Fitbit Inspire 3 review: The best all-round budget fitness tracker

The Fitbit Inspire 3 is a sight for sore eyes. With a bright, colorful touchscreen, a slimmer, rounded aesthetic, and plenty of tracking features to help keep you active, Fitbit’s entry-level fitness tracker may be the Fitbit for new users. It’s affordable and comfortable, and it comes with six months of free access to Fitbit Premium. Find out more in our Fitbit Inspire 3 review.

Update, March 2023: Added details about updates to the Fitbit app experience.

What you need to know about the Fitbit Inspire 3

• Fitbit Inspire 3: $99 / £84 / €129

Fitbit launched the Inspire 3 on August 24, 2022 alongside the Versa 4 and Sense 2 smartwatches. Keeping up with the competition, the Inspire 2 successor is a redesigned, budget fitness tracker featuring a full-color touchscreen with an optional always-on mode. Beneath its vibrant display, the device tracks users’ heart rates, sleep, daily activity, and workouts. With vibrant menus and icons, it offers stress management tools, progressive alarms, and smart notifications. The latest generation also provides SpO2 monitoring. However, what’s perhaps most impressive is that even with an updated display and added features, users will still get ~10-day battery life.

Similarly, Fitbit doesn’t want anyone to have to compromise their budget either. The Inspire 3 launched at the exact same $99 price tag that the Inspire 2 launched at in 2020. The Inspire 3 also comes with six free months of Fitbit Premium for new and existing users. This value makes the Inspire 3 the best basic tracker from Fitbit for anyone new to fitness tracking. For a more advanced tracking experience though, shoppers will still need to look to the flagship Charge series. Unlike on the Charge 5, you won’t find built-in GPS on the Inspire 3 nor an ECG or EDA sensor.

If the Inspire 3 sounds like what you’re after, you can purchase your from Fitbit and other major retailers. The tracker itself is only available in black but ships with a silicone band in three color choices: Morning glow, Lilac Bliss, and Midnight Zen.

What’s good?

When the Inspire 2 launched, we called the device “uninspiring.” Two years later, Fitbit delivered a revamped Inspire 3 and you can check out the stark difference in the image above. I won’t claim the newest generation will get you training for the Olympics, but it just might get you off the couch.

With a bright, colorful touchscreen and consistently prompting vibrations, the Inspire 3 is equal parts motivational and functional. Most importantly, it’s a lightweight, entry-level device that’s perfect for anyone who wants to track the basics without dealing with the cumbersome software experience you get with most cheap fitness trackers.

Starting with the tracker’s display, the Inspire 3 brings color and interest to a previously drab lineup. Users can personalize their device with a number of available watch faces in the Fitbit app. These are largely simplistic but feature pops of color that capitalize on the updated display. Many also feature on-screen data such as step counts or heart rate for checking stats at a glance.

Additionally, Fitbit didn’t just slap a new screen on its old model. The Inspire 3 features a complete overhaul, striking a profile that’s both longer and thinner. The pill is also rounded rather than flat at each end, mimicking the pebble-shaped pill of the Fitbit Luxe. The result is a more attractive impression that seamlessly blends with bands and accessories.

The Fitbit Inspire 3 also offers an always-on display mode to keep your watch face viewable at all times. As always-on displays tend to do, this setting greatly depletes the battery life, however, chopping ten days of use down to about three. Luckily, Fitbit made alternating display modes extremely convenient. Just swipe down on the watch face to enable/disable “Auto wake.” Keep swiping to access your Settings menu and enable/disable “Always-On.”

You can even set a predetermined schedule to streamline battery saving. Throughout the testing period for this review, I typically used the always-on display while working out to keep an eye on my measurables without fussing with the device. The Inspire 3 also boasts an ambient light sensor for adjusting the brightness to your surroundings, a very welcome spec we didn’t see on the Xiaomi Mi Band 7, for example.

