Smartwatch Heart Rate Monitoring How Accurate is it
The Best Heart Rate Monitors for Exercise and Fitness
Those days of getting a heart rate reading only when you visit your physician are truly a thing of the past. You dont even have to spend big money or leave your home to get a sense of your heart rate during exercise or at rest.
The rise of optical and EKG (electrocardiogram) sensors that can now reliably deliver that information from your wrist, chest, or arm means you can better understand how hard you hit it in that boot camp class and get a window into the most stressful periods of your day.
Updated December 2023: We've added the Coros and Viiiiva heart rate monitors, plus the Fitbit Charge 6 tracker.
For more sports and fitness guides, check out the Best Fitbits, Best Fitness Trackers and Watches, Best Running Gear, and the Best Wireless Earbuds for Working Out.
Special offer for Gear readers: Get a 1-year subscription to WIRED for $5 ($25 off). This includes unlimited access to WIRED.com and our print magazine (if you'd like). Subscriptions help fund the work we do every day.
Best Heart Rate Monitoring Watches
We include products we think are useful for our readers. If you buy through links on this page, we may earn a small commission. Heres our process.
Medical News Today only shows you brands and products that we stand behind.
Our team thoroughly researches and evaluates the recommendations we make on our site. To establish that the product manufacturers addressed safety and efficacy standards, we:- Evaluate ingredients and composition: Do they have the potential to cause harm?
- Fact-check all health claims: Do they align with the current body of scientific evidence?
- Assess the brand: Does it operate with integrity and adhere to industry best practices?
Heart rate monitoring watches make life easier for anyone wanting to monitor their heart health or track their heart rate for maximum benefit during exercise.
A heart rate monitor measures a persons heart rate in real-time and records the data for the user. It is popular with people who like to measure their heart rate whilst exercising.
The two most common ways to measure heart rate is by electrical and optical monitors.
Electrical monitors use both a monitor or transmitter, usually on a chest strap, and a receiver. The monitor or transmitter detects a heartbeat and sends it to the receiver, which then displays the heart rate on a screen.
Optical monitors measure a persons heart rate by
For runners who wish to track their heart rate, the following watches could be suitable options.
- List price: around $350
- Battery life: up to 24 hours with GPS
- Water-resistance: up to 50 meters
- Exercise and health profiles: running, cycling, swimming
The Garmin Forerunner 245 Music can store and play music, so this product may be best suited for those who wish to listen to music when running but do not wish to take their phones with them.
This device also offers heart rate tracking, GPS tracking, blood oxygen saturation, and a variety of other features for runners.
It can measure running dynamics, such as stride length, cadence, ground contact time, and balance.
According to Garmin, the battery gives 6 hours of continuous music playback. It also logs a range of fitness data for other workouts and can calculate a persons fitness age via the app.
- List price: around $393
- Battery life: up to 40 hours with GPS
- Water-resistance: up to 100 meters
- Exercise and health profiles: running, swimming
The Polar Vantage V features coaching insights. It can tell individuals when to work out and when they should rest. The Polar Vantage V can also advise an individual on what they can do to optimize their future workouts.
Therefore, it may be suited to individuals who may benefit from these insights.
It can monitor heart rate and is waterproof, up to 100 meters, making it ideal for swimmers.
In addition, the watch can track VO2 max, which is the optimum level the heart, lungs, and muscles can effectively use oxygen as a person exercises.
It also features a calorie counter, sleep monitor, and GPS tracker.
The battery also lasts up to 40 hours.
- List price: around $170
- Battery life: up to 13 hours with GPS
- Water-resistance: up to 50 meters
- Exercise and health profiles: running, cycling
The Garmin Forerunner 45S is lightweight, weighing just 32-36 grams. This, therefore, may be best for individuals who may prefer a lighter product.
It provides continuous heart rate monitoring, is water-resistant, compatible with smartphones, and has built-in GPS.
