Best Smartwatches Under $100 –  A Complete Buying Guide

What was once thought of as a luxury has seemingly turned into a necessity in a few short years. Smartwatches – many would argue – are devices that now help you make the most out of your phone. With the ability to read your notifications, track your sleep, and much more, prices for some watches have gotten way out of hand.

However, as luck would have it, there still are a few good brands out there that produce great wearables at staggering costs. As such, we’ve accumulated a list of the best smartwatches to purchase for under 100$ with complete details on each and every one of them.’

What To Expect In A $100 Smartwatch?

In recent years, we’ve seen a lot of great budget smartwatches enter the arena. With that said though, the competition has grown to quite a high level of ferocity. And now, even a $100 smartwatch can perform most of the tasks that a flagship smartwatch can.

In terms of expectations, you’ll be getting a fully functional, fleshed-out smartwatch that is able to track your health and read your notifications. Depending on the product, you’ll also be able to get some miscellaneous features which are further testament to how great budget smartwatches have gotten over the year.

If this is going to be your first smartwatch, or if you are looking for a wearable that just nails the basics, then the products down below are an excellent snag since they incorporate most of what makes a smartwatch into a truly reasonable package. 

Design	Nothing original
Build Materials / Quality	Plastic / Aluminum
Software	Proprietary
Battery Life	2 Days+
Health / Fitness Tracking	Basic
Responsiveness	Adequate

1. Amazfit GTR 2e

Connections	Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS
Features	Heart Rate Monitoring, Sleep Monitoring, Breathing
Battery Life	14 Days Without GPS / 6 Days With GPS
Additional Features	Skin Temperature, Navigation, SPO2
Compatibility	iOS and Android

The GTR 2e is considered the king of budget watches by some. And honestly, it is quite hard for us to disagree with that claim. Other than nailing the basics (which it does), it also aims to broaden its capabilities by introducing a few interesting quirks which you won’t expect from a watch at this price bracket.

For example, if you are an avid follower of our site, you might’ve already seen this watch as a primary feature, and for good reason too! At this budget, for a brand to bring in features such as SpO2 tracking alongside the ability to measure your skin temperature is just icing on the cake. 

If you were expecting great design, you’ve got it, the flushed aluminum alongside the relatively fingerprint-magnety coating makes up for a great aesthetic. But, build quality is definitely not the GTR 2e’s strong suit as it features a non-breathable strap amongst other nitpicks. But hey! We’re not complaining – especially not at this price point.

While we’re treated with a large variety of fitness-oriented features, don’t expect them to work flawlessly. In fact, we had issues with the GPS on a large number of occasions. But, once again, they were so few and far between that it is hard to make a negative case out of them at this price bracket.

Pros:

• An insane battery life
• Skin temperature and SpO2 are a welcome bonus

Cons:

• Build quality leaves a lot to be desired
• App support is relatively limited

2. Xiaomi Mi Watch

Connections	Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS
Features	Heart Rate Monitoring, Sleep Monitoring, Breathing
Battery Life	9 Days without GPS / 9 Hours with GPS
Additional Features	Navigation
Compatibility	iOS and Android

The Mi Watch is the personification of a brand trying to make an impression by nailing the basics. With all the features you’d expect from a watch that includes a step counter, sleep monitoring, and the ability to view your notifications at a glance, there’s not a lot that’s stripped away from the Mi Watch.

While the design of the watch resembles that of an Apple Watch Series 6, don’t expect the same build quality to follow. From our time with the smartwatch, the build felt cheap in some instances. However, we had no qualms with the overall durability as the watch is water-resistant for up to 50 meters.

In terms of battery life, we were pleasantly surprised by the fact that the watch can run for 9 days without GPS. Yes, GPS! You heard us right. While not that accurate, it certainly gives you the sense of direction you require to move through the city. 

All in all, the Mi Watch is an excellent package from the get-go and absolutely nails the basics in a spectacular fashion.

Pros:

• Surprisingly sleek user-interface
• Great battery life
• A plethora of fitness-oriented features

Cons:

• Build quality feels cheap

3. Huawei Watch Fit

Connections	Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS
Features	Heart Rate Monitoring, Sleep Monitoring, Breathing
Battery Life	10 Days
Additional Features	Health Assessment System
Compatibility	iOS and Android

The Huawei Watch Fit features one of the most unique design languages out of any smartwatches in this list. It has a very thin bezel which makes it look very futuristic. Unlike other brands that tend to replicate either Apple’s rounded corners or Samsung’s square design. But, not Huawei.

