Best Budget Smartwatches 2021

Smartwatches are rarely essential – they do offer some cool functions, but they also often cost hundreds. Thankfully, not all of them do. Whether you’re looking to test the waters before committing to a high-ticket smartwatch or you’re looking for an affordable daily device, the smartwatches on this list are solid options.

You can easily get your hands on an affordable smartwatch that still has all the bells and whistles. From fitness tracking functions to alarms, timers, and even heart rate monitoring, smartwatches can really be a great tool to have on your wrist!

The TicWatch E2 has some improved features over the previous model – the prime one is that it’s waterproof and features some very accurate swim tracking, making it an ideal option for frequent swimmers. It features accurate GPS tracking, and it features a somewhat rare OS – Wear OS. The TicWatch E2 is just about the only watch with this OS for less than $160.

Compared to other smartwatches, nearly 2 days of battery life are pretty impressive – you can go for a fair while without needing to charge your watch again. The trade-off is that as far as watch designs go, there isn’t much here – if you’re happy with a simple design, that’s fine, but those looking for an eye-catching accessory will be disappointed.

While the Polar M200 doesn’t have much to offer in regards to appearance, with a plain screen and rather cheap-looking design, it’s one of the best affordable running watches you can get – with accurate GPS and a battery that’ll last nearly a week.

If you can put up with the appearance of the watch, you’ll find that the fitness options it offers are solid, as is the build quality it has to offer. With a comparatively small display diameter, it’ll look good even on smaller wrists without weighing you down while you exercise!

The Amazfit Bip is in fact amazing – particularly when it comes to battery life. Boasting well more than a month of battery, it’s ideal if you don’t have the time to wait for it to charge all the time. More than 2 days of battery is already considered impressive – the Amazfit’s month-plus is truly impressive.

It’s also waterproof, making it one of the better-looking smartwatches you can take with you on your swim. Pair that with the incredibly useful and well-made companion app that it offers, and you get a really solid experience that costs less than $50.

The Honor Magic Watch 2 is a much-improved follow-up to the slightly pricier Honor Watch Magic. For anyone who is looking for a running or fitness watch, this is a solid choice. It can compete with (though not beat) models like the much, much pricier Apple Watch 5. Available in multiple sizes for bigger and smaller wrists, the Honor Magic Watch 2 has easily replaceable strap fixings so you can customise its already fairly nice appearance to your liking.

Of course, appearance isn’t its only draw – it also offers a solid line-up of fitness features. Since that’s its primary focus, non-fitness options are a little on the slimmer side, but they are still there – and all of that comes for a fraction of the cost of a same gen (or newer gen) flagship watch from Samsung, for example.

Whichever smartwatch on this list is the one you pick, you can be sure that you’ll end up with a great piece of tech – and whether you upgrade later or stick with your choice, you may just find that even a small smartwatch can pack quite the punch!