The market is flooded with fantastic cheap smartwatches, and while most premium smartwatches can set you back well over $300, we wanted to take a moment and focus on the more affordable devices that retail anywhere between $100 and $300.
While some of these will lack some features such as ECG, some sports modes, and contactless payments, most of them will have plenty of options to keep you going at your next workout. They’ll support receiving notifications from your phone, and they might even offer a few additional options. We’ve collected some of the best and most affordable smartwatches you can buy right now, including brands such as OnePlus, CMF, Amazfit, and even Samsung.
Cheap smartwatches let you achieve a lot more than in the past
OnePlus Watch 2R
Beautiful and long-lasting battery life
The OnePlus Watch 2R is one of the best and most affordable Android smartwatch on the market, offering exceptional battery life, great performance, a beautiful display, and lots of features and fitness tracking options to help staying fit and healthy.
- Three-day, or even better battery life
- Excellent build quality
- Accurate dual-band GPS
- OHealth has limited third-party support
- No rotating crown
- Watch app screen can be annoying
The OnePlus Watch 2R has a lot going for it, namely, the new design that doesn’t just look beautiful, but more premium, too. It has two programmable buttons on the side, and the same exact dimensions as the OnePlus Watch 2. It’s built from aluminium, and feels great on your wrist.
It has a large AMOLED display, a solid performance that we never found to have lagged or slow down, and an accurate dual-band GPS that can consistently and accurately track your run, and other GPS-related workouts. The watch offers heart rate, and sleep tracking, all of which we found to be accurate and something we could rely on for everyday fitness and health tracking.
Read our review
The only downside of the OnePlus Watch 2R that we found was that health tracking was a bit limited, and the provided OHealth app isn’t as feature-rich as some other competitor’s services. Having said that, it will offer a decent package that’s aimed at general fitness lovers who want to get in shape, and it’ll do a decent job with a three-day battery life.
Amazfit T-Rex 3
The best high-end smartwatch under $300
The Amazfit T-Rex 3 just about fits this list with its price tag, featuring a long battery life, a large, beautiful, and 2000-nit bright display, and lots of supported health and fitness tracking features to keep you in sync and on top of your workout game.
- Long battery life and offline navigation
- Bright AMOLED display
- Dive and military certified durability
- Sleep tracking is not accurate
- No Spotify or YouTube Music support
- Workout auto-pause
If you’re looking for a high-end smartwatch with rugged looks with excellent health tracking features, a colorful and bright 2,000 nit AMOLED display with a long battery life, the Amazfit T-Rex 3 might just tick all the boxes. It comes in a single size, catered towards larger wrists.
It’s an ideal smartwatch outgoers who often find themselves taking hikes, and reaching mountain tops. The watch is military and dive-certified, enabling you to take on the most challenging tasks without having to worry about the durability of your wearable. The T-Rex can also create workout templates with free-weight movements, track your heart rate, sleep – although the latter isn’t very accurate based on our tests.
Read our review
Review: Amazfit’s T-Rex 3 rugged watch is an apex predator that won’t eat your entire wallet
There are some compromises but no deal-breakers
The watch is customizable and has many built-in apps, and workout modes, but it still lacks support for popular services such as Spotify and YouTube Music, so you won’t be able to go out for a run with your watch alone. That said, if you’re looking for a rugged wearable with a long battery life and plenty of workout modes, the Amazfit T-Rex 3 is worth considering.
CMF Watch Pro 2
Great bang-for-buck with a minimalistic design
The CMF Watch Pro 2 stands out with its $70 price tag, offering impressive features, such as heart rate monitoring, blood oxygen sensors, and even sleep tracking. It has 120 workout modes built-in, a large 1.32-inch AMOLED display, and multiple colors to choose from. It’s an excellent value for those looking for an affordable companion.
- Bright display
- Excellent battery life
- Minimalistic design
- Connectivity issue
- The build quality could be better
The CMF Watch Pro 2 sports a 1.32-inch OLED display that’s sharp, colorful, and readable. It’s a responsive wearable, despite what the price tag would have you believe. It boasts an impressive array of health sensors, including tracking your heart rate, blood oxygen, and even sleep tracking.
