Assuming you haven’t been living under a rock
for the past 10 or so years, you’ve probably seen fitness trackers evolve from
a fad into more than just a trend. By all accounts, it seems as if they’re here
to stay; especially when looking at data from Gallup’s annual Health and Healthcare survey,
which reveals that 1 in 5 American adults use wearable trackers or health apps
to complement their fitness routine.

Whether you’ve considered getting one in the past or are just curious to learn more about the different models and what they exactly track, this guide crafted by the folks over at ConsumersAdvocate.org has more than enough information to help you find one that suits your needs without breaking the bank.

Here’s some of their top picks:

Xiaomi
Mi Band

Best
for: Affordability

Usually, if things sound too good to be true,
there’s usually a catch. But in this case, we’re hard pressed to find a better fitness
tracker than this one for just $40. To top it all off, the Mi Band doesn’t only
cost less than its competition, but it offers just as many apps and features,
including smartphone notifications, sleep quality and heart rate monitoring,
inactivity alerts, reminders, and music streaming.

The Mi Band is slim-fit, easily adjustable,
and is made up of surprisingly durable materials like aluminum alloy and
thermoplastic elastomer (try saying that fast
3 times). Unlike other fitness trackers, it even has a locatior option within
the mobile app so that the band lights up if you ever lose it (think FindMyiPhone).

While the exact cost of the Mi Band isn’t
listed on its website, consumers can still locate and purchase it from several
online retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and eBay.

Fitbit

Best
for: Motivation

Boy, Fitbit really took the “tracker” aspect
to heart with this one. Their devices are designed to track almost every part of your day and show you how
even the smallest change in your routine can make big changes to your overall
fitness goals (parking further away, taking stairs vs elevator, etc). This type
of micro-tracking is meant to appeal more to those who aren’t usually fitness
geeks and keep motivation levels up by measuring how those little victories
count towards the greater goal. It’s like having your own personal trainer on
your wrist, in a sense.

If you’d like to go a bit more hardcore than
that, the Fitbit Ionic offers on-screen workouts and memorizes over fifteen
exercise modes to keep things fresh and constantly challening. On the flipside,
those who plan to integrate their fitness trackers into their general,
day-to-day lifestyle will probably benefit more from the Fitbit Versa 2 – this
one offers Fitbit Pay for on-the-go payments, voice commands, Amazon Alexa, and
more practical features that make certain things easier for daily use.

Polar

Best
for: Athletes

If you really
want to take off the kiddie gloves, the Polar the Polar A370 is
specifically designed to appeal to the most demanding fitness nuts out there.
For $150, this tracker can last up to four days on a single charge and includes
GPS tracking, phone notifications, sleep tracking, and 24/7 heart rate
monitoring. Oh, and you also get access to a whole suite of stats and graphs that
chart your progress with clinical-like accuracy. If you really wanna splurge,
you can get the hybrid smartwatch version with even more applications and
granular tracking features for $100 more.

However, precisely because this brand caters
to more serious fitness nuts and committed athletes, all the available bells
and whistles may seem overwhelming to more casual users. The training log is very detailed, which is nice but isn’t
really necessary for the average Jane who just wants to get off the couch and
feel good about herself. After all, there is such a thing as too many
spreadsheets.

There’s
no excuse to stay on the couch

Yes, we know most people are still social distancing themselves and it’s way easier to just hit play on the next episode of New Girl than to actually stay committed, but it’s this type of technology that can make things a little easier to stay on top of your physical and mental health during such chaotic times. The good news is there’s plenty of ways to get moving at home and there’s a good chance you’ll find a model that suits your specific needs, so there’s never been a better time to try new things and find new ways to stay motivated.

Check out ConsumerAdvocate.org’s best fitness tracker guide here if you want the full breakdown on the rest of the reviewed models.