Fitbit Inspire 3 vs Garmin Venu 4 / Vivoactive 6

The Fitbit Inspire 3 has no GPS — it borrows your phone's signal, which means you need your phone on every run, ride, or hike. The Garmin has GPS baked in, so you can leave your phone at home and still get accurate pace, distance, and route maps. For casual walkers this doesn't matter at all; for anyone who trains, it's a non-negotiable.

Fitbit technically offers basic features free, but Fitbit Premium ($10/month) unlocks the data analysis that makes the device worth owning long-term — and Google's track record of killing Fitbit features makes that subscription a risky bet. Garmin's full feature set is free out of the box; Connect+ AI is optional and genuinely optional. Over two years, the Fitbit's 'budget' price can quietly exceed the Garmin's sticker price.

Wirecutter's testing found the Inspire 3 is only 0.32% off from a calibrated pedometer — that's genuinely impressive and better than most competitors. But step counting is the floor of fitness tracking, not the ceiling. Garmin matches it closely enough in practice while also delivering accurate heart rate during workouts, VO2 max estimates, and recovery metrics that the Fitbit simply can't produce.

Google acquired Fitbit and has been quietly gutting features and community tools ever since. Reddit's fitness communities have largely abandoned Fitbit recommendations — not because the hardware is bad, but because nobody trusts the platform's longevity. Garmin has been making fitness devices for decades, has a fiercely loyal user base, and isn't going anywhere. Buying a Fitbit today is a mild gamble on Google's commitment to the product line.