By Laura Wybrow

Published: Monday, 30 May 2022 at 12:00 am

Smartwatches come in all shapes, sizes, and designs these days, plus all manner of price points too. If you find yourself wincing at the triple-figure sums that many brands are asking of their top-end wearables, you’re not alone.

Consumers often find it hard to invest large sums of money on a wearable when they’ve already spent so much on another smart device. A major challenge for manufacturers in the early days of smartwatches was justifying their need when set against a perfectly good smartphone. Of course, years of research and development have now established smartwatches as the perfect companions to the phones they’re paired with.

But here’s the thing: you really don’t need to splash the cash to pick up a fantastic quality smartwatch. In fact, if you’re mostly interested in basic fitness tracking, we would advise against it.

There’s a staggering amount of choice at the budget-friendly end of the smartwatch market, but it can be hard to know where to begin looking. That’s why we’ve put together our list of the best budget smartwatches and fitness out there. You’ll find options from major brands including Apple, Samsung, Garmin, Huawei and Fitbit, each with its own particular strength.

And once you’re done reading? We have a best budget tablet round-up if you’re into affordable tech across the board.

For more on the latest smartwatches, read our Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 review, Fitbit Versa 3 review and don’t miss our guide to the best Fitbit you can buy in 2022.

Jump to:

• Best budget smartwatches at a glance
• How to choose the best budget smartwatch
• Best budget smartwatches to buy in 2022

Best budget smartwatches at a glance

• Best budget Samsung smartwatch: Samsung Galaxy Fit 2, £39
• Best value budget smartwatch: Xiaomi Mi Band 6, £39.99
• Best budget smartwatch for display: Honor Band 6, £44.99
• Best budget smartwatch for workouts: Huawei Watch Fit, £89.99
• Best budget smartwatch for health: Garmin vívosmart 5
• Best budget fitness tracker: Garmin Forerunner 45, £159.99
• Best budget Apple Watch: Apple Watch SE, £269

How to choose the best budget smartwatch

• Budget is relative. You’ll find wearables from as little as £39 to as much as £269 in our best list. That’s because lots of brands offer ‘lite’ versions of pricier flagship, for example, Apple and its Watch SE; these are wearables you would class as smartwatches. However, lots of budget smartwatches offer a limited range of features in comparison to more expensive models, focused primarily on tracking metrics such as your heart rate, step count or distance covered.
• Think carefully about what you want from your smartwatch. If you’re looking to track your daily run or workout, then there’s little reason to spend outside of double digits. If you’re after a super-smooth extension to your smartphone – and one with all the latest features – we’re going to point you in the direction of our best smartwatch and best Android smartwatch lists.
• Is style or customisation important to you? It’s worth considering that budget-friendly fitness trackers tend to be rather simplistic affairs, often consisting of a strap and watch face that is moulded into one unit.
• Battery life. It’s probably our strongest case for choosing a budget smartwatch over a higher-end one. With less features and less complex working parts, low-spec fitness trackers can last for impressive lengths of time before they need charging. Flagship wearables like the Apple Watch 7 will guzzle power in less than a day, and the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 just two days, you’ll find options below that will last for a fortnight. Something to think about if you’re that person who always finds their device is on its last legs before you head out for the day.

Best budget smartwatches to buy in 2022

Apple Watch SE, £269

Best budget Apple Watch

Pros:

• A wealth of reliable features
• Highly intuitive UI
• No visual difference to Apple Watch 6

Cons:

• Limited 18-hour battery life
• No ‘always-on’ display
• Still no Android compatibility

You might be asking yourself what on earth a £269 wearable is doing on a best budget smartwatch list (especially from a brand that’s hardly known for its affordable products). Ultimately, the Watch SE takes its place here for two reasons: firstly, we know plenty of Apple-lovers who wouldn’t dream of wearing any other brand on their wrist. Secondly, the Apple Watch SE is genuinely an excellent affordable alternative to the Apple Watch 7, which starts at £369.

Our experts loved the ultra-smooth UI, the wealth of metrics and other features available. You won’t get the ‘always-on’ display or the blood oxygen and ECG apps of the flagship Watch 6 – but besides that, there’s very little to distinguish the two watches apart. Except for that £110 price difference.

Read our full Apple Watch SE review.

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Samsung Galaxy Fit 2, £39

Best budget Samsung smartwatch

Pros:

• 21-day battery life
• Highly affordable
• Effective and reliable tracking features

Cons:

• Limited watch face and strap personalisation
• Icons on 2.78cm display may be hard for some users to see

By contrast, Samsung’s Galaxy Fit 2 doesn’t have the features and capabilities of the flagship Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 – which should come as no surprise as it’s almost a tenth the price. Instead, the Galaxy Fit 2 is positioned as a no-frills fitness tracker for those who aren’t looking for particularly advanced metrics (it offers movement tracking, sleep monitoring and sleep/REM tracking).

Samsung’s pedigree as one of the world’s leading tech brands is what makes the Fit 2 shine: it boasts the easy-to-use UI, reliable features and crystal clear display that we’ve come to expect from the brand. We would have loved the option of a swappable strap – the Fit 2 is one moulded rubber band – but at the recently reduced price of £39, we know it’s a tall order.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy Fit 2 review.