Fitbit deals

Among the popular items people look for in January are fitness trackers, so we’ve checked out the best prices for 10 fitness trackers from two top-selling brands – Fitbit and Garmin.

Fitness trackers are essentially high-tech pedometers that measure the steps you make in a day, and sync with phone apps to give more data. Mid-range ones also monitor your sleep and heart rate too (for a more accurate calorie reading) and premium ones have GPS which can map your route while running or cycling and can have other functions and smartwatch capabilities.

MSE founder Martin Lewis averaged 23,513 steps a day in 2018 – see Martin's steps blog for how he did it – and if you're thinking of getting one to help with your New Year's resolutions, here’s a price rundown of 10 Fitbit and Garmin trackers. There are cheaper brands out there, but these are the best prices from the big brand models, last checked on Tue 15 Jan.

This is a comparison of prices and listed features, but we haven't tried out the trackers ourselves to test how good they are, so check online reviews before deciding which tracker is best for you.

Standard trackers

Fitbit Flex 2 - £49.99 at Argos* or the same price in black at Amazon* (RRP £79.99). Key features: Smartphone notifications, tracks swimming, interchangeable accessories. 

Garmin Vivofit Jr 2 kids' tracker - £59.99 at Currys* (RRP £79.99) including two weeks 'free' The Gym membership for two. It's the same price at Amazon* without the extras. Key features: Character-themed bands, step challenges, app can be accessed by parents

Fitbit Ace kids' tracker - £79.99 at Argos* or Fitbit (RRP £79.99). Key features: Adjustable band size, step challenges, app can be accessed by parents

Mid-range trackers

Garmin Vivofit 4 - £49.99 in white medium-size at Argos* (RRP £69.99). All colours and sizes are £59.99 at Currys* including two weeks 'free' The Gym membership for two. It's the same price at Amazon* without the extras. Key features: Always-on display, one-year battery life, safe for swimming, sleep monitoring

Fitbit Alta HR - £79.99 at Amazon* (RRP £129.99). Key features: Heart rate monitor, auto exercise recognition, interchangeable bands, smartphone notifications

Fitbit Charge 3 - £97.50 for O2 Priority customers buying in an O2 store or online (RRP £129.99) until 11.59pm on Wed 16 Jan, or while stock lasts – you'll need a unique code via the O2 Priority app. The next cheapest we found was £129.99 at Amazon*, Currys* or John Lewis* . Key features: Heart rate monitor, contactless payments, smartphone notificiations, sleep monitoring

Garmin Vivosmart 4 - £110.38-£119.99 at Amazon* (RRP £119.99). Key features: Sleep monitoring, stress tracking, heart rate monitor

Premium trackers

Garmin Vivosport - £129 at Currys* (RRP £149.99) including two weeks 'free' The Gym membership for two. It's the same price at Amazon* without the extras. Key features: GPS, smartphone notifications, stress tracking

Fitbit Versa smartwatch - £149 at Currys* (RRP £199.99) including two weeks 'free' The Gym membership for two and a 'free' three-month Deezer Premium music subscription. It's the same price at Amazon* without the extras. Key features: On-screen workouts, real-time stats when you exercise, GPS, music player, heart rate monitor, smartphone notifications, sleep tracking

Fitbit Ionic smartwatch - £199 at Currys* (RRP £279.99) including two weeks 'free' The Gym membership for two and a 'free' three-month Deezer Premium music subscription. It's the same price at Amazon* without the extras. Key features: GPS, music player, swim tracking, heart rate monitor, sleep tracking, smartphone notifications

Do you need a fitness tracker?

Fitness trackers aren't inexpensive gadgets, so if you just want to know your daily step count, then if you have a smartphone or smartwatch, you can use free apps that don't require a fitness tracker band such as the Health app on iOS (pre-installed on many iPhones), or Google Fit for Android. Of course, you'll need to keep your phone on you for it to track steps, and it may not be as accurate as a fitness tracker band, which themselves aren't 100% accurate.

Discounts and rewards for tracking your exercise

If you have a Vitality health or life insurance plan you should be able to get a discount on selected fitness trackers including up to 40% off Garmin bands. You can link your Vitality account to an eligible tracker and earn rewards for exercise such as Starbucks coffee or cinema tickets.

There are other similar schemes that reward you for steps including Sweatcoin and BetterPoints. We're going to research more into these over the next few weeks so look out for our analysis soon on how you can get paid to walk.

Looking for cheap ways to get fit?

Check out our cheap gym membership guide and our round-up of free outdoor fitness.