⌚Which Fitbit tracker for Teens? Inspire vs Charge vs Luxe - buying guide

Considering a Fitbit fitness tracker for your teen? Let's take a look at the options and see which Fitbit makes the most sense for you and your teen. This will depend on your budget and their lifestyle and what you want to achieve with the device. 

Fitbits for age 13+ 

We've focussed this article on Fitbit choices for teens because the grown-up models are designed for age 13+. If you have a child under this age then you are limited to the FitBit Ace range which is designed for younger kids.

Best Fitbit for ...

• Budget. The Inspire 3 (still the latest model for 2023), or if you can find it discounted, the Inspire 2.
• Looks. The Luxe. Important if style really matters. 
• Fitness. The Charge 6 (updated model for 2023). Packed with fitness features and also looks good. 
• Small wrists. The Luxe is compact. 
• Battery life. The Inspire 3 (or 2) has a typical battery life of 10 days, higher than the other models (less if you make use of the always-on-screen feature for the Inspire 3 though.)
• Runners. The Charge 5 has built-in GPS functionality for tracking runs so you don't need to have your phone with you. 
• Contactless payments. The Charge 5 has Fitbit Pay which allows credit and debit cards to be added. This requires a suitable card which may not be available to younger teens. 
• Mindfulness. The Inspire 3 is the cheapest device to feature the Relax app with guided breathing (the Luxe also has it). 
• Health monitoring. The Charge 5 has heart and skin temperature monitoring (not medical advice but useful information.)

Features that all recent Fitbit fitness trackers have

Note that this doesn't include the Fitbit Ace for kids which has a different feature set. The most recent models of the Fitbit ranges considered for teens in this guide all have:

• Pedometer/step tracking. Set goals for number of steps per day. 
• Water resistance. Don't worry if they accidentally take their device into the shower! The devices can also be used for swimming. 
• Heart rate monitoring. Keep track of resting heart rate and heart rate during exercise. 
• Menstrual health tracking. Useful to have this in the same app as other health and fitness information. Be aware of data privacy issues though.
• Choice of straps. Additional official straps in different colours and styles are available for all models but note that they are different for each device.  
• Sleep tracking. Really useful for teens who have difficulty sleeping or have unpredictable sleep routines. Can you spot any patterns between the sleep their getting and their mood? All the ranges have a smart alarm feature which could make waking up less painful for teens!
• Fitbit app. Lots of reporting features and historical information. Additional reports and content (such as exercise and meditation routines) if you have Fitbit premium (charged after free trial.)
• Phone link. Call, text and app notifications. The Find my phone app allows you to play a loud sound on your phone. This is really useful for teens who lose track of their phone (very useful for one of my teens ...) 
• Fast charging. These devices charge quickly if your teen puts off charging or or forgets to charge their Fitbit. Very useful!
• Colour screen. The most recent model in each range has a colour screen with a choice of clock faces. Note that the older Inspire 2 has a black and white screen.
• Android or Apple. The Fibit app and syncing with the Fitbit works with most Android and iOS devices.

Note that none of the most recent models has an altimeter with floor tracking. This might come as a disappointment if you have used older Fitbits that did have this feature. None of the fitness trackers has Bluetooth on-wrist phone calls either, you need a Fitbit smartwatch for that. 

What to consider when buying a fitness tracker for teens

• Size and fit. For younger teens and girls with a small frame, the size of the device is important to consider. Fitbits are primarily designed for adults and some models will look a bit chunky on a slim teen, they might be fine with this but it's worth considering. Most Fitbits come with a small and large strap and the small strap does fit a small wrist which is good.  
• Appearance. For many teens, appearance is important. There's no point buying a device that doesn't get worn because it doesn't match an outfit! This is actually one of the key differentiators between the different models so it's worth considering. 
• Battery life. Maybe your teen is brilliant at remembering to keep devices changed, but maybe they're not! There's a trade-off across the Fitbit models of how fancy the screen is, the size of the device, and how often it needs to be charged. (It's really annoying if you're just about to head off on a family hike and your teen realizes their Fitbit is about to run out of charge ...)
• Features. All of the Fitbit trackers will keep track of number of steps taken and sleep. If your child is a runner or cyclist then the GPS tracker is a great feature. You might also want to consider whether they will use the device for swimming. 

Things to consider

The app tracks calories burned and allows tracking of calories consumed. This may be a positive, negative or neutral feature depending on the relationship your teen has with food. 

The app offers menstruation tracking. This could be a really useful feature for teen girls who are getting used to their cycle. You should consider data privacy issues carefully depending on your local legal situation. This is an important discussion to have with teen girls.

