Activity trackers have become all the rage with companies ranging from Microsoft to Apple to Samsung and everyone jumping into the market. Whether you’re looking to monitor your heart rate, track your exercise for the day, watch your sleep patterns, or something in between, there’s an activity tracker out there for everyone at every price level.
What is an Activity Tracker?
An activity tracker comes in two forms: A wristband or a clip-on. Depending on the model, it may or may not have sensors that track heart rate throughout the day. Activity trackers come in a variety of make, models, colors, shapes, and sizes. Prices will vary with the big name brand trackers costing the most and trickling down as you lose quality and features.
What Do Activity Trackers Do?
Each activity tracker will provide different functionality. The one you eventually buy should have the features you want to track. Activity trackers can do everything from tracking deep sleep patterns to monitoring for spikes in your heart rate, along with the type of exercise you do, such as biking, cycling, and walking.
Some activity trackers do more. They can send and receive text messages, link to your phone and other devices to give you access to news, weather, and other phone functions. These are the higher-end activity tracker models that will cost you an arm and a leg.
How Much Does an Activity Tracker Cost?
Activity trackers can cost anywhere between $50 and upwards of $500 to $1500 depending on what brand you go with, what features it offers, and the materials it’s made of. The Apple Watch ranges in the $350 range and can do more than just track your activity, it can also show you email, texts, and give you access to the wide range of Apple apps available in the iTunes Store.
Popular activity trackers like the Jawbone Up family run in the $100 to $200 range, although for Black Friday you can snag one of these for less than $100. Fitbit, one of the highest rated activity trackers on the market, goes for under $300 but the functionality and materials are higher quality and the band itself offers some of the most realistic and accurate results on the market.
Should You Buy an Activity Tracker?
Depending on what you want to get out of an activity tracker, investing in one and making the buy can be a good thing. Whether you want to track your sleep, see how many calories you’re burning a day, or stay connected even when you’re away from your phone, there’s an activity tracker out there for everyone.
If you’re looking for the best deal on activity trackers, you’ll find that manufacturers tend to have the lowest prices when on sale versus big box stores. Special shopping events like back to school, Black Friday, and holidays will also show a decrease in pricing for select activity trackers, especially off brand ones. It’s important to focus on the activity tracker that works for you – not the most popular one on the market or the one with a big name and price tag.