Besides just a very attractive design, the Watch Fit is an amazing pickup for anyone who’s interested in a watch that caters to their fitness needs. With an AMOLED touchscreen display and automatic workout detection, you’ll be able to effortlessly read your notifications and do most of your phone’s work directly from the watch itself!

In terms of battery life, don’t expect to be impressed. We averaged around 4-5 days of use before we had to juice the Fit up. For the number of features it provides, it certainly is adequate. But, compared to other offerings on the list – it’s nothing spectacular or mind-blowing by any stretch of the word.

Pros:

• Good-looking, unique design
• Gorgeous AMOLED display

Cons:

• Fitness tracking is not extremely accurate
• Cannot download any third-party applications

4. Garmin Vivosmart 4

Connections	Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS
Features	Heart Rate Monitoring, Sleep Monitoring, Breathing
Battery Life	7 Days
Additional Features	Health Assessment System, Pulse Ox Sensor
Compatibility	iOS and Android

Whoa! Garmin makes Fitness trackers too? Well, yes they do! And, quite good ones at that if we do say so ourselves. If you are a fan of the Garmin brand, the Vivosmart 4 is an absolute steal as we had no real issues when testing it.

It had great battery life (reaching up to 7 days), we could use it when showering and swimming due to its water resistance, it displayed our notifications in a timely manner and also included all the fitness tracking we could hope for alongside the ability to view our blood oxygen levels.

Coming in a variety of different colors, you’ll have plenty of options to choose from. Plus, Garmin’s all about durability and aesthetics. And, needless to say, the Vivosmart 4 doesn’t seem to disappoint in that regard too!

Pros:

• Lightweight and easy to wear
• Variety of color options to choose from
• Extremely durable

Cons:

• Small screen leads to difficulty in viewing some notifications

5. Samsung Galaxy Fit 2

Connections	Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
Features	Heart Rate Monitoring, Sleep Monitoring, Breathing
Battery Life	7 Days
Additional Features	Health Assessment System, Handwash Reminder
Compatibility	iOS and Android

Ah yes, Samsung finally graces us with its presence in this list. Clearly, the brand isn’t one for creating cheap fitness trackers or smartwatches. But, it looks like some exceptions have trickled in. 

Let’s address the elephant in the room from the get-go, the Fit 2 does not have any sort of GPS tracking. Boohoo! But besides that, the Fit 2 improves on its predecessor, the Fit, in very meaningful ways. For example, it has a much better, larger AMOLED screen. Moreover, it also includes a wide array of fitness sensors and trackers.

But, since it does not include GPS, you are left to rely solely on motion sensors for step tracking. While that isn’t a bad thing, compared to watches / fitness trackers that do have the added benefit of comparing their data with GPS – you’ll notice the inaccuracy.

Besides that though, while Samsung claimed the battery life to reach up to 15-21 days, we found it to close in near a week of actual use. But, if you are okay with not having your heart rate constantly measured or if you don’t go out on walks often, you’ll probably be able to push that ambit a bit further than what we could and reach Samsung’s claims.

Pros:

• Extremely comfortable to wear on your wrist
• Fresh, unique design 
• Works great with Samsung phones

Cons:

• Lack of GPS is disappointing

6. Amazfit GTS 2 Mini

Connections	Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS
Features	Heart Rate Monitoring, Sleep Monitoring, Breathing
Battery Life	14 Days
Additional Features	Health Assessment System, Alexa
Compatibility	iOS and Android

Featuring an Always On Display, SpO2 measurement, and the ability to track 70 different sport modes, the GTS 2 Mini comes in with an absolute bang and we’re honestly huge fans of the overall design and aesthetic.

The fact that this watch weighs in at only 19.5 grams is a testament to how light it actually is. It works great for anyone who is looking for an actual smartwatch (not a fitness tracker) but still doesn’t like to feel the bulk on their wrist.

Surprisingly, for such a little package, the watch has an average battery life of about 14 days which is honestly quite great for its size. Besides that, it is loaded with all the creature comforts you could expect from a newer Amazfit watch. This includes Alexa, GPS tracking, sleep tracking, and more.

