Best waterproof fitness trackers for swimming 2019
If you’re looking for a waterproof fitness tracker that can deliver strong swimming features as well as just general activity monitoring, there’s more choice than ever.
Trackers that measure your pool swims are increasingly popular – and some now offer sports watch level monitoring of lengths, strokes and more.
Got any questions about the waterproof trackers we’ve included in the list? Let us know in the comments section below. If you need something a bit more feature-packed, we’ve also rounded up our pick of the best waterproof smartwatches to hit the pool with too.
Update: We updated this article in December 2019 to include the latest trackers we’ve been testing – including the Samsung Galaxy Fit and Honor Band 5.
Best waterproof fitness trackers
1. Samsung Gear Fit2 Pro
2. Samsung Galaxy Fit
3. Fitbit Inspire HR
4. Garmin Vivosmart 4
5. Moov Now
6. Huawei Band 3 Pro
7. Withings Pulse HR
8. Xiaomi Mi Band 4
9. Honor Band 5
Waterproof ratings explained
IP and ATM standards – those obscure numbers that denote how well protected your tech is against the ravages of H2O – are often hard to fathom. We’ve focused on the devices that go above and beyond the IP68 rating, which is the rating which covers gadgets to a depth of a metre or more for a continued period of time. The exact level of water resistance at IP68 depends on the manufacturer (the 6 actually refers to dust protection).
The device’s ATM rating is also all important. A 1 ATM (atmosphere unit) means that a device is waterproofed up to 10 metres of pressure. That pressure measurement is an important one: just because you can take a strap 10 metres down in a pool doesn’t mean you can unleash a water hose on it in your back garden. Devices are rated based on how much pressure they can withstand, not necessarily how deep you can take them.
What will fitness trackers measure in the pool?
Lengths/laps: The amount of lengths you complete in the pool. Fitbit trackers can be calibrated to the pool size, which will dramatically improve accuracy – while others are auto-calibrated to 25m and 50m pools.
Speed: A common swim metric showing your speed in the water.
Stroke count: An advanced metric only found on a handful of fitness trackers (it’s usually limited to sports watches), some devices will count the number of strokes taken in the pool.
SWOLF: This score – a mix of swimming and golf – calculates the number of strokes you should take to complete a length in the most efficient manner, which should help you become a better swimmer.
Stroke detection: Less about feedback, most trackers will only recognise the act of swimming in certain strokes: back stroke, breast stroke, butterfly and freestyle (front crawl).
Top pick: Samsung Gear Fit2 Pro
Buy now $125, Amazon
If you want a fitness tracker that offers a waterproof design and swim tracking data you can view in real-time on the device, this is your best option.
This swim-friendly tracker will let you review your pool or open water performance, although our testing was focused on its performance in the pool. One of the biggest draws of Samsung’s device is the gorgeous 1.5-inch curved AMOLED display that makes it easy to view your data on the move in the water. It’s also a light and comfortable tracker to wear 24/7.
Read this: Swimming with SWOLF explained
When it comes to hitting the pool, a water lock mode will make sure the screen doesn’t confuse water for finger-swiping. Samsung has partnered with Speedo to includes its Speedo On app, which enables you to measure lengths, distance, time and SWOLF (a measure swimming efficiency).
Since the Speedo On app has been updated, things have got better and it’s become a more reliable performer. And the Speedo On integration means you have another place to analyse and drill into your data too if Samsung’s Health app doesn’t do it for you.
It’s one of the best-looking fitness trackers that work in the water and thankfully its tracking skills have got better too.
Waterproof rating: 5 ATM (50m)
Pool and open water tracking: Both
Wareable verdict: Samsung Gear Fit2 Pro review
Samsung Galaxy Fit
Buy now $99, Amazon
If the Gear Fit2 Pro looks a little bit too big for your wrists, or for your taste, or if you’d like to save just a little bit on the price, Samsung’s newer Galaxy Fit is a great choice. At just 11.2mm thick, it’s certainly a subtle bit of wrist wear.
The tracker is waterproof and swim-friendly to a depth of 50 meters. The slim design makes it unobtrusive to swim with, and out of the pool its size and profile make it another tracker that’s easy to wear day and night in total comfort.
The Galaxy Fit mirrors the water lock feature in the Gear Fit2 Pro, helping you to accurately control the tracker while you’re swimming. This brings a small drawback, in that turning off the water lock at the end of your session can be a tad fiddly.
There’s no GPS option in the Galaxy Fit, so you will be relying on the motion sensors, but we were really impressed by how accurate and reliable they were. The Galaxy Fit is a great choice for an all-purpose fitness tracker that can do its job well in the water.
