This $60 Fitness Tracker Is Almost As Good As the $150 Fitbit Charge 5

The Fitbit Demand 5 is my favorite overall exercise tracker. But priced at $150 (£169, AU$270), it may well be out of your spending plan. Enter the $60 Xiaomi Mi Band 7, which has a massive coloration screen, slumber tracking, blood oxygen checking and 24/7 heart charge monitoring just like Fitbit’s tracker. At this value, can it perhaps match-up to the Demand 5? Amazingly, in numerous ways it does.

I enjoy to come across more affordable alternate options to large-name products and even have an overall YouTube collection focused to the trigger. The new Mi Band 7 is a practical competitor to extra costly smartwatches and trackers from models like Fitbit and Amazon, as extended as you will not want certain wellbeing capabilities. Even while it’s not as correct as the Cost 5, it truly is packed with a great deal of training tracking selections and connectivity functions to go well with most people’s requirements.

Observe my full comparison in the video on this website page or read on for the cheat sheet.

A massive, dazzling monitor helps make the Mi Band 7 feel top quality for its selling price

Place these two trackers aspect by aspect, and you will discover both of them have colour touchscreens. But the Mi Band 7 edges out the Demand 5 with its more substantial 1.62-inch display. This means you can in good shape a bit far more textual content on the screen with no needing to scroll, which is helpful for reading concept notifications or viewing exercise stats. The two screens have an always-on location, so you will not require to raise your wrist to see the time. I discover them both equally straightforward to see in wide daylight… as prolonged as I bear in mind to transform up the display screen brightness to max on the Mi Band 7.

Navigation is uncomplicated on both equally, but I choose the Cost 5 for usability overall because I can double-tap on any display to get straight again to the clock deal with. With the Mi Band 7, I in some cases have to have to swipe back again several webpages to get again to the get started.

Comfort and ease is hugely subjective, but the Mi Band 7’s slimmer style and design tends to make it a lot more suitable for lesser wrists.

Fitbit is improved if you want correct heart level monitoring

I exam all trackers towards a chest strap, which is regarded the gold conventional for consumer heart rate monitoring. The Demand 5 does a excellent occupation of matching the strap right after a moment or two of embarking on a cardio-dependent training like a jog or run. But the Mi Band’s heart price readings lag at the rear of the strap substantially when accomplishing the exact workout. I noticed this on a hike whilst strolling up a steep incline, all through which both of those Fitbit and the strap reflected my heart level at all over 130 beats for each moment. The Mi Band remained a far more subdued 95 bpm.

The Charge 5 is improved at correctly capturing coronary heart price for the duration of vigorous exercising and workouts that include arm movements, like dancing, running or going for walks. But for additional stationary exercises like spin bike rides, the Mi Band 7 did just high-quality.

That said, the Mi Band 7 has a absurd range of available workout forms: 120 in overall. Which is not a typo. The Charge 5 only has 20 training selections, with 6 slots on the system by itself which you can personalize manually in the app. 

More importantly, the Charge 5 is the only 1 of these trackers that has created-in GPS. This signifies you can depart your cell phone at household and even now properly keep track of length and route data. The Mi Band 7 only has linked GPS, which is in all probability my largest disappointment with its health monitoring features in general.

Sleep monitoring is also greater on the Fitbit Demand 5, as I discovered it far more properly mirrored my awake time in the course of the night. I also felt the Cost 5’s slumber rating was more in-tune with how I felt in the morning compared to the tremendous-substantial rating I’d get from the Mi Band 7. Just after 14 times of tracking your sleep in a thirty day period, Fitbit Premium subscribers get a snooze profile with further insights, and a so-identified as slumber animal that demonstrates your rest type.

You can need to have to toggle on the highly developed monitoring possibility in the iOS or Android app to get a lot more in-depth sleep monitoring on the Mi Band 7 considering the fact that it truly is not on by default. The Demand 5 also comes with a Food and Drug Administration-cleared electrocardiogram app to detect symptoms of atrial fibrillation, contrary to the Mi Band 7. Both also can observe blood oxygen at night, but the Mi Band can also acquire spot readings on demand or keep track of constantly in the course of the working day.

For intelligent options, the Mi Band 7 wins palms-down

You can established alarms and timers and see mobile phone notifications on both equally the Charge 5 and Mi Band 7. When paired with an Android cellphone you can also mail and customise fast textual content responses on the two. But only the Mi Band 7 has new music playback controls for your cell phone and a calendar application to see your agenda. 

The Mi Band 7 has way more look at faces to opt for from, which include third-celebration options. It also has a come across my telephone attribute, a digicam remote and a flashlight. The Charge 5 is much more limited with only 24 look at faces, but Fitbit did just insert a uncover my phone attribute in the most up-to-date update in July 2022. It also has Fitbit Shell out for NFC payments from your wrist, whereas international version of the Mi Band 7 that I have doesn’t consist of NFC.

Battery everyday living is also a different get for the Mi Band 7, but it really is not as extensive-long lasting as preceding types like the Mi Band 6. In my tests with day by day workout routines, slumber tracking and the usually-on show turned off, I get four times from the Demand 5 and seven times from the Mi Band 7.

Monitoring actions and sleep isn’t going to have to dent your wallet

The Charge 5 is the finest in general tracker if it matches in your price range. It has detailed snooze tracking, good heart price precision in the course of cardio-based mostly exercise routines and presents beneficial insights into your over-all wellbeing. There is a purpose why it earned an Editor’s Alternative award in 2021.

But at a lot less than 50 % the price tag, I am pleasantly surprised by the Mi Band 7, and it is really now my favorite finances-friendly choice. The battery lasts lengthier than the Charge 5’s and it has a staggering array of training monitoring solutions. As well as it is really a lot more of a smartwatch substitute than Fitbit’s tracker if you want a far more in depth 2nd display for your cell phone.