Selecting between Garmin or Fitbit is a giant determination for a lot of attempting to decide on a health wearable – and whereas they might appear related there are large variations between the 2.
It is all about the kind of information you need – and as soon as you’re employed that out the selection between the 2 manufacturers turns into way more easy.
For individuals who dwell and breathe sports activities Garmin is a pure selection.
And whereas Fitbit has moved method past step monitoring, it is nonetheless the fitting selection for these taken with their total well being and well-being, with maybe much less curiosity in hardcore health options.
However that is not the top of the story.
Garmin has a a lot wider vary of options and gadgets – which come in numerous kind components and value factors.
What’s extra, if you happen to’re beginning a health journey you then may need to select a tool that grows with you.
We all know there’s an entire lot to cowl, so we have damaged down among the key areas from {hardware}, options, apps, and naturally health monitoring to see how the 2 evaluate.
And we have tried to supply a glimpse into what proudly owning a tool from every firm is absolutely like.
Fitbit gadgets
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Fitbit has six fundamental wearables – all with clear remits:
Versa and Sense smartwatches
There’s the Versa 4 smartwatch and the brand new Fitbit Sense 2 well being watch. Each of those had been launched again in 2022, and there does not appear an excessive amount of signal of them being up to date. Consider them as Fitbit trackers in a watch kind issue slightly than prime smartwatches in their very own proper.
They do not compete with the options of an Apple Watch or Pixel Watch 2.
Whereas they appear an identical, the Fitbit Sense 2 provides severe well being sensors akin to ECG, pores and skin temperature, and a particular EDA sensor that tracks stress.
The Versa 4 nonetheless has SpO2, GPS, and coronary heart fee monitoring – however retains issues less complicated and cheaper.
It also needs to be famous that every one Fitbit gadgets will now scan for coronary heart fee rhythm irregularities utilizing the optical coronary heart fee monitor, which implies there’s much less emphasis on ECG.
Google Pixel Watch 2 – the unofficial Fitbit
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Google has included Fitbit’s monitoring into the brand new Pixel Watch 2. It is a full-fat smartwatch, with an AMOLED show and a full app retailer, that takes benefit of Google’s companies. It packs in all of the sensors and evaluation of the Sense 2 and is now the true Fitbit smartwatch choice.
The draw back? It solely has a day of battery life.
Cost, Luxe & Encourage trackers
Then it is onto Fitbit’s traditional wristband fashion health tracker gadgets it is best recognized for.
The Fitbit Inspire 3 is its entry-level tracker, which is brimming with options, together with coronary heart fee, SpO2, temperature sensor, and a colour display screen. It affords loads of bang, for a sub-$100/£100 buck.
Essentially the most superior is the Charge 6, the flagship health tracker. It brings all of the options from the Sense 2 (GPS, ECG, stress monitoring, pores and skin temperature), and places it in a wristband kind issue, and provides built-in Google companies (Pay/Maps) over its predecessor.
Under that’s the getting older Fitbit Luxe, a health tracker that is a little bit of a throwback to the Fitbit Alta with its slim, fashion-focused design and is the one Fitbit health tracker to incorporate a colour touchscreen show. It additionally options core health monitoring options, a coronary heart fee monitor, and a SpO2 sensor.
Garmin gadgets
Garmin has almost 30 completely different sports activities watches, and the variations will be fairly obscure. As you progress up in value, you primarily get extra sensors, and extra complicated information and evaluation. Its watches cowl choices designed for runners, swimmers, triathletes, and even outside adventurers.
Garmin Forerunner: Garmin’s operating and triathlon watches vary begins from $100/£100 as much as round $800/£800. As the costs rise you get extra options, insights into your sports activities, and longer battery life.
The entry-level Forerunner 55 remains to be a robust operating watch, and the brand new Forerunner 265 (under) and Forerunner 965 are AMOLED screen-packing watches aimed toward intermediate and superior runners, taken with actually granular sports activities science and restoration information.
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Garmin Fenix 7/Epix Gen 2 – The Fenix household is its all-action sports activities and outside watches, which have all of the options and metrics conceivable – however price prime greenback. The Fenix 7 (47mm) is available in customary and Professional variations. The Fenix 7S is 42mm and extra unisex. The Fenix 7X (51mm) affords extra battery life and solar energy choices.
There’s now a Fenix 7 Pro version, with an improved HR sensor and photo voltaic/flashlight options throughout each mannequin.
The all-new Epix (Gen 2) additionally affords the entire options of a Fenix, however with a colour AMOLED display screen, for an expertise extra akin to an Apple Watch Ultra. The Epix Professional additionally provides three sizes with 42/47/51mm accessible.