Waterproof rating: 5 ATM (50m)
Pool and open water tracking: Pool only
Wareable verdict: Samsung Galaxy Fit review
Fitbit Inspire HR
Buy now $97.95, Amazon
Now that Fitbit is retiring the Flex 2, the cheapest way to get your swim tracking fix lies with the Inspire HR.
Like the Flex 2, the Inspire HR can record swim duration, distance swum, lengths completed and pace – as long as you’re doing breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly or freestyle (front crawl). The big addition of course is the display, which will let you view the aforementioned data.
Thanks to Fitbit’s automatic exercise recognition tech it will know when you’re in the pool and dishes out swim duration time. You can turn on swim tracking from the device itself through the exercise app where you’ll also need to set the pool length in the app to ensure you get the most accurate data.
Fitbit’s SmartTrack recognition tech can take some time to kick in, so if you’re not a strong swimmer you’ll also need to adjust the time it takes to recognise your swimming in the app.
It’s a super-light tracker to wear in the water and as it has a screen to view progress in real time, it’s a much better fit for the pool at a very good price.
Waterproof rating: 5 ATM (50m)
Pool and open water tracking: Pool only
Wareable verdict: Fitbit Inspire HR review
Garmin Vivosmart 4
Buy now $129.99, Amazon
The great thing about pretty much all Garmin wearables is that they all carry the same waterproof certification. But if you don’t fancy one of its sports watches to swim with, you could always opt for the Vivosmart 4 instead.
While generally Garmin’s fitness trackers have featured waterproof designs, the Vivosmart 4 is one of the first to actually provide detailed swim metrics. It will only do that in a swimming pool, however, so you won’t get that data hit in the open water.
In terms of the data you’ll see in the pool, the super slim tracker will auto-track activity offering data but you can manually do it too. From the device you can set pool size and select your skill level. You’ll be able to view swim intervals or pool lengths, which is displayed at the top of the touchscreen display.
It will then report the duration of your swims and the number of lengths you’ve completed – making the Vivosmart 4 fairly minimal when it comes to data collected.
You can also edit the number of lengths recorded if you’re not satisfied with the accuracy, however we found it pretty accurate during our testing – so we’d be surprised if too much editing is required.
Your swim data is of course synced to Garmin’s Connect app on your phone where you can get a better look at your performance. While a higher end Garmin watch will give you richer metrics, the Vivosmart 4 is one of the lightest and slimmest fitness trackers we’ve hit the pool with.
Waterproof rating: 5 ATM (50m)
Pool and open water tracking: Pool only
Wareable verdict: Garmin Vivosmart 4 review
Fitbit Charge 3
Buy now $139.99, Amazon
Fitbit took its time making its flagship tracker fit for the water. With the Charge 3, not only did we get a device that could survive in the pool, we also got something that could track your action in the water too.
Thanks to the fact that it packs in Fitbit’s SmartTrack tech, the Charge 3 is able to automatically recognise when you’re swimming; capturing swim lengths, duration, distance and pace.
Based on our time swimming with the Fitbit Charge 3, that automatic tracking worked for every swim session. The downside is that none of that data is viewable in real-time on the device itself, so you’ll have to head to Fitbit’s companion app to get your data.
To get decent data, you’ll also need to make sure you calibrate the pool length in the app or on the device to ensure you get the most accurate data.
On the whole, we found the Charge 3 to be pretty accurate in the water, although it is disappointing you can’t view any of the data on-screen like you can on Fitbit’s smartwatches. If you can live without that – the Charge 3 is a great swimming companion.
Waterproof rating: 5 ATM (50m)
Pool and open water tracking: Pool only
Wareable verdict: Fitbit Charge 3 review
Moov Now
Buy now $59.99, Amazon
Like Fitbit’s older swimproof fitness trackers, the Moov Now is not able to display your metrics during your pool time, but it does offer a rich amount of metrics you can pore over after your swimming is done.
Essential reading: Waterproof v water resistance explained
Setting up swim tracking mode will need to be done inside of the companion app before you slap it onto your wrist and get into the water. When you do, the tracker will record stroke type, rate, distance and efficiency, as well as lap times and an overall indicator of your pool stamina. It’s a supremely light tracker to wear in the water too.
Once your session is done, the companion app will display all of those metrics analysing the data and also offering feedback through its built-in coaching features.
In terms of accuracy, it was very consistent with the swim tracking multisport watch we pit it against. If you want heart rate monitoring in the pool, you you can invest in the Moov HR, a small Moov Now-like device that can sit inside your swim cap to add that extra layer of data.
While Moov Now is a little on the old side, it still does a fine job in the water and dishes more data than most of the trackers on this list. It’s also one of the best value options to consider.
Waterproof rating: 3 ATM (30m)
Wareable verdict: Moov Now review
Pool and open water tracking: Pool only
Huawei Band 3 Pro
Buy now $69.99, Amazon
The Huawei Band 3 Pro is another sub-$100 option that offers the ability to track your swim activity in the pool and in the open water. Our testing is based on indoor swimming action.
