Top 10 Best Fitness Tracker for Ankles: (Buying Guide)
If you are (or plan to be) a fitness geek and a serious one at that, then you definitely have heard about ankle fitness trackers.
An ankle fitness tracker is a type of device that keeps track of important health statistics regarding one’s exercise routine. This can be worn on one’s ankle, which may make it comfier and less heavy on the arms since there are fewer things weighing it down.
You would have to strap your ankle just like you do on your wrist.
With dozens and hundreds of fitness trackers out there, it’s hard to choose the best ones.
In this article, I am going to talk about the best fitness tracker for ankles, and how to choose one for yourself.
My #1 Choice ❤
Ok. So if you want to get straight to the point, I give you my No.1 pick for the best fitness tracker for ankles: the Fitbit Flex 2.
- Track steps, distance, calories burned and active minutes. LED display lights up to show progress toward your daily goal
- Ultra-thin, removable tracker hides in bands, pendants and bangles
- Swim proof for tracking, swimming, life proof for wear in the ocean, shower, pool and beyond
- SmartTrack automatically recognizes select workouts and records them to your Fitbit app
Last update on 2023-03-27 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Here’s why: first and foremost, its design is ideal for ankles. It is essentially a strap with LEDs on it and does not have a display.
It’s my personal favorite on this list because: you don’t have to take it off except to charge it. All of the exercise stats will be displayed in the phone app after syncing it with your smartphone.
You can also sync Google Fit with a Fitbit device.
The advantage of having this tracker is that you don’t need an ankle band to wear it. Just strap it on your ankle directly.
How-to: Choose The Best Fitness Trackers For Ankles
Here are some tips to select the best fitness tracker for ankles and have a full worth of your money:
Display
You don’t have to worry much about the display as one cannot see the display of the ankle fitness tracker while wearing them.
I would suggest using a screen protector on the display to keep your fitness tracker safe from scratches and abrasion.
Accuracy
Non-ankle-based trackers often have this accuracy issue while wearing them on your wrist or waist.
For instance, the way that your body is positioned or the manner in which you are performing an activity is, at times, registered as walking or running by the tracker, even though you might be stationary.
On the other hand, if you use a fitness tracker for ankles, its precision in knowing whether you are still or moving increases.
Weight
First, it needs to be light. You can’t afford to put any strain on your ankles. Prioritize trackers that are stylish and compact.
Every ankle fitness tracker that I include in this blog post is lightweight.
Waterproofing
Ankle fitness trackers are more exposed to water splashes. Make sure to select a fitness tracker that is waterproof or splash-proof for the ankles.
In this blog post, every fitness tracker is waterproof.
Health Tracking
Although the health-related functions might become less accurate when worn on the ankles, Having them in the trackers, though, is always useful.
It should keep track of your daily activities, such as step count, calories burned, and distance traveled.
10 Best Fitness Tracker for Ankles Compared
The following table shows our top picks with the estimated price range and our final rating. There is also a link placed on each option so it will be easier for you to find the product (Amazon links).
The table is ranked from the most affordable product first to the most premium choice at the bottom.
| Name | Price | Rating |
| Moov Now | ⭐⭐⭐ | |
| Garmin VivoSmart 4 | $115.69 | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Fitbit Inspire | $79.00 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Fitbit Flex 2 | $213.99 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Garmin VivoFit 4 | $78.64 | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Amazit Band 5 | $78.64 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Garmin VivoFit Jr 2 | $79.99 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Fitbit Zip | $149.95 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Garmin Running Dynamics Pod | $39.99 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Fitbit Charge 3 | $177.99 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
I now list the top 10 best fitness trackers for ankles.
1. Moov Now
Price Range: $
BestSportsLounge Rating: 3/5
Key Features
- Color: Black
- Sport Modes: Yes
- Active Minutes: Yes
- Swim-tracking: Yes
- Sleep tracking: Yes
- Heart-rate monitoring: Yes
- Battery life: 6 months
This tracker contains everything you would require in a health gadget. It can be the greatest economical alternative for you in terms of ankle-based fitness tracking.
