The Best Fitness Trackers for All Types of Activities

Notable features: Heart rate monitor, built in GPS, | Battery life: Up to 7 days | Connectivity: Android and iOS compatibility, call & text notifications, Google Maps, Google Wallet

If all you want to do is log and track your workouts, count steps, and keep an eye on your heart rate, then all you need is a Fitbit — not a fancy GPS watch. There are many more advanced smartwatches out there, but the Charge 6 is my top fitness-tracker recommendation because of its straightforward, easy-to-use features, and affordable price. I think it’s the best value pick in the Fitbit lineup: Although it doesn’t have the larger screen of the Versa 4, it still has built-in GPS to help track runs and bike rides, including access to Google Maps and Google Wallet — features that the less expensive Inspire 3 lacks. It has all the basic features you might expect in a fitness tracker: a heart-rate monitor, an accelerometer, light water resistance, and Bluetooth compatibility. Keep in mind that you’ll need a Google account to use it, and if you want to access your data, you’ll need to download the Fitbit app on your smartphone.

Notable features: Touchscreen, GPS, 50-meter water resistance, blood-oxygen sensor, ECG app | Battery life: 36 hours (on low-power mode) | Connectivity: Syncs with larger Apple ecosystem (Siri, Apple Health, Apple Fitness+, Apple Pay, etc.)

The Apple Watch is ubiquitous for a reason: its connectivity. And that’s why the Ultra 2 is my top recommendation for iOS users — it can track a ton of activities while keeping all that data synced and connected across the entire iOS ecosystem. Although the Ultra 2 and the Apple Watch Series 9 have similar fitness-tracking capabilities, I prefer the Ultra 2 primarily because of its battery life — while Apple lists the Ultra 2’s battery at around 36 hours, I normally have to charge my watch just once or twice a week with regular usage. (Compare that to the standard 18 or so hours on the Series 9.)

The Apple Watch comes recommended by athletes across multiple disciplines, and it’s likely your best bet if you plan on doing a mix of different activities. Lucy Kapell and Joe Kaufman, competitive swimmers with the Westchester Masters Swimming Association, rely on the watch for tracking their laps both in the pool and outside. “It calculates lap swims accurately, and the settings can be easily adjusted for the length of the pool,” says Kapell. Since it measures heart rate and calories burned, it’s also useful for workouts where you don’t need to carefully track metrics like speed or distance. Glo yoga instructor Gustavo Padron, fitness instructor and sports physical therapist Leada Malek, and Equinox group-fitness instructor Amanda Katz use the watch’s heart-rate function to measure the intensity of their workouts. Padron says, “Paying attention to my heart rate can help me decide if I need a chill or more intense class.”

While its list of apps is long and impressive, the Ultra 2 is also my recommendation for a running watch for its (sometimes overlooked) safety features. “If I fall off a trail or anything like that, it can tell if it’s a really dangerous fall versus if I just jumped over something,” says Hellah Sidibe, a runner and former professional soccer player. “If I’m unconscious, the watch can call the nearest emergency crew.” Strategist tech writer Jordan McMahon, who uses his Apple Watch mainly for weight training and cycling, also likes it for its under-the radar tracking abilities. He says it was a crucial part of his recovery from a car-accident-related back surgery. “I had to retrain my body to handle long-distance walks, and I never had to remember to start tracking my distance because the watch automatically recognizes when you’re on a walk (at about 20 minutes in) and will ask you if you want to track it,” he says. “Having the ability to not just access all that information but to track and manage it with minimal effort made that recovery process less of a chore and more of a journey.”

Other users, including Fit Careerist founder Corrie Alexander and Bliss From Balance fitness blogger Michelle like how the watch syncs with other iPhone workout apps for following along with specific workouts. For example, Michelle says Peloton addicts will appreciate how the watch links to the Peloton app for feedback during classes. No matter what type of exercise they’re doing, fitness pros agree that the Apple Watch keeps their workout progress on track. As Katelyn DiGiorgio, vice-president of training and technique at Pure Barre, says, “The activity rings on the Apple Watch have kept me more engaged than other fitness trackers I’ve used. I love the visual of closing a circle on each of the three simple activity-ring tracks — standing, moving, and exercise — each day. It becomes addicting.” Anthony Guidarelli, CTO of CityRow, and Meredith Simmons, a Mindbody Pilates instructor, agree that meeting goals on their Apple Watches keeps them accountable.

