So that you’re available in the market for a brand new health tracker and also you’re attempting to determine between the Garmin Vivosmart 5 and the Fitbit Cost 5. Each are inexpensive trackers that can enable you control your general well being and progress in the direction of your health targets, however which health tracker is value your cash? We put the 2 well-liked trackers face to face to search out out.
Smaller and extra inexpensive than the best GPS sports watches, the best fitness trackers can measure your coronary heart price, learn your blood oxygen ranges, observe your steps and sleep in addition to your exercises, and even warn you of your texts if you’re on the transfer. Each the Garmin Vivosmart 5 and the Fitbit Cost 5 are well-liked decisions with health fanatics and novice step-counters alike, however they do have some large variations.
For those who’re already aware of the watches, you may check out our Garmin Vivosmart 5 review, and our Fitbit Charge 5 review, however in the event you’re nonetheless deliberating, learn on to search out out which health tracker we deem to be value your cash.
Garmin Vivosmart 5 vs Fitbit Cost 5: Worth and availability
Regardless of the Fitbit Cost 5 being dearer at launch, the 2 health trackers at the moment are the identical worth. The Garmin Vivosmart 5 prices $149.99 / £129.99 and is obtainable in black, white, and funky mint. It’s additionally the newer tracker, launching in April 2022, so we are able to count on there to be offers on the tracker at a later date.
The Fitbit Cost 5 prices prices $149.95/£129.99 and is obtainable in Metal Blue/Platinum, Black/Graphite, and Lunar White/Gold. It’s value noting that this worth features a six-month Fitbit Premium membership, which prices $9.99 per thirty days after this. You will have a Fitbit Premium membership to unlock a number of the tracker’s extra premium options.
Winner: Garmin Vivosmart 5. Regardless of the very fact each health trackers on the identical worth, the very fact you don’t should pay any extra subscription prices on the Garmin makes it the extra inexpensive possibility.
Garmin Vivosmart 5 vs Fitbit Cost 5: Specs at a look
| Garmin Vivosmart 5 | Fitbit Cost 5 | |
|---|---|---|
| Battery life | 7 days | 7 days |
| Show | Grayscale OLED | AMOLED |
| Display screen measurement | 0.41″ x 0.73″ | 0.86″ X 0.58″ |
| Constructed-in GPS | No | Sure |
| Coronary heart price monitor | Sure | Sure |
| SpO2 monitor | Sure | Sure |
| ECG monitor | No | Sure (Premium characteristic) |
| EDA scan | No | Sure (Premium characteristic) |
| Cost choices | Sure – Garmin Pay | Sure – Fitbit Pay |
| On-board music storage | No | No |
| Weight | 0.86oz (small), 0.93oz (massive) | 0.98oz |
| Dimension | 0.76 x 0.42 x 8.5 inches (small), 0.76 x 0.42 x 10 inches (massive) | 1.4 x 0.89 x 0.44 inches |
| Sports activities modes | 14 complete, 10 accessible on watch at a time | 20 complete, 6 accessible on watch at a time |
Garmin Vivosmart 5 vs Fitbit Cost 5: Design and show
Once more, in terms of design, each trackers are fairly related — they each have interchangeable bands, and could be simply popped out and swapped. On the time of writing, the Garmin Vivosmart 5 is a more recent tracker, so the choices are restricted in terms of the bands, with no third occasion choices accessible, though that is prone to change.
On the subject of show, nonetheless, issues begin to differ. The Garmin Vivosmart 5 has a Grayscale OLED display screen, which is 66% larger than the display screen on the Vivosmart 4. It’s straightforward to see in all totally different lights, texts can scroll throughout the display screen, permitting you to learn them with out reaching in your cellphone, and you’ll see at the very least three stats on the display screen at one time.
That mentioned, in comparison with the brilliant, colour AMOLED display screen on the Fitbit Cost 5, the Vivosmart 5, falls somewhat quick. The display screen is likely one of the largest upgrades from the Fitbit Charge 4 vs. the Fitbit Charge 5 — it’s shiny, straightforward to see in all lights, and offers the product a extra premium really feel. It’s additionally larger than the display screen on the Vivosmart 5, making it simpler to learn messages and alerts on the go. The Vivosmart 5 additionally would not have an always-on show, whereas the Cost 5 does.
Winner: Fitbit Cost 5. On the subject of the show of the 2 health trackers, the AMOLED display screen on the Fitbit is brighter and clearer than that of the Garmin Vivosmart 5.
Garmin Vivosmart 5 vs Fitbit Cost 5: Health monitoring
After all, one of many foremost causes to put money into a health tracker is to control your progress in the direction of your health targets — be that taking extra steps every day, or finishing a sure variety of exercises per week. Each the Garmin Vivosmart 5 and the Fitbit Cost 5 provide the possibility to trace plenty of exercises — you may observe 20 totally different exercise varieties on the Fitbit, and select six to show on the tracker. On the Vivosmart 5, you may observe 14 totally different exercises, with the choice so as to add 10 extra.
