Home / Fitness / Best 8 Ankle Fitness Trackers [2023]
Best 8 Ankle Fitness Trackers [2023]
Table of Content
Introduction
Fitness trackers are one of the most innovative inventions in the fitness industry. How easy it has become to track your progress, measure your heart rate, track your sleep etc, from a band you can wear like a normal wristwatch.
Recording and tracking your progress is an important part of a fitness journey as it tells you how much you have improved and how much you can improve to reach your goal.
Coaches usually do that in the gym and for professional athletes, but you can also do it in your day to day life.
Fitness trackers can be your best workout buddy. It can track your every physical movement, and record your progress.
Along with that, these devices can be synchronized with your smartphones where you can see your progress.
But if you see, most fitness trackers available in the market are for your wrists. For your day to day purpose it is convenient, and it is also comfortable to wear. You can easily see your progress as you are working out just like you are checking the time any day.
But there are reasons why you might need to consider buying a fitness tracker for your ankle, especially if you are extremely strict about your recorded data.
Below we will discuss what makes an ankle fitness/activity trackers better, what to look for while buying one and also some of the best ankle fitness trackers you can buy which won’t burn your pocket.
Best Ankle Fitness Trackers
1. Moov Now Ankle Fitness Tracker
Built exactly for your ankle, the Moov Now Ankle Fitness Tracker is one of the most popular choices in the market. From the design aspect it is comfortable and light weighted. This ankle activity tracker doesnt offer a display which we have to compromise on.
If you want a smart fitness tracker that synchronizes with your phone, headphones or even computer, then Moov Now is a perfect choice. It has Omni motion sensor that uses three times more sensors compared with other ankle activity trackers in the market.
This product has a very unique design and has all the features even a professional athlete would need. It has a real time audio coach, a heart rate monitor, step monitor and sleep tracker. Swimmers can also benefit from these amazing features because they are fully waterproof. It is compatible with all Android and iOS devices. It also has the feature to mute notifications from the phone during a workout session to avoid distractions, if that is something you are concerned about.
Pros
â— Accurate ankle step counter and heart rate monitor.
â— Waterproof
â— Live audio coach and other features beneficial for athletes
Cons
â— No display screen on the product.
â— Lacks GPS
2. Garmin Vivo Smart 4
Another simple, yet powerful fitness tracker fit for your ankle is the Garmin Vivo Smart 4. This fitness tracker has all the features you would expect from any fitness tracker and more.
Just like Mi Band 3, you can either wear this tracker on your wrist or on your ankle. But Garmin VivoSmart comes in two different sizes - small and medium. So you can choose the best tracker that fits your ankle. It has a heart rate monitor, pulse monitor and step counter along with a calorie monitor.
The standing feature of the tracker is to track blood oxygen saturation, even while sleeping, thus reporting any breathing irregularities.
Pros
â— Value for money
â— Available in different sizes
â— Compatible with all smartphones
â— Music Control
Cons
â— Relatively weaker battery life.
â— Limited display
3. Fitbit Flex 2
We cannot list out the best fitness trackers available in the market without mentioning a few Fitbit products. This company has dedicated to provide essential services when it comes to fitness trackers. Fitbit Flex 2 is another versatile fitness tracker that you can easily fit on your ankle. It has all the basic functionalities you could expect from a fitness tracker.
It has a very compact design, which makes it comfortable to wear on your ankle while running or exercising. Being one of the most rated fitness trackers, it has a good battery life. This device can easily track your movements, steps, heart rate, distance covered and also the amount of calories burnt.
It does not have a display on the device, but is compatible with all Android and iOS devices. You can set your daily goals, and the LED indicator on the tracker will indicate your progress.
Pros
â— Lightweight and easy to fit
â— Tracks all the necessary measures
â— LED indicators indicate progress
â— Good battery life.
Cons
â— No display option on the tracker.
4. Garmin Foot Pod
Garmin Foot Pod is a bit more unique tracker than your traditional fitness tracker. Rather than wearing the tracker like a wrist watch, either on your wrist or ankle, you clip this tiny device on your shoes and it very accurately counts your steps.
This clip does not come with any display or indicator on itself. You can synchronize the pod with the fitness app, and it can accurately show your step counts. This is the most recommended choice for people who find it uncomfortable to wear a fitness tracker on their ankles, but still want accurate data of their steps. This pod is also relatively much cheaper than most fitness trackers.
If your goal is exclusively to track your steps, and you don’t desire any fancy features, the Garmin Foot Pod is the right ankle step tracker for you.
Pros
â— Very accurate data
â— Easy to install
â— Very comfortable
â— Mobile Application lets you see the accurate date
Cons
â— No display
â— Lacks any sort of advanced features
5. Fitbit Alta HR
Another highly rated Fitbit product that you can use as an ankle fitness tracker is the Fitbit Alta HR. When it comes to fitness trackers, Fitbit’s Alta HR is another product worth considering.
It has all the features like step count, heart rate monitor. It also tracks your sleep and has a silent alarm feature that wakes you up with its vibrating mode.You can easily sync it with your smartphone and track your data. It is waterproof and also is available in different sizes. This makes it perfect as an ankle tracker.
Pros
â— Light and compact
â— Available in multiple sizes
â— Tracks all the necessary measures
Cons
â— Lacks GPS
â— Limited color options
6. Misfit Ray
Misfit Ray is a fitness tracker that has a very unique design compared to other tracker bands. One of the primary reasons for its popularity is that you can remove the tracker from the default strap, and your own band made of leather, nylon or even stainless steel.
