7 best fitness trackers in Singapore under $300: Fitbit, Apple Watch & more

PHOTO: Fitbit
Instead of stepping onto the weighing machine with trepidation every few weeks, it’s so much easier to track your fitness progress with a fitness or step tracker strapped to your wrist.

These days, there’s a whole host of fitness trackers that you can use to track your heart rate, sleeping patterns, how many steps you take per day and so on, all with a view to helping you improve your fitness.

7 best fitness trackers in Singapore under $300

Fitness tracker Starting price
[no brand] $10
Xiaomi Mi Band 5 $38
Garmin VivoSmart 4 $155
Fitbit Inspire 2 $168
Fitbit Charge 4 $248
Garmin Venu Sq $299
Apple Watch Series 3 $299

No-brand steps tracker ($10)

Pre-COVID, the Health Promotion Board gave out free fitness trackers as part of the annual National Steps Challenge. Sadly, those days are behind us now.

But if all you want is a basic wristband that shows you how many steps you’ve taken that day, you can still purchase a no-brand steps tracker along the lines of the free HPB steps tracker.

A quick check on online marketplaces like Lazada shows us a few popular fitness trackers under the $20 mark. For example, the M4 Fitness Tracker starts from about $10 while the Actxa Tempo 3C costs a mere $17.

Xiaomi Mi Band 5 ($38)

Once again, Xiaomi astounds by selling good-looking electronics at crazy low prices.

The Xiaomi Mi Band is no different. It’s a waterproof, lightweight fitness tracker with basic features like step-tracking and heart rate measurement. The battery life is also great and it can stay charged for several days.

If you’re looking for a basic fitness tracker at a low price, the Xiaomi Mi Band 5 is definitely one to consider for its low price. You can get it for less than $40 online.

Garmin VivoSmart 4 ($155)

The VivoSmart range is one of Garmin’s more basic models, but it’s very popular nonetheless.

For a start, it’s sleek and unobtrusive, which is great if you don’t like the huge watch face popularised by the Apple Watches.

While it lacks super advanced features, it has a solid selection of the basic functions, including heart rate monitoring, distance travelled, calories burned, steps taken and so on.

One flaw is the lack of a GPS, but if you’re just using the watch to monitor your fitness it’s not essential. If you really need the GPS feature though, you can go for the more expensive Forerunner series, which costs over $400.

Fitbit Inspire 2 ($168)

The Fitbit Inspire 2 is Fitbit’s most basic model at the moment. It’s a basic, uncomplicated fitness tracker that is easy to use and also waterproof so you can wear it while swimming.

This Fitbit is ultra lightweight so you won’t feel like you’re dragging a ball and chain around on your wrist. It’s also highly customisable so it doubles up as a fashion statement.

The battery life isn’t the best, but if you’re just looking for an uncomplicated, inexpensive fitness/step tracker to log your runs, walks and swims, it does the job well.

Fitbit Charge 4 ($248)

Fitbit is to fitness trackers what Google is to search engines. There are several Fitbit models to choose from, but the Fitbit Charge 4 is one of the latest and popular ones thanks to the wealth of fitness features it’s got.

This is a solid fitness tracker that’s packed with features, and compared to some of the other models out there, it’s not even that expensive.

Other than the usual daily step count and heart rate, the Fitbit Charge 4 can track your performance in a number of sports, including walking, cycling and weight-lifting. And unlike the cheaper Inspire 2, the Charge 4 has inbuilt GPS.

But probably the most attractive features are Fitbit Pay (for contactless payment) and Spotify (for music on the go), so you can leave your phone at home.

Garmin Venu Sq ($299)

The Garmin Venus Sq is undeniably one of the most handsome smartwatches out there. We’re pretty sure that any resemblance to the Apple Watch is not completely coincidental.

You can switch between analog and digital displays, which means it can look good both in a professional setting and during a workout.

Apart from looking snappy on your wrist, the Garmin Venus Sq comes with all the features you’d want out of a fitness tracker, including heart rate monitoring, activity tracking and GPS. It also comes with Garmin Pay.

However, to play music from your watch, you need to get the Music version of this watch, which starts from about $380.

Apple Watch Series 3 ($299)

As with most Apple products, expect to pay a premium for the features. If you’re okay with that, the Apple Watch range starts from $299 for the most basic Apple Watch Series 3 model.

The Apple Watch also has fitness tracking capabilities, which include the ability to detect and record steps taken, calories burned and distance travelled. It can also track workouts including running, walking and cycling.

But let’s be honest, the Apple Watch’s main selling point is that it functions like a tiny version of your iPhone, allowing you to make calls and reply iMessages.

While the “cheap” Apple Watch 3 is still available, Apple appears to be gradually phasing it out and replacing it with the Apple Watch SE. So check that one out before you take the plunge.

This article was first published in MoneySmart.