Stay healthy and active with the best Fitbit for seniors
- jan
- 27
Maintaining an active and healthy lifestyle is imperative at every age. Fitbit offers some wonderful products that encourage people to stay active through their senior years. We understand that the elderly have different desires and needs when it comes to health and fitness tracking, which is why we created this list of the best Fitbits for seniors. Our favorite is the Fitbit Charge 3 because it's packed with a ton of easy-to-use, beneficial features like 24/7 heart rate monitoring, so users can track their heart rate zones in real time. It also tracks steps, daily activity, calories burned, and sleep so you can make sure you're getting those quality Zs. It's water resistant up to 50M so it's safe to wear it in the shower and to your water aerobics class.
Best Overall: Fitbit Charge 3
The Fitbit Charge 3 definitely takes the cake as the best Fitbit for seniors. It's jam packed with a ton of easy to use features, a few of which we feel would be especially attractive to the senior community. Features like the 24/7 heart rate monitoring uses Fitbit's most advanced heart rate sensors and algorithms to tell you your real-time heart rate zones so you always have constant insights on your body. It has next level tracking and automatically counts your steps for the day, recognizes 15+ goal-based exercises, and tracks real-time pace and distance. It has an easy to read clock face that conveniently shows the time, your heart rate, and your steps. We know that many seniors enjoy water aerobics and aquatics. The Fitbit Charge 3 is water resistant up to 50M so users can track their exercise time in the pool and even wear it in the shower for convenience and versatility. It also has excellent sleep tracking and hey, sleep is very important for people of all ages. You can use it to see how long you're in light, deep, and REM sleep stages and get personalized insights to learn how to get better rest. You also get 7+ days of battery life which is a nice feature as you don't always have to be charging your device.
Some users complain about this band being bulky on their wrists and that they wished the face display would show the date. Some wearers also report difficulties with taking the band on and off.
Pros:
- 24/7 heart rate tracking
- 7+ day battery life
- Tracks steps, pace, distance, and 15+ goal-based exercises
- Sleep tracking
- Water resistant
Cons:
- Doesn't display date
- Bulky
- Band difficult to take off
Best Overall
Fitbit Charge 3
Best of the best
This tracker features 24/7 hart rate monitoring, has a 7+ day battery life, and tracks steps, pace, sleep, and distance.
Best Value: Fitbit Inspire HR
The big thing that sets the Fitbit Inspire HR apart from the Fitbit Inspire is the 24/7 heart rate monitoring. With 24/7 heart rate you can track calorie burn more accurately, see real-time heart rate zones, relax with guided breathing sessions, and track 15+ goal-based exercises. It also records your steps, active minutes, distance, and calories burned, is water resistant up to 50M, and can recognize select workouts so you don't have to manually log your exercises. You can stay on track towards your goals with reminders to move, goal celebrations, and badges, and you can also stay active by competing in step challenges with friends and family. This tracker provides sleep tracking so you can ensure you're getting quality sleep, and shows your hydration levels so you know when it's time to take a drink of water.
Take note that some users reported issues with the battery life on this Fitbit. They complained that it would only last a day or two, not the 7+ days stated by the manufacturer. Some also complained of inaccuracies in their sleep tracking and syncing issues with the app.
Pros:
- 24/7 heart rate monitoring
- Tracks steps, distance, active minutes, and calories burned
- 7+ day battery life
- Sleep & hydration tracking
Cons:
- Battery life issues
- Sleep tracking accuracy
- Sync issues
Best Value
Fitbit Inspire HR
Bang for your buck
This tracker features 24/7 heart rate monitoring, and tracks steps, active minutes, sleep, hydration, and calories burned.
Best Budget: Fitbit Inspire
The Fitbit Inspire won't break the bank and is a great option for the senior community. It has a large, easy to read face that always displays the time and your steps for the day. It's easy and intuitive to use, provides ongoing motivation throughout the day, is water resistant up to 50M, and has excellent sleep tracking so you can be sure you're getting the quality rest you need. You can record your steps, active minutes, distance, and calories burned. Plus, it can automatically recognize select workouts so you don't have to manually enter them. With an OLED touchscreen, backlit display, and on-screen dashboard, this easy-to-use tracker shows your sleep and hydration right on your wrist. It also helps you stay active by enabling you to compete in step challenges with family and friends.
