Crush Your Fitness Goals with The Help of These Fitness Trackers

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Developing a healthier lifestyle and better sleep and recovery habits takes some work, and a fitness tracker can help you meet goals like trying to get more shut-eye every night or making sure you’re getting enough steps in throughout the day. Fitness watches and trackers are wearable devices that gather data on key metrics like heart rate, blood oxygen levels, steps, temperature and much more. Not only can having access to so many insights into your health help you improve your overall wellness, but it can gently remind you when it's time to take a break, prioritize recovery or get moving.

The test engineers and product analysts at the Good Housekeeping Institute regularly test everything from the best smart watches for women, smart watches for men, smart rings and more. Over the past year alone, we’ve put at least 20 fitness trackers to the test to find the best ones on the market. When making our selections, we consider factors like ease of use, app intuitiveness, performance and battery life as well as feedback from real testers regarding the device’s comfort, accuracy and design. According to our pros and fitness enthusiasts, these are the best fitness trackers and watches for women in 2024.

Versa 4

Fitbit's newest smart watch is a favorite among our Lab experts, thanks to its intuitive design, tracking capabilities, heart rate monitor and impressive battery life (it lasts at least six days, if not more!). Its large, always-on screen makes it easy to quickly see your sleep and activity stats, control your music, peek at your text notifications or pick up a call if your phone is within range. But the easy-to-read screen has a trade-off: One tester who has small wrists found it bulky.

The Versa 4 also comes with access to voice assistants from both Amazon and Google. It has free built-in GPS too, so you can take it with you on your next hiking or biking trip — and even go swimming with it on. What's more, it tracks your heart rate night and day, and it also counts steps, distance, calories burned, hourly activity, active minutes and floors climbed.

"It holds you accountable to be more active and it's extremely simple to set up and use for basic features," said one tester. You can use the Fitbit app to set goals for yourself and see even more stats. Don't worry if you forget to manually log your workout; the watch can detect your activity and input it automatically.

Battery life: 6+ days | Water resistant: Yes, up to 50 meters | Built-in GPS: Yes

Inspire 3

Fitbit is a brand that consistently does well in our tests, and our pros love this slim, no-frills fitness tracker that was a Good Housekeeping Fitness Awards winner. It has everything you need for basic activity tracking, like steps, distance and calories burned, making it great for simple workouts from walking to biking. It also has a heart rate monitor to better track your activity.

Testers found it easy to read the display despite its smaller size, and the tracker earned top scores all around for design, functionality and setup. “I often forgot the Fitbit was there during workouts because of how minimal it felt,” one tester said.

If you don't like wearing a fitness tracker on your wrist, you can buy a clip that attaches the tracker to your clothing or sports bra. Swimming is unlikely to be a problem with this tracker because, according to the brand, you can swim with it up to a depth of 50 meters, plus the battery will last as long as 10 days. A downside is that the Inspire 3 comes in just three colors, but for the affordable price, we can't complain.

Battery life: Up to 10 days | Water resistant: Yes, up to 50 meters | Built-in GPS: No; connects to phone's GPS

4.0

This GH Fitness Awards winner impressed our fitness pros with its minimalist design and health tracking which collects insight and data on everything from your sleep to blood oxygen levels, skin temperature, heart rate and much more. Though we wish the Whoop 4.0 wasn’t subscription-only (it’ll cost you $30 per month or $239 for the year), our Lab experts think this comfortable and versatile wearable is well worth it.

We love that the app is intuitive to use and breaks down health metrics in a way that’s easy to digest. “The sleep tracker on the WHOOP was by far my favorite feature,” said one tester. “Keeping track of my (lack of) sleep was eye-opening and the information provided on the app was beneficial to creating better habits.”

Setting it apart from other fitness trackers on the market is the fact that the Whoop doesn’t feature a display, which some of our testers really appreciated. “I’m glad the device didn’t have an interface or make any noises or vibrations,” a tester said. In addition, we love that you can choose among a variety of bands to suit your style and that each purchase from the website comes with a lifetime warranty. “It is extremely comfortable and does not feel as if I am wearing a large, clunky smart watch,” said another tester.

Battery life: 4–5 days | Water resistant: Yes, IP68 or up to 10 meters | Built-in GPS: No

vívosmart 5

When you think of Garmin, fitness comes to mind. While the brand is popular among runners for its more feature-rich running watches, our pros like the vívosmart 4 for swimming because of its slim, lightweight design that doesn't drag you down as you swim laps. You don't even have to take it off at the end of the day, since it's swim- and showerproof and has a battery life of seven days, according to the brand. And that's not all: It can help monitor steps and stress during the day as well as let you know your "Body Battery"energy levels so you know when your body needs some rest.