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Garmin Venu 3: is the corporate’s premium smartwatch. The Garmin Venu 3 (above) is a improbable addition, with a smooth design, superior display screen, and nice monitoring accuracy and wellness insights.
Garmin Vivoactive 5: A pared-back Venu, with tonnes of trackable sports activities and smartwatch options, and good battery life however monitoring lacks the element of Fenix. The design, display screen, and coronary heart fee tech aren’t nearly as good as Venu 3, however the options are largely the identical.
Garmin Vivofit/Vivomove: Vivofit is the corporate’s health band – whereas Vivomove is a hybrid smartwatch with analog fingers however health monitoring within the background. Additionally Garmin Lily 2 is the corporate’s 34mm health watch aimed toward ladies.
Garmin Vivosmart 5 – is the corporate’s newest health monitoring, simply as we thought it had left the exercise band design behind. The brand new Vivosmart 5 provides a barely bigger display screen and boasts the entire fundamental Garmin well being and wellness metrics, with sleep, stress, blood oxygen, and power ranges monitoring. There is not any GPS built-in, nonetheless.
Then there is a myriad of others: Method golf watches, Intuition outside watches, and plenty of others.
Learn our information to picking the very best Garmin watch on your wants.
Apps and ecosystems
Whereas the {hardware} choices will undoubtedly play a consider your determination to lean in direction of one or the opposite right here, the companion apps and wider ecosystems are much more necessary.
These are the bits that hold you coming again to the gadget slightly than simply throwing it within the drawer.
With this space encompassing so many alternative gadgets, it is onerous to crown one firm the winner on the subject of fundamental monitoring. We have a look by way of completely different features of Garmin and Fitbit to see who does it greatest.
Health and wellness monitoring
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Garmin’s health monitoring is superb, with steps, sleep, and exercise minutes all logged by its gadgets. However within the final yr, its wellness monitoring has soared too.
It has introduced Body Battery energy tracking throughout its vary, with newer gadgets (Venu 3/Vivoactive 5/Forerunner 965/265) all getting a vastly improved model of Physique Battery. It’ll additionally hold tabs in your coronary heart fee 24/7 – identical to Fitbit.
And HRV can also be a brand new focus, with the marginally opaque HRV Standing rolling out throughout its vary. Coaching Readiness is a prime function, which tells you ways well-prepped your physique is to coach, however it’s solely accessible on Fenix/Epix/965.
After all, health monitoring is Fitbit’s bread and butter – and it is pulled out in entrance.
Updates akin to the brand new Well being Metrics dashboard, which is now open to non-premium customers, make the Fitbit ecosystem far more fascinating no matter your health. The dashboard reveals your resting coronary heart fee, physique temperature, SpO2, and HRV, and the way it compares to your baseline through the earlier night time’s sleep. It is a terrific touchpoint on your wellness, and a real indicator if you happen to’re sick, overtired, or able to carry out. Garmin does not have something almost as helpful.
Total, Fitbit remains to be the very best gadget to maintain tabs in your total exercise ranges, however the hole is narrower than ever.
Winner: Fitbit
Coronary heart well being
When it comes to basic wellness, we expect Fitbit has the sting right here because of the simplicity of the information and the way in which resting coronary heart fee is introduced – though you will not be lacking out on any information if you happen to select Garmin.
The Fitbit Sense 2 and Cost 6 now have an ECG sensor that gives medical-grade studying. It additionally packs a temperature sensor and affords extra insights to make it a probably actually precious well being monitoring gadget.
And Fitbit has added a brand new steady Afib detection function, that can scan your coronary heart fee for indicators of atrial fibrillation, and warn you if you might want to get checked out with out the brand new to-spot verify. That is going to most gadgets throughout its vary, even the entry-level Encourage 3.
The brand new Venu 3 has ECG, however it’s not as properly built-in as Fitbit.
Nevertheless, Garmin has the higher hand by way of coronary heart fee throughout train. There’s extra emphasis positioned on coronary heart fee zones and VO2 Max – and extra superior information spins of this by way of coaching impact, load, stress, and restoration.
Winner: Fitbit (for basic wellness)
Sleep monitoring
Fitbit definitely has the sting on the subject of nightly monitoring. Fitbit’s sleep monitoring accuracy is among the most dependable round and is way more than only a document of how properly/badly you slept.
What’s extra, Premium customers can see oxygen variation (which may reveal sleep apnea signs), and the wonderful Well being Metrics dashboard is populated by nighttime biometrics.
Garmin used to lag badly by way of sleep, however it has caught up. It’ll present gentle, deep and REM sleep, and components in respiration fee – and most gadgets will allow you to opt-in to trace blood oxygen at night time. It is also added nap monitoring in latest iterations.
