Noor
Fitness tracker; a smart gadget which is becoming more of a personal need for everyone nowadays, because of its enormous features and easy to use nature, is not only meant to wear on your wrists. Yes, you can wear a fitness tracker on your ankles, clip them to your shirt, waist, or even place them in your bag. Interesting, right?
But what’s the purpose of these trackers if you’re wearing them, somewhere else, when they are meant to be worn on wrists?
I’ll try to answer this question, by relating to a problem first. If you have used a fitness tracker previously, you’d know that most of them have this accuracy issue, where you’ll just be swinging your arms and moving your upper body in a way that you’re running, but in reality, you’re sitting on a chair, and the tracker will consider it running. This is why ankle fitness trackers are important.
I’m not denying the fact, that a fair share of fitness/activity trackers is designed to be worn on the wrist, but there are a lot of benefits if you make them clip-on fitness trackers or wear on your ankles.
First of all, it puts an end to your extra usage, which means that some people have the habit of checking their smartphones or trackers for no reason, and if you’re wearing an ankle fitness tracker, you’d eventually be saving yourself a lot of time. Secondly, it resolves the accuracy issues, and one has an accurate stat about the lower body movement.
Although it’s a totally subjective choice, if you’re looking for the best ankle fitness tracker, you’ve come to the right place, because I have reviewed the 10 best ankle fitness trackers for you in this article. But, before we get to it, let’s take a quick look at the buying guide.
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12 Best Ankle Fitness Tracker
- 1. B-Great Ankle Band
- 2. Fitbst Breathable Ankle Band
- 3. Fitbit Flex 2 (Editor’s choice)
- 4. MOOV Now (Affordable Ankle Fitness Tracker)
- 5. Fitbit Zip (Best Clip on Fitness Tracker)
- 6. Garmin 010-12520-00 Running Dynamics Pod
- 7. Fitbit Charge 3
- 8. Fitbit Inspire
- 9. Garmin Vívosmart 4
- 10. Garmin vívofit Jr 2 (Best Ankle Fitness Tracker for Kids)
- 11. TOOBUR (Best Budget Ankle Fitness Tracker)
- 12. LETSCOM (Cheap Ankle Fitness Tracker)
- Conclusion
- FAQ’S
How To Choose Best Ankle Fitness Tracker?
Given below are some of the boxes you need to check, before going for a tracker you can wear on your ankles.
It must be lightweight. You cannot afford to burden your ankles in any way. Along with this, sleek and compact trackers should be your priority.
Although the health-related features seem to have accuracy issues when worn on the ankles because they are mostly designed for wrist-based tracking. That said, having them in the trackers always comes in handy.
It should monitor your all-day activities, which include step count, burnt calories, and distance traveled during the day.
If you’re a fitness enthusiast or a sporty person, then look for multi-sport modes, through which your different workouts and exercises will not only be tracked, but you can have detailed insights as well.
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12 Best Ankle Fitness Tracker
As there aren’t a lot of fitness trackers, which are made precisely for wearing on your ankles. But this doesn’t mean that one can wear it there, as this whole article is about giving you the best options for ankle fitness trackers.
You must be wondering; how does it really work?
Well, it works easily. Take out the tracker from its original straps and insert it into the ankle band, and that’s it, your ankle fitness tracker is ready. Make sure to turn it on, while going for a walk, or running session outside.
Now, without further ado, let’s get started with the list of top 12 fitness trackers for the ankle.
**Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
1. B-Great Ankle Band
A very comfortable and durable choice, as its hand made, and the material used is skin-friendly. It is available in multiple sizes, which you can choose according to your ankles. Almost every gadget of Fitbit, Garmin, Misfit, and Sony can be placed inside it, and you can enjoy all the perks of the tracker easily.
2. Fitbst Breathable Ankle Band
This Ankle band is my personal favorite, since it’s easily adjustable, Breathable, and can hold on to your ankles firmly. There’s a touch fastener inside the pouch for extra care, in case the foot movement becomes too frequent. Your all-day activity tracking will be monitored easily, along with keeping accurate step counts and much more.
The material used in making this band is skin-friendly and is also sweat-proof to some extent as well. It is compatible with the trackers of Gamin, Fitbit, Mi, and many more.
Both these bands, don’t cost you much, come under 10 bucks, and would be an extra burden on you, but it’s going to be worth it, with all the perks and features.