On the downside, it does not offer 24/7 heart rate monitoring which might make it less attractive to the elderly community. Many users also report syncing difficulties between the Inspire and the app or the Inspire and their smartphone, as well as difficulty with latching the band together for wear. Take note of these cons before purchasing so you can make sure this is the right Fitbit for you.
Pros:
- Intuitive and easy-to-use
- Tracks steps, active minutes, distance, and calories burned
- Sleep tracking
Cons:
- No 24/7 heart rate monitoring
- Sync issues
- Difficult to clasp the band together
Best Budget
Fitbit Inspire
Budget friendly
Easy-to-use and affordable, the Inspire tracks steps, active minutes, distance, calories burned, and sleep.
Best Smartwatch for Seniors: Fitbit Versa Lite
The Fitbit Versa Lite features a sleek and lightweight design and comes in a variety of vibrant colors so you can really personalize it to suit your style. It has a large easy to read screen that shows the date, the time, your heart rate, your steps, and calories burned. It's water resistant up to 50M. A bright, high-resolution touchscreen and an easy one-button design makes it easy to view your stats and progress. It also offers a ton of smart features like app notifications, call and text notifications, and calendar alerts. It has 24/7 heart rate detection so you can accurately track calorie burn, show your real-time heart rate zones, and relax with guided breathing sessions. Like the other Fitbits on this list, it offers sleep tracking so you can track time in light, deep, and REM sleep stages and get personalized insights on how you can get better rest.
On the downside, this Fitbit is a bit pricey, but you're paying for all the smart tech features that come with it. Considering smart tech, if it took you awhile to figure out how to work your smartphone, it's going to take you awhile to learn to work this smartwatch. This is definitely the pick for senior citizens that are smart tech savvy or want to be.
Pros:
- Smart tech: hosts apps & receives calls/texts/calendar alerts
- Sleek and lightweight
- Health & fitness tracking
Cons:
- Pricey
- Feature packed (learning curve to use)
Best Smartwatch for Seniors
Fitbit Versa Lite
Sleek & light
This smartwatch features a sleek, lightweight design and comes in a variety of vibrant colors so you can suit your style.
Best Features: Fitbit Versa 2
Fitbit's second-generation smartwatch, the Fitbit Versa 2 features Fitbit's fastest processor yet and is definitely the pick for senior citizens that are down with smart tech. It has all of the Fitbit health and fitness tracking features like 24/7 heart rate monitoring, sleep tracking, and calorie, steps, and daily activity tracking. It has a 5+ day battery life and an easy-to-read AMOLED screen that gives you sharper blacks and more vibrant colors; and the most notable difference between the Versa 2 and all of the other Fitbit products on this list is the built-in microphone and Amazon Alexa for convenient voice commands and speedy text replies. It's also water resistant up to 50M so you can take it in the pool and/or the shower.
The Fitbit Versa 2 features all of Fitbit's cutting-edge technology when it comes to smart tech, so you'll want to be smart tech savvy if you're considering purchasing this product. It's also quite pricey, but you're paying for all of those additional features like the built-in mic and Amazon Alexa.
Pros:
- Built-in mic + Amazon Alexa
- Health & fitness tracking
- Easy-to-read AMOLED screen
Cons:
- Very pricey
- Most feature packed (learning curve to use)
Best Features
Fitbit Versa 2
Smart tech for seniors
Fitbit's second generation smartwatch. It has all of Fitbit's health and fitness tracking features, plus Amazon Alexa built in.
Bottom line
Maintaining an active and healthy lifestyle is so important for people of all ages. We kept the senior community in mind while curating this list of the best Fitbit for seniors. We chose the Fitbit Charge 3 as our pick for "Best Overall" because it has all the health and fitness tracking you need with the 24/7 heart rate monitoring, sleep tracking, and the steps, calories, and daily activity tracking. It features an easy-to-read and use design and a 7+ day battery life so you only have to charge it once a week. It's water resistant up to 50M so you can breath easy if you forget to take it off before you hop in the shower and it can actually track your swim stats when you're working out in the pool. Whatever features you feel are most important in a fitness tracker, you're sure to find the best Fitbit for you on this list of the best Fitbit for seniors.