Fitbit vs Runkeeper vs Mapmyfitness vs Zombies, Run

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kathdela
kathdela Posts: 148 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi! So I'm trying to train for an upcoming 5k and I've discovered that all 4 of these give me significantly different distances. Today, for instance, fitbit said I only went 1.25 miles in 35 minutes (at a pace of about a 4 minute mile I THINK) however, I also had the exercise trainer running in fitbit and it said I went about 3 miles It can't even agree with itself, it seems, runkeeper and mapmyfitness said I went about 2.45 miles and Zombies, Run said I went about 2.6 miles.

I could deal with the .15 difference that zombies, run and runkeeper/mapmyfitness have, but the huge difference with the fitbit is what's causing me to wonder. Which have you found to be more accurate?

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  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    edited June 2015
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    Unless you're using the GPS Surge (which I don't know much about) then Fitbit has a setting in your dashboard area to set stride. If you haven't set this accurately, then it could easily be off. And if it was a wrist worn device, were you swinging your arms in a normal motion? Or holding onto a treadmill, leash?

    For the others, were they using GPS? Zombies, Run gives you options. GPS or setting your pace, I believe.
  • Mjones23456
    Mjones23456 Posts: 57 Member
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    Mapmyfitness has a GPS and should be pretty accurate.
  • kathdela
    kathdela Posts: 148 Member
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    StaciMarie1974 wrote: »
    Unless you're using the GPS Surge (which I don't know much about) then Fitbit has a setting in your dashboard area to set stride. If you haven't set this accurately, then it could easily be off. And if it was a wrist worn device, were you swinging your arms in a normal motion? Or holding onto a treadmill, leash?

    For the others, were they using GPS? Zombies, Run gives you options. GPS or setting your pace, I believe.

    I was using GPS on all of them. As for the fitbit, I was running outside, so I was swinging my arms as usual. I'll look into changing my stride length, just seems odd that it'd be THAT big of a difference.

  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
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    I have had issues w/ MapMyFitness zoning out if I used other apps at the same time. As in it would close, and when I reopened it there would be a straight line from the last point that it tracked to where I was when I reopened it. As if I'd run thru people's back yards or something. For the apps that show a map of your run, look at them to see if there is a route discrepancy like this?
  • beemerphile1
    beemerphile1 Posts: 1,710 Member
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    I really don't know how fitbit works, doesn't it just count steps? The other apps like runkeeper, mapmyfitness and strava use the GPS in your phone so should all be very similar.
  • kathdela
    kathdela Posts: 148 Member
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    StaciMarie1974 wrote: »
    I have had issues w/ MapMyFitness zoning out if I used other apps at the same time. As in it would close, and when I reopened it there would be a straight line from the last point that it tracked to where I was when I reopened it. As if I'd run thru people's back yards or something. For the apps that show a map of your run, look at them to see if there is a route discrepancy like this?
    It never crashes on me or anything. my maps just look more wonky
    g85gxgfjpkzh.png

    So it'll say I ran in lines that I didn't, instead of a straight line. That's where I think it's getting the extra distance from. I was just wondering if there was an app that was a bit more accurate.

  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
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    kathdela wrote: »
    Hi! So I'm trying to train for an upcoming 5k and I've discovered that all 4 of these give me significantly different distances. Today, for instance, fitbit said I only went 1.25 miles in 35 minutes (at a pace of about a 4 minute mile I THINK) however, I also had the exercise trainer running in fitbit and it said I went about 3 miles It can't even agree with itself, it seems, runkeeper and mapmyfitness said I went about 2.45 miles and Zombies, Run said I went about 2.6 miles.

    I could deal with the .15 difference that zombies, run and runkeeper/mapmyfitness have, but the huge difference with the fitbit is what's causing me to wonder. Which have you found to be more accurate?

    You need to calibrate your Fitbit stride: http://help.fitbit.com/articles/en_US/Help_article/How-do-I-measure-and-adjust-my-stride-length

    You can learn more in the Fitbit Users group: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users
  • beemerphile1
    beemerphile1 Posts: 1,710 Member
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    kathdela wrote: »
    StaciMarie1974 wrote: »
    I have had issues w/ MapMyFitness zoning out if I used other apps at the same time. As in it would close, and when I reopened it there would be a straight line from the last point that it tracked to where I was when I reopened it. As if I'd run thru people's back yards or something. For the apps that show a map of your run, look at them to see if there is a route discrepancy like this?
    It never crashes on me or anything. my maps just look more wonky
    g85gxgfjpkzh.png

    So it'll say I ran in lines that I didn't, instead of a straight line. That's where I think it's getting the extra distance from. I was just wondering if there was an app that was a bit more accurate.

    The problem is the GPS in your phone, not the app.

    To conserve battery life the GPS in your phone pauses between updates and causes the excess distance (zig-zag). A better GPS like my Garmin does not do that.
  • kathdela
    kathdela Posts: 148 Member
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    beemerphile1 wrote: »
    kathdela wrote: »
    StaciMarie1974 wrote: »
    I have had issues w/ MapMyFitness zoning out if I used other apps at the same time. As in it would close, and when I reopened it there would be a straight line from the last point that it tracked to where I was when I reopened it. As if I'd run thru people's back yards or something. For the apps that show a map of your run, look at them to see if there is a route discrepancy like this?
    It never crashes on me or anything. my maps just look more wonky
    g85gxgfjpkzh.png

    So it'll say I ran in lines that I didn't, instead of a straight line. That's where I think it's getting the extra distance from. I was just wondering if there was an app that was a bit more accurate.

    The problem is the GPS in your phone, not the app.

    To conserve battery life the GPS in your phone pauses between updates and causes the excess distance (zig-zag). A better GPS like my Garmin does not do that.

    That makes sense. Thank you

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