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Since the beginning of the Fitbit vs Garmin debate, things have changed a lot. Fitbit’s trackers have essentially cornered the affordable activity tracking market (at least in the US), while Garmin devices are major leaders in the GPS fitness watch space. Google also acquired Fitbit, and the company’s stable now includes the Google Pixel Watch line, a fully-featured smartwatch running on Wear OS. Let’s dig in.
Fitbit still releases multiple fitness trackers annually. Garmin has slowed this part of its product portfolio, at least until recently. Fitbit currently has four newer fitness trackers for sale on its website. Garmin has five as well, with one released in 2022.
Kaitlyn Cimino / Android Authority
Kaitlyn Cimino / Android Authority
What if you want something more powerful than the devices listed above? Something with a bigger screen? Luckily, both companies have you covered.
Fitbit is still relatively limited in the smartwatch market, with two main Fitbit smartwatch lineups available. Generally speaking, these watches offer a watered-down smartwatch experience compared to other brands. However, the Google Pixel Watch lineup is also part of Fitbit’s lineup and includes one of the best Fitbit devices you can buy.
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Smartwatches and sports watches are Garmin’s bread and butter. We cover its main fitness watch lineups below, but the company sells plenty more devices on its website.
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No matter which ecosystem you choose, these devices will track the basics: steps taken, calories burned, and sleep. They’ll also track your distance traveled, but only those with GPS (Pixel Watches, Sense 2, Sense, Versa 4, Versa 3, Charge 6, Charge 5, Charge 4, Ionic, Venu series, vivosport, Instinct 2 and 2x, and all of Garmin’s running watches) will give you accurate distance metrics. The devices that feature built-in GPS will also give you precise pace, cadence, and elevation details.
The Fitbit Versa and Versa 2, Luxe, Charge 3, Inspire 3, Inspire 2, Inspire HR, Garmin vivosmart 5, vivomove 3 and 3S, and Lily all have connected GPS, allowing you to track accurate distance and pace metrics if you bring your phone with you on a run. Unfortunately, neither the Garmin vivofit 4 nor the Fitbit Inspire have any GPS functionality.
All devices listed above will track your total time asleep and sleep stages, including how often you spend in REM, light, and deep sleep and how much time you’re awake throughout the night. Fitbit devices will give you a 30-day average of your sleeping habits (compared to Garmin’s seven-day average) and a benchmark to compare against other people your age.
If you’re a Fitbit Premium subscriber, your Fitbit will give you access to sleeping heart rate data and restlessness. Newer Garmin devices like the Venu line, vivoactive 5, and vivosmart 5 all have pulse oximeters (SpO2) built-in, which will track your blood-oxygen saturation levels throughout the day and night.
The Fitbit Sense 2, Sense, Versa 4, and Versa 3 have SpO2 monitors for automatic SpO2 tracking. Other Fitbits like the Versa 2, Versa, and Ionic have SpO2 sensors, which are only utilized for additional Sleep Score details. Additionally, Garmin Venu devices and the vivoactive 5 devices track respiration rate (or breathing rate).
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A few years ago, if you asked us which company had better sleep trackers, we would have answered Fitbit. However, Garmin introduced advanced sleep monitoring in mid-2018, and both companies are now at roughly the same level, give or take a few features.
Both ecosystems also offer stress tracking, but each company’s approach differs. For most Fitbit devices, you get a Relax feature, which walks you through a series of guided breathing exercises to help you calm down if you’re too stressed. Fitbit’s devices use the heart rate sensor to help you follow along during breathing exercises. The Fitbit Sense line and Charge 5 have EDA sensors, which track your body’s electrodermal activity, reflecting your stress levels. Fitbit also introduced Body Response, which uses heart rate variability to monitor stress.
Likewise, several Garmin wearables feature all-day stress tracking based on your heart rate variability. This lets you see when you’re the most or least stressed throughout the day — a valuable metric for those who notice (or don’t notice) patterns in their mood. Garmin offers guided breathing exercises on a few of its devices, but it doesn’t utilize the heart rate monitor to help you follow along.
