We Used All The Heart Rate Monitors—These Are The 8 Best

While products like the WHOOP band and the Oura Ring are relatively new on the scene, Garmin has been making wearable fitness trackers for a long time now, so they know what works. This heart rate monitor transmits real-time heart rate data over ANT+ connectivity and Bluetooth, giving you the immediate feedback you need to take your performance to the next level.

This is a subtle and sleek way to monitor your heart rate throughout the day. Most people aren’t going to wear a ring like this while lifting weights, which is why we love the Oura Ring to track those important metrics during the 23 hours of the day that you’re not at the gym. What’s most impressive about the Oura Ring is its small size, and how one small ring can monitor your sleep, steps, and heart rate.

This ring gives you all the information you need to make improvements in your daily health and well-being. For those looking to try a smart ring for the first time, it doesn’t get better than Oura, which is why it took the top spot in our Best Smart Rings story and this head-to-head piece against the Samsung Galaxy Ring.

When it comes to heart rate monitors, the chest strap is by far the most accurate piece of wearable tech. The Polar H10 works with all your favorite devices and apps (Polar, Garmin, Apple, Suunto, Strava, etc.) to provide precise metrics that you can use to inform your fitness goals.

There is a reason this bas been named our favorite pick for multi-sport athletes. It’s perfect for those taking on triathlons, because it is much better waterproof rating than other chest straps on the market like the Garmin HRM.

For a more affordable option, check out the CooSpo Heart Rate Monitor. It monitors your performance in real time and is compatible with fitness apps, bike computers, sports watches, and even gym equipment like the Peleton. The sensor is waterproof and sweatproof, so you can take it with you on those cold or wet training days.

That being said, don’t try to track any of your swims with this device on, unless you want to emerge from the water with a useless brick attached to you. For the price point though, this HRM is a great deal for anyone looking to track any above sea level efforts.

Fitbit Fitbit Versa 4 Fitness Smartwatch with Daily Readiness, GPS, 24/7 Heart Rate, 40+ Exercise Modes, Sleep Tracking and more, Black/Graphite, One Size (S & L Bands Included)

The Versa 4 Health & Fitness Smartwatch from Fitbit is packed with useful features. One of our favorites is Active Zone Minutes, which uses your resting heart rate to gauge exercise effort and give you a buzz when it’s time to step up the intensity so you can make the most of your workouts. It monitors activity, sleep, and nightly blood oxygen levels, tracking your trends over time to see important changes in your overall health.

This is a great pick for anyone looking to get great health insights from a wrist piece, but want to avoid the high cost of an Apple Watch or Galaxy Watch. Fitbit is now owned by Google, which means there is a lot of great integrations if you have a Google account. Because of their new ownership, their future pairing with iOS devices is questionable. Something to take into consideration if you’re an Apple user.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 is essentially a wearable personal trainer. With built-in pace coaching and a heart rate monitor, you can add and customize your workouts for maximum efficiency, helping you reach your fitness goals in no time. It connects to your smartphone so you can easily take calls, receive texts, or pull up directions with the flick of your wrist.

That being said, despite the fact that the Galaxy Watch 7 supports iOS and iPhone users through its companion app, those users might be better over going for the Apple Watch Ultra 2 for the additional integrations. The heart rate measurements and sleep tracking is where this device really shines, which is perfect for those looking for a new HRM.

The Apple Watch is by far one of the most popular smartwatches on the market, and like the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7, it also tracks quite a lot of data, including heart rate. Although not as accurate as the chest bands, the Apple Watch 10 gets the job done well enough for the casual fitness goer.

In addition to heart rate, it also features an SpO2 sensor to monitor blood oxygen level readings, an ECG to test for atrial fibrillation, fitness tracking, sleep monitoring, and all the run-of-the-mill smartwatch features. Our editors have already spent some time with this latest release, and it’s fair to say we’re suitably impressed.

Whoop WHOOP 4.0 Fitness Tracker + 12 Month Subscription

We’ve been raving about WHOOP for years, and it’s still one of our favorite fitness trackers, simply because it collects so much useful data. This stylish and understated device tracks your heartbeat 100 times per minute to measure your heart rate variability, as well as your sleep.

Every day it delivers a recovery percentage and suggests the level of activity you should aim for, whether that a five-mile run or a rest day. This kind of data is useful to anyone, even high performing individuals like Patrick Mahomes and Cristiano Ronaldo, who are fans of Whoop.