Due to bad eating habits and a sedentary lifestyle, heart rate diseases are at an all-time high. According to the Center for disease control and prevention, 18.2 million adults over the age of 20 are suffering from heart issues only in America.
But there’s no need to worry as it’s easy to keep your heart in good health. A moderate-intensity exercise of 30 minutes for most days of a week is enough to keep heart problems at bay.
Along with some exercise, you can also keep track of your heartbeats to be aware of your heart health. By regularly monitoring your heart, you can take the right precautions and consult a doctor on time in case of an emergency.
Now the question arises that how can you track your heart regularly? Well, you’ll find all sorts of wearables these days that come with a heart rate monitor, like chest straps, fitness trackers, and smart rings.
But the wrist-based trackers are the most convenient for monitoring your heart as you can wear them on your wrist all day and track how your heart is functioning 24/7.
In this article, we share with you such best smartwatches with heart rate monitors that help you keep track of your heart’s health.
Quick links to read the specific section of the article
- Best Smartwatch With Heart Rate Monitor Comparison Table
- Best Smartwatches With Heart Rate Monitor
- Buying Guide
- FAQs
Best Smartwatch With Heart Rate Monitor Comparison Table
IMAGE | PRODUCT | SPECIFICATIONS | VIEW ON AMAZON |
Best For iPhone Users | Apple Watch Series 5 |
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Best Android smartwatch with Heart Rate Monitor | Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 |
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Best Multisport Watch | POLAR Vantage M |
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Best Outdoor Watch | Garmin Fenix 5X |
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Best Smartwatches With Heart Rate Monitor
1. Apple Watch Series 5
So we are going to start our review with none other than the Apple Watch 5. It is probably the best smartwatch for seniors and heart patients considering the heart rate monitor.
The reason we say that because it comes with a dedicated ECG app that can track your pulse rate and heart health 24/7. It has electrical and optical heart sensors that are super accurate in tracking heartbeats.
Not just that, but what makes this watch a lifesaver for people with heart problems is that it alerts you whenever there’s something wrong or unusual happening within your heart.
The app identifies irregular heart rhythms and notifies you well within time so that you can consult your doctor before it’s too late. It also has an emergency feature that detects a hard fall in case of a heart attack and calls the emergency services for your rescue.
Also, this watch supports a GPS + Cellular connection, so you don’t need to connect it to an iPhone all the time for making calls, texting, or tracking your locations, and more. It can work all on its own, and that’s amazing.
Moreover, with built-in GPS and Compass, this watch motivates you to keep healthy by going on a hike, trek, or on an adventure and discover uncharted territories without getting lost.
Now talking of the display and design, the watch looks and feels premium. With a 30% large screen size and always on Retina display, you will never miss any details on the screen.
Overall, this watch is a must-have if you are serious about your heart health and want to live an active and healthy life.
Who Is It For: The Apple Watch 5 is an excellent heart rate monitor watch for cardiac patients, the elderly, and people suffering from heart problems.
2. Samsung Galaxy Watch 3
If there’s one watch that can compete with the Apple Watch 5 in style, class, accuracy, and features, then the Samsung Watch 3 is the right contender for it.
For Android users, this watch is the best possible alternative to the Apple Watch since Apple watches don’t work with Android smartphones.
Coming to the watch’s heart-monitoring features, it supports ECG, Blood pressure measurements, and accurate pulse reading. Remind you that the Blood pressure measurement is not possible on the Apple Watch, but you can get your BP measured on the Samsung Galaxy Watch 3.
Moreover, using Samsung’s health monitoring app, you can even share the PDF report of your ECG recording with your doctor for easy consultations.
Along with heartrate tracking, it can also automatically track the way you sleep to give you insights on how to sleep better. Not just that, but it also keeps an eye on your stress levels and offers you breathing guides. Overall, you get a holistic health monitoring experience on this watch.
It also comes with GPS, Bluetooth, and LTE connectivity so you can use it as a standalone device for making calls, texts, and streaming music right from your wrist, which allows you to leave your phone at home and still use the watch to the fullest.
With a watch having so many features, it needs a decent battery to sustain throughout the day. Unluckily, this watch doesn’t have a good battery life as it can only give you a backup of 1 day or more.
If you use the GPS and heart rate tracking continuously for hours, then it will consume the battery even faster. But no need to worry as you can share power from your Galaxy smartphone to the watch using the Wireless Power Share technology for a quick boost.
The downside however is the price of the product. It’s less than the Apple Watch 5 that we discussed earlier but it still won’t fit in everyone’s budget.
Who Is It For: Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 is a premium watch with a heart rate monitor for Android users who can’t use the Apple Watch 5.