The Inspire 3 Fitbit ships with a classic band in one of three colors: Morning Glow, Lilac Bliss, and Midnight Zen. In addition to these classic bands, Fitbit sells a variety of accessories including translucent bands in Chili Pepper and Deep Dive ($34.95), and stainless steel mesh bands in platinum and soft gold ($69.95) — you can see the latter and the Deep Dive band pictured in this review. Alternatively, Fitbit also sells an Inspire 3 clip ($19.95) for attaching the tracker to your waistline or sports bra. Considering the Inspire 3 has such a lightweight, unobtrusive design, I can’t see myself opting for the 90s beeper belt clip. That said, versatility is never a bad thing, and hey, maybe you don’t want the tan line.

While Fitbit’s fashion-conscious Luxe tracker is available in multiple finishes, the Inspire 3 pill is only available in black. As a result, adding a metallic bracelet only elevates the band so far. On the other hand, the iridescent bands are quite unique and blend nicely with the black pebble. Throughout this Inspire 3 review, the Deep Dive band provided a much more interesting look than a classic band. I especially appreciated the addition of a blue metallic clasp (rather than a silver one) for a cohesive finish.

Most importantly, all of the Inspire 3 accessories are incredibly comfortable. The bands are neat enough to wear day and night which is crucial because Fitbit’s sleep tracking is unmatched. Anyone remotely interested in evaluating their rest will find a top-tier experience with the Inspire 3. Not only does the tracker record all the essentials, but its slim profile also makes it one of the easiest devices to wear to bed. The Inspire 3 automatically tracks your total time asleep plus your time spent in light, deep, and REM sleep stages. In the morning, the device also registers a Sleep Score, which represents the quality of your sleep.

I was especially impressed with the Fitbit Inspire 3’s sleep tracking while traveling. Thanks to my unique skill for booking the most miserable flight paths possible, I allowed myself three hours of sleep on one Saturday night before a very early take-off on Sunday morning. I crashed a few hours later (me sleeping, not the plane!) after finding the in-flight movie selection to be subpar. Then, in the terminal during my layover, I fell asleep again for about an hour before waking up desperately afraid I had missed boarding. Like a reliable friend, the Fitbit Inspire 3 tracked all of this behavior flawlessly. It was especially helpful on Sunday evening to know exactly how much sleep I had (or hadn’t) gotten so I could adjust my sleep routine in order to be well-rested on Monday morning. If my haphazard snoozing didn’t throw off the device, I don’t know what would.

With a Premium membership, Fitbit now offers even deeper analysis through Sleep Profile. This new program analyzes your sleep habits on a monthly basis and matches you with an adorable sleep animal avatar. To receive a Sleep Profile you need to log 14 nights of sleep before the first of the month. As such, I was not able to find out my Sleep Profile within the time frame of this review but I am eager to see my results on October 1 (fingers crossed for something A) cute or B) exotic). Regardless, it’s great to see these features come to an entry-tier tracker for advanced sleep tracking, albeit behind the Fitbit Premium paywall.

In addition to monitoring your shut-eye, the Fitbit Inspire 3 can also help you determine when to seize the day. With Smart Wake alarms, users can set a wake-up time and the device will vibrate during the optimal sleep stage within 30-minutes. This means getting up at the best time for your body while allowing any bedfellows their rest.

Once you’re up, the Fitbit Inspire 3 will automatically track all the basics. On the fitness front, that includes Active Zone Minutes, steps, distance, and calories, plus 24/7 heart rate monitoring for tracking your beats at rest and during activity. If your resting rate is especially high or low, the device will notify you in the Fitbit app. Likewise, Fitbit will notify you of heart rate irregularities that may be signs of atrial fibrillation (AFib). I didn’t experience any of these notifications during my review but they can be incredibly valuable to anyone with a heart condition.

While the display is the obvious upgrade at a glance, where the Inspire 3 really shines over the Inspire 2 is the addition of on-wrist SpO2 monitoring. Tracking SpO2 helps you determine how well blood oxygen is distributed in your body and can be a strong indicator of overall wellness. A lot of recent budget trackers have added continuous SpO2 functionality, so Fitbit is certainly keeping pace here. This sensor is not a certified medical device, however, and should not be relied on in lieu of medical attention. Regardless, the addition of this estimate right on your display means keeping tabs on SpO2 without turning to the Fitbit app throughout your day.

