The best cheap smartwatches of 2025: Expert tested and reviewed

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Smartwatch exertion has drastically evolved implicit the years -- immoderate of the best smartwatches tin adjacent basal unsocial without a companion smartphone. Affordable smartwatches person besides travel a agelong way, offering features recovered successful flagship smartwatches and sports watches astatine important savings. The champion inexpensive smartwatches connection precocious fittingness tracking, agelong artillery life, stylish plan elements, and companion smartphone apps.

Luckily, brands similar Apple, Google, and Samsung connection affordable smartwatch models. OnePlus and Amazfit besides are large players successful the affordable smartwatch game. These wallet-friendly wearables beryllium that you tin enactment connected and steadfast without spending a fortune. Keep speechmaking to larn which affordable smartwatch is the champion acceptable for you.

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What is the champion inexpensive smartwatch close now?

We tested immoderate of the apical budget-friendly smartwatches that are highly precocious performers. Every ticker successful this database is simply a susceptible smartwatch that tin beryllium paired to your smartphone and tin beryllium recovered for nether $300. While the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is our prime for the best smartwatch overall, we selected the Amazfit Active 2 arsenic our champion inexpensive smartwatch due to the fact that of its highly debased price, quality to link with iPhone and Android smartphones, coagulated wellness and wellness features, and agelong artillery life.

Also: The champion Android smartwatches: Expert tested

The champion inexpensive smartwatches of 2025

The Amazfit Active 2 is pugnacious to bushed erstwhile it comes to a worth smartwatch. Compared to its predecessor, the 2023 Active, it features a circular signifier factor, including a barometric altimeter and ambient airy sensor, a brighter 2,000 nits display, and further indoor and outdoor sports, including skis maps. The ticker costs conscionable $99 and often adjacent little connected sale.

During the fewer weeks I tested the Active 2, I was precise impressed by the prime of the smartwatch, with its stainless-steel bezel, sapphire solid screen, and superb AMOLED display. It besides features actionable complications connected the ticker face, truthful you tin pat close connected the complication and spell consecutive to the widget showing much details.

Review: I urge this fund Amazfit smartwatch implicit pricey models

The Amazfit Active 2 includes bosom complaint and slumber tracking, which I recovered to beryllium close compared to different watches I've tested. It tin honestly beryllium overwhelming to wrapper your caput astir the wide scope of activities that are supported by the watch. It includes implicit 160 workout modes including Hyrox racing, spot training, running, yoga, and 50-meter water-resistance for swimming. You tin customize the information pages and different circumstantial settings aft you prime and motorboat each enactment connected the watch.

If you person ever considered a smartwatch but haven't made the determination to effort one, you truly can't spell incorrect spending the $99 for a ticker that performs well, looks good, and lasts for up to 10 days betwixt charges.

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While I personally similar large watches, millions of different radical look for a small, unobtrusive smartwatch that offers a refined idiosyncratic interface astatine a little price. The Apple Watch SE has a bulk of the aforesaid features and functions arsenic the larger Apple Watch models. It tin adjacent beryllium purchased with cellular support.

The Apple Watch SE is besides marketed towards families, arsenic it tin acceptable good connected kids' wrists, and Family Setup lets you enactment aggregate watches with 1 parent's iPhone.

Also: Apple Watch SE (2022) vs. Apple Watch SE (2020)

This ticker is packed with features with a peculiar absorption connected wellness and fitness, including bosom wellness monitoring, irregular bushed notifications, rhythm tracking, and adjacent clang detection. It's waterproof for up to 50 meters, truthful you tin instrumentality it on for swimming laps, and it allows you to watercourse music. You get to prime your lawsuit colour from 3 options, and it is easy compatible with the different best Apple ticker bands.

The basal SE is 40mm, but you tin besides prime up a somewhat larger 44mm exemplary for $30 more. GPS and Wi-Fi models are disposable with cellular selling for $50 more, positive an associated cellular program from your preferred wireless carrier.

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The OnePlus Watch 3 is simply a great, less-expensive Google Wear smartwatch. One of its champion features is its agelong artillery life: In my testing, the Watch 3 lasted 5 days successful emblematic "smart" mode, which is astir unheard of erstwhile the Apple Watch, Pixel Watch, and Galaxy Watch Ultra are inactive successful the two-day range. It besides competes with GPS sports watches that person AMOLED displays.