Since its strap can be customized, you can choose a material that you find comfortable wearing on your ankle. Even though it doesn’t have a display screen, it can notify you of any alerts when synchronized with your phone. The lack of display might be a bummer for some people, but the Misfit Ray makes up for it in its battery life. It has a tremendous battery life that might last upto 4 months.
Pros
â— Stylish and unique design
â— Can change straps according to your comfort
â— Water resistant upto 50 meters
â— Compatible with all smartphones
Cons
â— No display screen
â— Lacks GPS
â— There is no charger, the battery has to be physically replaced once it's dead
7. Mi Band 3
Let’s start with one of the most basic, yet powerful fitness trackers for your ankle, the Mi Band 3. When it comes to affordability with all the basic functionalities, Mi Band 3 is one of the perfect choices.
It has a simple interface and design that fits the purpose of most athletes. Built with an OLED screen, the most outstanding feature of this band is its battery life.
Mostly worn on wrists even as a regular smartwatch, beginners can comfortably wear this watch on their ankles for a more accurate step count. It has a heart rate monitor and is water resistant. It also has a screen size of 0.78 inches and is compatible with most smartphones.
Pros
â— Affordable and effective
â— Great battery life
â— Value for money
â— Compatible with smartphones to synchronize your data and other features like message reading and weather forecasts
Cons
â— Display limitations
â— Sleep tracking is not entirely accurate
These fitness trackers help you enough to track your steps accurately. But what if you own a smartwatch that does all that for you but for better accuracy you are planning to tie it on your ankle.
No doubt, it will be very uncomfortable, but there is a solution.
You can opt for Ankle Bands, which you can use to attach your fitness tracker on your ankle without any discomfort safely. Ankle bands are simple and affordable bands where you can safely place your fitness tracker inside and wrap the band on your ankle.
You can choose any ankle band you want as they all have the same basic functionality, to hold on to your fitness tracker.
8. Fitbit zip wireless activity tracker
Fitbit Zip is a fitness tracker for ankle that tracks steps, distance, and calories burned. It's compatible with Android, iOS, and Windows devices. With this ankle step tracker you can track your workouts such as steps, distance and calories. It comes with a replacable battery which lasts for 6 months.
It comes with a advanced 3-axis accelerometer to track steps and calculate your distance and calories. This device can be clipped to your waistband or carried in pocket. The major drwaback with this device is it doesn't track sleep or workouts.
Pros
â— Excellent battery life
â— Water Resistant but not swim-proof
Cons
â— doesn't track sleep
â— doesn't support heart rate monitor
What to look for while buying an Ankle Fitness Tracker?
Buying an ankle fitness tracker isn’t complicated at all. Even the basic factors that you need to look into are completely based on your personal preferences and goals.
Essentially all fitness trackers do the same thing, track and record your movements. In such a case all you need to worry about is if your goal demands extra features.
We will guide you on some of the base factors that can help you choose best fitness trackers available in the market.
Goals
When it comes to buying any fitness equipment, your primary focus should be your goal. In the case of an ankle fitness tracker, you could either choose the ones that only show the number of steps taken if that is all you need, or you could choose a tracker with advanced sensors to keep your vitals in check.
The point is, everyday new inventions are coming up and manufacturers add new features to satisfy everyone’s needs. But you don’t probably need all the features. Or on the contrary, you might need to choose a tracker that only has a certain feature you are looking for.
So make sure you are aware of your goals.
Budget
Budget is a factor you have to simultaneously consider with your goals. Ankle Fitness trackers are very popular these days and on huge demand. So these products are available at a range of prices. There are easily affordable ones and there are also some trackers that are quite expensive.
So keep your budget in mind while making a purchase.
Comfort and material
Fitness tracker is something you are going to wear on your wrist/ankle for a long time. So comfort is something you need to take care of. It won’t do you much good, if you are not comfortable with what you're wearing.
Comfort could mean the size, material, screen size, etc.
So make sure you buy a tracker that is a proper fit for you and you are fine with the material it is built with.
Additional Features
Finally, if you have any preferences of your own, make sure you look into that product’s description. Additional features could include GPS tracking, wide display, waterproof tracker, indicators, and much more.
So if you are in need of a specific feature, make sure you look for it.
Can You Wear a Fitness Tracker on Your Ankle?
Yes, you can wear fitness tracker on your ankle for better accuracy of step tracking however some of the features like heart rate monitor are not available.
It is weird to compare fitness trackers based on where to wear them, because essentially all fitness trackers do the same job.
But why do people, especially professional athletes, prefer ankle trackers?
It primarily has to do with Accuracy. It might be crucial for you to have accurate data of steps taken or calories burned. Especially for runners, they might need much accurate data.
The problem is when you wear your fitness tracker on your wrist, your movements are approximated based on your wrist movements. These might not always reflect accurately with your feet movement.
Wearing an ankle fitness tracker helps you record your steps more accurately and gives you the proper data. Some athletes have even said that it helps them focus much as you won’t be receiving any distracting messages that you can see directly from your wrist.
Conclusion
Fitness Trackers for your ankles are great. They help you track your moves and actually help you improve your overall workout performance. It helps you to challenge yourself on a regular basis and you can constantly grow and be better. You can explore Moov Now, FitBit Flex 2 among these trackers to track your physical activities. These tiny companions can tell a lot about your body that you might need to know in order to live a happy and healthy life.