3. Fitbit Flex 2 (Editor’s choice)
Fitbit Flex 2 can be the best ankle fitness tracker, and here’s why. First off, its design is perfect for it. It doesn’t have a display and is basically just a strap with LEDs on it. The plus point of having this tracker would be that you don’t have to go for an ankle band since it can be worn there easily. But if it doesn’t fit, you can always try the ankle bands, which will make sure it hands on it properly.
It is available in two different sizes, I’d suggest you go with the large one, but you choose according to your preferences. It’s ultra-thin, so you won’t be getting irritated by wearing it 24/7.
The reason why it’s my personal favorite on this list is because of the fact, that you don’t have to take it off, except for charging. After pairing it up with your smartphone, all the stats will be shown in the phone app.
Your all-day activity tracking will be monitored with the help of it, including the burnt calories, distance traveled, active minutes, and step taken during the day.
Wake up in the morning with the help of a silent alarm, so you won’t disturb anyone else in the room, and check your last night’s sleeping cycle, which will let you know how much sleep are you getting at night.
Just like Fitbit Inspire, it comes with exercise recognition, through which it will be tracking your different workouts and exercises automatically, without you changing it. Just open the Fitbit app, to get all the necessary insights about it.
Even if it wasn’t a Swimproof tracker, its design and build would have been perfect for swimming. But luckily, it is water-resistant to 50m, which makes it not only immune to getting damaged during the swimming sessions but also tracking them, efficiently.
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
Pros:
- Slim design
- Easy-to-use
- Good fitness tracking features
Cons:
- Doesn’t have a Heart rate monitor
- No on-board GPS
4. MOOV Now (Affordable Ankle Fitness Tracker)
Might be the best affordable option here for you in terms of ankle fitness tracker hunt, since it has everything you’d need in a smart gadget. Unlike most trackers, it doesn’t have a display, which is acceptable in this case. It does give a smartwatch vibe from the design and does look on the wrist too.
The reason why I’d prefer it over some of the trackers is because of the things. Firstly, you won’t need an ankle band for this one, because it’s built-in a way that you can wear it there easily. Secondly, it’s cheap, and it won’t become burn a hole in your wallet.
You can call it a running and swimming tracker per se, because of the type of features it contains. It comes with 5-6 different sports modes, which include cycling, running, swimming, Cardio boxing, and walking.
You can always switch between wearing it on the ankles to the wrist while going for different modes. For example, you can wear it on the ankles for running, walking, cycling, and on the wrist while swimming or cardio boxing. You might have to wear two pieces, one on each wrist for cardio boxing, so you could get better insights there.
It might be the perfect replacement for running smartwatch, as your stride, pace, and cadence will be monitored from it. On top of that, it comes with built-in real-time audio coaching, to improve your techniques while running and having details in the phone app as well.
You can also wear it while cycling since it’s quite lightweight and skin-friendly. Your session will be monitored, and you’ll be getting feedback about how you’re doing, along with audio coaching.
The company claims that it’s the most advanced swim tracker because it can give you stats like stroke type, stroke count, lap analysis, and turn breakdowns, and I totally agree with it. You have to keep it in your mind that this tracker costs less than 50 bucks and it still is equipped with quite high-end features, which is too good to be true.
If you haven’t been impressed by the features of it, then you might will with its battery life, which is 6 months. Imagine getting it off the package, and you don’t have to deal with the headache of charging it after every 2,3 days.
With all been said, this tracker right here, in my opinion, is the best ankle fitness tracker out there.
Key features
- Color: Black
- Sleep tracking: Yes
- Sport modes: Yes
- Heart rate monitoring: Yes
- Active minutes: Yes
- Swim-tracking: Yes
- Battery life: 6 months
Pros:
- Lightweight and breathable
- Real-time audio coaching
- Accurate tracking
- Swimproof
Cons:
- Connectivity issues in some smartphones
- No heart rate tracking
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5. Fitbit Zip (Best Clip on Fitness Tracker)
Whenever you look for a fitness tracker of any kind, you’ll always cross paths with Fitbit. They have arguably the best technology, when it comes to monitoring the heart rate, sleep tracking, giving multi-sport modes, tracking your physical activities, and much more. Along with this, the brand is very well-known, so who doesn’t want to go for a gadget from such an incredible company.
Fitbit Zip comes in a bit-usual shape, as compared to the other trackers from Fitbit because it’s not a wearable gadget. It has a compact shape and limited display, and that’s about it, there are no bands involved here. This makes it perfect to be used in more than one way. You can carry it in your hand, place it in your pocket, or make it a clip-on fitness tracker.