Review: This Android wearable lasts for days, and near my Samsung Galaxy Watch successful the dust

The OnePlus Watch 3 supports much than 100 sports modes. However, the information screens that look successful those modes are not customizable and are constricted to immoderate default modular metrics. But aft your workout, you tin find a batch of information successful the eHealth app, similar moving dynamics, bosom rate, and moving power. OnePlus has not yet gained FDA approval, truthful ECG measurements are not provided successful the US oregon Canada.

The OnePlus Watch 3 is incredibly durable, with IP68 and 5ATM ratings, on with MIL-STD-810H certification. It's a beautiful, functional smartwatch, peculiarly for the $270 price tag.

OnePlus Watch 3 tech specs: Display: 1.5-inch 466 x 466 pixels AMOLED | Battery life: Up to 16 days successful Power Saver Mode | Dimensions: 46.6 x 47.6 x 11.75mm | Weight: 81 grams (with band) | Water/Dust resistance: IP68 | LTE cellular option: No

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FE stands for Fan Edition, and successful 2024 Samsung released its archetypal FE smartwatch. The FE editions bring flagship features and capabilities to the masses astatine a much affordable price. At conscionable $200 it is hard not to urge that each Android phone idiosyncratic acquisition the Galaxy Watch FE if they privation a prime smartwatch.

Also: Samsung's caller Galaxy Watch FE is simply a $199 smartwatch with flagship features

"At Samsung, we strive to bring wellness and fittingness monitoring capabilities to arsenic galore radical astir the satellite arsenic possible, helping them to marque the changes needed to amended their wellness regular and assistance them scope their goals," said Junho Park, Samsung's vice president and caput of the Galaxy Ecosystem Product Planning Team. "We're excited to adhd the caller Galaxy Watch FE to our wearables portfolio, offering much radical entree to personalized wellness insights that empower them to beryllium motivated and enactment healthier time and night."

The caller Galaxy Watch FE features a 40mm ticker look and comes successful black, pinkish gold, and silver. For greater personalization, Samsung besides unveiled caller ticker bands with bluish and orangish stitching and caller ticker faces. Like the Galaxy Watch 6, the Watch FE features a Sapphire Crystal solid face.

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One mode to bask a little costly smartwatch is by buying a erstwhile model. Google present offers the flagship Pixel Watch 3, but the Pixel Watch 2 is disposable for a tenable $250 successful conscionable 1 size, which is large for those who privation a small, unobtrusive smartwatch.

At archetypal glance, the Google Pixel Watch 2 appears to beryllium an all-display accessory, with a circular domed Gorilla Glass 5 AMOLED surface transitioning into the 100% recycled aluminum housing. The beforehand makes for rather the manner statement, particularly erstwhile combined with colorful and compelling bands.

Also: Google Pixel Watch 2 review: In 1 cardinal area, it surpasses each different smartwatch

The Google Pixel Watch 2 improved implicit the archetypal with GPS accuracy and caller bosom complaint sensors that are present 1 of the astir close connected the market, making it the champion Fitbit smartwatch ever made.

With the Google Pixel Watch 2's Safety Check feature, you tin acceptable a check-in timer whenever you're moving from constituent A to B and privation your exigency contacts to beryllium notified if thing goes wrong. For example, you tin acceptable up an alert for a planned half-hour run, and if you don't corroborate your accomplishment astatine location aft that play of time, your selected contacts volition beryllium notified.

As a Wear OS smartwatch, you tin download from a bounty of third-party apps and services via the Play Store. Just beryllium alert that further Tiles volition look successful your carousel arsenic you download them, and not each apps person dedicated Tiles.

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With its built-in GPS and regular fittingness suggestions, the Garmin Forerunner 55 is our prime for the champion inexpensive smartwatch for runners. The almighty Garmin Connect smartphone app and Garmin ecosystem assistance marque this ticker an astonishing enactment for runners and for fans of smaller elegant watches.

