10 Budget-Friendly Smartwatches To Choose Instead Of An Apple Watch

Apple has grown deep roots in the smartwatch market, but Apple isn't your only option. Apple's smartwatches account for more than 60% of smartwatch revenue and made up more than 34% of smartwatch shipments in 2022. It's easy to see why: Apple watches complement the iPhone, a stalwart player in the smartphone market. It also takes no shortcuts with innovations, with watches including features like heart rate and oxygen monitoring, Apple Pay integrations, remote control functions, and even sleep apnea detection. As the smartwatch market grows and fitness trackers fade, we're seeing tons of new players emerge to give Apple a run for its money.

A $399+ price tag for the latest Apple Watch puts it out of reach of many budget-conscious buyers. It's worth exploring budget-friendly smartwatch alternatives that give you access to helpful features without tearing a hole in your wallet. Fortunately, there are lots of other smartwatch brands and models willing to rise to the challenge.

Here are 10 budget-friendly smartwatches that you should consider if you want something other than an Apple watch.

WITHit specializes in watch bands and "band candy" to make your smartwatch look sharp. They also sell the whole kit and caboodle, with multiple budget-friendly smartwatches to choose from. The WITHit Giga watch is an attractive option, with an appearance similar to the Apple Watch's iconic square design. The high-definition touchscreen display offers vibrant colors and at-a-glance metrics like steps, heart rate, and calories burned.

Like many smartwatches, you can use the Giga to accept phone calls, view text messages, and check notifications from your phone. There's also a set of health features that can track workout data and reproductive cycles. Users can customize the watch face to display the information that's most important to them. Features-wise, it covers the basics like exercise, time, music controls, and communications. While it lacks advanced health features like blood pressure monitoring and sleep apnea detection, it's a decent budget-friendly watch that will let you dip your toes into the world of smartwatches without spending a fortune. The Giga retails for $65 on the WITHit website.

The Armitron Matrix is a great smartwatch for the money, and its looks exceed its budget-friendly class. An AMOLED screen and generous 44-millimeter watch face is easy to read, even when you're on the move. You can choose from multiple watch face designs, like a classic analog clock or digital clock displays with rich images and colors. It includes an impressive lineup of features too such as hydration tracking, reminders to stand up every hour, GPS connections, weather updates, and women's health tracking. For workouts, it keeps tabs on calorie burn, heart rate, and step counting according to various sports modes.

Like other smartwatches, the Armitron Matrix shows you text messages, incoming phone calls, and music playing through your smartphone. However, customers have reported the app might be a little buggy at times, with trouble syncing the watch with their phones. Some users say this watch doesn't seem intuitive when customizing the watch face or accessing its features. There are also some mixed reviews on the watch band; some say the magnetic quick-release band feels comfortable, while others say the band doesn't feel secure enough.

Overall, customers are satisfied with the Armitron Matrix for the price ($75 on the Armitron website).

It's no Apple watch, but the iTouch Air 4 smartwatch looks about as stylish and costs a fraction of the price. The smartwatch has earned 3.9 stars across 278 reviewers on Kohls.com, with 81% of reviewers saying they would recommend the product to others. Comfort, style and a (up to) seven-day battery life tend to be its biggest selling points, making it a good gift idea for kids, teens, or first-time smartwatch users. You can choose from five color options, each of which includes a 1.83-inch display that's water-resistant for up to one meter.

Features of the iTouch Air 4 include fitness tracking with 100+ sports modes, sleep monitoring, blood oxygen monitoring, hydration reminders, relaxation exercises, music controls, and a camera remote (no more selfies). You can also see incoming phone calls, social media notifications, and text messages from your watch when your phone is nearby. However, customers have been disappointed that they can't respond to texts or answer or make calls from the watch, which are features of the Apple watch.

Still, in terms of budget-friendly watches, you get a lot of function in the iTouch Air 4, which is available at Kohl's for $95.

If you like the idea of a smartwatch but don't want to risk breaking it in your line of work, the Njord Gear Indestructible Smartwatch is worth a look. It's surprisingly budget-friendly given its indestructible claim, with rugged good looks to match. Made for customers who work with their hands day in and day out, the Njord Gear offers a 100% money-back guarantee if the watch breaks, no questions asked.

A 1.9-inch touchscreen made of gorilla glass is dustproof and waterproof, which makes it ideal for wearing in unforgiving environments. The stainless steel casing fends off rust to keep the watch looking good for years to come. A 14-day battery life puts it a few notches above the average smartwatch, including Apple watches. It also offers tons of ways to customize its looks, from adjustable straps to hundreds of watch faces or even the option to upload your own photo. Plus, you get classic smartwatch features like sports modes, music, real-time heart rate, step counter, calorie counter, and the option to take calls on your watch. Originally listed for $199.99, the watch is available on the Njord Gear website for $129.99.

