Best fitness trackers for swimming in 2024

Swimming is easily one of the most underrated forms of exercise out there. You don’t get sweaty, but can still log quite the rigorous workout. A few laps around the pool are gentle on joints and require quite a bit of energy. You may, however, be understandably more hesitant to wear a smart fitness tracker while perfecting your butterfly stroke than when you’re out for a jog. A dip in the pool can waterlog your wearable tech. If you want to maintain or start a swim routine or are considering a deep-sea dive and don’t want to leave your tracker behind, upgrading to one of these top-notch waterproof or water-resistant fitness trackers for swimming makes sense.

Each tracker has at least the basic functions you’d expect, with the added benefit of surviving a swim in freshwater. While there is a great fitness tracker selection available, you’ll want to focus your attention on these swim-ready options.

Top swimmer-friendly fitness trackers

Fitbit is a leading name in fitness trackers, so it’s no surprise that the brand delivers a premium tracker that’ll go with you virtually anywhere. The Charge 6 is an advanced model, featuring a bunch of updates over its predecessors, including a Haptic side button, which gives users an additional way to interact with the device. Other new features include a more accurate heart rate sensor and improved GPS performance.

The Charge 6’s base health features include stress tracking, heart rate and sleep monitoring, and an ECG that can help pinpoint unusual spikes and changes to your routine. While the Charge 6 won’t replace a doctor’s visit, the tracker is a decent gauge for determining any concerning trends in heart rate and sleep activity.

The Fitbit Charge 6 is water-resistant up to 5ATM and will survive most outings to the pool. It will continue to log your physical activity whether you’re swimming laps or wading in the deep end. It has a 1.04-inch OLED display that is bright and easy to view, even when splashing about. Thanks to support for smartphone notifications and various Google Apps like Google Maps, Google Pay, and YouTube Music, the experience of using the Fitbit Charge 6 is very close to that of a full-fledged smartwatch.

The Garmin Vivosmart 5 is a fitness tracker and smartwatch hybrid that offers a variety of features to help you stay on top of your health and fitness goals. Despite getting a slightly larger display than its predecessor, the Vivosmart 5 is still sleek and lightweight enough to be worn all day long.

The Vivosmart 5 tracks a wide range of metrics, including steps, heart rate, sleep, and stress levels. There’s a built-in pulse oximeter that can spot-check your blood oxygen saturation levels. It also gets several upgrades over its predecessor, including additional respiration tracking features, improved sleep monitoring, and the ability to notify trusted contacts of your location during emergencies. In addition to its health and fitness tracking features, the Vivosmart 5 also has many smartwatch features, including receiving notifications from your phone, controlling your music player, and finding your phone if you lose it.

Users coming from the Vivosmart 5, however, should note that Garmin has removed the barometric altimeter from the Vivosmart line, which prevents the Vivosmart 5 from gathering specific information about climbing stairs. Swimmers should be happy to know that Vivosmart 5 has a water resistance rating of 5 ATM, which means that it can withstand pressure equivalent to a depth of 50 meters. While it is suitable for wearing in the shower, pool, and even for shallow swimming, it’s not a good idea to take the Vivosmart 5 for deep diving or high-speed water sport activities.

The pitfall of many fitness trackers is that their battery only lasts around a week, sometimes even less if all the advanced features are active. Amazfit’s Band 7 is an evolution of the traditional battery, lasting upwards of 18 days based on normal usage. That duration can be stretched to 28 days with battery saver mode, but that means losing the functionality of 120 different sports modes, including the crème de la crème — pool swimming sports mode.

A simple and bright AMOLED display reads out swimming data that logs as you enjoy your time in the pool. Rated for water resistance up to 50 meters deep, the Band 7 can go with you virtually anywhere. You can swim in the shallow end of a public pool or hop on a Jet Ski for some invigorating water sports. It would be interesting to see how the thrills of the open water affect the built-in heart rate monitor. The long battery life also allows you to keep track of your blood oxygen and stress levels without worrying about losing power.

Despite its lower price tag, the Band 7 delivers readings in less than a minute. And if you prefer the smartwatch experience, the band can receive phone calls, text messages, app notifications, and even control music on your phone via Bluetooth. There are quite a few features to tinker with, but the built-in Alexa is among the most useful, so you can take control of your life and tasks while on the go.

You don’t have to spend a lot to get a swim-ready fitness tracker that’s comfortable and stylish. In fact, Xiaomi’s Smart Band 8 Pro is a highly efficient wearable that doesn’t require breaking the bank for a sleek look and health monitoring. The Band 8 Pro improves on several key features of its predecessor (the Band 7 Pro), including a larger, easy-to-read 1.74-inch AMOLED display. With this larger screen, you can quickly swipe through the Band 8 Pro’s widgets, displaying heart rate and other important data. When it comes to tracking, the Band 8 Pro has an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and a photoplethysmography (PPG) heart rate sensor.

The Band 8 Pro also uses built-in GPS to track outdoor workouts like open-water swims. It may lack features compared to other costlier premium fitness trackers, but it’s still a suitable selection if swimming is your primary concern. This tracker is water-resistant for up to 50 meters deep and tracks laps, strokes, and overall swim performance. You’ll enjoy more accurate readings, whether you’re crossing the pool with a smooth backstroke or a fast breaststroke.

The Band 8 Pro can alert you of low blood oxygen levels and an irregular heart rate in and out of the pool. For its price, the Band 8 Pro offers just enough features to be a standout fitness tracker and a stylish smartwatch. The fact that it can accurately detect swim styles is an attractive bonus for avid swimmers.