It is also compatible with Garmin Coach which provides training plans from coaches and plans which adapt to a persons needs. These workouts sync directly to the watch.
The battery lasts up to 13 hours during exercise mode or up to 7 days in normal mode. It has 80 hours of memory to store data.
There is also a smart tracking option to send a users location to emergency contacts.
- List price: around $299
- Battery life: up to 170 hours with GPS
- Water-resistance: up to 100 meters
- Exercise and health profiles: running, cycling, swimming
The Suunto 9 Baro watch offers breadcrumb trail tracking, a built-in compass, GPS navigation and tracking, and other features for runners who wish to explore rural areas.
It provides up to 170 hours of continuous exercise monitoring. It is also waterproof up to 100 meters.
In addition to on-wrist heart tracking, a compatible chest sensor is also available to purchase.
These watches are customizable with straps available on the manufacturers website and on third-party sellers such as Amazon.
Best for automatically tracking workouts: Fitbit Charge 5
- List price: around $150
- Battery life: up to 7 days
- Water-resistance: up to 50 meters
- Exercise and health profiles: all exercises
The Fitbit Charge 5 comes with SmartTrack technology, which automatically recognizes and records workouts such as swimming, running, epileptic and more. This may be best for individuals who would appreciate this automatic feature.
The watch has built-in GPS that provides a user with a map tracking their outdoor activity, such as running. The All-Day Activity Tracker tracks other activities, such as step counts, Active Zone Minutes, and calories burned throughout the day.
It can also measure skin temperature, breathing rate, sleep data, and menstrual cycle information.
- List price: around $399
- Battery life: up to 18 hours with GPS
- Water-resistance: up to 50 meters
- Exercise and health profiles: all exercises
This watch is compatible with any watch band from the Apple Store and is compatible with the iPhone 8s and beyond. Therefore, it is most suitable for iPhone users.
The Apple Watch Series 8 uses an optical heart sensor to measure a persons heart rate and provides low, high, and irregular heart rhythm alerts.
It also has built-in GPS, an emergency SOS system, 3 months free of Apple Fitness+, and a built-in speaker and mic. It can also measure blood oxygen, skin temperature, and ovulation cycles.
- List price: around $130
- Battery life: up to 7 days
- Water-resistance: up to 50 meters
- Exercise and health profiles: all exercises
This watch features advanced sleep monitoring. This means a person can track their four sleep stages, movement, and blood oxygen levels. Therefore, this watch may be best suited to individuals who would like these insights.
The Garmin Vivosmart 4 can automatically detect exercises such as walking, cycling, swimming, and elliptical training.
It can measure heart rate and stress levels. People can also set a relaxation breathing timer and there is a Body Battery energy monitor to tell a person if they are ready to be active or require rest.
The battery can last up to 7 days. Using the Pulse Ox sensor will shorten the battery life.
The following watches may suit people who wish to monitor their heart rate for health reasons or see how environmental factors affect their heartbeat.
Best for blood pressure monitoring: Omron HeartGuide
- List price: around $499
- Battery life: up to two days
- Water-resistance: none
- Exercise and health profiles: monitors blood pressure
According to Omron, this watch is the first to offer a clinically accurate blood pressure monitor. It also has FDA approval as a medical device. Therefore, it may be best for individuals with high or low blood pressure who need to track this.
It can also monitor physical activity and measure sleep quality. Additionally, a person can set reminders using the monitor and receive notifications from their smartphone.
People can expect to charge the watch 23 times a week.
Best for menstrual health tracking: Fitbit Charge 4
- List price: around $146
- Battery life: up to 7 days
- Water-resistance: up to 50 meters
- Exercise and health profiles: all exercises and menstrual health
The Fitbit Charge 4 may be suitable for those wishing to track their menstrual cycle.
It features GPS connectivity, sleep tracking, and 24-hour heart monitoring. The device also connects to the Fitbit app via phone, tablet, or computer.