Spade & Co's Health Smartwatch 4 upgrades its previous generation by improving its health features, speeding up performance, and adding a camera control. It also increased the screen size and reduced the casing, giving you better visibility of your health data and other content. A brighter AMOLED screen and 1.6x better resolution contribute to an overall better experience, and there's just a $10 difference between the Health Smartwatch 3 and the Health Smartwatch 4.

In terms of features, the Health Smartwatch 4 is heavy on fitness and wellness, with 24/7 heart rate monitoring, activity tracking, oxygen saturation monitoring, sleep scoring and tracking, stress tracking, and menstrual cycle tracking. You also get non-health-related functions like phone calls, text notifications, app alerts, weather data, and an Alexa voice assistant. Unique to the Health Smartwatch 4 is its ambient sound measurement, which can help you stay aware of your surroundings. And unlike some smartwatches, there's no fee to download the app or ongoing subscription to continue using the app. It's 100% free with your purchase. The Health Smartwatch 4 is available on the Spade and Co website for $79.99. It also comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee in case it's not a good fit for you.

There's a lot to get excited about with the Amazfit Bip 5 Smartwatch. For starters, it has one of the best batteries of all smartwatches, with up to 26 days of battery life when placed on battery saver mode (average usage is about 10 days on a single charge). GPS tracking is also one of its greatest strengths which helps you accurately track workouts like bike riding or running. Unlike many smartwatches in the classic square shape, the Amazfit is slightly curved to more naturally fit to your wrist, which makes it more comfortable to wear day and night.

It pairs nicely with popular fitness apps like Adidas, Apple Health, and Google Fit (among others) to help you keep all of your workouts and health info in one place. There are also classic health features like heart rate monitoring, step tracking, menstrual tracking, and 120 different sports so you can collect the most accurate data. Beyond workouts and fitness, it also has its own library of apps and games that you can download, along with Bluetooth calls, music controls, and an Amazon Alexa voice assistant. You can get the Amazfit Bip 5 Smartwatch on Amazon for $69.99.

The brand IOWODO might not be a household name like Apple or Samsung, but it does give you a decent smartwatch at a highly budget-friendly price — just $25.99 for this specific model. It's pretty basic in features and functions, with the ability to view and answer incoming phone calls, an AI voice assistant, heart rate and sleep monitoring, multiple sports modes for fitness tracking, and watch face customizations.

The watch syncs with the Da Fit app. This is where you'll find all of your fitness data the watch records, from daily step counts and workouts to calorie burn and exercise goals. It automatically detects motion and will measure your heart rate and oxygen saturation in real-time. It earned a 4.2-star rating across more than 600 buyers, with customers citing value for money, functionality, style, and ease of use as its top selling points. You can get the IOWODO Smartwatch on Amazon in the $26 price range.

Punching above its weight class, the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 is a great buy for the price. It trades the Apple-esque square face that many smartwatches have adopted in favor of an elongated oval face, making it less intrusive to the wearer. It also includes features not found on many other smartwatches, like car key support via NFC. You'll also find popular features you'd expect a budget-friendly smartwatch to have, like heart rate monitoring, various fitness activities, and sleep tracking.

Compared to Apple smartwatches, the Xiaomi wins on battery life, hands down. You can get up to 21 days of battery on a single charge, depending on how you're using the watch. Like Apple watches, the Smart Band 9 is water resistant so you can wear it under a wide range of conditions. You can find the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 on Amazon for $60.00.

Google's first generation of smartwatches is now available for under $100. This Android smartwatch retains the classic round watch face and a sleek appearance that can't help but catch the eye. True to the Google name, its customers also deem it user-friendly and intuitive. Despite being the OG in Google smartwatches, there's still a lot of power and innovation packed into it. Unlike many smartwatches that try to be a carbon copy of the Apple Watch, the Pixel was designed to be different in looks, function, and feel. While many features like heart rate monitoring and sleep tracking come standard across most smartwatches, the Pixel does these things in a way that just feels like Google.

The Pixel integrates with FitBit for comprehensive fitness tracking. It also gives you the convenience of contactless payments with Google Wallet, notifications from your phone, and even turn-by-turn direction from Google Maps. You can get a refurbished Google Pixel watch on Amazon for as low as $85.99.

FitBit used to be a leading name in fitness tracking. Now, it's also turning heads with its smartwatch collection. The FitBit Versa 4 Fitness Smartwatch is among its most popular, with more than 12,929 reviews on Amazon and a 4.3-star rating. Customers say it's easy to set up the watch and sync it with their phones and easy to use once the initial setup is complete.

This smartwatch is made with fitness in mind. You can start the day with a readiness score, which takes into account how hard you trained the day before, how much sleep you received, and other health data. Use this score to decide how hard you need to exercise that day or whether you should prioritize rest. More than 40 exercise modes, heart rate monitoring, sleep tracking, and other health metrics can help you stay on track toward your goals. It also comes with a free six-month subscription to FitBit Premium.

You can grab the FitBit Versa 4 Fitness Smartwatch on Amazon for $149.95 — a bit pricier than other budget-friendly options but still a bargain compared to the Apple Watch.