If you’re thinking that how you’ll be using the tracker on the ankle, then its pretty simple. You can simply buy an ankle band, which is extremely cheap, and easily available online.
If we talk about its features, then just like its appearance they are limited as well. It is more of a pedometer with extra perks, rather than having a ton of features like heart rate/sleep tracking, etc. It has all-day activity tracking, which consists of monitoring your step count, distance traveled during the day, and burnt calories.
For fitness ambitious persons, they can set different goals, and try to achieve it by seeing their progress each day. They can also compete with their friends, and family members, and sync their stats with smartphones, laptops well.
It is water-resistant to some extent, which makes it immune to slight splashes, getting during the rain, or hand-washing.
The thing which I love about this tracker is its long-lasting battery life. Well, I’m not exaggerating here, but it can last for 6 months after you take it off the package, and there’s no need of charging for the next half year. After that, just replace the battery, and start using it again. Quite tempting, right?
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
Pros:
- Easy-to-use
- Can be worn, placed anywhere
- Long-lasting battery life
Cons:
- Way too basic features
- No health/fitness tracking
- Pricey
6. Garmin 010-12520-00 Running Dynamics Pod
If you’re looking for an ankle fitness tracker, solely for tracking your running sessions, and nothing else, this can be it for you. It comes in shape similar to Fitbit Zip, and just like that, it’s not wearable either, which makes it easy to use almost everywhere. It weighs only 0.5 pounds, which shows how lightweight it is. Using a suitable ankle band, you can wear it on your ankles, quite easily.
Since it’s a proper running tracker so if you are looking for high-end extra features, slide past this one because it might not be the best pick for you.
After pairing it up with the compatible device, it will be giving you 6 different running dynamics, which are cadence, stride length, ground contact time, vertical oscillations, balance, and vertical ratio. This actually means that keeping an eye on the number of steps per minute to the amount of bounce during your session, will be calculated by it easily.
As I said, this tracker is only for those who are interested in monitoring their running sessions and having all the metrics on their side. It doesn’t have much to offer in terms of activity and fitness tracking.
One of the best perks of having this tracker by your ankle would be its battery life, which is insane. It can last for a whole year, without charge, if you use it for 1 hour a day. So, you’d be taking it out of the package, and don’t have to worry about the charging for almost a year.
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
Pros:
- Compact size
- Giving precise running dynamics
- Long battery life
Cons:
- Not offering anything else except running metrics
7. Fitbit Charge 3
Wouldn’t be my first choice for wearing it on the ankles, as it looks way too good on the wrist. That said, since the tracker is detachable, it can be placed between the ankle bands and worn on the ankles easily.
To make sure, you can have all the details related to your health and fitness activities, it comes with built-in heart rate monitoring, from which you can have better insights about it, and can measure whenever you want. You’ll have to use the wrist for this matter, but the feature is there.
While going to sleep, keep the tracker on, and in the morning, you’d know how much sleep did you exactly got last night, along with different sleeping cycles as well.
It comes with 15+ goal-based exercises, such as biking, running, swimming, yoga, and many more. Set a defined goal for any mode, and try to achieve it by working hard for it. Your all-day activities will also be monitored through it, which includes step count, distance traveled, and burnt calories during the day.
Although it doesn’t have a built-in GPS, it uses the smartphone’s GPS to draw the projection of the routes for your biking or running session.
You can jump in the pool, whenever you want while having it on since it comes with a water resistance of 50m, which makes it suitable for swimming. It can be a good thing for swimmers since they can track their swimming as well.
Key features:
- Color: Black
- Heart rate monitoring: Yes
- Sleep monitoring: Yes
- Multi-sport modes: Yes
- Smart notifications: Yes
- Swimproof: Yes
- Battery life: 7 days
Pros:
- Heart rate monitoring
- Sleep tracking
- Swimproof
Cons:
- No built-in GPS
8. Fitbit Inspire
It might be a good overall choice for you since it is equipped with every important feature. It comes in a compact shape and size. After removing the tracker from the bands, and placing it in the ankle band, you’d be getting a good tracker at an affordable price.
Your all-day activities will be tracked from it including step count, distance traveled during the day, and the burnt calories. The main headline about this tracker is its automatic exercise recognition feature, from which one doesn’t have to switch between different modes, but the tracker will do it on its own.
This can be really helpful considering you’re wearing the tracker on the ankle, and can’t afford to take it off, after each session, and change it manually. Enjoy the different sports modes, whether it’s outdoor running, swimming, biking, or your daily goal-based workout.