It doesn’t have a display. The design gives it a smartwatch sense, and it looks cool on the wrist as well.
Perfect for both running and swimming with sports modes including cycling, walking, and cardio-boxing.
| Pros | Cons |
| Light in weight and breathable | Sometimes has connection issues with smartphones |
| Accurate tracking | Heart rate monitoring is not available |
| Real-time audio coaching | |
| Water-proof while swimming |
- MOOV NOW provides real-time audio coaching for running, cycling, cardio boxing, body weight (Moov 7 Minute+)
- Most advanced swim tracker - stroke type, stroke count, lap analysis, recommends ways to improve
- Tracks Active Minutes and Sleep
- A wearable fitness coach that speaks to you - actively monitors your motion, tracks your progress, and motivates you to achieve your fitness goals
Last update on 2023-03-27 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
2. Garmin VivoSmart 4
Price Range: $
BestSportsLounge Rating: 3/5
Key features:
- Color: Black
- Heart rate monitoring: Yes
- Sleep monitoring: Yes
- Multi-sport modes: Yes
- Smart notifications: Yes
- Ox sensor: Yes
- Water-resistant: Yes
- Battery life: 7 days
Garmin is best known for its tough outdoor smartwatches, but they also make a lot of fitness trackers, like this Vivosmart series.
This one is small and light, so it will not cause any discomfort to your ankle. Get this smartwatch if you don’t want to carry a smartphone while running.
This fitness tracker for ankles comes with a variety of capabilities.
For instance, the purpose of the sleep monitoring feature is to keep track of your sleeping cycles so that you are aware of the light, deep, and REM zones during the night.
Garmin Vivosmart 4 offers multi-sport modes including walking, running, yoga, strength training, and swimming.
| Pros | Cons |
| Good fitness tracking features | No onboard GPS |
| Precise Ox sensor | |
| Swimproof | |
| Stress tracking |
- Slim, smart activity tracker blends fashionable design with stylish metal accents and a bright, easy to read display.Physical size: Small: Fits wrists with a circumference of 122-188 mm. Large:Fits wrists with a circumference of 148-215 mm.Supported Application:Phone. Connectivity technology:Cellular. Wireless comm standard:Bluetooth
- Includes advanced sleep monitoring with REM sleep and can gauge blood oxygen saturation levels during the night with the wrist based Pulse Ox sensor. (Not a medical device and not intended for use in the diagnosis or monitoring of any medical condition)
- Fitness and health monitoring tools include estimated wrist based heart rate, all day stress tracking, Relaxation breathing timer, Vo2 Max, body battery energy monitor and more
- Features dedicated activity timers for walks, runs, strength training, yoga, pool swims and others; Lens material: Polycarbonate. Strap material: Silicone. Compatible Devices VIRB Ultra 30 , VIRB XVIRB X and VIRB XEVIRB XE
Last update on 2023-03-27 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
3. Fitbit Inspire
Price Range: $
BestSportsLounge Rating: 4/5
Key features:
- Color: Black
- Heart rate monitoring: No
- Sleep monitoring: Yes
- Automatic exercise recognition: Yes
- Multi-sport modes: Yes
- Reminders to move: Yes
- All-day calories burn: Yes
- Water-resistant: Yes
- Battery life: 5 days
This fitness tracker for ankles has a small and compact size.
You’ll obtain a nice gadget at an affordable price after detaching the tracker from the bands and setting it in the ankle band.
It will track your entire day’s activity, including step count, distance traveled during the day, and calories burned.
Has an automatic exercise recognition feature, which eliminates the need to switch between modes.
It also includes a simple reminder to move if you’ve been sitting for a long time and an invitation to go for a walk.