There is a workout mode called breathwork on newer Garmin devices. Once you select breathwork, you’ll be asked to choose which type you’d like to focus on: coherence, relaxation and focus (long and short versions), or tranquility. From here, your watch will walk you through various breathing patterns to help you relax or focus.
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Both ecosystems provide their own versions of menstrual cycle tracking for women. Fitbit’s version is called female health tracking and allows those who menstruate to track their periods, fertile windows, ovulation days, and female health symptoms.
Garmin’s feature is called menstrual cycle tracking. It lets users log period start and end dates, track physical and emotional symptoms, make personal notes, and more. Garmin makes it a point to remind users that this feature is for all users, whether their cycle is regular, irregular, or transitioning into menopause. The company’s devices can even track users’ pregnancies, too.
Garmin should be your choice if you’re a Type 1 or Type 2 diabetic. An official Dexcom app in Connect IQ allows people with diabetes to track their blood glucose levels, trend direction, and three-hour history right on their compatible smartwatches.
Both companies provide some on-device, guided workouts. Only a few on-screen workouts are available on the Sense 2, Sense, Versa 4, Versa 3, Versa 2, Versa, and Ionic. Still, more can be added if you’re a Fitbit Premium subscriber (more on that later).
Garmin’s newer watches support animated, on-device workouts. Cardio, strength, yoga, and Pilates workouts are available on-device, and more are available to download through Garmin Connect.
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Fitness products aren’t just fitness products anymore; most also double as smartwatches. At the very least, they have a few smartwatch features that make our lives a bit easier.
Garmin and Fitbit devices support smartphone notifications on Android and iOS, but only Android users can reply to and delete messages from their wearables. The Fitbit Sense and Versa 3 even have a scaled-back version of Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa baked in, which means the watches support voice replies and can search for things on the internet. The newer Sense 2 and Versa 4 no longer offer Google Assistant but still feature Amazon Alexa. The Google Pixel Watch line features Google Assistant built-in.
The Garmin Venu 2 Plus and Venu 3 offer voice assistant support. However, since Garmin doesn’t have its own voice assistant, the watch activates your phone’s default assistant.
Most Garmin watches also support onboard music storage. In the past, some Fitbit devices offered onboard music support, but it has since been dropped. As mentioned, Versa 4 and Sense 2 lack support for third-party apps. Google Pixel Watch and Pixel Watch 2 users, however, can still access music apps through the Google Play Store.
Various apps can also be downloaded to Garmin devices, including Uber, Strava, and more. Fitbit will discontinue this ability from its Versa and Sense lineups in June 2024. Contactless payment support is available on most Garmin and Fitbit devices. Read more about Garmin Pay and Fitbit Pay in our dedicated guides.
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Your decision to choose Fitbit or Garmin will most likely depend on which fitness product you want. However, it’s important to keep smartphone companion apps in mind. After all, this is where you’ll check up on performance stats, daily and weekly activity metrics, and more.
The Fitbit app is the most user-friendly option of the two. In September 2023, the app received a visual refresh that simplified navigation and data organization. Now, the Fitbit app features a Today tab, Coach tab, and You tab. The customizable Today tab allows users to select which stats they want front and center to make it easier to focus on their personal goals. The Coach tab houses workout content as well as trend reports and highlights.
The Garmin Connect app has improved a lot over the past few years, but it’s still a bit more complicated. The main screen on Garmin Connect displays your daily activity metrics, and clicking on each one gives you more information and your history. However, it’s way more information-dense than Fitbit’s app, which may be a good or bad thing depending on what type of user you are. We like how much info Garmin’s app provides, but we’ve also been using Garmin devices for years, so we’re accustomed to it.
Fitbit's companion app is one of the best fitness apps around. Garmin's is good, but may be too information-dense for some.
On top of its already information-dense home screen, Garmin Connect has a slide-out menu that lets you see activity, health, performance stats, custom workouts, insights, and more. This is an overflow menu for things Garmin couldn’t fit in the bottom tab.
Garmin’s app displays more post-workout information, while Fitbit’s is geared toward beginners or people who want a simple overview of their daily activity. We’d suggest going with Garmin if you need every fitness metric available. Both ecosystems also have websites that display even more of your activity metrics than what’s provided in either app.