Your sleep will be monitored easily with the help of it. Wake up in the morning to check for the different sleeping cycles; light, deep, and REM zones.
It comes with the basic reminder to move if you’ve been sitting for a while and encourage you to go for some walk. You’d be getting virtual badges once you hit a defined mark.
It is water-resistant to 50m, which is why it is suitable for swimming. You don’t have to take the band off while showering as well. Although, it is advised not to use it for scuba diving.
With all the features it contains, it can last for 5 days after a single charge, which is somewhat average.
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
Pros:
- Automatic exercise recognition
- Swimproof
- Affordable
Cons:
- Average battery life
9. Garmin Vívosmart 4
Garmin is known for its rugged outdoor smartwatches, but they have produced a good number of fitness trackers too, especially this Vívosmart series. This one comes in compact shape and size, and it’s not heavy either, so it won’t become a burden on your ankle in any way.
First off, the tracker is equipped with many features related to your health and fitness tracking. Sleep monitoring is there to keep an eye on your sleeping cycles, so you’d know about the light, deep, and REM zones during the night. Heart rate monitoring is there to make sure you can have all the insights about different heart rate zones and can measure it any time of the day.
But, here’s the thing. You might have to wear it on your wrist, instead of your ankles to measure heart rate, as it’s wrist-based heart rate tracking. Although it’s not necessary, you can keep tabs on the heart rate if you want to.
Just like this, the Ox sensor is also there to make sure you have details about the saturation of oxygen in the blood, which ultimately gives you the idea of the body’s strength, and whether is it ready for the workout or not. Again, it’s a wrist-based sensor, which might come in handy in some situations.
Coming to its fitness tracking features, which include multi-sport modes such as walking, running, yoga, strength training, swimming, and many more. It doesn’t have a built-in GPS, but it uses your smartphone’s GPS to draw the projection of your running, cycling sessions, along with keeping an eye on outdoor activities.
It is water-resistant to some extent, which makes it suitable for swimming, showering, or light snorkeling. You can also measure your swimming session with the help of it.
Its battery life is good, which makes sure you can use it for 7 days after a single charge, but if you’re going to use an Ox sensor, sleep monitoring, and heart rate tracking more often, then it might drain out quickly.
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
Pros:
- Good fitness tracking features
- Precise Ox sensor
- Stress tracking
- Swimproof
Cons:
- No on-board GPS
10. Garmin vívofit Jr 2 (Best Ankle Fitness Tracker for Kids)
Most of the time, younger kids seem to get their smart gadgets damaged due to the lack of care, which is why it can be a good thing if you buy them a tracker, which can be used on the ankle as well. In this way, they won’t be able to get it damaged easily.
Since the ankle bands let you use a simple fitness tracker on the ankles, parents will have to do this here too. In the morning, when the kid is going to school, or you’re busy somewhere doing the work, just make them wear it on the ankles, and at night, when the kid is in Infront of you, you can make them enjoy its on-screen features. In this way, you’d have a check and balance on their activities, and the tracker will remain safe.
This vívofit Jr 2 is equipped with many interesting features. Firstly, to grab the kid’s attention, it is available in 7 different styles and multiple bands. You can choose according to the kid’s preference and surprise them on their birthdays, or Christmas Eve. The tracker I’m reviewing here is Disney Frozen 2, which is very popular among kids.
Now, some of its features can only be enjoyed if the kid is wearing it on the wrist, which would be the interactive games it contains and 60-minute activity goals. The heroes and different characters will be there as they keep on achieving their activity goals.
It also has a pedometer, through which the parents would know the number of steps taken during the day, and can also monitor’s kid’s sleep as well. All of this data can be seen in the parental app, through which they can also assign different tasks and reminders to the kids, so they can be punctual and develop healthy habits right from the start.
With all these features, it doesn’t disappoint with the battery life, as your kid won’t be charging it for almost a year. Yes, it can last for a year, with the replaceable battery. Amazing right?
Key features:
- Color: Disney Frozen 2
- Sleep monitoring: Yes
- Heart rate monitoring: No
- Sport modes: No
- Interactive games: Yes
- Pedometer: Yes
- Activity tracking: Yes
- Water-resistant: Yes
- Battery life: 1 year
Pros:
- Interactive games
- Swim-friendly
- Affordable
Cons:
- No Heart-rate tracking
11. TOOBUR (Best Budget Ankle Fitness Tracker)
Comes in a sleek shape, and lightweight package, this tracker possesses some great features and can be worn by kids as well.