It’s important to develop healthy habits when you are young, and the kid-friendly Biggerfive Vigor 2 is a great first step. Designed specifically for children, the Vigor 2 skimps a little on the features and power but offers enough for parents to track activity. The tracker connects to a smartphone companion app, where parents have full control. Sleep tracking and bedtime reminders help set a reasonable sleep schedule while keeping watch for unexpected activity in the middle of the night, and optional morning alarms can help kids rise on time to start the day.

Durability is always a concern with devices made for children. The Vigor 2’s IP68 waterproof rating means that it won’t be compromised in freshwater. There’s no swim tracking feature, but the open workout function can still track movement while your kiddo paddles around in the pool.

The Biggerfive Vigor 3 is simple to operate (it has just one control button, so children can catch on pretty easily) and boasts a nearly week-long battery life. It’s understandably not the most accurate tracker out there and at this price point there are a few sacrifices to be made, but it’s still a fun tool that kids can use as motivation to keep active. And, best of all, the eight-day battery life makes it easier to track a week’s worth of movement and sleeping for a more accurate picture of your child’s habits.

Smart rings face many limitations that smartwatch-style fitness trackers don’t. For example, you lose access to on-screen notifications and health widgets and can’t start a workout directly from the device. However, many swimmers may prefer a smart ring’s inconspicuous profile over a bulky wrist-bound tracker. The 3rd-gen Oura Ring is one such tracker.

If you balked at the price, that’s understandable. Clocking in at $300, the expectations are high for the Oura. Redemption for that hefty investment comes in the form of all the health tracking you’d typically expect of a fitness tracker, including heart rate, blood ox, and body temperature.

The Oura companion app delves into enough health details and fitness insights to appeal to serious swimmers. Plus, the ring is built to withstand the elements more than many traditional fitness trackers. It’s water-resistant up to 100 meters, and can even withstand intense environments like ice baths and saunas.

With its steep price tag, Apple’s second-gen flagship smartwatch is almost as expensive as some high-end smartphones. In its second-gen avatar, the Apple Watch Ultra gets a faster, improved processor that lets it handle complex tasks more quickly and smoothly. The new chip is also claimed to be more energy efficient compared to the one used on the 2022 model. Then there is the new 3000-nit display, which is significantly brighter than the 2000-nit panel on its predecessor.

Apple also claims that the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is more durable than the first generation Apple Watch Ultra, thanks to a new, lightweight titanium case that is more resistant to scratches and dents. It also has a raised sapphire crystal display that helps to protect it from edge impacts.

For those focused on water adventures such as swimming, snorkeling, and diving, it should be heartening to know that the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is water-resistant to 100 meters and has a new Oceanic+ app that provides real-time depth tracking, dive time tracking, and water temperature tracking, essentially transforming the Apple Watch Ultra 2 into a dive computer.

While an existing Apple Watch Ultra user doesn’t have many compelling reasons to upgrade to the Watch Ultra 2, those with deep pockets may want to do so to take advantage of several Apple Watch Ultra 2 features like the new double tap gesture, on-device Siri, and more accurate location target.

Samsung’s flagship Galaxy Watch lineup is often the first choice for anyone seeking the best possible smartwatch experience within the Android ecosystem. The company’s newest smartwatch model — the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 — gets several updates over its predecessor that include a new energy-efficient processor, more RAM, and improved battery life. It is also slimmer and sleeker than the outgoing model, and the smaller bezels around the display ensure a larger viewing area compared to older Samsung smartwatches.

New features on the Galaxy Watch 6 include Advanced Sleep Coaching, period tracking functionality, and a BIA sensor that enables readings on body fat, skeletal muscle, body water, and Body Mass Index (BMI). It also gets an improved fall detection feature that notifies a designated contact as soon as it recognizes a fall. For folks involved in multiple types of physical activities, the Galaxy Watch 6’s ability to automatically detect various popular activities should prove to be a boon.

The Watch can also be used as a remote controller with compatible Samsung smartphones. Samsung offers the Galaxy Watch 6 in two sizes — 40 mm and 44 mm, with all of these versions getting a “Find my phone” feature that informs you when you leave your smartphone somewhere and helps you track it down using the onboard maps.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 is IP68 certified, and while it is not touted as a serious swimming-focused smartwatch, it will almost certainly survive most recreational trips to the pool, occasional showers, and the dustiest of environments. Do note that the Galaxy Watch 6 is not ideal for individuals involved in competitive swimming.

Fitness trackers for swimming that can handle the pressure

It’s important to separate standard fitness trackers and those better suited for swimming. While the former is sure to have several features, they’ll lack what’s needed for your water-logged lifestyle — the ability to withstand pressure. And that’s meant literally, as water resistance is rated based on the pressure exerted at specific depths. So, a fitness tracker that’s water-resistant for up to 50 meters can survive in the pressure exerted at 50 meters below the surface.

The more popular fitness trackers in this list — the Fitbit Charge 6, Garmin’s Vivosmart 5, and the Amazfit Band 7 — are all swimmer-friendly and are rated for use at up to 5ATM of pressure, making them capable of going to depths of up to 50m. For those seeking even better protection, it would be advisable to go for models like the Kospet X1 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2, both of which could easily handle up to 100m underwater.

It would also be a good idea to check out ancillary features like automatic tracking, blood pressure, and pulse ox monitoring to choose the best combination of value and features.