There are many reasons why you should monitor your heart rate. Your doctor might tell you it is a good idea or you might want to know about your heart rate for health reasons.
Fortunately, you can buy heart rate monitors for use at home, and not only are they fairly accurate, but they also are easy to use and understand, even if you don’t have a medical degree.
With so many choices out there, though, how do you really know which of the monitors on the market is the best? Well, we can help! Here is a list of the best strapless heart rate monitors we could find.
Strapless Heart Rate Monitors Comparison Chart
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EDITOR'S CHOICE  |
1. Mio Alpha 2 Heart Rate Watch + Activity Tracker
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Check Price |
RUNNER UP  |
2. Polar A360 Fitness Tracker with Wrist Heart Rate Monitor
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Check Price |
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3. Fitbit Blaze Smart Fitness Watch
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Check Price |
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4. Garmin vívosmart HR Activity Tracker
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Check Price |
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5. Mio FUSE Heart Rate, Sleep + Activity Tracker
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Check Price |
Our Strapless Heart Rate Monitors Reviews
The Mio Alpha 2 Heart Rate Watch + Activity Tracker is one option you have when looking for the best strapless heart rate monitors.
This product is a wrist-based monitor, which is perfect for measuring the heart rate during exercise. It also tracks steps, how many calories you burn, and the distance that you have gone.
This monitor can store up to 25 hours of exercise data, and it also seamlessly and wirelessly syncs with some of the most popular fitness apps out there, including Apple Health on iOS.
Swimmers can also use this monitor, as it is water resistant up to 100 feet deep. It also is compatible with the popular Mio PAI App. There is also a Mio GO app, which allows you to see all of your activity at a glance.
There are two available sizes, which large and small or medium, and three color options including black, yellow with black, and punch with black. This monitor has 20 to 24 hours of battery life per charge.
- Comfortable: Yes
- Accurate: Yes
- Measures distance: Yes
- With GPS: No
- With calorie timer and counter: Yes
- Easy to use: Yes
- Battery life: 20-24 hours with HR monitor on
- Waterproof: Yes
- Adjustable strap: Yes
- Counts steps: No
- Tracks sleep: No
- With a built-in alert system: No
- Design: Bulky and large
- Durable: Yes
- Easy to charge: Yes
- Touchscreen with full color for easy reading: No
- WHAT I LIKE
- WHAT I DON'T LIKE
- Pros/cons overview
- VIDEO
The Polar A360 Fitness Tracker with Wrist Heart Rate Monitor is a very accurate monitor that also comes with features to help you meet your fitness goals, like personalized training help.
Yes, this is a heart rate monitor, but it also tracks other things like the calories burned, your steps, the distance you have gone, your workouts, and even your sleep quality.
This monitor has a touch screen that is bright and colorful, and it vibrates to remind you to move when you have been inactive for too long.
If you are a swimmer, this is a good option, too, as it is a waterproof device, and you can even change the wristbands to match your personality. These, also, are waterproof.
This device also is a calorie counter, so you can keep track of the calories you burn during any workout or even during your daily activities.
- Comfortable: Yes
- Accurate: Yes
- Measures distance: Yes
- With GPS: No
- With calorie timer and counter: Yes
- Easy to use: Yes
- Battery life: Five days
- Waterproof: Yes
- Adjustable strap: Yes
- Counts steps: Yes
- Tracks sleep: Yes
- With a built-in alert system: Yes
- Design: Sleek and thin
- Durable: Yes
- Easy to charge: Yes
- Touchscreen with full color for easy reading: Yes
- WHAT I LIKE
- WHAT I DON'T LIKE
- Pros/cons overview
- VIDEO
The Fitbit Blaze Smart Fitness Watch is a trendy option for people looking for an easy-to-use heart rate monitor.
This watch features a simple heart rate zone monitor that displays the intensity of workouts without the uncomfortable chest straps that come with some monitors.
It tracks multiple sports including biking, cardio, cross-training, walking, and running with little effort. The SmartTrack feature automatically records workouts to your Fitbit dashboard.
GPS connection maps routes and tracks your stats including the duration of your workout and your pace. You can see this information on your dashboard or app.
The Fitbit Blaze Smart Fitness Watch keeps track of your steps, floors climbed, calories burned, sleep, and active minutes. You can also get notifications for texts and calls, calendar alerts, and even social media alerts.
- Comfortable: Yes
- Accurate: Yes
- Measures distance: Yes
- With GPS: No
- With calorie timer and counter: Yes
- Easy to use: Yes
- Battery life: Five days
- Waterproof: No
- Adjustable strap: Yes
- Counts steps: Yes
- Tracks sleep: Yes
- With a built-in alert system: Yes
- Design: Watch-like design
- Durable: Yes
- Easy to charge: Yes
- Touchscreen with full color for easy reading: Yes
- WHAT I LIKE
- WHAT I DON'T LIKE
- Pros/cons overview
- VIDEO
The Garmin vívosmart HR Activity Tracker is a sleek, comfortable heart rate monitor that is very affordable when compared to others on the market.