 Pros:

• Lightweight and durable
• Fun form factor 

Cons:

• Small size can lead to text being hard to read

7. TicWatch GTH Pro

Connections	Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
Features	Heart Rate Monitoring, Sleep Monitoring, Breathing
Battery Life	10 Days
Additional Features	Advanced Health Tracking
Compatibility	iOS and Android

Honestly, there’s not much to say about the TicWatch GTH Pro. And, that isn’t really a bad thing. It tries to achieve the most it can with the limited budget that your wallet has provided. In most cases, it does a stellar job. 

The TicWatch promises all the fitness features you’d expect from a more expensive smartwatch in a fraction of the budget. You gain access to heart rate tracking, arterial age, your exercise capacity amongst many others. However, the watch skimps out on some integral features like GPS. 

In terms of the UI, we absolutely loved it. However, the software felt buggy in some instances and we did notices some hitches and there. Nothing to drive home about, though. This watch features the ability to measure your skin temperature, the usefulness of that remains questionable. 

In essence, the TicWatch GTH Pro is meant for someone who puts fitness first above all. Having the ability to get all your health-related info at a moment’s notice in a relatively budget-oriented package is great. However, don’t expect anything else out of the GTH Pro.

Pros:

• Above-average fitness tracking
• Great display

Cons:

• Glitchy software
• Jack of all trades, master of none

8. Amazfit Bip U Pro

Connections	Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS
Features	Heart Rate Monitoring, Sleep Monitoring, Breathing
Battery Life	9 Days
Additional Features	Health Assessment System, Alexa
Compatibility	iOS and Android

Once again, Amazfit with its plethora of products does not seem to add much to them with every new generational release. The Bip U Pro, for example, is nigh indistinguishable from the Bip or even the much-older Bip S other than the fact that it has an upgraded processor and a few more bells and whistles.

What bells and whistles you may ask? Well, it has much better fitness-tracking capabilities. It now supports the ability to track over 60 different sports and now also includes Alexa! Yay? Well, if you were excited – don’t be. The integration of Alexa does let’s be honest, give you some flexibility. You can control audio playback, check the weather, and so on. But, that’s pretty much it.

Comparing it to Google’s voice assistant or Apple’s Siri would have you arrested for high treason. In essence, Alexa still does not stack up to the two juggernauts of the automated assistant space. Rant aside, the Bip U Pro is an excellent all-rounder. 

We had no qualms with the overall build quality, the UI was passable but we did have issues trying to view our notifications and reply to them. From what it seems, this seems to be a recurring issue within the Amazfit lineup as it was a common frustration in other products too.

 Pros:

• Brings in detailed step tracking
• Comfortable to wear 

Cons:

• No design refresh
• Alexa can be annoying to use at times

9. Xiaomi Redmi Watch 2 Lite

Connections	Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS
Features	Heart Rate Monitoring, Sleep Monitoring, Breathing
Battery Life	10 Days without GPS / 10 Hours with GPS
Additional Features	Navigation
Compatibility	iOS and Android

The Redmi Watch 2 Lite is basically the Mi Watch’s twin brother. You’ll not be able to spot a difference between them even if you try. They look almost identical, weigh the same and there’s no reason for you to choose one over the other.

Besides the name, the only real difference we saw between the two watches was that the Redmi Watch 2 Lite is rated for 10 days while the Mi Watch Lite is rated for 9 with a difference of 32 mAh between them. 

Besides that though, the purchase decision between the two watches is totally dependent on what’s available in your region. The reason why these two are so similar is because both of them are released in different countries. Regardless, you’ll be able to get the Mi / Redmi experience from any of these two watches.

Pros:

• Great all-rounder

Cons:

• Poor build quality
• Available in lesser regions

10. Amazfit Bip S

Connections	Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS
Features	Heart Rate Monitoring, Sleep Monitoring, Breathing
Battery Life	15 Days
Additional Features	Health Assessment System
Compatibility	iOS and Android

Amazfit has concocted a lot of products over the years that cater to the budget market. While the Amazfit Bip S is certainly not the newest in this list, it definitely isn’t the worst either. With an emphasis on trying to keep its offerings limited, but functional.

