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Our diverse testing crew has spent the last four years testing 16 of the best pedometers, and recently purchased nine of today's top models for a fresh head-to-head comparison after researching hundreds of styles. Our team of outdoor professionals, corporate professionals, and average Joes put these pedometers through their paces on the way to blufftops, boardrooms, and everywhere in between. We then rated each model through a series of performance metrics including ease of use, accuracy, and data management capabilities. Whether you're headed to the office, the local crag, or simply cruising around town, we'll help you find the best pedometer for you.
The Bellabeat LEAF is both the most specialized product in our test and one of the most feature-laden. As a product both branded to women and a product whose defining characteristic is menstruation tracking, it is as gender-specific as a pedometer can be. The Bellabeat LEAF brings more data depth than any other product in our review. In addition to tracking step count and distance, which are relatively standard, the LEAF monitors sleep, breathing, and works as a period-tracker, all while promoting meditative practice. Additionally, many women will appreciate the stylish nature of this pedometer — choosing to proudly rock the attractive LEAF.
In our testing, the LEAF proved less durable than some of the other products tested. Additionally, this device lacks a screen — requiring users to rely on their smartphones to monitor data. Women who have no problem tracking data with a stylish app-enabled device will love the LEAF for tracking activity, diet, sleep, breathing, and menstruation.
If you are looking for a budget-oriented device that only monitors steps, distance, and calories burned — but avoids the hassle of smartphone pairing — then the 3D TriSport is the product for you. It provides simple functionality at a bargain price.
The 3D TriSport doesn't capture long-term data so for the person wanting to track daily or weekly progress. You'll have to transcribe data on a computer or in a notebook manually. Further, data is reset after one week and the daily step count is gone after 48 hours. However, if you want to avoid breaking the bank and using a smartphone to track your steps/activity then the 3D TriSport will meet your needs.
The Spire Stone is a unique device. In addition to tracking activity and steps, this pedometer monitors breath and mindfulness to an extent that is unparalleled in the field. The Stone tracks breathing and activity to help the user better manage stress and decrease anxiety throughout the day. Additionally, the supplemental app includes mindfulness exercises and guided meditations to increase overall wellness.
The execution is a little rough, but the intention and overall function are entirely adequate. Downsides to the Stone included a somewhat insecure clip, lack of display screen for monitoring activity, and it was among the most expensive devices in our testing repertoire. People looking for an attractive device to monitor trends in activity, breath, and stress levels will be undeterred by the high price and will dig the mindfulness-encouraging Stone.
Pedometers were purchased and tested in many locations, such as the Colorado Rockies
Credit: Mary Witlacil
Why Trust GearLab
Mary Witlacil brings the experience and know-how to this review. With over 15 years in the outdoor industry, she's done everything from work as a bike mechanic to outdoor educator. After receiving her BA in Political Science, and MA in Politics and International Affairs, she began working on her Ph.D. in Environmental Politics and Policy at Colorado State University, Fort Collins, which takes up her time when she's not avidly pursuing climbing objectives.
The strategy used to test these pedometers was broad in location and straightforward in approach. We sent them to people in many different walks of life - from mountain guides to corporate professionals and many locations - from the High Sierra to Brooklyn. The approach was simply to use them in everyday life, while considering five main factors. These were Ease of Use, Comfort and Convenience, Motivational Effect, Estimated Accuracy, and Aesthetics. The exception to this were the absolute accuracy measurements, which were made by taking laps around a track of known distance while counting steps.
The innovative Spire Mindfulness and Activity Tracker records your breathing rate to track stress levels.
What's the Best Value?
What's a little motivation worth? If they help get us out the door and maintaining healthy lifestyles, these devices may well be pulling their weight. Most options here land in the inexpensive range, with a couple coming in significantly higher. You'll want to decide what's most important in your case - if you're into in-depth menstruation tracking or developing a meditation practice, the Bellabeat Leaf or Spire Stone may be worth the retail price.
Analysis and Test Results
To help you decide on the appropriate device, we have limited our review to products that count steps or distance, and either clip to a pocket/shoe or are portable on one's wrist. Pedometers are a hot commodity for those looking to track their daily activity and exercise, and those who crave additional exercise motivation. Some devices are geared toward those trying to develop healthy habits and lose weight, while some devices are more appropriate for people wanting to monitor their already active lifestyles. We watch this rapidly evolving category closely — looking for new trends and unique approaches to the technology. Whether you're new to exercise tracking or you're an endurance athlete trying to track training consistency — our reviews will steer you toward the device that is right for you.
The Fitbit Flex 2 is easy to use, provides a wealth of data, and doesn't look that dorky. Why not wear it?