Once you reach a certain level, you’ll even be awarded virtual badges.
| Pros | Cons |
| Automatic exercise recognition | Average battery life |
| Swimproof | |
| Affordable |
- Track all day activity, including steps, distance, hourly activity, active minutes and calories burned
- Automatically track your sleep & set silent alarms that wake you by buzzing on your wrist.Operating temperature: -10° to 45° C
- Enjoy up to 5 days of battery for daily progress without constant charging. Varies with use & other factors
- Automatically and conveniently record workouts like walks, swimming & bike rides with smart track
Last update on 2023-03-27 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
4. Fitbit Flex 2
Price Range: $
BestSportsLounge Rating: 4.5/5
Key Features:
- Color: Black
- Sleep monitoring: Yes
- Multi-sport modes: Yes
- Reminders to move: Yes
- Automatic exercise recognition: Yes
- Swimproof: Yes
- Battery life: 5 days
By far my personal favorite, this fitness tracker for ankles comes in two sizes; I recommend the larger one, but you choose according to your preferences.
Ultra-thin, so it won’t irritate you even if worn all day. It will measure calories burned, distance traveled, and steps walked for an entire day.
Wake up with the help of a silent alarm so you don’t wake up anybody else, and check your sleeping cycle from the previous night to see how much sleep you had.
It has exercise recognition, which means it will automatically monitor your varied workouts and exercises without you having to change anything.
Simply launch the Fitbit app to acquire all of the information you require.
| Pros | Cons |
| Slim design | No onboard GPS |
| Easy-to-use | Heart rate monitor is not included |
| Good fitness tracking features |
- Track steps, distance, calories burned and active minutes. LED display lights up to show progress toward your daily goal
- Ultra-thin, removable tracker hides in bands, pendants and bangles
- Swim proof for tracking, swimming, life proof for wear in the ocean, shower, pool and beyond
- SmartTrack automatically recognizes select workouts and records them to your Fitbit app
Last update on 2023-03-27 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
5. Garmin VivoFit 4
Price Range: $$
Best Sports Lounge Rating: 3/5
Key features:
- Calorie Counting: Yes
- Sleep monitoring: Yes
- Auto Sync: Yes
- Toe-to-Toe challenge: Yes
- Battery life: Over 1-year
This fitness tracker allows you to track your activity and keep moving without having to stop to recharge. With a battery life of more than a year, the Vivofit 4 is ideal for wearing 24/7.
This ankle fitness tracker syncs to Garmin Connect regularly, allowing you to record, plan, and share your activities, as well as participate in social challenges.
The Garmin Move IQ tool recognizes and classifies your activity type automatically.
This activity tracker, like the basic Garmin foot pod, keeps track of your progress around the clock and eliminates the need for a charging cord thanks to its long battery life.
| Pros | Cons |
| Customizable color display | May have issues in pairing after continued use over months. |
| Safe for swimming and shower | A bit expensive |
| Auto fitness activity detection and classification |
- Features always on customizable color display and 1 plus year battery life; no charging necessary. Safe for swimming and showering
- Tracks steps, distance and calories burned, monitors sleep and provides a personalized daily step goal (heart rate monitoring not available on this product)
- Periodically syncs to Garmin Connect, where you can save, plan and share your activities, get involved in social challenges and more
- Garmin Move IQ feature automatically detects activity and classifies activity type on Garmin Connect. Smartphone compatibility is iphone and android
Last update on 2023-03-27 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
6. Amazfit Band 5
Price Range: $$
Best Sports Lounge Rating: 4/5
Key features:
- Heart Rate Monitoring: Yes
- Sleep Monitoring: Yes
- Stress Monitoring: Yes
- HD Display: Yes
- Waterproof: Yes
- Battery Life: 15 days (typical)
Amazfit is a global smart wear leader with a diverse product line that includes smartwatches and bands.
With a fully charged Amazfit Band 5, you can wave goodbye to daily recharges and forget about bringing a charger on a two-week trip.
A larger and crisper viewing experience is provided by the 1.1-inch color LED screen.
