As students head back to classes, finding ways to stay active and manage well-being on a budget becomes a priority. While high-end smartwatches can break the bank, several impressive fitness trackers under £100 offer excellent features for tracking activity, sleep, and overall health without compromising on quality or style. This guide highlights top contenders that prove you don’t need to spend a fortune to get a capable wearable companion.
Why a Budget Fitness Tracker is Perfect for Students
For many students, a fitness tracker is more than just a gadget for counting steps; it’s a tool for maintaining a healthy lifestyle amidst academic demands. Budget-friendly options excel by focusing on core functionalities, often providing superior battery life compared to their pricier smartwatch counterparts. They are typically slimmer, lighter, and less obtrusive, making them comfortable for all-day wear, from lectures to workouts. Essential features like heart rate monitoring, sleep tracking, and step counting are standard, with many offering a surprising array of additional capabilities.
Top Fitness Trackers Under £100
The market for affordable fitness trackers is competitive, with brands like Xiaomi, Huawei, Honor, and Amazfit consistently delivering value. Here are some of the best options available that deliver on performance without costing a fortune:
Xiaomi Smart Band Series
Xiaomi has established itself as a leader in the budget fitness tracker segment, consistently offering feature-rich devices at competitive prices.
- Xiaomi Smart Band 9: Often hailed as one of the best cheap fitness trackers overall, the Smart Band 9 (and its predecessor, the Smart Band 8) offers a bright AMOLED display, excellent battery life, and a stylish design. It typically includes fitness tracking, sleep monitoring, step counting, heart rate monitoring, and calorie counting. While it generally lacks built-in GPS, it can often pair with your phone for accurate location tracking during runs. The Xiaomi Smart Band 8, for instance, has a 1.62-inch AMOLED display and boasts a 60Hz refresh rate for smoother navigation. Some reviews indicate that while step counting and calorie burn estimates can be unreliable, heart rate tracking is decent. The Smart Band 8 Pro, a slightly more advanced version, has been praised for its integrated GPS and accurate heart rate and SpO2 readings, making it a strong contender if you can find it near the £100 mark.
Huawei Band Series
Huawei’s fitness trackers are known for their sleek designs and robust health monitoring features.
- Huawei Band 8: This budget fitness tracker offers a 1.47-inch AMOLED screen and a thin body, making it look and feel great. It includes useful features like blood oxygen monitoring, sleep tracking, and automatic exercise detection. While it doesn’t have built-in GPS, it can use your phone’s GPS for more accurate workout tracking. The Band 8 is also praised for its impressive battery life, often lasting up to 14 days on a single charge. User reviews highlight its reliable heart rate tracking and step counting, though some note that sleep tracking can be less accurate.
Honor Band Series
Honor, formerly a subsidiary of Huawei, also produces strong budget fitness trackers that share many similarities with Huawei’s offerings.
- Honor Band 7: This tracker is remarkably similar to the Huawei Band 8 and Xiaomi Smart Band 7, often making it difficult to differentiate them given their similar prices. It features an impressive 1.47-inch AMOLED display that is bright and responsive. The Honor Band 7 offers extensive health tracking and a battery life of up to 14 days for normal usage, extending to around 12 days with heavy use. While generally reliable for tracking data, some users have reported inaccuracies with stress tracking. It supports 96 workout modes and provides continuous heart rate and SpO2 monitoring.
Amazfit Band Series
Amazfit provides excellent value with its feature-packed fitness bands, often drawing comparisons to pricier brands like Fitbit.
- Amazfit Band 7: This model is recognized for offering a large 1.47-inch AMOLED display, a beefed-up battery, and numerous sport modes. It can last up to 18 days with typical use and 9 days with heavy use. The Amazfit Band 7 can quickly assess three key health indicators—SpO2, heart rate, and stress—with a single click in just 45 seconds. It supports 120 sport modes, providing useful exercise data. While its heart rate monitoring might not be as precise as some premium trackers, it offers superb walking accuracy in terms of step counting and distance. It also includes Alexa support and 5ATM water resistance, making it suitable for swimming.
Fitbit Inspire 3
While some Fitbit devices can be more expensive, the Inspire 3 often falls within the sub-£100 category and offers a solid experience within the Fitbit ecosystem.
- Fitbit Inspire 3: This tracker is often recommended as an excellent entry point for beginners, nailing the basics of heart rate monitoring, accurate workout tracking, and sleep stage logging. It boasts up to 10 days of battery life and includes 24/7 heart rate monitoring, SpO2 data, and sleep tracking. While it doesn’t have built-in GPS, it can connect to your smartphone for GPS tracking. It also offers stress monitoring with relaxation tools, which can be particularly useful for students.
Key Features to Look For
When choosing a budget fitness tracker, consider these essential features to ensure it meets your needs:
- Heart Rate Monitoring: Most budget trackers offer continuous heart rate monitoring, crucial for understanding your workout intensity and overall health.
- Sleep Tracking: Gaining insight into your sleep patterns can significantly improve your well-being. Many affordable trackers provide detailed sleep stage analysis.
- Step and Activity Tracking: The fundamental purpose of a fitness tracker, ensuring accurate step counts and activity monitoring is key.
- Battery Life: One of the major advantages of budget trackers is their extended battery life, often lasting a week or more on a single charge, minimizing the need for frequent recharges.
- Display Quality: An AMOLED display, common in many modern budget trackers, provides vibrant colors and good readability, even outdoors.
- Water Resistance: Look for 5ATM water resistance, which means the tracker is suitable for swimming and can withstand splashes and showers.
- Connected GPS (or Built-in GPS if possible): While built-in GPS is rare under £100, connected GPS (using your phone’s GPS) is a good alternative for tracking outdoor activities accurately.
By focusing on these features and considering the popular and well-reviewed models from Xiaomi, Huawei, Honor, and Amazfit, students can find a reliable and effective fitness tracker that supports their health goals without breaking the bank.
