The best fitness trackers are pretty expensive, but if you’ve looked for budget-friendly alternatives to brands like Garmin and Google, you’ve probably come across Amazfit. It’s a wearables and fitness tracker brand with a focus on being affordable (at least in comparison to other brands): Its popular products offer similar features to big names like Garmin at a fraction of the cost, at least, on paper.
But are Amazfit trackers any good? I’ve been testing smartwatches and fitness trackers for years, and tried the brand’s most popular products to find out.
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What I like
Best overall
The Amazfit Active 2 epitomises all the best qualities of Amazfit as a brand. It’s a simple and inexpensive fitness tracker that looks and feels premium compared to basically every other fitness tracker that costs less than $100.
A lot of that comes down to build quality — the watch has a stainless steel case that’s sleek and classy compared to more aluminum and plastic fitness trackers like the Fitbit Charge 6 and Garmin Vivoactive 6. Plus it has a built-in speaker to announce things like mileage and turn-by-turn directions, another rarity at this price.
It comes in two sport versions (black and red) and two premium versions (round and square). The premium versions use more durable sapphire crystal screens, and come with both leather and silicone watch bands (hence the slightly higher price).
Best upgrade
If I were to pick one Amazfit watch to wear 24/7, it would be the Amazfit Active 3 Premium. It has a lot of features runners, cyclists and anyone working out outdoors can appreciate. The big one is buttons: The Active 3 Premium has four buttons (two on each side) that make controlling the watch much easier while running or biking, especially if you’re wearing gloves. Compared to the Active 2, it also gets 50 percent brighter, has longer battery life and uses a more durable sapphire crystal display.
Best of all, it costs $169 — shockingly low, considering the quality and features on offer.
Best screenless tracker
The Amazfit Helio Strap is a screenless fitness tracker that costs $99 and doesn’t have a subscription fee. That alone makes it a noteworthy alternative to screenless trackers like the Oura Ring and Whoop, which are expensive by comparison and require a subscription.
It’s a simple nylon band around a heart-rate sensor — you start workouts and view all your data through the Zepp mobile app. The band also has automatic workout detection, but it’s hit or miss — in my experience, big activities like outdoor runs were automatically detected more often than things like indoor strength training. You can also wear it around your bicep using the brand’s Helio Strap Armband, which I often found very comfortable for activities like cycling.
Best for outdoor adventure
If you’re looking for a rugged outdoor watch, this is Amazfit’s best option. The star feature is the built-in flashlight with white and red LEDs, so you can use it in the dark without blinding anyone or ruining your night vision. (This type of two-tone built-in flashlight is typically only found in Garmin watches that cost twice as much as the T-Rex Pro 3.) It also has multi-band GPS, which is more accurate for tracking and navigation, especially in dense cities and remote environments.
The watch also comes in two sizes: 44 millimeters and 48 millimeters. As someone with smaller wrists, I am grateful for the option of a 44 millimeter — it’s rare to have such a rugged, feature-rich watch in a smaller size.
Best multisport
The Amazfit Balance 2 is best for people who want durable materials and advanced multisport features, but in a sleeker design than the ruggedized Amazfit T-Rex watches. Like the T-Rex, the Balance 2 has accurate multi-band GPS, offline maps and navigation, a durable sapphire crystal screen, very long battery life, a 100 meter dive rating and on-watch calls. But it’s a little more subtle, with a thinner frame and only one button and dial, not four. It only comes in one size: a large 47 millimeter.
Best budget
This is the lowest-priced fitness tracker Amazfit makes — if price is your number one concern, this is the model to get. You do make some tradeoffs to get to this price point, however. Compared to the Amazfit Active 2, the Bip 6’s build quality is just okay; it’s made of aluminum and plastic instead of steel, and just feels a little less premium overall. Personally, I would spend the extra $20 and get the Amazfit Active 2 or Amazfit Helio Strap over the Bip 6.
What I would skip
Amazfit T-Rex Ultra 2
The $550 price is too expensive for an Amazfit watch. The brand is at its best when it undercuts the competition on price — this watch simply doesn’t. You can get a great Apple, Google, Garmin or Suunto watch for the same price as the T-Rex Ultra 2, and all four of those brands have more refined software than Amazfit does. If you’re willing to spend $550, I would recommend the Garmin Forerunner 965, Suunto Race 2 or Apple Watch Ultra 2 (on sale) instead.
Amazfit Active Max
The Active Max and the Active 3 Premium both cost $169, but the Active 3 Premium is the better watch. It’s thinner and sleeker, plus it has more button controls and uses more durable materials. If you specifically want a very large watch, the Balance 2, T-Rex 3 and T-Rex Pro 3 are all better options, but the Active Max is lower priced.
Amazfit Helio Ring
This Amazfit ring isn’t as accurate for health and fitness tracking as the competition, namely, the similarly priced RingConn Gen 2 Air. That and the pending lawsuit filed by Oura against Amazfit for ring patents make the Helio Ring one to skip.
What can improve
Amazfit trackers are great value for the dollar, but there are a few things that could improve across all of its products:
Watch software
Like any fitness tracker or smartwatch, using the Amazfit on-watch software can take some getting used to. Having tested basically every major wearable brand, I can say that Amazfit’s interface is a little less refined than an Apple Watch or Google Pixel Watch. It took me a little longer to find specific settings, create custom workouts, create sleep schedules and find other specific features, so keep that in mind.
The Zepp mobile app
The Zepp Health mobile app (Zepp Health is Amazfit’s parent company) simply isn’t as easy to use as Apple Watch, Google Pixel watch and Fitbit apps. It requires a little bit more patience to dig into and truly understand what’s going on. Terms like PAI and Biocharge seem complicated at a glance, and make the whole experience more intimidating than other brands.
How I tested Amazfit fitness trackers
Amazfit makes more than a dozen fitness trackers. I tested six of the most popular models for two months to better understand the brand and its product options. I used each watch for at least a week, testing as many features as possible in that time, comparing them to another fitness tracker worn on my other wrist (in this case, mostly the Garmin Fenix 8).
I’ve tested smartwatches and fitness trackers for years, primarily through outdoor walks, runs, and cycling, plus indoor strength training workouts. I track and monitor stats like heart rate, pace and time, as well as recovery metrics over the course of the week. I did this with each Amazfit watch.
I also spent hours tinkering in settings menus, exploring what the mobile app and each watch has to offer out of the box, and what can be fine-tuned later to match different preferences.
I requested Amazfit watches from the brand, which sent me devices to test out as needed.
Who is Amazfit for?
Amazfit is for anyone who wants to spend less on a fitness tracker and doesn’t mind a few software quirks to hit that low price point. Its best trackers are under $200, and are made with premium materials that make competitors at that price point feel cheap by comparison.
Why trust NBC Select?
I’m a reporter at NBC Select who covers technology, fitness and outdoors, including stories on wireless earbuds, fitness trackers and camping for beginners. I’ve been testing fitness trackers for years — I try new models constantly, comparing them against previous versions and similar competitors. I leveraged my experience testing fitness trackers, smartwatches and smart rings to test Amazfit fitness trackers for two months, and pick the best ones.
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