3. Withings Steel HR Hybrid Smartwatch
You must be wondering that after brands like Apple and Samsung, how can we recommend a smartwatch that comes from a brand that you probably never heard about. Well, much to your surprise Withings was previously known as Nokia health if you don’t know already. So you get a brand value of Nokia when you buy a Withings watch.
Ok, so now you are satisfied why we put this watch on our list? So let’s go on with the review. Withings Steel HR is an affordable hybrid smartwatch. For those who don’t know what a hybrid smartwatch is, it’s basically a smartwatch but looks nothing like it. Rather, it looks more like a regular watch.
Yes, there are many people out there who want to own a smartwatch but they just don’t purchase it because they don’t like the look of it. For such people, there are these hybrid watches that don’t look like a smartwatch but have all the smart features like Fitness tracking, sleep monitoring, and notifications.
However, the USP of this wearable is that you can track your heart rate 24/7 on it, which is just superb keeping in mind that it is a hybrid watch and most hybrid watches don’t even offer this feature.
Apart from heart rate monitoring, this watch is also capable of recording your day-to-day activities and sleep tracking just like most smartwatches out there. It then shows all the recorded insights on its Health Mate app, which is available on both Android and iOS platforms.
Another highlight of this watch is that it comes with huge battery life, if you use it for only tracking your daily activities and watching time then it will last a whopping 25 days on a single charge, isn’t that amazing?
Other features that made this watch land on our list is that it shows smartphone notifications on the small digital screen, it is water-resistant up to 50 meters, and supports Alexa voice commands(only after you enable the free Alexa skills).
Overall, for a smartwatch that comes under $200, the features this watch offers are too good to be true. You must have a look at it if you are into hybrid watches.
Who is it For: It is for people who are looking for the best hybrid smartwatch with a heart rate monitor.
4. POLAR Vantage M
If you are looking for the best multisport and waterproof smartwatch with a heart rate monitor, then your search ends here. Meet the Polar Vantage M, a Polar smartwatch meant for athletes and runners who are obsessed with data and stats.
What makes this the best multisport smartwatch is its ability to switch between sports seamlessly. It records all the data within one file, so you don’t lose any of the information when you change between the sports.
It also features a super accurate heart rate monitor with the combination of the latest technology in optical sensors and bio-impedance electrodes. Overall the heart rate accuracy is quite reliable on this device, so much so that on the list of most accurate heart rate monitor watches, this one will rest on the very top of it.
The Polar Vantage M also supports an integrated GPS tracking system, so you are not always dependent on your smartphone to track your activities, marathons, and runs.
It also has a unique Training Load feature that you won’t find on many smartwatches. This feature gives you a comprehensive insight into how different load training sessions are straining your body. Also, it is smart enough to separate muscle load, cardio load, and perceived load to offer a better understanding of how different training sessions affect your body.
Moreover, the watch is waterproof so you can even use it to record vital swimming stats like pace, strokes, distance, and rest time with ease.
With so many features, the best quality of this watch, however, is its battery life. According to Polar, this watch can give you 30+ hours of training time so that you train more and charge your watch less.
Who Is It For: The Vantage M is a great waterproof and multisport watch with a heart rate monitor and GPS for Athletes and Runners.
5. Amazfit Bip
If you are tight on budget and can’t spend over $100 to get a decent smartwatch that comes with heart rate sensors, then this watch is for you.
Amazfit Bip is the best cheap heart rate monitor watch you will find online. But don’t judge this smartwatch on its price; it has all the essential features that most people want in their smartwatch.
You get a decent heart rate sensor on it, which may not be the most accurate, but it’s not that far off either; all in all, it does a decent job of tracking your heartbeat 24/7. According to Tomsguide, this watch is as accurate as a Garmin Forerunner and that’s commendable for a budget smartwatch.
You also get a built-in GPS on it. Yes, you heard that right, an integrated GPS on a smartwatch that costs under $100, it’s unheard of on a cheap smartwatch. With the built-in GPS, you can accurately track your daily activities like steps taken, distance covered, etc, without the need for a smartphone.
It can also track multiple sports such as running, cycling, and walking with ease. If you are a beginner, you will surely love to train with Amzefit BIP.
Also, with Bluetooth connectivity, it’s more comfortable to sync it with your smartphone and see the app, text, and call notifications on the watch screen.
Coming to the design and build quality, it’s a decently made watch and weighs only about 32g. So, it’s super lightweight and can be worn all day without feeling anything on the wrist.
Finally, this watch’s battery is remarkable as it comes with a 1950mAh lithium-ion battery that can last up to 45 days! You need to charge it once, and you are good to go.
Who Is It For: This watch is for beginners who want to start with a budget smartwatch with a heart rate monitor.