Place it in the Ankle band, and your all-day activities will be tracked with it. This includes daily step count, distance traveled during the day, active minutes, and burnt calories. It weighs only 18g, so it won’t become a burden on the ankle anyway.
It can track your sleeping cycles, which can be a good thing for kids as well. You will know exactly how much sleep did you get last night, along with different sleeping zones. Wake up in the morning with the help of silent alarms, which makes sure that no one else in the room gets disturbed by the noise. Although this is a wrist-based feature, it would work on the ankle too.
Along with offering activity tracking, it also has side features too, like a sedentary reminder. This means that you’ve been sitting for a while and haven’t moved since then, it will give you an alert to stretch your legs and take a break. Along with this, it can work as a camera shutter for your smartphone taking group selfies. But these features are most likely to be used when you wear on the wrist.
It is IP67 level water-resistant, which makes it immune to slight splashes, getting damaged during rain, or handwashing.
After getting it fully charged, which takes about an hour, it can last for 7 days, which is dependent on one’s usage.
Key features:
- Color: Black
- Sleep monitoring: Yes
- All-day activity tracking: Yes
- Silent alarms: Yes
- Sedentary reminder: Yes
- Remote camera: Yes
- Water-resistant: Yes
- Battery life: 7 days
Pros:
- Slim and lightweight
- All-day activity tracking
- Cheap
Cons:
- Doesn’t have much to offer in terms of fitness tracking
12. LETSCOM (Cheap Ankle Fitness Tracker)
LETSCOM fitness tracker has a plethora of features, and sometimes you might lose track of time, by using its features. It’s not ideally meant for wearing it on the ankles, but you can wear it using ankle bands.
To make sure you have all the insights into your health, it comes with heart rate monitoring. You can measure the heart rate anytime you want, and compare the resting heart rate with a pumped-up one, after a heavy workout or exercise.
Having sound sleep is important to function properly in daily life, and that’s why it comes with a built-in sleep tracking feature, through which one can get an idea about different types of sleep and cycles.
Now coming to the feature, which is the most important one, while going with an ankle fitness tracker is multi-sport modes. It comes with 14+ built-in sport modes including riding, hiking, running, cycling, and many more. You can connect your smartphone’s GPS to track outdoor activities more precisely.
It keeps an eye on your all-day activities as well and provides accurate stats about step count, distance traveled, and burnt calories.
If you’re going to switch it back to the wrist, then it will be receiving all the notifications about incoming calls, text messages, emails, and social apps.
It is water-resistant to some extent and makes sure it doesn’t get damaged during the rain or handwashing.
Key features:
- Color: Purple
- Heart rate monitoring: Yes
- Sleep tracking: Yes
- Activity tracking: Yes
- Sport modes: Yes
- Smart notifications: Yes
- Water-resistant: Yes
- Battery life: 7 days
Pros:
- Heart rate tracking
- Accurate fitness tracking
- Remote camera
- Affordable
Cons:
- No built-in GPS
Conclusion
All the trackers mentioned above are some of the finest trackers available in the game right now, but I have to go with just one, I’ll choose “Fitbit Flex 2”, because of the two reasons.
Firstly, the design of it makes it ideal for wearing it on the ankles, as it’s just a strap, and looks like a bracelet too. Secondly, it is equipped with some high-end features, such as sleep tracking and different sports modes, which makes it the best fitness tracker for the ankles.
That said, it’s a bit expensive choice, so if you’re looking for something affordable “MOOV Now” should be your ultimate choice. Not only the tracker is budget-friendly, but it also doesn’t need any ankle bands and fits the ankle naturally.
I’m sure this article will help you in narrowing down your choice to one. If it did, leave a comment, or ask for queries if you have any.
FAQ’S
Can Fitbit be worn on ankles?
Ans: Although most of them aren’t meant to be worn on ankles, you can wear some such as Fitbit Charge 3, Alta HR, Zip, and Fitbit One on the ankles using ankle bands.
Can a fitness tracker become accurate on the ankles?
Ans: Well, if you look at it from one perspective of step counting, then of course it does become accurate. But similarly, it also becomes inaccurate in the case of heart rate monitoring.
Can you measure Heart rate using an ankle fitness tracker?
Ans: You might be able to measure it, but it won’t be as accurate as it’s going to be on the wrist.
Can you wear every fitness tracker on the ankles?
Ans: No, you cannot wear every fitness tracker on your ankle. Since the ankle bands can be used for only those who can function in them.