When you’re feeling sick, after a lengthy period of activity, high-intensity workouts, or low-oxygen conditions, you can use this inexpensive fitness tracker to quickly monitor your blood oxygen saturation.
This tracker evaluates sleep quality and interprets sleep factors at each stage to help you change your sleeping patterns.
It includes high-precision heart rate monitoring and high heart-rate alert comparable with the best trackers out there.
| Pros | Cons |
| Talk with Amazon Alexa | At times, inaccuracy might occur in blood oxygen calculations |
| Make grocery lists | |
| Check the Weather | |
| Control your smart home gadgets | |
| Accurate Heart-rate monitoring |
- AMAZON ALEXA BUILT-IN: Talk to Amazon Alexa on your Amazfit Band 5. Ask questions, get translations, set alarms, and timers, create shopping lists, check the weather, control your smart home devices, and more.
- 15-DAY BATTERY LIFE: Say goodbye to daily recharge. With a fully charged Amazfit Band 5, you don’t need to bring a charger for a two-week trip. On a single charge, it has enough power to get you charged for 2 whole weeks mind-free.
- BLOOD OXYGEN SATURATION MONITOR: You can measure your blood oxygen saturation and understand your physical state with OxygenBeatsTM. Ideal for high-intensity workouts and sports such as marathons and gym workouts.
- 24/7 HEART RATE, SLEEP TRACKER: With Huami-proprietary BioTracker TM2 PPG optical sensor, this health tracker performs 24/7 real-time heart rate monitoring and high heart rate warning. Band 5 can also professionally interpret the sleep characteristics at each stage and analyzes sleep quality, to help you adjust your sleep habits. It even monitors your 20-minute daily nap.
Last update on 2023-03-27 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
7. Garmin Vívofit Jr 2
Price Range: $$$
Best Sports Lounge Rating: 4/5
Key features:
- Sleep monitoring: Yes
- Sport modes: No
- Interactive games: Yes
- Pedometer: Yes
- Activity tracking: Yes
- Water-resistant: Yes
- Battery life: 1-year
Younger children frequently have their smart devices destroyed due to a lack of care, which is why buying them a tracker that can also be worn on the ankle can be beneficial.
This ankle fitness tracker comes with a slew of cool features. To begin with, it comes in seven various styles and varied bands to catch the attention of children.
Includes a pedometer, which allows parents to track the number of steps taken during the day and monitor their children’s sleep.
| Pros | Cons |
| Interactive games | No Heart-rate tracking |
| Swim-friendly | |
| Affordable |
- Disney Princess kids fitness tracker with interactive app experience
- Swim friendly band features a customizable color screen and user replaceable battery that lasts 1+ year; No recharging needed
- Parents can access chore management and reward tools on the parent controlled app
- Motivates kids to achieve active minute goals that unlock adventures, games and icons featuring Disney Princesses Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Mulan and Rapunzel
Last update on 2023-03-27 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
8. Fitbit Zip
Price Range: $$$
Best Sports Lounge Rating: 4/5
Key features:
- Color: Magenta
- Display: Tap display
- Heart rate monitoring: No
- Sleep monitoring: No
- Multi-sport modes: No
- All-day activity tracking: Yes
- Wireless syncing: Yes
- Water-resistance: Yes
- Battery life: 6 months
Like its name (Zip) this tracker is a to-the-point quirky gadget.
Firstly it is not a wearable device, the Fitbit Zip has a somewhat different shape than the other trackers.
It has a small size and a limited display and that’s it; no bands involved. This allows it to be used in a variety of ways.
You can wear it as a clip-on fitness tracker, carry it in your hand, or put it in your pocket.
Wondering how you will use the ankle tracker?
Just purchase an ankle band, which is quite inexpensive and readily available on the internet and you’re good to go!
When it comes to the features, consider it more of a pedometer with a few more capabilities rather than a full-fledged fitness tracker.
It offers all-day activity tracking, which tracks your step count, distance and calories burned.
