ElectronicsHealth and FitnessFitness

What are the best heart rate monitors?

5

Options
Considered

5

User
Recs.

Jun 6, 2018

Last
Updated

Here’s the Deal

5 Options Considered

Best heart rate monitors	Price	Battery Life	Heart rate
-- Fitbit Blaze	$199	4 days	Yes
-- Polar H7	79.95	–	–
-- MIO Link	99.99	6-8 hours	6-8 hours
-- Garmin Vivosmart HR	$149.99	5 days	Yes
-- Tickr Heart Rate Monitor	$49.99	–	–

Fitbit Blaze

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Top Pro

Fully featured activity tracker, good for those who want a multi-use device

The Blaze is a fully featured activity tracker with the accuracy of a dedicated HRM. It counts steps, stairs climbed, calories burned, active time, resting heart rate, sleep stages and quality of sleep, and comes with a number of sports modes that will track particular exercises using its HRM. On top of that, it'll also show you upcoming calendar alerts, texts, and calls. See More

Top Con

Proprietary charger, so you have limited charging options

The Blaze charges via clipping its electronics into a small housing that plugs into a USB adapter, so you can't charge it with any old cable you have lying around. See the chrager here. See More

wollington's Experience

While the Blaze isn't strictly a heart rate monitor, it is surprisingly accurate in that regard. Since it's closer to a fitness tracker + smartwatch combo than a dedicated HRM, you'll be getting a lot more data and usage out of this than you might think. It'll do everything you could want a HRM to do, and so much more. See More

Specs

Battery Life:4 days

Top Pro

Bluetooth allows for more connectivity options

The Blaze can connect to your phone via Bluetooth 4.0 to send its data to your Fitbit app. See More

Top Con

Not waterproof

The Blaze isn't water proof, but merely water resistant. It's rated at 1ATM as far as water resistance goes, so while it's safe from rain and sweat, don't take it in the shower. See More

Top Pro

Good battery life

The battery charges up in around an hour, and after that the charge lasts upwards of five days with normal use. See More

Top Pro

Accurate heart rate readings

The Blaze was tested against a Quinton Cardiac Q-Stress machine, which is a medical EKG, and was found to vary only by 2-3 BPM at all levels of activity. You can see the accuracy tests here. See More

Polar H7

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Top Pro

Comfortable and secure

The elastic band comes in three sizes and is soft and malleable. The H7 sits pretty snugly against your chest and doesn't slip around while you're using it. See More

Top Con

Bluetooth doesn't work underwater

Unfortunately, the H7 can't communicate via Bluetooth when it's submerged. You'll have to use one of Polar's other GymLink enabled watches to get functionality while swimming. See More

wollington's Experience

Honestly the H7 is really great for people who want a heart rate monitor and just a heart rate monitor. It doesn't do anything fancy, but what it does do, it does really well. See More

Top Pro

Very accurate

The H7 was tested against an EKG, the medical standard for measuring heart rate, and it was found that the H7's readings matched up with the EKG 99% of the time. You can see the accuracy tests here. See More

Top Pro

Waterproof, so it's great for swimmers

The H7 is properly waterproof, making it a good option for swimmers. However, when underwater, your Bluetooth connection won't work so you're forced into using one of Polar's GymLink enabled watches. See More

Top Pro

Supports a wide range of connectivity options

The H7 can connect via Bluetooth Smart or GymLink. It can connect to a wide range of apps (like Runkeeper, Runtastic, or Strava) and works with Bluetooth sports watches as well. The GymLink connection means it'll work with Polar's other sport watches or activity trackers. See More

Top Pro

Long battery life with replaceable cell batteries

The H7 runs on a CR2025 coin battery which, as long as you disconnect the device from the strap when not in use, should last you upwards of a month before needing to be replaced. See More

MIO Link

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Top Pro

Good for the casual user

The Link is simple and easy to use, but doesn't come with the more hardcore options that an advanced user would look for. See More

Top Con

Decent battery life, but doesn't hold up to the competitors

On a full charge the Link should last you around 8-10 hours of usage. When taken into consideration that this is simply a HRM, that's not so bad, but it still doesn't hold a candle to some of its competitors. See More

Specs

Battery Life:6-8 hours

Top Pro

Customizable bands

The hardware is removable, so you can swap the bands for whichever color you prefer. See More

Top Con

Accuracy can leave something to be desired

Under lab conditions, the Link has been shown to be accurate within -27 BPM to +29 BPM. If you're looking for accuracy, you'd be better off with a chest strap HRM than the Link. See More

Top Pro

Tough and comfortable

It's made from a single, strong plastic band that won't snap or break. The strap feels soft and stretches slightly, and includes clasp holes along the length of the band so you can set it exactly how tightly or loosely you want. See More

Top Con

Doesn't read your heart rate so well underwater

The Link is designed for runners, so the accuracy while swimming leaves much to be desired. You'd be better off with a HRM designed specifically for the water. See More

Top Pro

Easy to check heart rate mid run with a built in LED system

The Link comes with an LED that gives you a different color depending on where your heart rate is at. This makes checking your heart rate a lot easier as you don't have to stop and pull your phone out, or risk dropping it while you're running. See More

Top Con

Uses a proprietary charging dock, so you have limited charging options

Unfortunately, you can't use any old QI charger to charge the Link. It comes with its own charging dock, and that's all you can use. See More

Top Pro

Connects via Bluetooth and ANT+, so you have a wide variety of connection options

The Link can be paired with any app that supports a heart rate monitor and does so via either Bluetooth 4.0 or ANT+, whichever you prefer. It can feed information to either your phone, a GPS watch, or even your bike computer. See More

Top Pro

Small and light

It has a focus on being small and comfortable, and definitely hits that mark. It measures about 20mm across, and weighs in at around 30 grams. See More

Garmin Vivosmart HR

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Top Pro

Bluetooth enabled, so you have lots of connectivity options

The Vivosmart is Bluetooth enabled and, while it'll store most of its basic data on its own, it can hook up to your phone and send the data to your Garmin app for a more in depth look. See More

Top Con

Can look a little clunky

The Vivosmart has a rather square design and, clocking in at a thickness of around 192mm, might look a little clunky, especially if you have more slender wrists. Example See More

wollington's Experience

I think the Vivosmart is a really good middle ground between a dedicated HRM and a Fitbit. It's a little more data and sports oriented than a Fitbit, but it's a lot more lifestyle oriented than a dedicated HRM. See More

Specs

Battery Life:5 days

Waterproofing:164 ft. or 50 m.

Top Pro

Accurate heart rate readings

When tested against an EKG, the Vivosmart only varied by 2-3 BPM at all levels of activity. You can see the accuracy tests here. See More

Top Con

Proprietary charger, so you have limited charging options

Top Pro

Good battery life

On a full charge you should last around five days of normal use. See More

Top Pro

Waterproof

The Vivosmart is waterproof up to 5ATM, so it's pool and shower friendly. See More

Top Pro

Touchscreen display

The Vivosmart has a 1"x.42" backlit LCD display that displays everything from the time, steps, heart rate, weather, distance traveled, calories burned, stairs climbed, steps taken, and time moving. The screen is touchscreen and surprisingly responsive, allowing you to swipe between data displays. See More

Top Pro

Good general purpose HRM

The Vivosmart takes a little bit from everything. While it's a very solid HRM in its own right, it also comes with some light activity tracking options. See More

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