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.

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Best budget smartwatches at a glance

Here’s a quick run-down of each of the budget smartwatches you’ll find in our expert round-up. We’ve arranged them in price order below:

How to choose the best budget smartwatch

There’s a couple of bits of information that you need to know before spending in this price category.

Best budget smartwatches to buy in 2022

Apple Watch SE, £269

Best budget Apple Watch

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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.