6. Garmin Fenix 5X
Gramin is a big name in the fitness bands and smartwatch industry. Their products are always top-notch and provide excellent value for money, and the Garmin Fenix 5X is no different.
It’s one of the toughest and rugged smartwatches ever build by Gramin. They made the watch for pure outdoor adventures like hiking, mountain climbing, and other daredevil tasks.
It has a wide array of sensors like GPS, optical heart rate, compass, altimeter, Glonass, thermometer, accelerometer, and gyroscope. You won’t find these many sensors on a regular smartwatch, and that’s what makes this watch a must-have for thrill-seekers.
GPS alone is not capable of navigating challenging environments like a mountain or dense forests. Therefore GLONASS(Global Navigation Satellite System) is also integrated into this watch so that you always know your location even if you are in the middle of nowhere.
The optical heart rate sensor on this Garmin watch is also super solid which allows you to track accurately your heartbeats when you are hiking through different terrains.
Apart from outdoor activities, this smartwatch is also good for training for marathons, as it comes with preloaded run profiles. It also shows training stats and training loads right on your wrist that help you train better.
The battery on this device is also great, it says that it will last up to 20 hours on continuous GPS use and up to 35 hours in UltraTrac mode, which used the GPS less frequently. In general daily usage, the battery will easily last up to 12 days.
All in all, this watch may be too overwhelming for daily usage but it really excels when you take it out on an adventure. However, the only downside is the watch is bulky and big in size, it’s definitely not meant for people with small wrists.
Who Is It For: It is for adrenaline lovers who want the best hiking and multisport watch that also comes with long battery life.
7. Fitbit Versa 2
Fitbit Versa 2 is an excellent smartwatch at a great price. It’s also the best women’s smartwatch with a heart rate monitor. The female health tracking feature on this Fitbit device makes it a must-have for every woman.
It provides premium features at a reasonable price, and that’s what makes this watch even more attractive. It has built-in Alexa, heart rate, and sleep tracking; and, you can even play music right from your wrist on this watch.
Moreover, heart rate tracking is also reliable on this device; you get accurate readings each time, so if you want a smartwatch only for tracking your heart health, you can consider it.
The smartwatch also looks good and feels comfortable. It also comes with large and small bands included in the box so it will easily fit on women or men with small or large wrists.
The display quality is also excellent on this smartwatch. This watch has a large always-on display that looks super immersive. The battery is also decent on it and can last up to days if you don’t use the always-on screen option.
The software, however, is not as great as the hardware of this device and you may feel a bit annoyed at some point in time with it. But overall, the watch is a value for money product and provides steller performance at its price.
Who is it for: It is for both men and women who want a good-looking and comfortable smartwatch with an accurate heart rate monitor.
Things You Should Consider Before Buying A Smartwatch With Heart Rate Monitor
You should keep in mind a few things while purchasing a smartwatch for heart tracking such as:
1. Number Of Optical Sensors And Its Quality
The optical sensor’s quality decides the accuracy with which the wrist-based heart rate monitor can track your heartbeat. The number also plays a vital role as a smartwatch with more heart-rate sensors will be more accurate than fewer sensors, not necessarily but having more optical sensors do help.
2. Size Of The Watch
When purchasing a smartwatch for yourself, make sure it perfectly fits your wrist because loose-fitting can also lead to inaccurate readings.
3. Battery
Smartwatch gives a decent battery life, but if you use the heart monitoring feature quite often, the battery will discharge faster. So it would be best if you try to get a smartwatch that has good battery life.
FAQs
How Heart Rate Monitor On Smartwatches Work?
The optical heart-rate sensor found on the inner side of the watch projects a green light on the wearer's skin. Now some of the projected lights get absorbed by the skin, but the tissues reflect some rays beneath the skin. The reflected light is captured by the optical sensor that is used to measure the variation and calculate the heartbeats and pulse rate.
Are Heart Rate Monitor Watches Safe?
The rumors about wearable fitness trackers and smartwatches that they are not safe because they emit EMF radiation are around for a while now. But according to scientific experiments, there's no need to worry, and heart rate monitor watches are perfectly safe to use.
What's The Best Watch With Heart Rate Monitor?
Apple Watch 5, Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 And Polar Vantage M are some good watches with heart rate monitors that you can go with blindfolded.
Are Heart Rate Monitor Smartwatches Accurate?
While the wrist based heart trackers may not be as accurate as a chest strap used to track heartbeats, but they are reliable source of quick and easy heart tracking 24/7.
Is It Worth Getting A Heart Rate Monitor Watch?
Yes, they are worth it because these smartwatches don't just track your heart rate but also have tons of other features like sleep tracking, GPS, notifications, etc. that makes them an excellent value-for-money product.