The health information is clearly laid out and presented nicely in an easily readable form that’s easy to understand. The watch has 120 built-in sports modes, a GPS, warm-up exercises, and many more. The battery of the Watch Pro 2 can also last for up to two weeks on a single charge, depending on your usage, providing plenty of time to focus on what’s important.
Read our review
Nothing tries to fit everything into the CMF Watch Pro 2, for better or worse
Ambitious, but not without flaws
While the watch remains fast and snappy, the build quality could be better. For $70, you’re not expecting a lot, but the overall build simply feels a bit too cheap. The connectivity wasn’t smooth sailing while reviewing this watch, and we encountered some issues as the watch sometimes became unresponsive. That said, if you can get past these issues and don’t mind fiddling with the connectivity occasionally, you’ll find a great smartwatch that beats most other wearables at this price tag.
Samsung Galaxy Watch FE
The go-to smartwatch for Samsung Galaxy users
The Galaxy Watch FE is Samsung’s first Fan Edition wearable. It brings high-end smartwatch features to a more affordable price point, bringing a large display, an excellent WearOS platform, and many health and fitness-oriented features to help you stay in shape.
- Decent all-around performance
- All-day battery life
- Attractive price
- Slow charging
- Only comes in one size
The Galaxy Watch FE is the first Fan Edition smartwatch from Samsung. It gets a lot of things right, but it’s worth mentioning that it’s essentially a repackaged watch from 2021 with minor improvements. It does bring the cost down, but we would’ve preferred it to be lower. That said, it has a large-enough display that’s bright, many sports modes, and accurate health tracking, and support for all the apps and services you love and use.
If you’re a Samsung Galaxy user wanting a smartwatch on the cheap, the Galaxy Watch FE might just be your best option. It works flawlessly with all Android smartphones, especially Galaxy devices. The battery can also last a full-day on a single charge, and while charging is on the slow side, we haven’t experienced any major issues regarding the performance.
Read our review
Review: The Samsung Galaxy Watch FE is a decent, affordable Wear OS watch — but is that enough?
Wear OS 4 for 200 bucks ain’t bad
The only slight issue with the Watch FE is its size. It might be considered too small for many, so if you’re looking for a larger Samsung-made watch, you’ll likely have to get the higher-end model that could set you back an additional $100 or $200 on top.
Amazfit Balance
Premium looks with many fitness features
The Amazfit Balance is a flagship smartwatch with a competitive price, and a beautiful elegant style. It comes with an AMOLED display, a two-week battery life, an easy-to-use interface, more than 150 workout modes, and lots of health and fitness related features to keep you on track.
- Outstanding battery life
- Durable and classic watch appeal
- Lots of health and fitness tracking options
- Built-in AI is lackluster
- Settings can be overwhelming
- Body composition can be questionable
The Amazfit Balance is a flagship smartwatch that’s offered at a competitive price. It has a large 1.5-inch AMOLED display, a two-week battery life, and just about all the fitness features you need to get in shape, or stay in shape. It also has many built-in smartwatch applications, and it runs the capable Zepp OS that enables you to get access to many of your favorite apps and services.
The Amazfit Balance strikes the right balance between smartwatches and fitness trackers, and it supports more than 150 workout modes. It has AI built-in, but we found it a bit lackluster, and while the watch offers lots of features, it can be overwhelming for new users unless they know their way around the operating system.
Read our review
Suppose you’re after a smartwatch with plenty of fitness and health tracking features, a large display, and a solid operating system that remains fast and smooth, not to mention the two-week-long battery life, then you can’t go wrong with the Amazfit Balance.
Garmin Lily 2
Excellent health tracking comes in a petite form factor
The Garmin Lily 2 is an elegant, functional, and fashion-first smartwatch. It supports a variety of bands, and it has a classic look. It has a small and petite display that’s perfect for checking up on your phone’s notifications, and tracking your workouts and daily goals. It’s also waterproof, enabling you to track your swimming sessions.
