You do not need to spend $300 to count steps, track sleep and watch your resting heart rate. The cheap end of the market is good now, as long as you know what gets cut.
The big thing that disappears under $100 is built-in GPS. Most budget bands borrow your phone's location for outdoor runs, so the phone has to come with you. If you want to leave it at home, you need a watch with its own GPS, not a band.
The Xiaomi Smart Band 9 is the pick most reviewers land on for value. It launched globally at 39.99 euros, has a 1.62-inch AMOLED screen, tracks heart rate, blood oxygen and sleep, and Xiaomi claims up to 21 days of battery, or about nine with the always-on display. There is no subscription. The catch for American buyers is that Xiaomi's own sales channels are outside the US, so you are usually buying from a third-party seller. Check who handles the warranty.
The Amazfit Band 7 is the easier buy in the US. It launched at $49.99 with a 1.47-inch AMOLED screen, 18 days of rated battery and 5 ATM water resistance. For basic tracking it does the same job as the Xiaomi.
The Fitbit Inspire 3 lists at $99.95 and includes six months of Fitbit Premium, which normally costs $9.99 a month. Battery is rated at 10 days. Its strength is the Fitbit app, which many people find the easiest to read. Its weakness is that some of the most useful sleep coaching sits behind Premium, so the real price climbs once the free months end.
If you run outside and want to leave the phone behind, the Amazfit Bip 6 launched at $79.99 with built-in GPS, a 1.97-inch AMOLED screen and 5 ATM water resistance. Amazfit rates it at 14 days of typical use and up to 32 hours of continuous GPS. It is a watch rather than a band, so it is bigger on the wrist.
One thing to avoid: unbranded bands with an app you have never heard of. The sensor hardware is cheap. The app is the product, and when a small company stops updating its app, the band on your wrist stops being useful.
The short version: the Amazfit Band 7 or Xiaomi Smart Band 9 for basic tracking with no subscription, the Bip 6 if you run outdoors without your phone, and the Inspire 3 only if you already like Fitbit's app and accept a Premium bill later.