Another feature our fitness pros appreciate is the built-in timer for activities like swimming, walks and runs. You'll also get advanced sleep tracking, which will help monitor your light, deep and REM sleep, as well as your movement throughout the night. Plus, it displays calls and text notifications, and if you have an Android, you'll be able to respond to messages with it. One downside, though, is there are only a handful of colors to choose from: four, to be exact.

Battery life: Up to 7 days | Water resistant: Yes, up to 50 meters | Built-in GPS: No; connects to smartphone's GPS

Charge 6

With its lightweight design and weeklong battery life that impressed our experts, this fitness tracker is convenient to wear every single day if your main concern is tracking your steps. It has many of the same features as other Fitbit models, such as water resistance up to 50 meters, heart rate and blood oxygen measuring and more — just with less bulk.

Testers found it comfortable and easy to wear, noting it's helpful to move more and be more active in general. "The step count is motivating and sleep tracking seems on point as well," said one tester.

Unlike some Fitbit trackers, this model comes with a built-in GPS to better record outdoor runs, and a six-month free trial to Fitbit Premium which unlocks access to advanced analytics and insights, such as a breakdown of your sleep score (based on how long and how deeply you slept) and a wellness report that gives you a personalized summary of your activity, sleep, heart rate and more. It comes in only three colors — black, white and coral — but you can always swap for a more stylish band by shopping Fitbit's accessories.

Battery life: Up to 7 days | Water resistant: Yes, up to 50 meters | Built-in GPS: Yes

Watch Series 9

The Apple Watch Series 9 is one of the most popular smart watches on the market for a reason. If you already use an iPhone, nothing beats the seamless experience you get when using it alongside other Apple products, whether AirPods or an Apple Watch. With this watch, you can track different types of workouts, from running and yoga to HIIT and swimming (yes, it's water- and dust-resistant).

Apple has two dedicated apps — Health and Activity — to show your stats, in addition to a premium home workout program, Apple Fitness+, to help you stay fit. This watch is on the pricey side but it is so much more than just a fitness tracker: You can call, text and use Apple Pay with it.

Our experts loved the Series 9’s large, beautiful and bright retina display, though they admitted that the fact that it needed to be charged nearly every day can be a hassle. Also, some testers found it too big and uncomfortable to sleep with. It's available in numerous shade, material and band combinations.

RELATED: Oura Ring vs. Apple Watch: I Tested Both Health Trackers

Battery life: Up to 18 hours | Water resistant: Yes, up to 50 meters | Built-in GPS: Yes

vívoactive 5

If you prefer to leave your phone behind while working out, this Garmin watch allows you to do just that. Our pros appreciate that it stores favorite songs and playlists, so you won't have to tote your phone along to listen to music, and it boasts 11 days of claimed battery life so you won't have to worry about it dying during your training session.

It has built-in GPS and more than 30 different sports apps to track your workouts, including yoga, swimming and more. Animated on-screen workouts come preloaded, so you can follow along with the routines almost anywhere.

Similar to other smart watches, this model has its own version of mobile payments called Garmin Pay. It comes in only a handful of colors, but testers of the watch appreciated its 1.2-inch touchscreen display, saying it was easy to navigate and toggle back and forth between pages. "The watch itself is very user friendly and any novice would be able to use it easily," said one tester.

Other testers highlighted Garmin's morning report: "I liked how when I woke up, the watch asked if I was waking up and then went through my body battery and sleep analysis and provided the weather for the day," said a tester.

Battery life: Up to 11 days (5 days with display always on| Water resistant: Yes, up to 50 meters | Built-in GPS: Yes

ScanWatch 2

Previous models of the Withings ScanWatch have been winners of the Good Housekeeping Fitness Awards, but this newer edition is great for people who don't want to look like they're wearing a fitness tracker since it closely resembles a regular watch. Even though it doesn't have built-in GPS to record running routes, it tracks activities like steps and distance, measures heart rate and gives a sleep score.

It has an impressive battery life (the brand says up to 30 days), and the Health Mate app can help you dig deeper into your fitness stats. Plus, we like that it's available in both 38mm and 42mm sizes and if you don't like the watch's band, you can swap it out for a different wristband.

GH Institute Test Engineer Alec Scherma found the ScanWatch 2 easy to set up and connect with the app. "I like it because it looks more like an analog watch than a digital smart watch, but still has a small digital screen up top," he said. However, he pointed out that heavy lifters may need to be careful when using the watch during certain workouts as flexing your wrist can accidentally hit the side button, which will pause your workout.

Battery life: Up to 30 days | Water resistant: Yes, up to 50 meters | Built-in GPS: No

Luxe With Special Edition Gorjana Bracelet

This fitness tracker performed well in our road tests, as we would expect of a Fitbit device, but what really stood out was its stylish design. This Fitbit Luxe is a limited edition that features a bracelet band from the popular jewelry brand Gorjana. Unlike most fitness trackers that have silicone bands, this fitness tracker looks more like a bracelet than a workout device.