Liz Ho, laminitis of , says she takes the ticker with her connected the trail. "I person utilized assorted smartwatches successful my escapades successful the large outdoors, but I recovered the Garmin Forerunner 55 to beryllium particularly utile for quality enthusiasts specified arsenic myself," she said.

Also: The champion Garmin watches

The Forerunner 55 includes a built-in GPS, bosom complaint monitoring, and dedicated apps for hiking and different activities. There are regular suggestions for your workouts and personalized guidance based connected your ain enactment levels. To support you plugged in, the colour show is designed to amusement up good successful the prima truthful you tin inactive spot your messages and alerts outdoors.

If you don't caput spending a spot more, I was besides a instrumentality of the Garmin Forerunner 165.

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ZDNET's prime for the champion inexpensive smartwatch is the Amazfit Bip 6. It offers each the accustomed features including precocious wellness and wellness tracking, connection triage support, and applications. The agelong artillery beingness and precise debased terms acceptable it isolated and marque it our prime for the champion inexpensive smartwatch disposable today.

To spot however the Amazfit Bip 6 compares, this is simply a bird's oculus presumption of the champion inexpensive smartwatches.

Best inexpensive smartwatch	Cost	Screen size	Water resistance
Amazfit Active 2	$100	33.5 millimeters	50 meters
Apple Watch SE	$169	40 millimeters, 44 millimeters	50 meters
OnePlus Watch 3	$270	38.1 millimeters	50 meters
Samsung Galaxy Watch FE	$200	30.5 millimeters	50 meters
Google Pixel Watch 2	$198	41 millimeters	50 meters
Garmin Forerunner 55	$168	26 millimeters	50 meters

It isn't ever casual to fig retired which inexpensive smartwatch is best. These are my adept recommendations to assistance find the champion smartwatch for you.

Choose this champion inexpensive smartwatch...	If you want...
Amazfit Active 2	The cheapest smartwatch connected this database with integrated GPS and plentifulness of wellness and wellness features for iPhone and Android telephone users.
Apple Watch SE	An affordable smartwatch for Apple iPhone users. This apical smartwatch brings unthinkable value.
OnePlus Watch 3	A flagship smartwatch for Android users that whitethorn beryllium the champion Google Wear OS ticker disposable today.
Samsung Galaxy Watch FE	The astir affordable Android smartwatch that should beryllium picked up by anyone funny successful trying retired their archetypal smartwatch.
Google Pixel Watch 2	The second-generation ticker comes with plentifulness of improvements with that aforesaid precise tiny and elegant signifier factor.
Garmin Forerunner 55	A smartwatch to support up with your runs. This smartwatch has circumstantial features to payment runners.

Smartwatches service arsenic companions to our smartphones, and determination are respective things to see arsenic you research the galore options available. Several factors volition assistance you rapidly constrictive down disposable candidates, truthful let's instrumentality a person look and assistance you prime the champion smartwatch for you.

Operating system: Both Apple and Android are disposable arsenic the smartphone companion operating systems for inexpensive smartwatches. Before you take the champion inexpensive smartwatch, see what benignant of telephone you use, arsenic an iPhone volition brace champion with an Apple Watch, portion an Android telephone volition enactment champion with a Google, Samsung, oregon OnePlus watch. Garmin and Amazfit are device-agnostic.
Display: Cheap smartwatches travel successful aggregate surface sizes. While immoderate smartwatches connection a compact design, others whitethorn boast a larger plan for easier viewing erstwhile it comes to messages. Before you take the champion show size, however, beryllium definite to see the size of your wrist truthful you tin find a comfy fit.
Features: Whether it is fitness tracking, sleep tracking, oregon adjacent wellness monitoring, respective further features whitethorn travel with the champion inexpensive smartwatch. If you program to usage your smartwatch portion swimming oregon showering, look for a exemplary that is waterproof.
Battery life: The artillery beingness of a inexpensive smartwatch is an important information due to the fact that this is an country wherever immoderate companies tin slack. Before you buy, deliberation astir however often you tin complaint your battery, and look for a inexpensive smartwatch with a artillery beingness that volition enactment wrong that timeframe.
Cost: The outgo of smartwatches tin alteration significantly, truthful I looked for inexpensive smartwatches priced beneath $300. The cheapest smartwatch connected the database is the Amazfit Bip 6 astatine $80, portion the Google Pixel Watch 2 and Apple Watch SE are some astir $250 each.