The display is always on, and it is bright enough for you to see it even in the brightest sunlight. You can see your heart rate, distance, steps, floors climbed, calories burned, and intensity of activities.
You can receive call, text, calendar, email, and social media alerts on this device, and also control your music as you work out. It also helps to keep you active, as the device vibrates when it senses inactivity.
- Comfortable: Yes
- Accurate: Yes
- Measures distance: Yes
- With GPS: No
- With calorie timer and counter: Yes
- Easy to use: Yes
- Battery life: Five days
- Waterproof: Yes
- Adjustable strap: Yes
- Counts steps: Yes
- Tracks sleep: Yes
- With a built-in alert system: Yes
- Design: Sleek, watch-like design
- Durable: Yes
- Easy to charge: Yes
- Touchscreen with full color for easy reading: No
- WHAT I LIKE
- WHAT I DON'T LIKE
- Pros/cons overview
- VIDEO
The Mio FUSE Heart Rate, Sleep + Activity Tracker is the most affordable option on the list of the best strapless heart rate monitors.
This device monitors your heart rate during exercise, and it also tracks activity, calories burned, steps, sleep, pace, and it keeps tracks of goals.
You can easily sync to popular fitness apps via Bluetooth, and it is water resistant up to 100 feet deep.
- Comfortable: Yes
- Accurate: Yes
- Measures distance: Yes
- With GPS: No
- With calorie timer and counter: Yes
- Easy to use: Yes
- Battery life: Seven days
- Waterproof: Yes
- Adjustable strap: Yes
- Counts steps: Yes
- Tracks sleep: Yes, with a software update
- With a built-in alert system: Yes
- Design: Sleek, bracelet-like
- Durable: Yes
- Easy to charge: Yes
- Touchscreen with full color for easy reading: No
- WHAT I LIKE
- WHAT I DON'T LIKE
- Pros/cons overview
- VIDEO
Final Verdict
We have taken a look at five of the best strapless heart rate monitors on the market. We have looked at some very well-known brands such as Mio, Fitbit, and Garmin.
We have also tested these products and taken a close look at consumer reviews. After all of that, we have come up with the best of the best: the Garmin vívosmart HR Activity Tracker.
Some of the reasons the Garmin took the top spot is its sleek looks and comfort. It is also affordable, you get a range of alerts, and you can even control your music as you work out.
The only real consideration with the Garmin vívosmart HR Activity Tracker is that the wrist band can stretch, and some people have reported that it is difficult to charge. However, when you take the pros and the cons together, this device is definitely our favorite.
Buyer’s Guide
Is It Easy to Use?
Among the most important things you should look into when choosing a heart rate monitor is the ease of use. In most cases, you should be able to touch the screen to see your results. So, as you are researching the different monitors on the market, you should definitely take a look at this.
As you can see above, some of these monitors are easier to use than others. Some you can operate by using a touchscreen, but others are more difficult to navigate and take time to learn.
In addition to the monitor itself, you should also consider how easy the app is. All of these devices have their own apps, and many of them connect to other apps. The best advice is to read reviews to find out which devices have a great app, and which item has an app that is difficult to use.
How Comfortable Does It Feel Even After Hours of Wearing?
If you are like most people who wear a heart rate monitor on their wrist, it is likely that you will be wearing this for hours upon hours a day. Many people wear them 24 hours a day, so comfort has to come into play here.
Any monitor that doesn’t have an adjustable wrist strap should be looked at with raised eyebrows. You also want to really consider if you want a strap that tends to stretch and change sizes as you wear them. This could cause them to slip right off the wrist, and that would be an expensive loss for most of us, as these devices are usually a bit of an investment.
Additionally, you don’t want to choose a device that feels too heavy on your wrist or one that stands up so high that it gets in your way as you move throughout your day.
Do You Need Something Waterproof?
You might have already noticed that many of these devices are waterproof, or at least water resistant. Is this something you really need?
Well, if you ever want to get into a pool and swim, you definitely will want to choose a device that is good in the water. Most of the devices on our list are water resistant up to 100 feet, which means most swimmers will be fine to use one of these.
You also might want to consider a device that is waterproof or water resistant if you are working out or training in the rain a lot. A downpour could certainly get your device wet, and you don’t want a bit of rain to ruin your heart rate monitor.
How Accurate Is the Information Shown?
Obviously, accuracy is paramount when you are choosing a heart rate monitor. All of the devices on this list are accurate at measuring heart rate. However, there are a few that skip or slow down when other activities are going on, such as a heavy wrist movement.
Hence, if you are really that serious about your heart rate and monitoring it over time, it would be best for you to choose a monitor that is accurate all of the time. Just keep in mind, though, that these devices will lose battery much faster when the heart rate monitor option is turned on.