Not that I have any qualms with the Fitbit app. Fitbit’s companion app is among the best in the business, especially for those new to tracking. It is genuinely one of the Inspire 3’s biggest selling points, and a $100 entry fee for access to this ecosystem is a relative bargain if you want a user-friendly yet powerful look into your health data. Tap into the Fitbit app to review your activity stats, log your menstrual cycle, or input hydration data. Fitbit provides an approachable breakdown of your health metrics, focusing on the basics and providing insights that won’t overwhelm new users.

Unfortunately, Fitbit is dropping some features from the app’s Community tab. At the end of March 2023, Fitbit  Adventures, Challenges, and Open groups will all be removed from the app. That means you can no longer challenge friends to fitness competitions, for example, or virtually explore locations. On the other hand, the company promises new updates and features in light of Google Account syncing in the future.

With a Premium membership, both the Inspire 3 and the Fitbit app offer even more tools and services. For example, on wrist, users will find two-minute relaxation sessions for managing stress. Premium members can dive into a whole library of mindfulness content and meditation videos. You’ll also find workout videos, nutritional recipes, and guided programs. I am currently committed to a Push-Up Prep program while actively avoiding the one titled Kick Your Salt Habit.

Other subscription-only features include Fitbit’s Daily Readiness Score for determining how prepared you are for activity, Wellness Reports for downloading a PDF overview of your health data, and advanced sleep analytics including Sleep Profile, as mentioned before.

Finally, every single one of the Inspire 3’s features is amplified by the fact that they are always readily available. The Fitbit Inspire 3 still offers ten days of battery life despite its bright display. This means passively benefitting from Fitbit’s powerful tools without stressing about finding time to charge up. After eight days of heavy use, including some time spent in always-on mode, I still had just under 5% left. This blows away the more expensive Charge 5 and even week-long-lasting budget trackers like the Xiaomi Mi Band 7.

According to Fitbit, the Inspire 3 should take about two hours to recharge from zero to full power. I only had to charge the tracker once during my testing and it didn’t take quite that long. Even if it had, with such an infrequent need to plug in, two hours doesn’t seem like a huge hassle.

What’s not so good?

Put simply, the Fitbit Inspire 3 is not the choice for anyone who wants a full-featured Fitbit device to sync tools to their wrists — it’s just not the proper wearable for managing tasks without a phone. The Inspire 3 is a budget tracker for basic (albeit robust) activity and sleep monitoring. Though updated, it is still Fitbit’s entry-level fitness tracker, and you simply won’t find every tool on board.

For electrodermal activity (EDA) and electrocardiogram (ECG) sensors, you’ll need to spring for the Charge 5. For on-wrist calling, apps, and assistants, you’ll need to save up for a Fitbit Sense 2 or Versa 4. Nevertheless, it’s a shame we couldn’t get one or two of these features thrown in considering the Inspire 3’s higher asking price compared to the cheaper competition — especially NFC for mobile payments.

The most disappointing miss, however, is that the Fitbit Inspire 3 does not have built-in GPS. This isn’t unusual at this price point but it would’ve pushed the Inspire 3 into must-buy territory for a much wider audience, as it’s an omission that likely keeps the device out of play for frequent runners and cyclists. It is also a feature that would have helped justify the Inspire 3’s price differential over cheaper budget trackers like the Xiaomi Mi Band 7 and HUAWEI Band 7.

Instead, anyone using the Inspire 3 will need to carry their phone with them on rides or runs in order to utilize connected GPS. Fortunately, each time I began a workout the process was simple and quick. I find that long waits for a GPS signal provide too much time to contemplate whether a run is really necessary, so this was encouraging at least.

The Inspire 3 features more than twenty workout modes, with auto-detection available for the most popular ones, which is plenty for anyone with a casual interest in fitness. Some trackers now offer upwards of 100 sport modes, though Fitbit’s selection covers the most common activities. Nevertheless, if you see yourself dipping into an out-of-the-box, niche activity anytime soon, the Inspire 3 may not have you covered.

