Health & Fitness The best cheap fitness tracker deals for October 2020: Garmin, Fitbit and more

The Fitbit Charge 4 takes everything that's great about the Fitbit Charge 3 and adds GPS to it. That means it's a better standalone fitness device, able to give you a little more information without the need for a connected phone. It's still slim, comfortable and able to track all your daily stats like steps, sleep and activities, with the added extra of being able to give you an accurate route and speed for runs and rides. It also supports Fitbit Pay for mobile payments.

The downside that functionality brings is that heavy GPS use will drain the battery quickly, but if it's a fitness tracker you're after, this certainly ticks all the boxes. On top of that, the Fitbit ecosystem is great, supported by a brilliant app that presents your data in a way that's easy to understand and doesn't baffle too much with numbers - instead it presents sensible metrics, so you're always in the picture.

New Fitbit Sense has advanced stress and ECG heart sensors at a low price to leave Apple Watch stressed

The new Fitbit Sense batters Apple with lower price, ECG, stress sensing and management and 6+ days battery lifeDubbed a 'health smartwatch' as opposed to a mere  fitness tracker, the Fitbit Sense offers a range of advanced health sensors, making it likely to be the best Fitbit to date. Assuming Fitbit hasn’t messed up its delivery. We’ll have a hands on Fitbit Sense review ASAP, of course.

Yes, the Fitbit Charge 4 might be a better option, but the Fitbit Charge 3 still has a lot of appeal. Not only does it offer all those metrics such as sleep, steps and activities, but because it's slightly older, it offers better value for money.

Sure, you miss out on some of the headline features like GPS, but if you're not going to be doing a lot of running or riding - or have no interest in speed and distance details - then you might get all you want from the Charge 3. If it's mostly lifestyle tracking you want rather than sports tracking, the Charge 3 has plenty to offer.

The Garmin Vivoactive 4 distills much of the goodness that Garmin offers in its advance fitness trackers and puts them into a device that's more accessible and offering better value for the money. It offers great heart rate tracking and GPS, as well as monitoring things like steps, sleep and your daily activity.

Fitbit Sense: Apple Watch WILL be stressed as Fitbit FINALLY serves up something truly exciting

The new Fitbit Sense batters Apple with lower price, ECG, stress sensing and management and 6+ days battery lifeDubbed a 'health smartwatch' as opposed to a mere  fitness tracker, the Fitbit Sense offers a range of advanced health sensors, making it likely to be the best Fitbit to date. Assuming Fitbit hasn’t messed up its delivery. We’ll have a hands on Fitbit Sense review ASAP, of course.

This is a Garmin device aimed at those who want all those things but don't really consider themselves to be an athlete who needs the more advanced functions and options offered by the Forerunner or Fenix devices. What the Vivoactive 4 offers is just about enough fitness tracking to keep most happy, in a stylish package with plenty of options.

The Garmin Forerunner 645 Music is more sports watch than standard activity tracker but it offers song storage, waterproofing, changeable straps, heart rate, GPS, altitude, cadence and motion so it is a great option for those all about data.

It offers the functionality of most smartwatches with notifications and functions, while offering excellent sports and activity tracking, a compact design for this style of activity tracker and it is comfortable to wear whilst also being compatible with Bluetooth headphones. It's very expensive when compared to the likes of the Fitbit Charge however and while the battery life is better than many smartwatches, it isn't better than the likes of the Charge or Inspire.

Garmin's Fenix 6 is a stone-cold stunner of a smartwatch, and its fitness features are pretty much best-in-class. The reason we haven't placed it further up this list, though, is that it's pretty unlikely to be in many people's budgets. The Forerunner 645 has a great set of features at a big price, but the Fenix 6 Pro takes that even further on both counts.

If you're willing to spend big, you're getting a great two-week battery life, with some of the best tracking in any device, and mapping that can take you as far off the beaten track as you're willing to go. PacePro, meanwhile, is a revelation if you're into racing, and will genuinely help you regulate your pace for those elusive personal bests.