In the pool it has a similar frame and fit to Samsung’s Gear Fit2 Pro fitness tracker, offering up a slick AMOLED touchscreen display where you can view your real-time data. You can customize workout targets (distance, duration, calories burnt, reminder interval) or simply just get swimming and let it do its tracking business.
The Band is able to identify your swims as long as you stick to butterfly, backstroke, freestyle, and breaststroke – but also record the number of strokes, swim speed, arm pull frequency, laps, distance and average SWOLF (the swimming efficiency metric). From the device, you can view current workout time, distance, calories burnt, and average speed once you’ve unlocked the screen.
Additional data can be viewed on the device itself post swim or inside of Huawei’s Health companion phone app. In terms of performance in the pool, we found the tracking to be hit and miss in the accuracy department. Huawei has since rolled out a software update that seeks to resolve those issues we had in initial testing.
For the price, it goes beyond the swim data basics and it’s also fit for open water swim tracking, which is not possible for the majority of the other trackers included on this list.
Waterproof rating: 5 ATM (50m)
Pool and open water tracking: Both
Wareable verdict: Huawei Band 3 Pro review
Withings Pulse HR
Buy now $99.95, Amazon
Withings is back and the good thing about all of its wearables is that they all come equipped for the pool. While the Pulse HR might not spit out the most detailed metrics, it does take account of your pool activity.
The Pulse HR fitness tracker does keep those swim tracking skills simple though. It can automatically recognise when you get going in the water measuring session duration and calorie burn. So you don’t get advanced metrics like lap counts or stroke recognition here. It’s also best optimised for breaststroke and crawl and has already been calibrated for 25 metre and 50 metre sized pools.
You’ll need to swim continuously for at least 10 minutes for tracking to work, while swimming in a packed pool where you’re not able to maintain regular movements can impact on tracking results. Data is not viewable on the device itself so so you’ll need to review it all in the Health Mate app where swim duration and calorie burn is presented.
As we’ve found on other Withings wearables with swim tracking, the Pulse HR does a fairly decent job even if you can’t view your data during a swim. It’s not the best looking tracker out there and a punchier display would definitely be welcome, but if you want a waterproof fitness tracker that will factor in your swim time as part of your day’s activity, then the Pulse HR could well have appeal.
Waterproof rating: 5 ATM (50m)
Pool and open water tracking: Pool only
Wareable verdict: Withings Pulse HR review
Xiaomi Mi Band 4
Buy now $39.99, Amazon
Xiaomi has got pedigree when it comes to low-cost fitness trackers, and the Mi Band 4 is another impressive device. In an affordable package, the Mi Band 4 packs in all the basic stat-tracking you’d hope for, as well as average pace, calories burned, stroke type, average stroke rate and SWOLF.
The tracker’s screen can be read during your swim, after you’ve set your pool size and started off, and unlocking it at the end of your session is easily done. You can then use the companion app to get some detailed breakdowns of performance.
Where the Mi Band 4 fell down in our testing was on accuracy – it overestimated our distances quite significantly. We hope that this will be fixed by software updates to come, and also suspect that if you’re taking shorter swims you might not have such issues, but it was an unfortunate blight on the device.
Still, given the quality of the device overall, with its slim design and lightweight feel, the Mi Band 4 is an option well worth considering if you’re operating on a budget or want a simple and multipurpose tracker.
Waterproof rating: 5 ATM (50m)
Pool and open water tracking: Pool only
Wareable verdict: Xiaomi Mi Band 4 review
Amazon: Xiaomi Mi Band 4
Honor Band 5
Buy now $34.99, Amazon
If you want to pay even less for a fitness tracker that’s fit for the water, than you may want to look in the direction of the Honor Band 5.
The off-shoot of Huawei comfortably sits at the budget end of the tracker market, but that doesn’t mean it scrimps on the features. That includes housing its smarts inside of a waterproof case that’s suitable for being submerged in water up to 50 metres depth.
Along with that waterproofing, the Band 5 is also capable of monitoring what you do in the water too tracking swimming stroke type, laps, distance, calories burned and providing a SWOLF score to offer an insights into your workout levels.
To start tracking, you’ll need to select it from the sport mode section on the band, select pool length and then get swimming.
Data can be viewed on the device and in the companion app of course, The experience will feel very similar to what you get on the Huawei Band 3 unsurprisingly, giving you decent accuracy for a tracker that doesn’t cost a whole lot.
Waterproof rating: 5 ATM (50m)
Pool and open water tracking: Pool only
Wareable verdict: Honor Band 5 review
This article was first published in February 2015. However, we update it frequently to reflect the current best fitness trackers for swimming, making sure that we’ve tested the latest and greatest devices available to buy.
