Fitbit vs Strava

Choose Fitbit if…

• People who want an everyday wearable with strong sleep tracking and an easy health app
• Detailed sleep tracking with stages and a sleep score
• Wide hardware range, from screenless bands to smartwatches

Choose Strava if…

• Runners and cyclists who want a social feed, segment leaderboards and to sync any GPS device
• You need Web, which Fitbit doesn't list
• Large active community with clubs, challenges and kudos
• Segments and leaderboards make training competitive

What is Fitbit?

Fitbit started as a maker of step-counting wristbands and is now Google's line of fitness trackers, sold alongside the Pixel Watch. The companion app, which Google has renamed the Google Health app, records steps, distance, heart rate, cardio load, readiness, exercise sessions and detailed sleep including stages and a nightly sleep score. Cycle tracking, nutrition logging and health metrics are folded into the same place. The core app is free with a Fitbit or Pixel Watch, while the Google Health Premium subscription adds a personal coach built on Gemini that writes and adjusts workout plans, explains sleep data and answers health questions. It suits people who want an all-day wearable with strong sleep tracking and a simple app, rather than a dedicated GPS sports watch. Trackers range from screenless bands to full smartwatches, and the app runs on Android and iPhone. Existing users should note the move from Fitbit accounts and branding to Google's.

What is Strava?

Strava records runs, rides, walks and dozens of other sports with your phone's GPS or a connected watch or bike computer, then shows a map, pace, speed, heart rate and other stats for each activity. What sets it apart is the social side: friends follow each other's activities, give kudos, join clubs and challenges, and compete on segments, short stretches of road or trail with their own leaderboards. Recording, the feed and basic safety tools are free. A paid subscription adds full segment leaderboards, route suggestions and offline maps, advanced training analysis, custom goals and the Fitness Score, and Strava also sells a bundle with Runna, its running-coach app. It runs on iPhone, Android and the web, and syncs with most GPS devices including Garmin, Wahoo and Apple Watch. Some useful features that used to be free now need the subscription, and the public-by-default privacy settings are worth checking when you sign up.