Everything You Need to Know About Garmin Fitness Watches

Thinking about investing in a Garmin smartwatch or tracker? Here's your buyer's guideCatering to both seasoned athletes looking to beat their PB, and casual trainers getting back into fitness, Garmin has covered almost all bases, building durable, accurate devices that do more than just tell the time.

Fitbit's Versa 2 has been succeeded by the Versa 3 but it's still a worthy consideration if you're looking for more of a fitness smartwatch than fitness tracker. It offers a coloured display, NFC for Fitbit Pay and several smartwatch features, including some third party apps. There is a heart rate monitor, an altimeter and the Versa 2 is waterproof too.

It misses out on built-in GPS, which the Versa 3 has, offering connected GPS instead, but the Versa 2 allows you to connect to Bluetooth headphones for listening to music and it offers all the excellent features of the Fitbit platform. You'll pay more for this device than the Charge 4 but if you want something more substantial without going full smartwatch, the Versa is a good option and the Versa 2 is cheaper than the Versa 3.

For those after a fitness tracker that's good for running, the Garmin Forerunner 45 is a great budget running watch. It doesn't offer full Connect IQ support, it has limited additional sports tracking and it lacks training insights, but the Garmin Forerunner 45 is easy to use, works with Garmin Coach and has a week-long battery life.

This watch sticks to the basics, but if you're looking for a simple and easy-to-use running watch, plus some added smartwatch features, the Forerunner 45 definitely fits the bill.

The Withings Steel HR Sport is the newer model of the Withings Steel HR. It offers a similar design but it introduces a different strap, along with VO2 Max measuring and GPS.

Fitbit tips and tricks: Get more from your Inspire, Charge, Versa and Sense trackers

Fitbit tips and tricks: Get more from your Inspire, Charge, Versa and Sense trackersThe Fitbit app is comprehensive and while the basic features it offers might be obvious, some of Fitbit's best functions are a little harder to find. This feature highlights all the tips and tricks of the Fitbit app to help you get the most out of your fitness tracker, with device-specific tips at the bottom.

This activity tracker fills gaps left by other hybrid watches and fully smart watches. It delivers a fantastic battery life, nice analogue face and it isn't excessively expensive. The Steel HR Sport tracks over 30 sports, it is lightweight and durable and it's equipped with enough features to ensure fitness enthusiasts aren't left feeling short-changed.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 is another option that's slightly more watch than activity tracker, but it is still packed full of features including waterproofing, heart rate and built-in GPS. It also offers fully-fledged smartwatch capabilities

It's one of the most attractive designs on the list, too - we're big fans of its subdued looks. Like the Garmin Forerunner 645 Music though, you won't get the battery life of devices like the Fitbit Charge 4 and Fitbit Inspire 2, and sleep tracking isn't as accomplished on Fitbit's range of options.

Polar redesigned its sports watches in 2018 and launched the Vantage series. There's the V which is the top model and the M, which loses some functions and doesn't quite have the same premium design as the V, but offers much of the same goodness. It offers great heart tracking and GPS, with lots of metrics for fitness fans and runners.

Garmin Forerunner 745 review: Garmin's new multisport watch is a triathlon winner

Garmin Forerunner 745 review: the Forerunner 945's little sibling delivers a great user experienceIt is as much of a blessing as it is a curse to review Garmin watches. It is great because Garmin watches tend to be precise with sport features aimed at athletes, which is the case with the Garmin Forerunner 745. But it's also difficult to criticise them since everything that might bother me at the moment will be fixed in one of the many software updates the Forerunner 745 will get on a regular basis.

It's supported by Polar Flow, a great app to view your data and organise things and for those wanting to track their training, the Vantage M puts in a good showing with a lot of useful metrics. Where it can't quite compete is in the smart functions - it's not as well connected as Garmin or Fitbit, there's no support for mobile payments or music. But the M is better value for money than the Vantage V, so we think it's the better option.