Smart watches and fitness trackers can be incredibly useful, providing fascinating insights into your everyday life, from the number of steps you take to your stress levels and sleep quality. The best ones can also show you your mobile and social media notifications, weather forecasts and daily reminders. Plus, you can control your Spotify without going near your phone.
Unfortunately, fitness trackers often come with a bit of a steep price tag, so we always keep an eye out for models on the more affordable end of the spectrum. These cheap smart watches are some of our current favourites - and they’re all available for under £100.
Find out how to choose the best fitness tracker for you in our dedicated guide.
The best budget fitness trackers in 2023
ASWEE fitness tracker
You’ve probably heard of smart watch brands like Fitbit and Samsung, but Amazon’s range of affordable and stylish fitness trackers is also worth a look. This one is under £50 and has all the features you’d expect from your average smart watch.
It has 25 different sports modes and gives you real-time updates on your steps, calories and heart rate as well as your blood pressure and blood oxygen.
It’s dustproof and waterproof, so you can use it in all weathers. Plus, you can check on your sleep quality and log sleep scores.
As an added bonus, you can check your incoming phone calls and messages, as well as the local weather forecast, and control your music from your wrist. There are also alarm and stopwatch apps.
Huawei GT 2 46mm smart watch
This Huawei smart watch has a number of different visual displays, including this sporty option with an analogue face. It’s also scratch-resistant, ultra-thin and waterproof up to a depth of 50m, so it’s a practical option for intense sports sessions.
A few clever features set this cheap smart watch apart from others on the market. It vibrates when it detects an unusual heart rate, and uses the data to create stress readings. The watch can also recognise different sleep stages like rapid eye movement, and develops in-depth sleep quality assessments and recommendations.
Also, you can make and receive calls, read texts and play music through your phone.
Fitbit Inspire 2 smart watch
The Fitbit Inspire 2 takes lots of the effort out of managing your fitness goals. It’ll automatically find workouts for you, from walks and runs to bike rides, and it’ll notify you when you hit your calorie, distance and time targets.
If you subscribe to the Fitbit Premium app, you’ll be able to access all the watch’s personalised insights and recommendations.
It can tell you about your heart rate, fat burn statistics and sleep quality, including the time you spend in light, deep and REM phases. And you’ll get all the other useful features of the best smart watches, like phone notifications and a swim-proof exterior.
Reflex Active Series 2 smart watch
For something a little different, try this Reflex Active Series 2. It’s available with a variety of different strap designs including this traditional brown band, which makes it a smart option for everyday wear.
While many cheap smart watches can survive a deep-sea diving session, this one is only splashproof, but it has all the familiar features we know and love. It distinguishes between specific activities like cycling and climbing to track your steps, distance and calories, and monitors your sleep to help you improve your overall health.
There are also several different dial designs to choose from, and you can access weather forecasts. Receiving calls, phone notifications and reminders is also simple.
Fitbit Charge 4 fitness tracker
When the Fitbit Charge 4 was released in 2020, one of its best features was the brand’s new ‘active zone minutes’ tracker, which measures sessions of continuous moderate-to-intense activity. You’ll get this tracker alongside all Fitbit’s other popular add-ons in this budget smart watch.
Stand-out features include Fitbit Pay, Spotify Connect and the watch’s two night-time features: Sleep Score and Smart Wake. There’s also GPS with an intensity map.
Reflex Active Series 5 & Series 4 smart watches
For a circular watch face and a slightly old-school design, you could opt for one of these Reflex Active models. We’ve selected the plain black Series 5 version and Series 4’s smart brown-strap edition, which would look great in formal environments as well as the gym.
Whichever design you choose, you’ll get a colour touchscreen, which you can swipe to switch between dial designs.
You can use this budget smart watch to track specific sports sessions like running, cycling and climbing, and access insights into your steps, distance covered and calories burned. Sleep quality is also monitored here, and you can get phone notifications and live weather updates for your area.
Amazfit GTS 2 Mini smart watch
Offering great value for money, this budget smart watch takes things up a notch with some fairly impressive features. It has over 70 different sports modes, over 50 watch face designs, and extra health monitoring add-ons, such as menstrual cycle tracking.
Plus, the Amazfit GTS 2 beats many other cheap smart watches when it comes to battery life, as it lasts up to two weeks on one charge.
The scratch-resistant screen is also an added bonus, thanks to its ‘diamond-like’ carbon coating. And it’s completely swim-proof too, so you can wear it in the shower or to your local pool.
Samsung Galaxy Fit 2 smart watch
Samsung’s Galaxy Fit 2 is another great smart watch priced at under £50. It’s waterproof at depths of up to 50m, and it has more than 70 downloadable designs to customise your watch face.
Like lots of the best budget smart watches you can buy, this one monitors your stress levels and sleep, and even gives you an overall score to log your progress. You can also set hand washing reminders to keep your personal hygiene in check.
Of course, you’ll get all the usual features you’d expect from a smart watch, including mobile notifications, weather forecasts and calorie and heart rate monitoring.
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