It can get daunting finding out which is the best value for money fitness tracker on the market. After using so many fitness trackers I dare say you pay for what you get, most of the time. There are many other low priced trackers on the market that more often than not will mar your fitness tracking experience due to a lousy mobile app or even make. That being said, there are a few gems that go for less than $50 and are readily available on the market. Great for starting your kids on quantifying their activity level or getting the whole family involved in fitness tracking. Read on for the 5 best fitness trackers below $50
This page is updated regularly so check back if you’re looking for value for money activity trackers!
Read: Best heart rate activity trackers
JAWBONE UP MOVE
The Jawbone UP Move comes in 5 attractive colours.
List of features:
- Tri-axis accelerometers, tracks steps, calories burned, sleep
- Splash resistant with up to 6 months battery life
- Wireless syncing via Bluetooth 4.0
- Smart coaching
- 12 White LEDs, 1 Orange LED, and 1 Blue LED indicate progress and status
Wear it on your shirt, your wrist, clip it on your belt, your bag. The Jawbone UP Move is designed to allow the user to tap into the UP ecosystem without breaking the bank. Priced competitively at $49.99, the Jawbone UP Move runs on a single coin battery that lasts up to 6 months. It tracks steps, calories and even sleep. It comes in vibrant colours and customisable clips and wrist straps. We think it makes a great gift for the young ones. Read our review here.
MISFIT FLASH LINK
List of features:
- Tri-axis acceleromter, tracks steps, distance, sleep quality and duration
- 6 months battery life on a single coin battery
- Comes with clip only
- iOS and Android compatible, Windows Phone compatibility in the pipeline
- Wireless syncing via Bluetooth 4.0
- Smart phone controls
Think Misfit Shine, only cheaper. That’s what the Misfit Flash Link does. At less than a quarter the price of the Shine, the Misfit Flash Link tracks steps, distance, calories and sleep quality. It can be clipped on the shoes, belt or even the jacket. The app looks similar to the Misfit Shine app and features leadership board challenges, trends over time, daily goals and personal records. Throw in water resistance to 30m and you’ve got yourself a well priced fitness tracker. Now imagine using the Misfit Flash link to control your presentations, phone camera and play music. Now that’s what I call value for money. Read more about the Misfit Flash Link here. For an additional $10, you can get the Misfit Flash that is essentially a Flash Link with a wrist strap.
Xiaomi Miband (RRP $15)
List of features:
- Tracks steps, distance, calories burned, activities and auto sleep detection
- Vibration enabled for incoming calls, alarms, notifications, find my phone
- Customisable indicator light colour
- IP67 with up to 30 days battery life
- Wireless syncing via Bluetooth 4.0 and Smart unlock
- Compatible with Google Fit
Value for money champion. At $15, it’s hard to beat the number of functions Xiaomi’s Miband can do compared to other fitness trackers on the market. The attractive pricing allows one to buy without remorse. Even if it’s to wear and chuck away, it’s a mere $15. The tracker is now compatible with Google Fit and the mobile app is available on both Google Play and Apple Store. While sharing of achievements is easy, the Xiaomi Miband still does not have the option to add friends to its mobile app. Read our review here.
Garmin Vivofit
List of features:
- Tracks steps, distance, calories, sleep
- Move bar
- Water resistant to 1ATM
- 1 year + user replaceable battery
- Pairs with ANT+ heart rate monitor
- Manual wireless syncing via Bluetooth
The Vivofit first came out 2 years ago and since then an improved version was released by Garmin. But don’t be mistaken, the original Vivofit had 2 fatal flaws that hampered it’s take off; lack of vibration or audio feedback and zero visibility in the dark. If you’re not particular about these, this is probably the best sub $50 activity trackers money can buy. It has Garmin’s excellent mobile app platform and if you get your hadns on an AT+ heart rate monitor, you’d even get a breakdown of your workout session, including the steps taken. Gets yours from Amazon today.
Fitbit Zip
List of features:
- Good battery life, no charging required.
- Friend functions (Messages, cheers, taunts, rankings).
- Splash and sweat proof.
- Syncs wirelessly via bluetooth 4.0 on select smartphones.
- Weekly report and recognition badges.
- Cheapest of all activity trackers in the Fitbit line.
- Support for iOS, Android and Windows (select devices)
2 years old but good as gold. I started with the Fitbit One but moved to a Zip when I killed the Fitbit One in the washing machine. Never looked back since. Loved it so much I purchased 25 units to help my students learn about activity tracking. While the Zip loses out on sleep tracking, absence of vibration and smart notifications, it is a tried and test work horse.