Credit: Mary Witlacil
We purchased each of the products and used them as they are intended, with a thorough and hard-core approach to testing. We test each function with an eye toward what could be improved and what is potentially missing. Our testers evaluated the devices side-by-side in harsh conditions on trails and in cities throughout the U.S. They were tested in the mountains, the desert, and urban areas. This equates to long runs, hikes, and active hours.
We expect these devices to accurately depict fitness and activity levels for you, so we put them to the test by wearing them in all environments with little regard for babying the devices. To make certain that each device reviewed is worth your money, we analyze the accuracy of each device down to the step. To help you decide which product is right for you, we have reviewed each device according to the following metrics: Depth of Data, Data Management, Accuracy, Ease of Use and Portability. Scroll down to see how each device ranked in terms of these metrics.
Even the most straightforward pedometer offers useful stats. The 3D TriSport counts your steps and tracks distance and time traveled. Then it counts up all the calories you burned doing it.
Credit: Mary Witlacil
Depth of Data
All of the devices reviewed count steps, and one of the most basic models counts nothing more than steps. That's the 3DFitBud Simple Step Counter. The other devices track data beyond simple step counting, by relying on an electronic accelerometer that detects and records movement. The accelerometer can also record and interpret additional data, including distance traveled, speed, or duration of activity. Beyond the aforementioned simple step counters and the Spire Stone, all of the devices reviewed estimate travel distance.
The Omron Alvita counts steps and estimate distance traveled. The 3D TriSport and the Omron Alvita Optimized offers both of these functions and tracks the duration of an activity. The Ozo Fitness SC2 provides all of these services and employs the accelerometer to calculate speed. Neither the TriSport, the Alvita Optimized nor the SC2 record information beyond the basic movement and activity data mentioned above.
In addition to calculating steps and distance, an accelerometer can be used to roughly gauge the quality of your sleep. The Bellabeat LEAF and the Spire monitor sleep time and quality. The Flex 2 stands alone for using the accelerometer to track swimming and cycling distances. (You have to wear it on your ankle while in the saddle.)
The Bellabeat LEAF can track your breathing rates.
Credit: Jediah Porter
The LEAF and Spire take this a step further by using the accelerometer to track breathing. The apps associated with both the Spire and the LEAF provide users with guided meditations while the user wears the device on their chest to monitor breathing.
Beyond the data captured by the accelerometer, many of the pedometers include apps that ask for user-entered data. These apps can monitor food and water intake so users can see how their calorie intake compares with calories burned. This feature can help users develop a plan for weight loss or control, as well as better overall fitness goal tracking. The apps for both the Flex 2 and the LEAF can track menstruation and fertility for women. With regard to user-entered data, the LEAF, the Spire, and the Flex 2 were the clear winners. Each of these devices allows users to provide a depth of fitness and health-centered data to track activity, wellness, weight, diet, meditation, etc.
The Flex 2 earned our praise for the depth of data tracked by the accelerometer in addition to the user-supplied data capabilities, all for a reasonable price. Our reviewers appreciated the LEAF for the scope and breadth of data collected and support offered, including breathing drills, guided meditation, and menstruation tracking.
Fitbit.com offers a Dashboard to help users track movement, eating, sleeping and weight data over weeks, months or years.
Credit: Mary Witlacil
Data Management
Each of the devices reviewed gather data in a dependable fashion. One distinction between the different devices is in how the data is displayed, saved, and shared. The simplest and least expensive are stand-alone devices that track nothing more than steps and provide a step count on their screen. For instance, the 3DFitBud Simple Step Counter keeps a running total of steps until reset by the user.
In addition to counting steps, the TriSport counts steps for the past 30 days, while the Fitness SC2 counts steps for the previous seven days. The Alvita Optimized functions similarly to the TriSport and the SC2 but with a less durable package. To track specific data for longer than a day or generalized data longer than a week or month, users may want to keep an activity journal so they can monitor their progress toward fitness goals. If you want to avoid syncing your device with a smartphone or computer, then one of the aforementioned stand-alone activity trackers would be ideal for you.
Of the products reviewed, the most costly and highest-rated products all come with a smartphone app for syncing data and for providing additional fitness/wellness tracking and motivation. The power of a pedometer or a fitness tracker lies in the motivation that a user has to interact with the device. The devices that included an interactive app with user-added data are easy to use, integrate into daily life, and provide more helpful information.
Over the years of testing, none of our reviewers have been inspired to use non-app supported devices longer than a week at a time. For extensive data management and motivational features, the LEAF is the highest rated of the products reviewed. It features excellent data management on your smartphone and a more robust, long-term data analysis on the web site.
The 3D TriSport is among the most accurate devices we tested.
Credit: Mary Witlacil
Accuracy
While accelerometers are fairly simple electronic tracking devices, in our review, we found that accuracy varied noticeably between devices. There was an enormous gap between the least and most accurate devices. The most inaccurate device had a much larger margin of error than the most accurate. Quite impressively, the most simple device proved to be the most accurate in our testing. The Simple Walking 3D does nothing more than count steps, and did so almost perfectly in multiple quarter-mile tests.