- Fashion-first, elegant looks
- Water-resistant for swimming
- Automatic goal setting to match recent activity levels
- Relies on your phone?s GPS
- Charger is flimsy
The Garmin Lily 2 is a petite, elegant, and capable smartwatch. It’s ideal for smaller wrists, and it’s perfect for women thanks to the bundled female-focused health tracking features. The Lily 2 can last for up to five days on a single charge, and it has a 5 ATM water resistance rating that makes it excellent for swimming sessions.
The watch has an auto-goal feature that lets you detect your dips in energy, and it can track your heart rate, sleep, blood oxygen levels, stress, body battery, and menstrual cycle phases. We found its tracking capability great, and the app provided all the relevant and information we could’ve asked for.
Read our review
Garmin Lily 2 smartwatch review: A health tracker designed to keep you moving
After eight years, I may officially be an Apple Watch deserter
However, the Lily 2 isn’t perhaps best suited for outdoor enthusiasts who sometimes prefer to leave their phones behind. The wearable relies on your phone’s GPS to track outdoor activities, and you’ll still have to carry it with you wherever you go. Other than that, it’s a great all-rounded smartwatch with an excellent experience, ideal for casual users and indoor workouts.
Xiaomi Watch S3
The simplest and most minimalist smartwatch
The Xiaomi Watch S3 is an excellent smartwatch that meets most of the basics at an affordable price tag. It has all the features you need built-in, providing you health tracking features, and simple smart options to keep you in sync. It has a swappable bezel design, a long battery life, and minimalist looks.
- Affordable price
- Support for 150+ exercises
- Swappable bezels
- Official bezels are not available in the US
- Not as smart as other WearOS wearables
- Slightly large and bulky
Suppose you’re looking for a minimalist smartwatch with plenty of fitness-oriented features in a compact, and light form factor with a relatively low price tag. If that’s what you’re after, you’re in luck, as the Xiaomi Watch S3 meets most of those criteria, even if it’s a bit bulky.
The Watch S3 has swappable bezels, a minimalist aesthetic, and support for 150+ exercises. Tracking your workouts is easy and accurate, and the user interface is easy to use, and it’s compatible with many Android smartphones. The 1.43-inch AMOLED display remains bright and colorful, and the two buttons make it easy to control the watch.
Read our review
Review: The Xiaomi Watch S3 is a simple smartwatch with brilliant bezels
Beat the bezel blues with a swappable face
The only bad thing that we could find with the watch was that it was rather bulky, and it’s closer to a fitness tracker than a smartwatch. That’s not to say it doesn’t have any of those type of features, but it’s not as advanced as other WearOS smartwatches. Having said that, you’ll be able to receive notifications, but won’t be able to reply to them. There’s also no map, but it has a GPS, and you can control your music playback.
Which cheap smartwatch should you pick?
Smartwatches have come a long way from the original models, offering a more premium build quality, looks, and far more advanced operating systems with plenty more options to choose from. Sure enough, the more affordable smartwatches might lack features that high-end features have. Still, the listed devices will undoubtedly offer the best experience while leaving some change in your pocket.
If you’re looking for the best bang-for-buck smartwatch, you’ll likely want to consider the OnePlus Watch 2R. It stands out with its simple and elegant design, great build quality, large display, and health-tracking capability. It can last a while on a single charge, making it effortless to go for days without thinking about charging.
OnePlus Watch 2R
Ready for any challenge
The OnePlus Watch 2R is our go-to recommendation for those looking for a budget-friendly smartwatch with excellent health and fitness tracking features. It has a large and colorful display, a premium build quality, and outstanding support for most smartphones to let you stay in sync and on top of everything.
If you don’t mind spending a bit more, the higher-end Amazfit T-Rex 3 will be a more compelling package, especially if you can find a good deal on it – which is frequent. Otherwise, you might want to consider the CMF Watch Pro 2 as one of the most budget-friendly smartwatch, providing all the must-have features in a relatively affordable package.