Notable features: Touchscreen, built-in GPS, 50-meter water resistance, blood oxygen tracking | Battery life: Up to 21 hours | Connectivity: iOS and Android compatible, Garmin app

With modes for tracking elliptical workouts, rowing, daily steps, and more, the Garmin Vívoactive is another worthy contender for an all-around fitness tracker. Its ability to track more than 25 types of activities is why I picked it as a reliable running watch for multisport athletes. Apart from its activity-tracking abilities, I like the Vívoactive 5 for its discreet design: It has only two low-profile buttons on the right side of the watch as well as a smooth touchscreen face. If you’re looking for a fitness tracker that looks like a regular watch, I’d recommend the Vívoactive 5.

Shannon Curran, a Westchester Masters swimmer, uses it for running, walking, and pool swimming. “It has GPS — good for walking and running — and it will map your walk via the Garmin App,” she says. “I particularly like that it follows the number of laps that I’ve swum in real time so if I lose count during a longer set, I can check my watch.”

It can also track more unusual sports like in-line skating. Mike Grebinsky, an instructor with Empire Skate Club, says the watch’s cycling mode works well for tracking speed and distance while skating. He likes the extra-long battery life and how he can lock the screen so it displays just the metrics he needs. “When I skate, I have to pay a lot of attention to the roadway, so I don’t have much time to look at my watch,” he says. Peter Reynolds, who runs the cycling style blog the Discerning Cyclist, calls the Vívoactive “a stylish everyday watch with good tracking” and “really strong battery life.”

Notable features: Touchscreen, GPS tracking, 100-meter water resistance | Battery life: 24 days (46-mm. version)| Connectivity: iOS and Android compatible, Coros app

This is the fitness tracker you want if you don’t want to worry about battery life. Sidibe, who swears by his Apex Pro 2, recently ran Western States, a 100-mile trail race in California, and wore four different GPS watches for the entirety of the race. All of their batteries died during the race except for the Apex Pro 2’s. “It had 39 percent battery left, and I was using it for almost two weeks afterward,” he says.

Magdalena Boulet, president of GU Energy Labs, Hoka One One running-team member, and winner of several 100-mile trail races, needs a tracker with a battery life that can stand up to her intense training schedule. While she’s tried other brands, nothing has come close to the long-lasting Coros Apex watch. “I love being able to wear it all day and charge it about once a week despite putting miles on the trails or bike-commuting to work daily,” she says. “It even charges really quickly.” Besides the battery life, she’s impressed by the Apex’s accuracy and how quickly its GPS picks up a satellite signal. It also tracks swimming and cycling.

I’ve used the Coros Apex for the past three years, and the main feature I love is its simplicity. Unlike other trackers and smartwatches with over four button options (which often make them bulkier), the Apex has two: a dial you can turn and push and a button below it. This design makes setting interval workouts and tracking sets in HIIT sessions a breeze.

Notable features: Touchscreen, GPS tracking, 50-meter water resistance | Battery life: Up to 11 days | Connectivity: iOS and Android compatible, Garmin app

The Forerunner 945 GPS is built specifically for endurance-minded multisport athletes who want to track activities across long distances, such as a triathlon, with GPS data. Paul Johnson, founder of Complete Tri, says, “It tracks everything you can imagine and looks stylish enough to wear when dressed up, too.” Billy Ferguson, founder and CEO of Trivelo, calls it the “daddy of triathlon watches and a masterclass in multisport smartwatch technology,” adding that the current iteration is lighter and thinner than any previous edition. It’s also the GPS watch that pro runner Mary Cain uses to log her workouts as well as her non-running activities like swims or bike rides.