Finally, the Inspire 3 comes with a six-month free Fitbit Premium membership granting users access to Daily Readiness Score, Sleep Profile, video workouts, mindfulness sessions, and more. As mentioned above, many of these features bring immense value to any Fitbit, including the Inspire 3. But what happens once the six months are up? At $9.99 a month, a Fitbit Premium membership isn’t cheap, and without the membership, the Inspire 3 loses some of its shine.

Buyers need to take a hard look at what the device offers without Premium access before spending their cash — you can find out more in our in-depth Fitbit Premium guide. I’d be one of the first in line to tout Fitbit’s companion app and ecosystem, but I am also definitely a fan of single transaction purchases, which isn’t completely the case here.

It’s no surprise to see close-rival Garmin emphasize its no-subscription model as many people don’t love the ongoing financial commitment Fitbit Premium requires. Anyone who would prefer a clean, no-strings-attached tracker may be interested in the Vivosmart 5 ($149 at Amazon). We found the device slightly overpriced for what it offers, but Garmin is a trusted brand with reputable fitness tracking and as mentioned, no internal paywalls, which could offset the slightly higher initial asking price.

Fitbit Inspire 3 specs

Fitbit Inspire 3 review: The verdict

The Fitbit Inspire 3 is the best value device for anyone new to fitness tracking but also demands a pleasantly holistic hardware and software experience. It may not be the most advanced wearable you can strap onto your wrist, nor the cheapest, but it offers nearly everything you’d want in a basic tracker without any major caveats. This includes an attractive display, impressive battery life, 24/7 health and activity tracking, and sleep tracking. The device’s value also heavily banks on Fitbit’s companion app which is full of insights but is simple and approachable for newbies. Add in Premium features and shoppers will find a well-rounded experience (at least for six months).

That said, the budget-tracker space isn’t short on competition and there are a number of Fitbit alternatives. Xiaomi’s latest tracker, the Mi Band 7 ($46 at Amazon), also built on the series’ success with an impressive feature set at a great price. If it’s available in your region, HUAWEI also isn’t far behind with its own Band 7 ($41 at Amazon).

In light of these competitors, Fitbit needed to boost its budget lineup. Right on cue, the addition of a colorful display and SpO2 monitoring brought the Inspire lineup back into the race. With these boxes checked, Fitbit’s stellar sleep tracking and trusted analytics shine as outstanding features that keep the company a step above, especially when you factor in the tracker-to-app fumbles made by so many sub-$100 fitness trackers. Built-in GPS and NFC payment support would’ve tipped the Inspire 3 towards perfection but even without them, it gets an easy recommendation from us.

If you want to save some cash but stick with Fitbit, the Inspire 2 ($57 at Amazon) may be less attractive and lacks an SpO2 sensor, but it shares many of the Inspire 3’s other core features and comes with a one-year free Premium membership (double the Inspire 3’s six-month trial), all at a lower price. While still officially listed at $99 MSRP on Fitbit’s website, it’s now consistently discounted and will no doubt go down further now it’s been replaced in Fitbit’s lineup.

Furthermore, the Fitbit Charge 5 ($134 at Amazon) offers more tools and features for anyone serious about tracking their health and fitness. Built-in GPS alone makes the device much more attractive to athletes who consistently run or cycle outdoors. Meanwhile, Fitbit’s smartwatch line has seen scaling back that makes its trackers look even more attractive.

In short, the Inspire 3 is an extremely impressive entry-level fitness tracker from a trusted brand that offers all the basics in a well-designed package. It may cost a little extra than the cheapest budget trackers that have similar overall hardware but the cohesion between the actual tracker, your health data, and the end-user experience is worth the extra spend. Its companion app isn’t overly complex, its sleep tracking is phenomenal, and its physical presence on-wrist is minimal. If you are new to tracking and just want an overview of your activity, you’ll be very happy with this purchase. If you have an aging parent who isn’t particularly tech savvy, or a teenager who doesn’t need another app-filled screen in their life, the Inspire 3 may be your perfect companion.

Top Fitbit Inspire 3 questions and answers