The Bip S has two standout features that help alleviate its status from the rest of the competition. Firstly, it has a battery that lasts weeks, and secondly, the fact that it has GPS at such a reasonable package. The culmination of which leaves you with a smartwatch that lasts weeks even with you heavily using GPS!

Everything else though, you’ll be hard stuck on finding anything that stands out. It has large bezels (thanks to its 2020 release) and features above-average fitness tracking with no automatic workout detection. Some rumors even mention it having a relatively shoddy connection with your phone. But, it worked just fine with our limited testing.

 Pros:

• Great improvements over its predecessor
• Features GPS 
• Amazing battery life

Cons:

• Design feels dated
• Reviews report bad connections with phones

11. Fitbit Inspire 2

Okay – the Fitbit Inspire 2 makes it onto this list only because it’s a tracker that’s below $100. But, that’s pretty much it. If you want to purchase a tracker from Fitbit, the Charge 4, which we’ve already covered does everything that the Inspire 2 plus Fitbit Pay, a better screen, and Spotify playback.

But, if you insist – there’s one particular advantage that the Inspire 2 carries over. While the Charge 4 has a battery life of about 7 days, the Inspire 2 will last you more than 10 on a single charge. If you really need those two extra days, then the Inspire 2 is the obvious option. 

Pros:

• Best battery life from any Fitbit in this list

Cons:

• Superceded by the Charge 4 in almost every single way

12. TicWatch S2

Connections	Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS
Features	Heart Rate Monitoring, Sleep Monitoring, Breathing
Battery Life	3 Days
Additional Features	Navigation
Compatibility	iOS, Android

The TicWatch’s S lineup stands for Sport. In essence, it is a relatively tame version of their more expensive Pro series. However, that doesn’t mean that the S2 is a slouch by any sense of the word. 

In essence, the only difference between E2 and S2 are materials, nothing else. The S2 is made out of polycarbonate, which leads it to be quite light. Besides that, it is quite rugged, and durable and looks like it can handle a few bashes and punches (of course, we don’t recommend doing that!) 

The watch runs on Wear OS, and is one of the cheapest watches out there that support the operating system. So, you can expect all the stability and nifty little Android integrations that are present in Wear OS and then some. For starters, you’ll be met with two-day battery life and great fitness tracking.

The design though leaves a lot to be desired. At this price point, the usage of plastic is a bit of a bummer especially with most of the competition moving to aluminum. All in all, if you are a fan of Wear OS, the TicWatch S2 is a great pickup.

Pros:

• Rugged design
• Features Wear OS at this price point

Cons:

• No contactless payments

Why We Ranked The Amazfit GTR 2e As The Best Overall

Don’t get us wrong, the Xiaomi Mi Watch has a lot going for it. In fact, it is usually priced a bit cheaper but has the same degree of features as the GTR 2e. However, there are a few distinct differences that have helped us formulate our decision. 

Firstly, the Xiaomi Mi Watch has a design that has been traditionally used by the Apple Watch and other brands for many years now. In essence, it feels outdated. On the other hand, the GTR 2e uses a much more timeless, sleek rounded design with smaller bezels.

Besides that, we absolutely loved the overall build quality of the GTR 2e. Unlike the Xiaomi Mi Watch, it didn’t feel cheap in the hand and the materials used (while the same), felt much more durable and long-lasting.

For those reasons, the GTR 2e took the throne over the Xiaomi Mi Watch. 

Verdict

Whew, that’s a lot of options to choose from. No worries though, after some rigorous testing with all of these watches, we’ve been able to pick out of a few out of the bunch that has seemingly stood out in one category (or many!). So, according to what you prefer, you’ll be able to find a watch that truly suits your needs.

The best smartwatch under 100$ is hands-down the Amazfit GTR 2e. There’s just no other smartwatch that is a perfect combination of great battery life, a refreshing design, a vibrant display, great fitness tracking, and the repute of a solid brand staunchly standing behind it. However, if that doesn’t meet your taste, we’ve got a few other recommendations in mind too:

Best Overall	Amazfit GTR 2e
Best Fitbit	Fitbit Inspire 2
Best Design	Huawei Watch Fit

That concludes our list of the best smartwatches money can buy for under $100! In our opinion, all of these smartwatches suit a particular purpose. So, you’ll end up getting a great package regardless of what you end up picking. 

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