Are fitness trackers worth it? With so many options on the market, from watches to rings, it’s not a question too many people are asking these days – but maybe they should.
at present there are different type of fitness trackers are available in the market and these all trackers have designed to provide best experiences,
While the best fitness trackers and smartwatches sit among the most popular health and wellbeing accessories around, with all the big names in tech serving up their version in the last decade, they aren’t for everyone. If not for the obsessive nature they can bring out in even the most blasé of wearers, the hefty price tag can turn an exciting purchase into a waste of money if you don’t use it more than a few times.
I’ll admit it right now – I’m a fitness tracker enthusiast. Perhaps it wouldn’t even be so wrong to call myself an obsessive. Asman digital health editor, this is hardly surprising. I use my tracker to record my steps, runs, gym sessions, sleep cycles, and almost anything else, so I wear my tracker almost 24 hours a day across the week. I’ve also had hands-on experience with close to 65 different fitness trackers in the last five years, ranging from the newest Apple Watch to all the best Fitbits. In that time, I’ve discovered a few favourites that are well worth spending money on – and the key reasons to avoid trackers entirely.
Are fitness trackers worth it in 2025?
For exercise motivation
There’s no way around it – fitness trackers are possibly one of the best motivational tools for those new to exercise or looking to get back into a routine after a long break.
Daily, you’re more likely to hit numerical fitness goals – like doing 10,000 steps a day – if you can see how far you’ve come and how far you’ve got left to go. Fitness trackers don’t only help with this by showing you the data but many offer the choice to turn on notifications that will tell you when you haven’t moved in a while. Annoying for some people and motivating for others. You’ll also find on-screen rewards like badges and reactive displays for meeting your goal for the day, which can feel like a satisfying box ticked.
A review by Lund University looked at 12 studies on the topic of fitness tracker-related workout motivation where most participants were men over 40. The review found that when participants wore a fitness tracker, they did an hour more exercise a week than those who didn’t wear one. Given that the NHS recommends 2.5 hours of moderate exercise per week, this can go a long way.
The most useful device for this, I’ve found over the years, is the Apple Watch. While the latest Fitbit, Garmin, Polar and other devices will offer notifications and on-watch feedback, the Apple Watch has the ‘Close Your Rings’ challenge – an initiative that encourages users to meet their stand, move, and exercise targets for the day with on-screen rings that etch closer to meeting at either end the more you do during the day.
for improving your fitness
Unless you’ve got a personal trainer on hand, you’re a whizz with blood oxygen level tracking (to work out how efficiently oxygen moves around your body, a key feature of fitness), or you’re very in touch with how your body changes week-to-week, you’re unlikely to be able to tell what effect your individual workouts are having on your fitness levels.
I’m currently wearing the Garmin Forerunner 945 for this exact reason. One touch of a side button reveals my current Training Status, which switches between Progressive, Maintaining, and Recovery depending on where I am in my training. I click into the status and the Garmin Coach automatically reveals why I’m in this stage and what I need to do to improve. For example, if I’ve had a good mixture of slow, easy runs, strength training sessions, and faster, more intense workouts, then I’ll likely be improving my fitness so the Status switches to green (Progressive). That means I’m headed in the right direction with my training to improve my fitness. If I’ve had an off week or taken a holiday, I’ll be in Recovery. It’s not demotivating as it’s not a reflection of my actual fitness, but rather my recent training. I find it very useful to fully understand how I’ve been exercising recently and what I need to do more of.
Some fitness trackers, such as the Garmin Venu Sq 2 and 3 offer workouts on-wrist for users to follow along with. Others, such as those in the Fitbit range, offer workouts via the connected app (on Premium) thanks to partnerships with workout apps like Les Mills.
Are fitness trackers worth it? Yes, if you exercise regularly, have a goal in mind and want to learn more about your workouts and how to improve your fitness, an advanced fitness tracker (like the Garmin Forerunner 945 or Polar Vantage V3) can make a real difference.
For getting better sleep
Fitness trackers focus on three of the four key pillars of health and wellbeing: exercise, sleep, and stress. In recent years, there have been more new features to help users learnt how to sleep better with a fitness tracker than ever before.
In this area though, I’ve found most fitness trackers are similar. Whether you opt for Fitbit with a Fitbit Premium subscription, or a Garmin or Polar device, you’ll receive pretty much identical – but still very useful – insights into your sleep cycle. You’ll be able to see how long you’ve slept, a breakdown of your sleep (REM, light, and deep sleep), and receive a Sleep Score that rates your night out of 100. Some devices go further and provide tips for a better bedtime routine, such as the Apple Watch in conjunction with your iPhone. You can set a bedtime and wake-up time, and the two work together to dissuade you from reaching for your device too late into the night.
The only fitness tracker worth considering if you’re serious about tracking your sleep and rest levels above all else is the WHOOP 4.0. While it does offer features like heart rate monitoring, step count, calories burned etc like any other tracker, its main focus is on rest and recovery. On the home screen of the app, instead of these metrics, you’ll be told your recovery levels versus your strain, with tips to help you get back in balance. It’s a faceless device as well, so there’s no AMOLED or LED display to accidentally shine in your eyes in the middle of the night and wake you up.
Are fitness trackers worth it? Yes – but only if you wear them to bed every night. Naturally, the tracker can only record your breathing and heart rate to determine your sleep cycle if you have it around your wrist while you sleep. If you think you’d find this uncomfortable or something is stopping you from wearing your device in bed then it may not work for you.
It’s also worth bearing in mind that no fitness tracker is 100% accurate. If your device slips away from your wrist for an hour or so during the night, you’ll lose any available data for that time.
If you do decide to wear your watch at night, it’s also important to know how to clean a Fitbit or similar device. Otherwise, you may carry bacteria from the outside world into bed with you.
These are some watches that we’ve already talked about
Apple Watch Series 9
Garmin Forerunner 945
WHOOP 4.0
so guys i hope this information helps you to get answers