The device that proved least accurate was the OZO Fitness SC2. Alternatively, the 3D TriSport proved exceptionally accurate, comparable in accuracy to the Omron Alvita. The remaining devices fell somewhere in the middle of the spectrum between the high performing Alvita and Simple Walking 3D and the imprecise Fitness SC2. The Leaf and the Spire had approximately 5% inaccuracy rating in terms of either steps counted or distance tracked.
Testing the accuracy of pedometers required our reviewers to push the devices to their limits - in as many environments & doing as many activities as possible.
Credit: Mary Witlacil
While our reviewers go to great lengths to test the accuracy of the devices reviewed, each of the products proved consistent in the inaccuracy of data tracking. What does this mean for you? Maybe nothing. If your end goal is to use a pedometer to monitor activity, or to motivate you to reach fitness goals, and your device consistently produces mildly inaccurate results — it may not matter. What matters is that the data -is consistent. In this manner, trends in activity levels will be evident regardless of minor errors. As long as you are consistent in using your device on the daily, then your device will provide you with a comparable measure of activity and fitness trends.
While accuracy may matter to determine the length of a hike or an approach to an obscure area in the back-country — nominal levels of inaccuracy may be irrelevant concerning steps tracked, or distance walked throughout the day.
While the Fitbit 2 requires more effort to set up than the simplest pedometers tested, it rewards the effort with far more information about your fitness.
Credit: Mary Witlacil
Ease of Use
To evaluate the ease of use, we first look at the setup process and then the overall intuitiveness of each device. You may only need to set up your device one time, but the easier this process, the more likely you are to enjoy your pedometer out of the box. Each of the stand-alone devices (the TriSport, Simple Walking 3d, Alvita Optimized, Fitness SC2, and Simple Step) came with easy to follow instruction manuals and fairly quick set-up processes.
Ease of use ratings for each of the products tested includes the ease of setup and overall user-friendliness of the devices. Set-up for the app-supported devices often included easy-to-follow directions. However, the Flex 2, LEAF and Spire required additional user-input above and beyond what the standalone devices required. As such, these app-enabled devices needed more setup-time than stand-alone devices.
Though you can wear the LEAF in a number of ways (here it is shown as a bracelet) your data will be more useful if you use one style consistently.
Credit: Jediah Porter
Portability
For our reviewers, the portability and convenience of these products proved crucial for their consistent use. If the device proves too cumbersome or annoying, it won't be used. Thus, it won't be of any use in tracking activity and meeting fitness goals. In this metric, we assess both the convenience of carrying and the aesthetics of each device. Ideally, a fitness tracker will be appealing enough to wear during more than just exercise, including at work, on dates, and to meetings and events. While our reviewers may have very different style requirements, no one benefits from a pedometer left at home for being too inconvenient or aesthetically unappealing.
Of the Devices reviewed, the LEAF and the Flex 2 deserve honorable mentions. The tiny and lightweight Flex 2 can be accessorized with many different bracelets, pendants, or bangles as desired. One reviewer noticed that it was easy to forget you were wearing the Flex 2 making it very portable. The feminine LEAF is both lightweight and aesthetically appealing as a necklace or in a user's pocket. Both devices proved quite versatile and portable.
One of our testers checking out hike specs on the 3D TriSport. The easier it is to carry a pedometer, the more you're going to use it.
Credit: Jesse Reed Cruce
While the Alvita Optimized, and the TriSport featured clip mounts that proved effective for clipping securely to one's belt, shoes, or pants. The Fitness SC2 and the Simple Step Counter were designed for in pocket carry. These options may prove too bulky for some users, depending on the size of one's pocket. All of our reviewers preferred devices which offered multiple methods for carrying, making the Fitness SC2 and the Simple Step Counter slightly less portable for some users.
The Spire was the only device that experienced a portability fail. During routine use, while our lead editor was reviewing the Spire, the device became unclipped and was forever lost. This is a serious issue, especially for a device that fetches such a high price. We had to buy another Spire to continue the review. The Spire is only calibrated to track breathing while clipped to either a bra or a belt. The device will track steps and distance while in a pocket — which is more secure — but the breath tracking was significantly weaker.
Mid-scramble donning the Fitbit Flex 2.
Credit: Jesse Reed Cruce
Conclusion
Our reviewers at OutdoorGearLab have logged long hours putting these gadgets to the test. We have found several devices that excel across a wide range of demands and others that meet various unique needs. The 3D TriSport gets the job done at an affordable price. The Top Choice for Women, the Bellabeat LEAF manages an exhaustive variety of data, while the Spire takes the award for Top Mindfulness and Activity Tracker.