This tracker monitors several health metrics, such as heart rate and steps taken.
The battery lasts up to 7 days, while the watch features secure contactless payment technology. This means a person can pay for items with the device without needing to take out a bank card or cash.
Best for a range of outdoor activities: Garmin fnix 5
- List price: around $500
- Battery life: up to 60 hours
- Water-resistance: up to 100 meters
- Exercise and health profiles: running, cycling, outdoor activity, golfing, menstrual health
The fnix 5 offers built-in GPS, accurate heart rate tracking, and a range of activity trackers, such as running, golfing, cycling, swimming, and outdoor recreation. Therefore, it may be best for individuals who take part in a range of outdoor activities.
It comes in 16 different styles and colors.
According to Garmin, the battery lasts for up to 24 hours in heart rate and GPS mode and up to 60 hours in GPS-only mode. In smartwatch mode, the battery could last for 2 weeks.
There are several other heart rate devices available to buy online, including:
Best for a long battery life: Polar H10
- List price: around $85
- Battery life: up to 400 hours
- Water-resistance: up to 30 meters
- Exercise and health profiles: compatible with other devices that track fitness metrics
The Polar H10 has a very long battery life of up to 400 hours.
It is a budget heart rate monitor, suitable for people who do not need any additional features. It may also be suited for those who do not wish to charge their device too often.
This chest strap can connect to its custom app or other fitness apps. People can also wear it while swimming, and it offers up to 400 hours of battery life.
It comes in five strap colors.
Best for replaceable batteries: Lezyne HR Flow
- List price: around $45
- Battery life: uses a replaceable battery
- Water-resistance: no information available
- Exercise and health profiles: monitors heart rate
The Lezyne HR Flow is another budget option for those looking for a basic but accurate heart rate monitor.
This monitor uses a replaceable CR2032 coin cell battery rather than a rechargeable battery. It may be best suited to those who would rather use disposable batteries and would like a budget heart rate monitor option.
The Lezyne HR Flow comes without GPS or features that other heart rate monitors or smart watches might include.
It has a Bluetooth feature, enabling it to connect with most smartphones, and it comes with a flexible chest strap.
The table below summarises the main features of some of the best heart rate monitoring watches.
While variations in heart rate are typical, especially when a person is exercising, consistently high or low heart rate may require contacting a healthcare professional.
Additionally, people should seek
- chest pain or discomfort
- shortness of breath
- lightheadedness or dizziness
- heart palpitations
- pain or discomfort in the neck, jaw, or arms
Here we answer some common questions about heart rate monitoring watches.
What is the best way to track heart rate?
Chest strap monitors provide the
If a person does not have access to any devices, they can track their heart rate manually. According to the National Health Service in the United Kingdom, the best way to measure heart rate manually is to find the pulse in the wrist or neck.
To find the pulse at the wrist, people should place their index and middle finger at the base of the thumb on the inside of the wrist. To find the pulse in the neck, people should place their index and middle finger at the side of the throat, underneath the jaw, and beside the windpipe.
Then, they can set a timer for 60 seconds and count the heartbeats. Alternatively, they can count the heartbeats for 30 seconds and multiply the number by two.
Are wrist heart rate monitors accurate?
Wrist heart rate monitors are reasonably accurate.
One
What is a good resting heart rate by age?
The
Many smartwatches can track heart rate at rest, during exercise, and at night. While there are many options and styles, people may wish to choose theirs based on personal preference and the features they want, such as long battery life, GPS, and water resistance.
Runners and exercise enthusiasts may wish to consider more expensive watches that can track various physical activities. In contrast, people who simply want to monitor their heart health may opt for a simple watch they can wear every day that tracks their heartbeat.
Please note: Medical News Today does not imply warranty of fitness for a particular purpose or endorse any of these applications. Nobody at MNT has evaluated these apps for medical accuracy. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved them unless otherwise indicated.
