Improving your health often begins with listening to your body and developing healthy lifestyle habits, whether that’s getting more sleep, learning better stress management or boosting activity levels. These days, thanks to fitness trackers, it’s never been easier to stay in tune with your body.
The Fitbit Charge 5, Fitbit’s newest fitness tracker, promises to stay on top of essential health information and keeps you in tune with your body. The tracker is designed to measure advanced health metrics, ranging from heart rate variability to blood oxygen levels, producing accurate analytics and personalized insights. The Fitbit Charge 5 also features an updated design with a color display and sleeker silhouette than its predecessor.
We wanted to see whether the Fitbit Charge 5 could help us reach our fitness goals and improve our health, so we decided to test it for a couple of months. Here’s what we found.
We tested the Fitbit Charge 5 with someone who previously used other fitness trackers and smartwatches, including the Fitbit Luxe. They lead an active lifestyle and exercise at least 3 days a week between Peloton sessions and yoga classes. Not only did we want to see whether the Fitbit Charge 5 offered accurate tracking, but we also hoped for a better user interface and experience compared to other fitness trackers.
The Fitbit Charge 5, which debuted in late 2021, is lauded as one of the most intuitive Fitbits to date. According to Fitbit, it promises to help users “transform insights into impact,” especially when the device is used to its full potential with a Fitbit Premium membership.
This latest Fitbit tracker takes a mind-and-body approach to health and wellness, a significant change from early Fitbits that primarily focused on exercise and activity levels. While it still logs basic activity information, the Fitbit Charge 5 has advanced tools for tracking heart health, stress management and sleep quality.
Setting up the Fitbit Charge 5 is an easy process that involves little more than charging the device, downloading the Fitbit app and then pairing the device to your smartphone. Because we had an existing Fitbit account, all we needed was to pair the device and sync it to our Fitbit dashboard.
The Fitbit Charge 5 is a feature-rich fitness tracker that builds upon foundational Fitbit features, including calorie burn and Active Zone minutes. It also incorporates several advanced features seen in Fitbit’s more expensive models.
The retail price for the Fitbit Charge 5 is $180. It’s available in three colors: black, lunar white and steel blue. It comes with a free six-month trial of Fitbit Premium, which costs $10 monthly or $80 annually.
The Fitbit Charge 5 is sold by Amazon, Kohl’s, Macy’s and Dick’s Sporting Goods.
The Fitbit Charge 5 strikes a balance between value and capability, considering it’s affordably priced and has advanced features seen on expensive fitness trackers and smartwatches.
It’s ideal for users who seek an intuitive fitness tracker that offers in-depth insights and tracking, especially when they have specific health and wellness goals. However, because high-level features are only accessible with a Fitbit Premium membership, users will need to commit to a monthly or annual fee if they intend to use the Charge 5 to its full potential. Otherwise, they may feel underserved with limited functionality.
The Fitbit Charge 5 made us more aware of our activity levels through notifications. When we were sedentary for long periods, it reminded us to start moving. Conversely, while we were exercising on the Peloton, it buzzed when we reached peak intensity.
Compared to the Fitbit Luxe, the Fitbit Charge 5 offers a much better user interface. The larger touch screen makes it infinitely easier to swipe through functions. This meant less frustration during navigation and fewer incorrect selections.
The advanced tracking features painted a larger picture of our overall health and wellness. Not only were we able to monitor our heart health, but we were also more in touch with our body’s stress responses.
There are mixed reviews regarding the Fitbit Charge 5’s step tracking accuracy. Some users felt that steps registered when they shouldn't, including when they were sleeping or when they simply moved their arms. Unlike other Fitbits, the Charge 5 no longer counts flights of stairs.
Despite the Fitbit Charge 5’s advanced capabilities, it lacks other high-tech features. It’s not optimized for use with Alexa or Google Assistant, and it neither stores nor plays music. We also experienced difficulty receiving text and email notifications.
As affordable as the Fitbit Charge 5 is, it may not be the most cost-effective option in the long run. Users need Fitbit Premium to take advantage of all features, which means they’re essentially investing in a device with ongoing costs.
An entry-level option, Fitbit Inspire 2 tracks basic health metrics, such as heart rate, Active Zone minutes and all-day activity tracking. The comfortable, low-profile design makes the tracker suitable for all-day wear, including sleeping, so users can also track sleep health. It comes with a free one-year Fitbit Premium membership.
Sold by Amazon, Kohl’s, Macy’s and Dick’s Sporting Goods.
The brand-new Apple Watch 7 has an improved retina display that is 20% brighter than previous models, not to mention a larger screen area for easy navigation. It tracks advanced health information, including blood oxygen levels, and does any-time ECG readings. The Apple Watch 7 also comes with a three-month free trial of Apple Fitness+.
Sold by Amazon.
Garmin 245 Music GPS Smartwatch
Ideal for runners and other outdoor enthusiasts, this Garmin smartwatch delivers personalized insights to track progress. It includes a Body Battery function that helps users track energy levels to find optimal rest and activity times. The smartwatch also holds up to 500 songs and playlists from popular streaming apps, including Spotify and Amazon Music.
Sold by Amazon and Dick’s Sporting Goods.
Sign up here to receive the BestReviews weekly newsletter for useful advice on new products and noteworthy deals.
Sian Babish writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
