2021's best heart rate monitors: top chest braces, fitness trackers and smartwatches that can record your beats

 


(Pocket-lint) - You open up a whole new method of training by monitoring the heart rate during exercise. Since beats per minute effectively serve as the personal exercise tracker of the body, a top heart rate monitor will let you know exactly how hard you are working in real time and record how long you have spent in each heart rate zone.

Before you buy, though, there are a few important items to consider. The two most common types are still the wrist-based watch and the chest brace, while heart rate monitors broaden where they track a pulse from. Undoubtedly, the latter is more precise than the wrist, but you have to remember the comfort factor - and that's where fitness trackers and smartwatches tend to shine.

It really comes down to what you prioritise when you work out, but we have detailed some of the top choices below on a number of different budgets to help you get a little closer to choosing the best device for you.

Top heart rate monitors you can buy today

Apple Watch Series 6


The Apple Watch Series 6 is the most full smartwatch on the market, and the heart rate sensor that lives on the underside of the case is a major reason for that.

By our metric, when it comes to precision from the wrist, it's as good as Garmin watches, with data shown conveniently in post-workout real-time and intuitive graphs available.

However, you get much more for exercise than just a heart rate tracker, with the system also capable of delivering reminders of high heart rate, ECG readings, resting heart rate, walking average, and whenever you want spot readings.

The Apple Watch Series 6 (and its predecessors) should be the top consideration for most users if you want a versatile smartwatch with well-rounded heart monitoring skills.

Polar H10


If you're serious about heart rate monitoring and don't mind paying a little extra for a dedicated unit, consider Polar's H10. For our money, this is the market's top device.

Not only can you get full accuracy - whether you are engaging in low or high-intensity walks, cycles, or swimming - but thanks to Bluetooth and ANT+ compatibility, it is also widely compatible with third-party applications and wearables (which can also work simultaneously).

We will not actually suggest this for the casual exerciser, but Polar's long-standing chest strap champion would not disappoint those who want to fit their sessions to their heart rate zones.

Garmin Forerunner 945


The highest true smartwatch might be sold by Apple, but the Forerunner 945 of Garmin still holds the crown as the top sports watch - and it has established its reputation, partially because of its excellent ability to track heart rate.

It's still not quite as precise as chest strap monitoring, but the sheer amount of data you can pull in makes it a perfect choice for fitness enthusiasts who want to wear something a little more convenient (and not only committed to HR tracking) without compromising expert data.

There are also plenty of other Garmin sports watches to explore for those who find the price a little steep - all provide you with equally strong HR monitoring.

Letscom Fitness Tracker HR


The fitness tracker from Letscom is the best choice to consider if you want an inexpensive way to squeeze some heart rate tracking into your workout.

It is capable of constantly tracking real-time figures during workouts, and will also automatically kick in and record during sleep, to provide estimates of how long you have spent in each sleep phase.

Apart from that it's a really capable budget tracker that offers you 14 types of exercise to choose between, general activity monitoring (such as steps and calorie burn), and alerts from smartphones.

Garmin HRM-Dual


For the experienced exerciser, Garmin has plenty of chest straps to choose from, but the HRM-Dual blends tip-top precision with relative affordability - making it a perfect choice for fans of chest straps who don't want to spend mega quantities.

The HRM-Dual fires over live data and allows you to connect to other devices and apps through Bluetooth or ANT+, whether you are performing some HIIT and need a computer that can keep up, or you are simply training via heart rate zones for major races.

You don't need to think about charging it between uses, with a battery life of about 3-4 years, too.

Lintelek Fitness Tracker


Another budget HR monitor comes from Lintelek, with a solid selection of simple features offered by its fitness tracker.

During one of the 14 different exercise modes, heart rate tracking is seen - and is also reported in the background during sleep - with everyday activity and notification help present, too.

With battery life extending to about five days, it completes a kit for a first-time user that checks all the boxes.

Letsfit Smartwatch


If you want a heart rate monitor packed within the body of a smartwatch, Letsfit has an inexpensive product to consider once again.

You get a great view of your HR data in real time through the 1.3-inch screen, with the monitor also able to track you in the background during your sleep. All is then stored inside the VeryFitPro companion app if you want to look back on your results or sleep.

Music control, stress training, and alerts are also provided, with the system capable of running for about 10 days before recharging.






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