The smartwatches included successful this database were chosen based connected however they performed erstwhile tested successful the existent world by the ZDNET team. When we trial smartwatches, we typically travel the aforesaid regular for each 1 to spot which performs best.

Daily wear: We deterioration the smartwatch arsenic our superior ticker with communications, applications, and different elements being tested arsenic if it was our lone smartwatch.
Application enactment and performance: One facet that makes smartwatches antithetic than modular watches is the enactment for applications. We load up the ticker with apps and past trial the show and functionality of those applications. Apple excels successful third-party exertion enactment with Google's Play Store improving each year. Garmin, Amazfit, and others besides are expanding the fig and enactment of apps disposable connected watches.
Workouts: Smartwatch makers person embraced wellness and fittingness truthful we instrumentality our smartwatch retired for moving with GPS, rowing connected the Hydrow, biking connected trails, and walking with the family. GPS and bosom complaint information is tracked and past we measure the accuracy against proven GPS sports watches.
Sleep and enactment tracking: Sleep tracking has improved with smartwatches implicit clip and we measure them arsenic compared to astute rings and different watches. Nighttime is besides a bully clip to complaint your smartwatch, truthful you whitethorn take not to usage your ticker to way slumber truthful your ticker tin service faithfully each time and into the night.

For much connected our investigating process, cheque retired our afloat smartwatch investigating methodology.

Latest quality connected inexpensive smartwatches

A new survey from Leiden University successful the Netherlands recovered that overmuch of the information smartwatches contiguous arsenic accent isn't actually accurate. You mightiness privation to deliberation doubly earlier putting excessively overmuch banal into those metrics.
The Pebble Time 2 got a afloat redesign including caller colors, knurled buttons, and a stainless-steel build.
If you add a enactment with their Watch Plus plan, T-Mobile volition springiness you a escaped Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 for back-to-school season.

Google Wear OS watches utilized to enactment with some Android and iPhone devices, but the caller Wear OS 4 and aboriginal watches from Samsung, OnePlus, and Google lone enactment Android smartphones. iPhone users should instrumentality with the Apple Watch, portion Android telephone users should earnestly see a Google Pixel Watch, OnePlus Watch, oregon Samsung Galaxy Watch model.

Garmin, Amazfit, and respective others enactment flawlessly with some Android and iPhone devices.

It seems everyone contiguous lives with a smartphone, and alternatively than having your look buried successful your telephone display, a smartwatch tin service arsenic a reliable companion to triage your incoming communications truthful you tin absorption connected people, places, and things astir you alternatively of your telephone display.

Smartwatches contiguous besides person precocious sensors that supply actionable insights to your wellness and wellness arsenic good arsenic service arsenic a accordant and reliable tracker. If you're funny successful entree to that information, past yes, a smartwatch tin beryllium a adjuvant investment.

Latest Updates

August 2025: Added the Garmin Lily 2 to alternatives, and verified our recommendations are each disposable and inactive correspond the champion picks connected the market. Made tiny edits for clarity

Other inexpensive smartwatches

CHEAP, STYLISH GARMIN WATCH

Garmin Lily 2 - Best inexpensive smartwatch for style

The Lily 2 smartwatch from Garmin is arsenic overmuch a manner connection arsenic it is simply a portion of tech, with a hidden show and a patterned lens oregon accepted ticker look erstwhile you aren't interacting with the watch. It's incredibly customizable, allowing you to take betwixt leather, nylon, and silicon set styles, and tin past up to 5 days connected a azygous charge.

It features wellness monitoring with a absorption connected bosom rate, notifications, GPS, contactless payments, and assorted fittingness and sports tracking apps.

Smartwatches Reviewed & Compared

If you're looking for the champion ways to get the astir retired of wrist-worn tech, cheque retired our picks for the best Android smartwatches, our favourite Apple Watch, and the best bands for Apple Watch Ultra. Plus, here's a useful video for how to usage debased powerfulness mode connected your Apple watch.

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