The app offers lots of data and analysis. You should have regular discussions with your teen to make sure they understand the data they are seeing and whether anything is worrying them. A Fitbit can be helpful in identifying potential medical issues that should be discussed with a medical professional but some teens may be prone to worry about any information they don't fully understand. The app is not designed specifically for teens so they may need help interpreting it. 

A Fitbit can be a really useful tool for helping young people of all fitness levels. It can help athletes to track their performance and motivate less active young people to have a healthier lifestyle. Some teens may have a tendency to obsess over data so it's important to help them keep things in perspective. 

The Fitbit app allows users to share data with friends. Make sure your teen understands that they can decide which data to share and whether it is appropriate for them to share their data with others. 

Fitbits don't all use the same charging cable. This is a pain for families who need to take multiple cables on vacation and won't be able to share cables at home or when a cable gets lost. The Luxe and Charge 5 use the same cable. The Ace (kids) and Inspire 2 use the same cable. The Inspire 3 and other models each use different cables! If you have multiple different devices you might want to label them. 

You really need a phone to make the most of a modern Fitbit device. You can use it to track steps and heart rate without a phone but many of the features are accessed through the Fitbit app on a connected phone. 

Understanding the Fitbit models

Fitbit Inspire is the entry-level range and will be the right choice if budget is your main concern and you just want a good quality well-featured fitness tracker without high-end features. This is the range that my teens have and they use them for keeping track of their daily activity and their sleep. 

Fitbit Inspire 2 vs Inspire 3

The Fitbit Inspire 3 is the new device in this range, launched in September 2022. However, you may find the Fitbit Inspire 2 at a discounted price for a while. 

The screen on the new Fitbit Inspire 3 is much nicer than the one on the Inspire 2 and also has an 'always on' option which is really useful for getting immediate feedback while exercising (but does drain the battery more quickly). The Inspire 3 comes in a different range of strap colours. The Inspire 3 has mostly the same sensing capabilities as the Inspire 2 but it adds SpO2 (blood oxygen) monitoring.

For many teens the improved appearance of the Fitbit Inspire 3 will make it more desirable. But if your teen isn't worried about that or actually prefers the slightly smaller Inspire 2 and doesn't need the new features then they'll probably be quite happy with an Inspire 2 if you find it available at a good price. The older Inspire 2 also comes with 12 months of Fitbit premium membership whereas it's only 6 months for the newer models. 

Fitbit Inspire 3 vs Fitbit Luxe

The Fitbit Luxe range focusses on appearance with a fitness tracker that also serves as jewellery. This is likely to appeal to teens who don't want to wear an obvious fitness device all the time but do want the benefits of a fitness tracker. 

The Luxe is slim and nicely designed and even comes in a version with a gold bracelet. 

The Luxe has a colour display but needs charging more often (typically every 5 days instead of every 10). The Fitbit Luxe does track SpO2 but doesn't have GPS tracking (so it can't provide maps of your runs.)

The Luxe is a much nicer-looking device and if you have the extra budget and don't need the GPS feature then this makes a great tracker for teen girls.

Fitbit Inspire 3 vs Fitbit Charge 5

The Charge range is the premium fitness tracker (before you move on to the fitness watch category of products.) It looks nicer than the Inspire range and it has GPS tracking. The Charge 5 is a wider device but not as chunky as the Inspire range. 

The Charge 5 has additional heart rate monitoring features including ECG and heart rate variability monitoring. It also measures skin temperature and variation. This makes the Charge 5 a good choice for health monitoring though it shouldn't be seen as a medical device. 

I have the Charge 5 because I preferred the look of it to the Inspire range but I wanted the GPS feature which the Luxe is lacking.  

Update: The Fitbit Charge 6 is new for 2023 and has a physical button on the side to make it easier to navigate. Unless you find the older model seriously discounted then you'll want to choose the newer model. 

Which Fitbits have GPS tracking?

The Charge 5 has built-in GPS so you don't have to have your phone with you to be able to create a map of a run. The Inspire 3 (and Inspire 2) and Luxe can use the GPS feature of your phone which means you'll need to take your phone with you to have GPS tracking.

Which Fitbits are waterproof?

All of the latest models are water resistant up to 50m for showers and swimming (except the kids Ace range.)

Summary

There's actually less technical difference between the different Fitbit tracker models than you might expect. 

For teens, the practical factors such as battery life and the appearance of the model might be more important. The main exception is if you want built-in GPS tracking which the Charge 5 or Charge 6 has. 

2023/4 latest models:

• Luxe
• Inspire 3
• Fitbit Charge 6 (new for 2023)