Apple Watch Step Count vs. Fitbit.

[BSG75]

I wore my old Fitbit for about 3 months alongside my Apple Watch, and for a 10,000 step day the two were always very close... usually within a few hundred steps. I have a Fitbit One though, which is worn clipped to your clothes or in a pocket, so it's possible that accuracy will vary depending on where you wear it. Fitbit's real-time step counting made me think it was very accurate. I would count the steps as I walked and stop to check and it was always very close. Of course stride length varies, as does effort required, with changes in terrain and steepness. One way the Fitbit got around this was to offer the stairs climbed metric. The iPhone's Health app offers this too, but only when you carry your iPhone. If you climb stairs wearing only the Apple Watch it will track your steps and your heart rate, so at least you might get some exercise and move credit for the effort.

My problem with the Fitbit is that I get a lot of my exercise commuting and running errands by bicycle, so there would be days when I would get a lot of exercise but Fitbit would not accurately reflect that without me starting a workout every time I hopped on my bike. I feel like the Apple Watch gives me a more consistent historical report on my activity and exercise levels whether I biked more or walked more on a particular day. Also, when I did start a workout, my Fitbit was terrible for tracking bicycle rides. The Fitbits that have GPS and HR are probably much better. With the Apple Watch it becomes a combination of the watch's HR sensor and the iPhone's GPS.

So the Fitbit focus on steps wasn't really ideal for me, but it's an easy metric to allow for competition within the Fitbit social network. I feel like the three rings on the Apple Watch are better at reflecting how active I was on a given day.

Sean

I think you nailed it when you said the accuracy of the One varies where you wear it on your body. I have a One as well and I did an non-scientific experiemt the other day to measure the step count between the AW and the One. I walked 100 steps and my AW counted 99 steps. I then walked another 100 steps and my One counted 110. Over the course of a 10,000-step day, this will be over a 1,000 step variance between the two devices. That's when I'm keeping the One in my shirt pocket. When I wear the One in my pants pocket, the variance can me up to 3,000 steps between the AW and the One.

I think that between the two, the AW is more consistent in measuring steps and exercise minutes. The Fitbit can vary wildly on exercise minutes day to day.

IMO, I think it's better to set goals based on active calories burned using the AW vs. steps on the Fitbit. I'll still use my Fitbit until it dies, but after that, I'll probably use the AW as my primary fitness tracker.

 

[Nell]

I find that my watch and Fitbit One match to with a few hundred steps at the end of the day. I have a Fitbit Charge that I now only use for sleep monitoring and if I wear that instead of my One it'll show a wildly different step count to my watch. Usually, the Charge will add a few thousand steps to my day but it sometimes refuses to count steps at all (generally because it's taken against whatever I'm wearing; it really dislikes my winter coat, for instance, but is only mildly disapproving of other jackets).

The Charge being incredibly shoddily made, I'm on my third (warranty replacements after the bands fell apart) and they've all been the same when it comes to over counting. The One seems super accurate through.

 

[Matthew9559]

I tested wearing both my Fitbit and Apple Watch the first couple of days and they were well within reason of each other for tracking. Within <100 steps difference. Odd yours is so different.

 

[jwlbel]

I had the opposite experience when I wore my AW and a fitbit. I wore them both on the same wrist. My fitbit gave me way lower totals. I went on a long walk and when I came home i mapquested my walk and fitbit gave me only about 60% of the total where the AW almost exactly matched distance mapquest said I walked.

 

[wolfedude88]

It's been a couple of weeks for me with the apple watch and I am only averaging around 8,000 steps, where I was averaging around 13,000 consistently to 15,000 on my fitbit. My wife hasn't had a drop off with her apple watch.

I think my big thing is that I move my arms a lot at work, instead of moving my whole body(assembling transmissions), so maybe that is why?

 

[Waglover]

Keep in mind calibration is for distance and NOT step count. Step count is an absolute but distance is relative to your stride length.

[doublepost=1530471056][/doublepost]What I have noticed is that on several occasions I’m driving down the road and suddenly my Fitbit buzzed telling me I’ve reached my goal for the day and I haven’t even been taking steps. So, I’m not so sure about Fitbit. And, I can swing my right hand a little hard and it counts it as steps. Again, I’m not so sure about Fitbit. And, I simply can’t tell with Apple. I’m inclined to use Apple because it gives me much more health information while walking

 

[Nell]

I used Fitbits for years before getting an Apple Watch and still use one because I like their challenges. In my experience the Fitbit One (which clips into my jeans pocket or onto my bra) is really accurate but wrist based Fitbits (I’ve had 3 Charges and a Charge HR because they only last a few months before falling apart so I had three replacements under warranty) are wildly inaccurate and horribly inconsistent. My step count from my Fitbit One is usually pretty close to the count on my Apple Watch (maybe a couple of hundred steps in it at the end of the day) so I’d say the watch is pretty accurate (and way better than wearing a Fitbit in my wrist).
[doublepost=1530480940][/doublepost]Ha! Scrolling back, I see I said the same thing two years ago.

 

[dk001]

[doublepost=1530471056][/doublepost]
What I have noticed is that on several occasions I’m driving down the road and suddenly my Fitbit buzzed telling me I’ve reached my goal for the day and I haven’t even been taking steps. So, I’m not so sure about Fitbit. And, I can swing my right hand a little hard and it counts it as steps. Again, I’m not so sure about Fitbit. And, I simply can’t tell with Apple. I’m inclined to use Apple because it gives me much more health information while walking

I think it depends on the Fitbit model.

 

[ejb190]

I have had a series of Fitbits over the years. A couple Zips, a Charge, and a Charge 2. I've also read a good deal of the research about them.

First, Fitbit's own research shows that a center-of-mass position (hip, bra, etc.) will be more accurate for step count while an extremity (wrist, ankle) will give a more accurate calorie count.

Second, day to day what you are doing will have a big effect on step counts. I've gone to the grocery store, walked every aisle and came out with 200 steps because pushing the cart kept my wrist still. I've gone scuba diving and ended the day exhausted with only 2000 steps - because I couldn't wear it.

Third, what are you trying to get out of the fitness watch? If it is intense run training, you'd better have the GPS enabled, professional grade running units. Otherwise, about the only thing they are good for is motivation. I've looked at my step count and, realizing I've been a complete slug, went for a walk. I've also sabotaged myself with, "I have 15,000 steps. I'm getting a second doughnut." All that's to say, it's not about accuracy. It's about comparing your relative activity to yourself.

Finally, I have had this dream for some time of making a YouTube channel about how to fool a FitBit. You know, ceiling fans, dogs, washer and dryer (5400 steps), paint mixer (not as good as you might think!).