Fitness enthusiasts can set various goals on Fitbit Zip and track their progress each day to discover how close they are to achieving them.
| Pros | Cons |
| Easy-to-use | Way too basic features |
| Can be worn, placed anywhere | No health/fitness tracking |
| Long-lasting battery life | Pricey |
- Tracks steps, distance and calories burned
- Syncs automatically to your computer or select bluetooth 4.0 smartphones or tablets
- Set goals, view progress and earn badges
- Share and compete with friends throughout the day
Last update on 2023-03-27 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
9. Garmin Running Dynamics Pod
Price Range: $$$
Best Sports Lounge Rating: 4.5/5
Key features:
- Color: Green
- Weight: 0.5 pounds
- Sleep monitoring: No
- Heart rate monitoring: No
- Running dynamics: Yes
- Easy syncing: Yes
- Battery life: 1-year
This could be the ankle fitness tracker for you if you only want to track your running sessions and nothing else.
Similar in form to the Fitbit Zip, this one is also not wearable, making it convenient to use practically anywhere. It just weighs 0.5 pounds; truly a featherweight class.
You may effortlessly wear it on your ankles with the help of an appropriate ankle band.
Because it’s a genuine running tracker, if you’re searching for high-end extra features, this one might not be the ideal choice for you.
It will give you six various running dynamics after syncing it with a compatible device: cadence, stride length, ground contact time, vertical oscillations, balance, and vertical ratio.
One of the best features of wearing this tracker around your ankle is its incredible battery life. If you use it for an hour a day, it will last a year without needing to be recharged.
| Pros | Cons |
| Compact size | Not offering anything else except running metrics |
| Giving precise running dynamics | |
| Long battery life |
- Computes and sends 6 running dynamics metrics to your compatible Device
- Battery life: replaceable battery lasts up to 1 year (assuming 1 hour daily use)
- Automatically turns itself on and off
- Tiny size: at less than 5 ounces, you’ll forget it’s there
Last update on 2023-03-27 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
10. Fitbit Charge 3
Price Range: $$$
Best Sports Lounge Rating: 4/5
Key features:
- Color: Black
- Heart rate monitoring: Yes
- Sleep monitoring: Yes
- Multi-sport modes: Yes
- Smart notifications: Yes
- Swimproof: Yes
- Battery life: 7 days
Ok, so personally this wouldn’t be my first choice for ankle-wear because it looks way too good on the wrist.
The tracker, however, is detachable and can be easily slipped between any ankle bands and worn on the ankles.
To ensure that you have access to all of the information connected to your health and fitness activities, it includes built-in heart rate monitoring, which allows you to measure it at your ease anytime.
Keep the tracker on while you sleep, and you’ll know how much sleep you had last night, as well as different sleeping cycles when you wake up.
It also includes 15+ goal-oriented workouts, including cycling, running, swimming, and yoga.
Pro tip: Set a clear objective for yourself in any mode, and work hard to attain it.
It will also track all of your actions throughout the day, including step count, distance traveled, and calories burned.
| Pros | Cons |
| Heart rate monitoring | No built-in GPS |
| Sleep tracking | |
| Swimproof |
- Better measure calorie burn, understand resting heart rate & more with 24x7 heart rate tracking and a battery life of up to 7 days (varies with use and other factors); charge time (0 to 100%) 2 hours
- Choose from 15 plus exercise modes like run, bike, swim, yoga, circuit training and more, set a goal, and get real time stats during your workouts to see how you can keep getting better
- Automatically record time spent in light, deep and REM sleep stages, see Activity trends, healthy insights, and personalized guidance in one place with Fitbit today. Operating temperature is -10° to 45° Celsius
- Swim proof and water resistant to 50 meters, so you can track swims and wear in the shower; we do not recommend wearing charge 3 in a hot tub or sauna; also connect to Smartphone GPS for real time pace and distance during outdoor runs and rides
Last update on 2023-03-27 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Conclusion
All of the trackers listed above are among the best currently available. Thoroughly research and choose the one that best works for you.
