outdoor workouts accurately, and the always-on Retina display makes it easy to glance at stats without raising your wrist. Battery life lasts about 18 hours with typical use, enough for a full day, and it charges quickly—15 minutes gives you up to 8 hours of use, so it’s convenient for daily wear.

This model also tracks sleep with a daily sleep score and even detects potential sleep apnea, offering deeper health insights. It’s water resistant, suitable for swimming and sweat, which is essential for active users. The watch pairs seamlessly with iPhones, providing notifications, calls, music control, and Siri support, which helps stay connected during workouts.

The 18-hour battery might be limiting for those wanting multi-day tracking without recharging, especially if you use GPS extensively. It doesn’t have a built-in cellular option in this GPS-only version, so it needs to stay near your iPhone or Wi-Fi for full functionality. While the display is bright and clear, the 40mm size might feel small for some users, particularly if you prefer bigger screens. The Apple Watch SE 3 suits anyone invested in the Apple ecosystem looking for a fitness tracker with strong health features and smart capabilities. It fits well for daily fitness, sleep monitoring, and staying connected, though its battery life and screen size may not fit everyone’s preferences.