How accurate are Fitbits?

littlemshepy

Also which would you recommend buying?
Many thanks for reading

LivingtheLeanDream

I have the Fitbit One its been spot on with my TDEE and I've found it a great motivator to move more and more. I've had mine for 4 years

diezel67

Does not work good on a boat gave me 15,000 steps lol.

janejellyroll

I have the Fitbit Charge HR (which is not the newest model of the Charge). I've used it since July 2015 and have found it to be very accurate. The only time it isn't is when I'm driving -- it tends to record extra steps. Since I only drive 5-6 times a year, it isn't an issue. If I drove regularly, I would probably just take it off and put it back on when I was done.

TJnTexas

My older Charge HR is accurate. HR is consistent with manual measuring HR, steps are very near accurate (when I count them in my head while walking, they are close), Distance is now very accurate for both walking and running (not that I run a lot - spinal stenosis makes it painful after a little while). But distance is accurate because I went to a high school track, and counted steps for a quarter mile about 8 times and then adjusted my stride until the distance reported matched the actual distance walked. I am 5'6'' and my stride was NOT equal to the default stride for the FitBit.

Suzeq66

I have the fit bit zip it has a watch battery and is pretty accurate.

vtemp2013

I have had the Fitbit surge for two years. It's very accurate and easy to use! I would recommend.

cardioxxbunnyxx

I believe it works most accurately when running, just my personal opinion.
Other cardio exersises, I'd be wary about the calorie burn from fitbit.

I have the charge HR.

scorsar

i guess the question i have is does it matter? I have the Charge HR and it seems like it takes a little while to catch up my heart rate - but once it does, it records it accurately. The next workout i compare it to the previous. If i took my friends tracker with the heart rate band and tried it - i'm sure it would be different.
But what i mean is - if it counts your steps / heart rate, and gives you a baseline to compare to - does it matter if at the end of the day it's a bit on the high side or the low side? What matters to me is that it motivates me to exercise and i can see a number at the end of the day

cdkelly

I recently got the charge 2. I love it and am so glad I got it! It's quite accurate for me and is a good motivator. It's constantly telling me to take it for a walk haha.
I found when I was logging exercises on here without it, it was showing way more calories burned than I actually was. Now that I have more accurate calorie burned info I can plan my calorie intake better and get better weight loss results.

fitmom4lifemfp

As far as steps, my Fitbit One is great. I don't really pay any attention to the calories it says I have burned as that number is ridiculously off for me.

megzchica23

I have the Charge HR 2. I love it. I think it is fairly accurate. I still eat the same amount of calories as I did before. I don't increase it for the extra steps. I only do if I do some sort of actual work out or long walk. But the calorie burn for walks seems consistent with other methods of tracking it.

abovethecity

I have the Fitbit Charge 2 and I find it very inaccurate for the most part. It overestimates my calories by a lot. I tried just eating half of the extra calories that it gave me for a month and I actually gained weight, lol. It is also not very accurate with steps - I get steps from just putting on my clothes in morning. Maybe all fitbits are like that, I don't know as this is the only one I've ever had, but these 100s of extra "steps" add up during the day. Also, the reminder to move notifications work about half the time. I'd personally stay away from the Charge 2 imo.

ruqayyahsmum

I have the charge hr. It doesnt seem to log my steps so well. One day i counted for a short bit. 227 steps..... it logged 33
On a sunday it logs my 8.5k walk as just 1.5 miles
But it does remind me to keep active i guess

macchiatto

I had a Flex for a while (which was OK but stopped holding a charge) and I just got a Charge 2 yesterday. FWIW so far I love it. (Definitely a huge step up from the Flex!) It seems pretty accurate so far but I do want to compare it with walking on the track at the Y and adjust strides if necessary. I have long legs so I'm guessing mine may be longer than the default. Off topic, but I have to admit I love the notifications from my phone (texts, incoming calls, calendar reminder) way more than I expected to!