I tracked my health with Fitbit and Oura for weeks; here’s how it went

When it comes to fitness trackers, the best ones don’t just count your steps or monitor your sleep, they help you achieve your wellness goals. Or at least that’s what I tell myself whenever I pick up a new device to test. For me, the best fitness companion offers useful health data and keeps me motivated, but also fits into my real life. That balance can be hard to find. I’ve spent a few weeks with both Fitbit and Oura, and while each has its strengths, neither is quite right for me. If Fitbit were a coach, it’d be the kind that says, “I’m not angry, just disappointed.” Meanwhile, Oura is more like a well-meaning parent who insists, “The important thing is that you tried!”

Fitbit is all about the hustle. Its ecosystem is built to get you moving, tracking activity throughout the day, and encouraging users to hit daily goals. With frequent reminders, progress reports, and community challenges, it’s a bit of a drill sergeant. This approach can be energizing, but it’s not great at factoring in the nuances of rest and recovery.

Most often, I wear the Google Pixel Watch 3 to access Fitbit’s ecosystem. The smartwatch tracks my sleep (and does so accurately), but the insights often don’t feel particularly actionable. When I get poor rest, it’s rarely reflected meaningfully in my sleep scores or acknowledged in relation to my upcoming day. I’ve scored an 81 for less than 5 hours of sleep and a 75 for only 4 hours, and then, rather than Fitbit taking into account that my body is likely drained, I woke up to the same move prompts and activity goals. Likewise, my Readiness Score rarely matches the way I actually feel, and don’t even get me started on the Body Response alerts.

Fitbit flags me as “stressed or excited” at least four times a day during mundane moments, but finds me cool as a cucumber when I am actually experiencing increased emotion, like when a solicitor rings my doorbell, or it starts raining and my laundry’s still outside.

In other words, Fitbit feels narrow-minded and unrelenting while often missing the big picture. Personally, I don’t love move reminders and mindfulness prompts. Even measurables like zone minutes and steps are less helpful to me. I’m not going to hit 10,000 steps on limited sleep or with a sinus infection, and I certainly don’t need to be guilted about it. Sure, many of these features are customizable, and notifications can always be turned off, but it still feels like Fitbit expects my life to revolve around my fitness goals, not holistic ones.

On the flip side, Oura leans hard into wellness and recovery. If Fitbit is a drill sergeant, Oura is my therapist, gently urging me to sleep in, stay hydrated, and listen to my body. Its core focus is on sleep quality, heart rate, readiness, and overall mindfulness, and it drops insights that are often thoughtful and holistic. In other words, Oura encourages me to consider my mental and emotional well-being alongside physical activity, which is more in line with how I actually live.

Oura is especially strong when it comes to rest and recovery. I’ve woken up groggy after a late night, only to have the app suggest I take it easy, lower my activity levels, and even delay intense workouts if my body isn’t fully recovered. Its Readiness Score tends to reflect how I genuinely feel, and I appreciate the way it looks at trends over time rather than day-by-day snapshots. It feels like it actually gets me, and even more so the longer I wear it. It knows my chronotype and offers guidance based on my habits and needs.

But while it shines in the recovery department, Oura falls short when it comes to movement. It does little to push me toward particular goals or to celebrate small bursts of activity. Its activity tracking is improving, but still minimal at the moment, sometimes to the point of feeling dismissive. I’ve done sweaty 45-minute workouts only to have Oura log it as “light activity” or miss it entirely. It also doesn’t reward movement in the moment the same way Fitbit does (on screen), and that lack of feedback can be demotivating if you rely on those little wins.

Since the ring itself has no display, there are no real-time stats, no prompts, and no on-the-go tracking. It’s a more passive experience overall, which is great because I generally want something that quietly supports me, but I do miss tools like heart rate zone tracking during workouts. I also miss the satisfaction of starting and ending a workout (without pulling out my phone).

Finally, while I absolutely adore the long battery life and convenience of smart rings, it’s easy to forget to check in during busy weeks. I’ve gone days without opening the Oura app, missing potentially helpful information and losing unsaved activity data. It’s also easy not to realize the battery is depleted and miss chunks of data altogether.

Fitbit is great if you’re going from couch potato to casual fitness tracking and need a little fire under you. In theory, the prompts keep me moving, and the stats make sure I’m doing so efficiently. But it can also feel tone-deaf, ignoring the fact that rest is a crucial part of fitness. Oura, meanwhile, is all about balance and self-compassion, which is refreshing, but can be too lenient. It doesn’t always hold me accountable, and without a screen, it can also disappear entirely. The subtlety is nice, but my forgetfulness is not. At the end of the day, I’m still searching for the perfect blend. I want a tracker that understands both my grind and my overall well-being.

TL;DR: Oura is too soft. Fitbit is too pushy. Something in between would be ideal.