Engadget has been testing and reviewing consumer tech since 2004. Our stories may include affiliate links; if you buy something through a link, we may earn a commission. Read more about how we evaluate products .
If you’re looking to get healthier without spending a fortune, the best cheap fitness trackers prove you don’t need to splash out on the best smartwatches to stay on top of your goals. Whether you're counting steps, keeping track of heart rate monitoring or trying to improve your sleep patterns, these affordable wearables pack serious health tracking capabilities into wallet-friendly packages.
The best budget fitness trackers are perfect for everyday activity tracking, whether you're going for a jog, hitting the gym or just aiming to move a bit more. Many also include extras like support for third-party apps, music control, basic smartphone notifications and wellness insights that help you form better habits over time.
No matter your price point, there’s a tracker out there that can help you build a routine, stay motivated and maybe even make fitness fun. We’ve rounded up the top picks that strike the right balance between features, accuracy, and affordability — so you can find the best fitness tracker for your lifestyle, whether you're a total beginner or a casual running watch user looking for something simple.
Table of contents
Best budget fitness trackers for 2025
Xiaomi Best cheap fitness tracker overall Xiaomi Mi Band 8 Tracking type: Heart rate, sleep, stress, blood oxygen, women’s health | Supported Operating System: Android 6.0 and above, iOS 12.0 and above | Memory: 100GB | Screen size: 1.62” | Waterproof: 5ATM water resistant | GPS: No | Battery life: 16 days The Xiaomi Smart Band 8 stood out on many fronts — it not only has the easiest interface to navigate when recording workouts, it also has the most comfortable band to sleep in. This device has pretty much everything you would expect on a fitness tracker, and it comes at a price that’s hard to beat. The 1.62-inch, 192 x 490 pill-shaped AMOLED display is full color and shines pretty bright both indoors and out. Although it doesn't have a physical navigation button, you can move through the UI by swiping up and down, or left and right. The Smart Band 8 is quite comfortable, but what really made it secure the top slot is how detailed its workout reports were. Unlike some of the other trackers we tested, the Smart Band 8 does not require you to download any exercises from its companion app. Meaning, you can get right into tracking exercises as niche as skiing. When a workout is complete, you get all the information you’d want on your wrist – from heart rate readings to pace and speed, to calories burned and more. It may sound basic, but some of the other trackers we tested only report step count and distance traveled after a walk. The amount of time spent in each heart rate zone will appear in your summary, from light, intensive, aerobic to anaerobic. Xiaomi’s tracker also has a unique “Pebble” mode, which allows you to clip on the tracker to shoelaces using a special case to gather running and cycling data. Using Pebble mode, you can get a better breakdown of how you performed during a sprint -– namely stats like flight ratio and ground contact time, along with general information about your running form. The tracker was easy to fall asleep with because of how lightweight and comfortable it is. The do-not-disturb feature is easy to turn on from the watch face and I didn't have any issues with the screen waking me up at night. The sleep insights after wearing it overnight impressed me with their detail. Right on my wrist, I was able to learn how long I slept and also got a detailed sleep graph that showed me when I was in light and deep sleep. This was all free, on my wrist and it was further broken down for me in the Mi app. I also was able to gather information on my average HR during sleep and my breathing patterns. Also, importantly, Xiamo’s impressive battery claims checked out – the Smart Band 8 only needs 30 minutes on a charger before being fueled up for about two weeks of use. I never worried about not being able to track my activity or sleep. Pros Easy to navigate interface
Full color display
... continue reading