My second fitbit is dying and they don’t make this model any longer. I would love a step counter which also counts flights of stairs and has a longer rather than shorter batter life. Other options might be fun, but if I can do it for $100 instead of $200, that’d be great. Which fitness tracker do you like and why?
I have a fitbit Alta. I like that it gives me a little reminder to get up and move every hour. It also picks up and buzzes when i get texts. It doesn’t do the step counter which my last one did and I miss that. I really like that I can easily change out the bands. I have 4 different color magnetic bands so far - makes it a little more fun. The band it came with was soooo hard to close so when my son told me about the magnetic bands I was very happy. It doesn’t do much beyond count steps and time you have exercised though- that’s all I really wanted but may not meet your needs.
I have my fitness pal app on my phone and it syncs with my fitbit (or maybe the fitbit app on the phone - not sure which) which is rather nifty.
I have an Alta and a Blaze. Alta does not count flights of stairs, Blaze does. Blaze is a bigger face but I have gotten used to it. Also the clasp is like a regular watch - where as the Alta is less secure. I’ll be there will start being some good sales as we get close to Black Friday.
Go here to see which options have the features most important to you. https://www.fitbit.com/compare
I don’t think you’ll find a Garmin in the $100 - let alone $200 range.
I have the Fitbit Charge 2. I am very happy with it. It counts steps, flights of stairs, shows texts and phone calls. Mine was $120 on sale. My favorite feature is the sleep tracker. I’ve had sleep issues and it shows approx. sleep times and stages on the phone app.
It is really only a 5 day battery life? My One used to go two weeks and the battery life shortening is a big part of my complaint with it, plus that it never warns me, I only find out it died when I happen to sync and see days with no steps 
I have a Garmin VivoSmart HR, and love it. It counts steps, flights of stairs, heart rate, intensity minutes, calories, and distance. It has notifiers for texts and/or email if you want them, can be attached to a music app, and can display weather. Battery life is about a week for me–my work commute is ~35 min each way, so I plug it into my car charger every Friday to and from work, and it fully charges. I’ve had it since last November with no decline in battery life yet. I think it was $100 at a wholesale club (BJs).
My husband has the Vivofit 3, which only counts steps, calories, distance, and intensity minutes, but has a 1+ year battery life. Right now it is $10 at BJs, normally it’s $80…
I use a Garmin 235 GPS watch for running and wear a FitBit Blaze for step tracking and reminders to move. I had the Alta before the Blaze and I like the Blaze a lot better.
The Charge 2 does last 5 days but charges fairly quickly. It also has the heart rate and reminder to move features. I have the typical watchband with stainless steel buckle, which is so much better than my old Fitbit clasp.
My D uses a Garmin. I’m not sure which one but she likes that it can get wet.
I haver been very happy with my Charge 2. There are lots of different fashionable and reasonably priced bands on Amazon.
Why not an Apple Watch? It’s a bit pricy but lasts longer. It can also monitor blood sugar level if you are concerned about it.
Garmin 235
-heart rate
-steps
-gps
-mile pace
-different modes (run/bike/hike/etc)
-charge lasts at least a week
-reliable (unlike fitbits I’ve owned)
-time of day!
See dc rainmaker for reviews
My Fitbit One is not holding a charge and I was very disappointed for find out it has been discontinued. I really don’t want a wristband since I always wear a watch.
I have the Charge 2 and while I love all that it does–I have had nothing but trouble with the band falling off. I have had it since January (under warranty for a year) and have had three bands replaced as well as the timepiece (the band fell off one time and the timepiece as well–I didn’t feel it.) There are lots of complaints about this on the Fitbit Community Boards. If the band starts to come off again, I’m going to upgrade to the newest Fitbit Iconic.
Trying to avoid the watch and stay with a clip on, that style works better for my life. I will be reading about all these suggestions
Love my Fitbit Ionic. I hinted to my parents that it would make a good Christmas present, and they went ahead and sent one to me. It has GPS in it, so it tracks actual distance, not only steps. It also plays music and lets me know when I have messages or phone calls (it vibrates).
I have the fitbit charge 2. I bought a new wristband on amazon that is metal and holds together. However, if you are using it to count calories beware. I have a scosche hr monitor I use on my spin bike and I wanted to check how many calories I was burning in a day so I wore both. The heart rate monitor on the fitbit was completely off while I was exercising. My scosche measured me in the 160’s and the fitbit gave me an average of 105. That’s significant in my eyes.
I have the FitBit One and love it. But I see it’s no longer available.
I do not recommend the FitBit Zip. I had one for years, and it was great. But when it finally died (drowned in the washer), the replacement had a lot of problems with the battery connection coming loose. 2 coworkers had the same problem. And the message boards were full of this complaint. This was over a year ago, so maybe the problem has been corrected, but it’s worth checking the message boards.
I had the Jawbone and it was junk. Even with the clip fix it still fell off while I was sleeping. It was totally inaccurate for treadmill use.
I use a Polar HRM with chest strap. I would like to find an accurate wrist monitor for calories burned on a treadmill or stationary bike.