In fact, our tester received multiple compliments on it while wearing it to dinner, shopping and appointments. And if you change your mind, we found it easy to swap out the bracelet for the pink silicone band that's included. The brand offers other Luxe band options, too, if pink — or silicone — isn't your preferred look.

When we tested this watch, we found it extremely comfortable. And surprisingly, the metal bracelet was pleasant to wear at the gym. The bracelet's size is customizable, with removable chain links to fit your wrist. Not only does it look chic, but it also counts steps, tracks miles, logs how many exercise sessions you've done per week and more. Plus, we found it handy that it reminded us to move when we were sitting too long. At first, we found the interface not as intuitive to use as we would have liked, but after using it for a while, we were able to navigate it with ease.

Battery life: Up to 5 days | Water resistant: Yes, up to 50 meters | Built-in GPS: No; connects to smartphone's GPS

How we test fitness trackers and watches for women

Our fitness tracker and watch reviews are based on extensive in-Lab tests, as well as tests of new-model releases of past top performers. In the past year alone, our analysts and engineers have tested at least 20 different fitness trackers and watches.

Lab evaluations include more than a dozen individual tests designed to measure performance, ease of use and durability. We also have consumer panelists and testers provide qualitative feedback that calls out specific features they appreciate, like a watch's sleep score or reminders to stand and stretch throughout the day. By the time our experts arrive at a final score for each watch, they've collected more than 300 separate data points. Here are the details:

• Performance: This is the most heavily weighted part of our evaluation. We consider the overall functionality of each fitness tracker and watch, including the total number of performance features. Our engineers also measure battery life and the accuracy of the device's pedometer and heart monitor, when relevant. Finally, we check to see that any smart features function seamlessly, without glitches or syncing issues.

• Ease of use: This evaluation begins right out of the box by noting how easy the fitness tracker or watch is to set up, including how intuitive it is to operate the device and how seamless it is to use the watch with its app, if applicable. Once the tracker is up and running, our experts measure how simple it is to navigate and check for notifications. They also pay attention to overall comfort, including the strap design.

• Durability: This consists of two main Lab tests. There's the drop test, in which we drop fitness trackers from 30 inches (the height of a typical countertop), then check to see that they're still fully functional. After that comes the water-resistance test: We put each tracker in approximately eight inches of water for one minute to simulate full submersion; we then wait 24 hours before checking for functionality. A tracker that fails either test is automatically disqualified from our list of recommendations.

How to choose the right fitness tracker or watch for you

As you shop around for the perfect fitness tracker, keep these factors in mind:

✔️ Budget: Fitness trackers and watches generally range in price from $100 to $500 or more. Typically, you'll get more features with pricier models, so make sure you'll actually use the features if you're going to spend more.

✔️ GPS: Built-in GPS comes in handy for fitness applications, such as tracking your hiking or running route and measuring distance and pace. However, watches with GPS often come with a higher price tag, so be sure you want these features if you're going to splurge on GPS. For trackers without built-in GPS, you may be able to connect to your smartphone's GPS to track these metrics, but you'll need your phone by your side for this to work properly.

✔️ Battery life: It's important to consider battery life if you don't like the hassle of charging your fitness tracker frequently or if you often forget to charge your tracker or watch. Claimed battery life has a wide range and can be anywhere around 18 hours (requiring daily charging) or up to a month.

✔️ Comfort and fit: Fitness trackers and watches come in different shapes and sizes. If you have small wrists, you may want to look for a slimmer or smaller watch face, so it doesn't feel clunky. You'll also want to consider your tracker's band to make sure it's workout-friendly and easy to clean.

✔️ Water resistance: If you're planning on swimming while wearing your watch, make sure the watch is water-resistant. Be certain to check that it can be used while swimming, note the maximum depth the watch can handle and look to see if there are any time restrictions. Some watches are water-resistant, but they can be submerged underwater to only a specific depth, and some may have a time limit for submersion.

Why trust Good Housekeeping?

This story was originally written by GH Institute Contributing Writer and Analyst, Jamie Ueda, who has been testing consumer products for more than a decade, including a host of textiles, consumer electronics and wellness devices. She holds an apparel and textile design degree in addition to a mechanical engineering degree, making her the perfect person to lead a Good Housekeeping Institute review of fitness trackers and watches, where form and function are both incredibly important.

GH Writer and Product Analyst Olivia Lipski, who covers everything from tech to travel, fitness, home and more, most recently updated this story with the latest picks and testing data. Not only does she bring years of product review experience to GH, but she’s tested some of the most popular wearables on the market, including the Apple Watch Ultra, the Oura Ring and more. She loves how fitness trackers can help you get a better picture of your overall health, sleep and wellbeing.

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