One large distinction between the 2 trackers is the built-in GPS accessible on the watches. Whereas the Fitbit Cost 5 has GPS, the Garmin Vivosmart 5 makes use of the GPS in your cellphone when monitoring exercises, which isn’t usually as correct. Throughout testing with the Vivosmart, we discovered the related GPS was ever-so-slightly off on shorter runs across the metropolis — whereas this isn’t an enormous concern, the inaccuracy does add up on longer coaching runs.
That mentioned, in terms of the info accessible post-workout, the Garmin watch comes out on high. Like the entire best Garmin watches, the Vivosmart 5 syncs to the Garmin Join app, which provides you an enormous quantity of actually insightful data free of charge. This consists of issues like your transferring paces versus your common tempo, or how a lot sweat you’ve misplaced. Whereas Fitbit does have quite a lot of insightful health information, quite a lot of that is put behind a paywall, which means you’ll must pay for a Fitbit Premium membership to entry the info. Is Fitbit Premium worth it? Here’s the pros and cons.
Winner: Fitbit Cost 5. This was a troublesome one to name, however the built-in GPS on the Fitbit Cost 5 actually does make monitoring runs, walks, and bike rides somewhat bit extra correct.
Garmin Vivosmart 5 vs Fitbit Cost 5: Well being monitoring
Each health trackers are related of their skill to trace your well being. The Fitbit Cost 5 has the identical SpO2 pulse oximeter sensor (additionally discovered within the Cost 4, Charge 3, Versa, and Ionic) to raised enable you perceive your sleeping patterns.
Like earlier fashions, the Cost 5 has all of Fitbit’s normal sleep monitoring metrics, though, on the tracker itself, you’ll solely be capable to see your complete sleep time and your sleep rating from the earlier evening. On the Fitbit app, you’ll be capable to see your sleep rating, sleep phases and set a sensible wake alarm, nonetheless it’s important to be a Premium person to get additional sleep information, comparable to a breakdown of your deep, gentle, and REM sleep cycles.
The Garmin Vivosmart 5 additionally has an SpO2 sensor, which provides you a large amount of sleep information, however in contrast to with the Fitbit, you don’t must pay a subscription payment to see this.
Each watches have options that enable you prepare smarter by your general restoration — on the Garmin Vivosmart 5, that is referred to as “physique battery.” This rating takes into consideration your earlier day’s exercise ranges, and your sleep high quality. On Fitbit, that is referred to as the “Each day Readiness Rating,” though it is a paid-for characteristic, so solely Premium members will be capable to use it. In contrast to Fitbit’s Each day Readiness Rating, Garmin’s Physique Battery modifications in actual time. For those who have been, for instance, planning a troublesome run or a tough fitness center session after a day of labor, however that day has been significantly grueling, your physique battery will mirror that.
One sensor that the Fitbit Cost 5 has and the Garmin Vivosmart 5 is lacking is an ECG monitor. ECG readings can warn you to doable coronary heart issues, comparable to atrial fibrillation — a kind of arrhythmia, or irregular heartbeat. That mentioned, whereas vital, AFib can solely be recognized by a physician, so it’s not the be all and finish all to trace it in your wrist. It’s additionally value noting that the EDA and ECG scans on the Fitbit are each Premium, paid-for options.
Winner: Garmin Vivosmart 5. Whereas the 2 have very related well being monitoring sensors, the truth that Fitbit places a number of the most helpful stats behind a paywall is a contact irritating.
Garmin Vivosmart 5 vs Fitbit Cost 5: Verdict
In the end, the fitting health tracker for you is the one that you just need to put on essentially the most. Each trackers are related in design, and they’re each sufficiently small to be inconspicuous in your wrist for every day put on. That mentioned, the colour display screen on the Fitbit Cost 5 makes the product really feel extra premium, and after carrying each trackers for a few months, we’d say the Cost 5 is extra beginner-friendly.
For those who’re a runner or a bicycle owner and also you’re searching for a health tracker to provide the most correct information as doable, the built-in GPS on the Fitbit Cost 5 makes it the higher possibility. That mentioned, it’s nonetheless a health tracker, and if you’re severe about coaching, it’s in all probability value spending somewhat extra and shopping for one of many best sports watches, such because the Garmin Forerunner 55.
Lastly, in the event you’re shopping for a health tracker to take a better have a look at your general well being, the Garmin Vivosmart 5 offers you an enormous quantity of knowledge with out hiding something behind a paywall — which we all the time recognize.