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Both apps also feature menus at the bottom that allow you to quickly tap into your notifications. Garmin Connect features a handy calendar. It lets you jump back to any date you’d like to see your activity for review. Fitbit’s app lets you look back at your activity history, too. However, you need to scroll back one day at a time.
Dozens of third-party smartphone apps integrate with Fitbit’s app — including MyFitnessPal, MapMyRun, Weight Watchers, and more — so all your Fitbit data will automatically sync with your favorite health and fitness applications.
Garmin’s ecosystem also integrates with many popular third-party apps, and there are a fair amount of third-party apps available for download on Garmin’s watches and fitness trackers. These can be found in the Garmin Connect IQ app (yes, there’s an entirely different smartphone app just for downloading third-party apps).
Third-party watch faces are also available on Garmin and some Fitbit devices. There are a ton to choose from, but both ecosystems provide a horrible searching experience. Syncing watch faces on Fitbit devices is a laggy mess. Both ecosystems’ devices also take a long time to sync. Like app downloads, third-party watch downloads on Fitbit’s Sense and Versa lines will be discontinued in June 2024.
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Fitbit offers a subscription service called Fitbit Premium, which runs for $9.99 a month or $79.99 a year. Membership provides access to guided workout programs, advanced health and fitness insights, advanced sleep tools, and additional content. You can sign up for a free trial of Fitbit Premium at the link below and read our Fitbit Premium review for more details.
Fitbit Premium
See price at Fitbit
Garmin offers a lot of these things for free. Garmin Coach training plans help you train for a 5K, 10K, or half marathon with the help of professional runners. These come free with the purchase of many Garmin watches.
So, which ecosystem is better? Unfortunately, there’s no definitive answer to the Fitbit vs Garmin debate. It all depends on what type of user you are and what you need from your wearable. Below are the winners we’d choose for each specific user category.
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It’s hard not to steer more casual users — the folks who want a better idea of their daily activity — towards Fitbit. The companion app is easier to understand, and for the most part, Fitbit devices are stellar activity trackers. The ecosystem doesn’t offer incredibly dense training or recovery data and won’t overwhelm anyone new to tracking.
It's hard not to steer more casual users towards Fitbit, while people interested in more advanced features will want to check out Garmin's lineup.
That’s not to say Garmin should be counted out for more casual users, either. The vivosmart 5 is a good entry-level tracker if you need a Fitbit alternative, but it’s a little pricey. Garmin shines in its GPS watches. There’s something in Garmin’s lineup for all types of advanced users, and Garmin’s app gives you as much information — graphs, charts, you name it — as it possibly can after every workout. If you want to go all-in on fitness tracking and need those minute details, we’d suggest Garmin.
The Pixel Watch lineup, on the other hand, is a different animal. Google’s smartwatches aren’t without shortcomings (namely battery life), but the newest model is a promising device. For the most robust smartwatch experience plus Fitbit integration, the Pixel Watch 2 is your best bet. It’s also worth watching how the Fitbit experience does or doesn’t change under Google’s umbrella.
Whichever ecosystem you choose, we think you’ll be just fine. Both Fitbit and Garmin offer a wide range of devices that should have no problem suiting most people’s needs.
I have both the vivosmart 4 and the fitbit inspire hr. I have no issues with either working out or sleeping (I wear both at the same time while exercising and sleeping). The fitbit is quicker at picking up on my heart rate increase by a couple of minuets while exercising but in the end they have similar HR average and HR max while on the elliptical for 30 minutes. Either its the same or different by no more than 2 heart beats. Sleep tracking they both start sleep and wake within 5 to 10 minutes of each other. The difference is the length of stages. Sometimes the stages are close in time and sometimes they differ by 45min and that doesn't bother me but what throws me off is when one might say i was in a deep sleep at 1am and the other will say I was in light sleep or REM. Sometimes they correlate but most of the time they don't. Which sleep tracker is more accurate? The more accurate one im keeping and the other I will give away or use it as a back up.