There are many different types of performance trackers to monitor your activity levels when exercising or just going about your daily activities. Choose from simple monitors that click on to clothing like the Fitbit Zip and One, through to the Flex and Charge for everyday fitness tracking needs and on to the Charge HR for active fitness levels. The ultimate Fitbit tracker on the market is the more sophisticated Surge for superior performance fitness monitoring but that comes with a $250 price tag! If you are going to purchase a wearable Fitbit you will need to take steps to make sure it will fit well and not be uncomfortable (nothing worse than trying to work out with a wrist strap that is too tight or too loose). To ensure you order the correct size use a flexible clothing tape measure and if you do not have one handy use a piece of string to wrap around your wrist and then measure the string against a regular hard ruler. Not all Fitbit trackers are created equal and each new design will often have more features than the older models as technology is always improving enabling the same features in smaller designs.

Full comparison chart of available Fitbit fitness trackers – 2019

Fitbit Zip	Fitbit One	Fitbit Flex	Fitbit Charge	Fitbit Charge HR	Fitbit Surge
Free shipping	6% Discount. Free shipping	34% Discount. Free Shipping	31% Discount. Free Shipping	7% Discount. Free Shipping	Free Shipping
Steps, Calories, Distance	Steps, Calories, Distance	Steps, Calories, Distance	Steps, Calories, Distance	Steps, Calories, Distance	Steps, Calories, Distance
Clock	Clock	Clock	Clock	Clock	Clock
Sleep Quality & Silent Alarm	Sleep Quality & Silent Alarm	Sleep Quality & Silent Alarm	Sleep Quality & Silent Alarm	Sleep Quality & Silent Alarm	Sleep Quality & Silent Alarm
Floors Climbed	Floors Climbed	Floors Climbed	Floors Climbed	Floors Climbed	Floors Climbed
Active Minutes	Active Minutes	Active Minutes	Active Minutes	Active Minutes	Active Minutes
Caller ID	Caller ID	Caller ID	Caller ID	Caller ID	Caller ID
Continuous Heart Rate	Continuous Heart Rate	Continuous Heart Rate	Continuous Heart Rate	Continuous Heart Rate	Continuous Heart Rate
Music Control & Notifications	Music Control & Notifications	Music Control & Notifications	Music Control & Notifications	Music Control & Notifications	Music Control & Notifications
GPS Tracking	GPS Tracking	GPS Tracking	GPS Tracking	GPS Tracking	GPS Tracking
Shipping Weight 4 ounces	Shipping Weight 4 ounces	Shipping Weight 0.3 ounces	Shipping Weight 4.8 ounces	Shipping Weight 4.8 ounces	Shipping Weight 11.2 ounces
Waterproof Not waterproof, but rain, splash and sweat proof	Waterproof Not waterproof, but rain, splash and sweat proof	Waterproof Not waterproof, but rain, splash and sweat proof	Waterproof Water-resistant with 10 meters	Waterproof Water-resistant with 10 meters	Waterproof Water-resistant with 50 meters
Battery Life 6 months	Battery Life 10+ days	Battery Life 5 days	Battery Life 7 - 10 days	Battery Life 5 days	Battery Life Depending on your usage. Up to 7 days without GPS.

Each Fitbit is accompanied by a comprehensive information booklet with all the facts needed to maximize your positive experience with your choice of Flex, Charge or Charge HR. Follow the care instructions detailed in the booklet and your Fitbit will provide you with many hours of monitoring. Detailed guidelines on how to set up the apps and use the controls are all included with easy to understand descriptions. The apps allow you to track your progress, compete with family and friends, log your food intake (helpful if you are counting calories), set goal. A great motivational feature is the ability to earn achievement badges as a visual reward and recognition of achieving your goals. A boat shoe badge is awarded for 5000 daily steps all the way up to an Olympian sandal for 100,000 steps a day (that’s some serious step activity!) There are awards for daily climbs, lifetime climbs, and lifetime distance.
The Fitbit website is free and available to those who don’t have a Fitbit so you can check it out before you even purchase your Fitbit. On their website, you can input your food intake, record your weight changes as well as activities and therefore monitor progress as well as work towards your daily and weekly goals. The Fitbit Aria has been manufactured in classic black and white to easily blend in with any home decor.

Accessories
Replacement wristbands are available for the Fitbit Flex but not for the Charge or Charge HR designs. Additional accessories include replacement leads and charging cables. If you do have the earlier clip models you can buy replacement clip holders. An exciting addition to the Fitbit family is the Aria. The Aria is a new generation of scales using wireless technology to connect to your home WiFi network allowing communication between your Fitbit tracker and the Fitbit app. The scales recognize up to 8 different users so great for large family homes. Not only can you track your weight and your BMI (body mass index) with the Aria you can also monitor lean body mass as well as body fat percentages. All of these measurements are transferred to the Fitbit apps for display as graphs and charts so you can easily monitor those changes and set new goals as you reach your targets.

How to choose the best Fitbit fitness tracker
All the Fitbits have a personal dashboard application which uses graphs, charts and a variety of tools to assist you with tracking your fitness and progress towards your goals. Choose your Fitbit based on your needs, the design, aspects you want to track, comfort and style and yes even color. If you do not require a heart rate monitor then the Fitbit Charge is a safe choice to make as it has more features than the Flex without the price tag of the Charge HR. There are literally thousands of reviews on Amazon to assist you with making your buying decision. With this article and those reviews, you should have no trouble deciding which is the best Fitbit fitness tracker under $150 for 2016. It is also worth referring to the manufacturer website as well, although they will be full of glossy images, slogans, sales pitches and reasons why you should buy. For real down to earth information read the reviews available across the world wide web and don’t just look at the 4 and 5-star ratings as the lower ratings will give you a good indication of any potential problems and likely the level of customer service you can expect from the suppliers.

When making the decision to buy your Fitbit fitness tracker you will need to consider the individual features of each design looking at the pros and cons or each design. One person’s pro can be easily another customers con. Personal preferences will play a big part in your decision making. Do you want a slim and smooth band like the Flex or do you prefer the textured slightly wider band of the Charge and Charge HR? Do you need the sleep alarm to be automatic or are you good at remembering to activate different modes? If you are organized and have a good memory the Flex will be fine but if you are forgetful or just super busy then the Charge and Charge HR will be more suited to your needs. If color is an important consideration for you then there is more choice with the Flex range but then you don’t have the same range of functions. If you have a metal allergy then stay away from the Charge HR as it has a metal clasp which although is surgical stainless steel there are traces of nickel which can be an issue for more sensitive wearers. The Flex monitors steps, calories, and distance, sleep quality and has a silent alarm, and keeps track of active minutes. In addition to these features, the Fitbit Charge has an OLED display which shows a clock and Caller ID as well as various stats. The Charge has a floor climb function tracking steps up and not just taken. The only additional feature to the HR model over the Charge is its ability to continuously monitor heart rate.

Look carefully at customer reviews the good and the bad, make a list of features you feel are essential and those that are desirable. Check out a variety of suppliers to compare prices and make a decision based on your budget. For pricing, you can always keep a look out for sales and special offers so that perhaps you will be able to afford the better specification model.