Our testing has discovered Garmin’s monitoring to be barely beneficiant by way of calculating sleep period, and fewer delicate to wakeups. We would say Fitbit has the sting on the subject of sleep.
Winner: Fitbit
Stress and restoration
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What’s additionally fascinating to notice is the 2 firms’ method to emphasize monitoring.
Fitbit makes use of Loosen up, which takes benefit of the onboard coronary heart fee monitor, plus HRV monitoring to detect adjustments in coronary heart fee and supply personalised respiration choices.
There’s additionally the Stress Administration rating throughout its gadgets, which affords a single rating generated from resting coronary heart fee, sleep, and exercise logged.
Fitbit’s Sense 2 and Cost 6, and the Google Pixel Watch 2 (above), up the ante with an EDA sensor and scan app that may detect electrodermal exercise, which can point out your physique’s response to emphasize. It’ll additionally flag any situations of excessive stress, you could tag – and long-term use could reveal developments about hectic triggers. Nevertheless, we do query how helpful and user-friendly that is.
Garmin’s stress monitoring is discovered on just about each present smartwatch and tracker. It is much less intrusive and easily affords a stress rating in any given second and reveals physiological stress throughout the day. Nevertheless, the information is not meaningfully introduced, and simply turns into one other rating out of 100 – and we discovered the information slightly meaningless.
Fitbit has jumped forward once more with the Each day Readiness Rating (Premium solely), which melds exercises, each day exercise, sleep, and coronary heart fee information collectively, to let you know how rested you’re and prepared for an additional exercise. And it’ll even take it additional and counsel exercises suited to your physiological state.
Garmin has additionally aped this with Coaching Readiness – which does a lot the identical factor. This rating is just introduced on its top-tier watches, akin to Fenix/Epix/Forerunner 965. Decrease watches have HRV Standing, which appears to see in case your coronary heart fee variability is affected by overtraining. This does require some severe person information to interpret, nonetheless.
Winner: Fitbit
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Feminine well being monitoring
Each Garmin and Fitbit supply female health tracking options, which permit customers to log cramps and complications. Fitbit makes use of that information to research the place you’re in your menstrual cycle and can be capable of predict when the following one will come round.
Garmin lets customers observe their cycle, log signs, obtain cycle predictions and fertile home windows, and get academic insights from their Garmin Join app. It’ll additionally observe each day bodily and emotional signs to pay nearer consideration to fluctuations in issues like sleep, temper, urge for food, and athletic efficiency.
And Garmin has now launched a being pregnant mode, which provides context to the physiological adjustments your wearable can be recording.
Winner: Garmin
Sports activities monitoring in contrast
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As you will have already gathered, these with ambitions to trace a wider vary of actions and obtain deeper insights ought to knock on Garmin’s door.
However simply how massive is the hole between the 2 teams on the subject of monitoring varied sports activities?
GPS tracked exercises
Garmin has at all times been the king of GPS, however the function is not unique to its gadgets.
The Fitbit’s Versa 3, Sense, and Cost 5 health band all have GPS – and Fitbit has been busy including the function over the previous few years. Nevertheless, we now have discovered accuracy points with the Fitbit Cost 5 and Cost 6. The post-workout suggestions help is extra fundamental and the Fitbit app is not the very best place to soak up your efficiency. It’ll hook up with Strava, nonetheless, so you possibly can view actions there.
In relation to Garmin just about each gadget has GPS – besides life-style gadgets such because the Vivomove 3, Vivosmart 5, and Garmin Lily 2.
As well as, you will discover GPS-based sports activities profiles akin to climbing, path operating, open water swimming, ultrarunning, and triathlon on a few of its gadgets.
And if you happen to push into the higher echelons of Garmin’s vary, you possibly can modify the accuracy and frequency of GPS actions to rise up to 70 hours of monitoring. And Garmin Join is geared towards evaluating your exercises – and that is its strongest function.
Winner: Garmin
Swimming
Fitbit Cost 6, Encourage 3, Luxe, and Versa are all set for the pool – and gadgets will be calibrated for the pool. Nevertheless, information is extra fundamental and there aren’t any open water choices.
Garmin’s complete vary is water-resistant and even fundamental operating watches have a pool swimming mode.
When you’re into pool periods, Garmin tends to be extra dependable accuracy-wise for longer periods, extra metrics, and swimming-focused options.
Winner: Garmin
Coronary heart fee in exercises
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Coronary heart fee is a staple of each units of gadgets, however on the subject of sports activities there is no arguing with Garmin.
Each Fitbit and Garmin observe your coronary heart fee by way of periods and supply data on the center fee zone you are in and enhancements over resting coronary heart fee – which is an indicator of enhancing health. Rating draw right here.
Fitbit and Garmin gadgets may even observe VO2 max, which is named Cardio Health Rating in Fitbit gadgets – though our testing discovered it to be just a little excessive. Benefit Garmin.
Nevertheless, if you happen to purchase into the Garmin mid-range Forerunners you’ll get much more information.
That VO2 Max rating will feed into issues like Coaching Impact and race predictors, which is a step above for these coaching for half and full marathons.
Just about all Garmin watches allow you to hook up a chest strap, which isn’t an choice on Fitbit trackers. That lends to extra correct information, particularly throughout HIIT periods.
What’s extra, top-end Garmin’s can adapt your coronary heart fee zones through the use of your Lactate Threshold scores decided from health exams with a chest strap – that is a degree of element method past most customers’ wants, but additionally past Fitbit’s ability set.
Winner: Garmin
Fitbit app
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Fitbit nonetheless manages to supply one of many extra rounded and easy-to-use health platforms.
That is notably the case for inexperienced persons, who can dive into developments, devoted exercises, sleep monitoring, and social features, akin to linking with associates and challenges.
The app is way more pleasing and straightforward to digest your stats and has recently been given a redesign.
Most of the massive options are behind the Fitbit Premium paywall, such because the wealth of health exercises and guided respiration content material. That is one thing that Garmin cannot match.
As talked about, Well being Metrics is a brand new function that reveals deeper well being stats akin to coronary heart fee variability, blood oxygen, temperature, resting coronary heart fee, and respiration fee in a single place. This information can present you if you happen to’re getting sick or beneath the climate.
Many third-party apps will shake fingers with Fitbit, permitting you to cross information for exercises, energy, and different data between them. Strava is an efficient instance of this, letting you feed your runs into your each day Fitbit stats, whereas any Fitbit actions may even present up within the Strava app.
Nevertheless, beneath Google’s possession, the corporate has been busy stripping Fitbit smartwatches of their smartest options, together with music playback and app integrations. It appears Google sees that as a menace to its Pixel Watch, which options Fitbit monitoring inbuilt.
Garmin app
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Garmin Join is the house on your information. It is wealthy with graphs and stats, however not fairly as straightforward to digest. It is definitely one for athletes and purists. That stated, Garmin has given Connect a lick of paint, which on the time of writing remains to be in beta (see above).
Garmin has a Coach function, which is able to supply exercise solutions for varied objectives – and you may observe these dwell on just about all of its sports activities watches. The exercises will adapt to your coaching load and health, or be turned off if you don’t need them.
Then there’s the Join IQ, the shop so that you can decide up (very fundamental) apps, new watch faces, and new information fields for sports activities monitoring. As with Fitbit, we now have a complete have a look at how to run better with Garmin Connect and a Garmin Connect IQ app store guide.
The companion app, which is appropriate with all Garmin gadgets and in addition accessible on desktop, affords you a spot to plan, observe, and overview your exercises.
It isn’t such a great place to visualise wellness information, however Garmin Join is much better for exercise evaluation, as you may count on.
Verdict: Which is greatest?
Why select Fitbit?
When it comes to {hardware}, Fitbit’s Versa 4 and Sense 2 are weak in comparison with Garmin. Which means it is the Encourage 3, Cost 6, or Pixel Watch 2 that needs to be in your consideration.
For traditional-style exercise bands, Fitbit guidelines the roost. The Pixel Watch 2 is a correct full-fat smartwatch with apps and funds – however a day of battery life is all you get. If you would like extra, you will have to have a look at Garmin.
With Fitbit, you are receiving a extra 24/7, life-style choice that may weave between the completely different features of your each day life. Likelihood is, if you happen to’re seeking to dip into this space, you are extra targeted on well being and wellness than private bests.
The Well being Metrics Dashboard is a superb each day wellness companion, and the corporate’s wonderful sleep monitoring, in addition to sleep apnea and atrial fibrillation detection, makes for a extremely strong expertise.
Whereas Fitbit is diminishing as a {hardware} model beneath Google’s possession, however nonetheless affords wonderful well being and wellness options. However Garmin has massively closed the hole.
Why select Garmin?
When you’re on the lookout for a smartwatch for health and exercise monitoring, Garmin now appears your best option.
In relation to figuring out, Garmin remains to be lightyears forward. However improved sleep monitoring and options akin to Physique Battery implies that health monitoring is nearer to Fitbit’s providing than ever earlier than.
However there’s a lot selection, and if you happen to prefer to get sweaty then we assure you will dig the post-workout evaluation right here way more than on a Fitbit.
Garmin has extra charts and extra numbers – however the app is much much less user-friendly. What you do get is extra evaluation and credit score for clocking up exercises.