Top pick
The Fitbit Inspire HR is our top pick because it's the best value. If you don't need the particular features unique to the Charge 4, why spend the extra money? The Fitbit Inspire is more compact, less expensive, and it still has quite an extensive feature set.
For
- Automatic exercise and health tracking
- Sleep tracking
- Notifications
- Slimmer style
- Better value
Against
- Fewer features
More features
The Fitbit Charge 4 is preferable for the person who values the extra features it has to offer. If you want to track how many flights of stairs you climb or you use an Android phone and want to send Quick Replies from your wrist, or you want the built-in GPS and Fitbit Pay, the Fitbit Charge 3 is worth the extra money.
For
- Many health-tracking features
- Built-in GPS
- Tracks stairs climbed
- Utilizes Fitbit Pay
- Notification features include Quick Replies with Android phone
- More color options (including Special Edition)
- Control Spotify
Against
- More expensive
The feature set of the Fitbit Inspire HR and the Charger 4 is fairly close. They are both full-featured health and fitness trackers. So, how do you tell the difference to figure out which one is best for you?
What's the difference?
The two Fitbits are actually somewhat similar. Both the Fitbit Inspire HR and the Fitbit Charger 4 track steps, calories, sleep, and menstrual cycles. They both offer guided breathing and will automatically detect and track a wide variety of exercises. They both pair with your smartphone and let you stay in the loop with notifications and alerts.
Which Fitbit style you choose comes down to a few differences, which may or may not be significant depending on your use case. The Fitbit Charge 4 has a built-in GPS while the Inspire HR doesn't. The Fitbit Charge 4 tracks how many flights of stairs you climb, whereas the Fitbit Inspire HR does not. The Charge 4 offers Quick Replies, which allow you to respond to texts, but only if your Fitbit is paired to an Android phone. You can use Fitbit Pay on the Charge 4, but not on the Inspire HR. You can control your Spotify music on the Charge 4, but not the Inspire HR.
The Charge 4 is also a larger tracker, which could certainly be appealing to some people. To match its larger size, it also has a longer battery life of up to seven days, as opposed to five for the Inspire HR. Note that if you're using the Fitbit Charge 4's built-in GPS, the battery life will be about five hours.
| Header Cell - Column 0 | Fitbit Inspire HR | Fitbit Charger 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Steps and Activity Tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Built-in GPS | No | Yes |
| Calorie Tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Floors Climbed | No | Yes |
| Sleep Tracking and Silent Alarm | Yes | Yes |
| Female Health Tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Guided Breathing Sessions | Yes | Yes |
| Auto Exercise Recognition | Yes | Yes |
| Move Reminders | Yes | Yes |
| Heart Rate Tracking | Yes | Yes |
| 15+ Excercise Modes | Yes | Yes |
| Pace and Distance with Phone GPS | Yes | Yes |
| Call notifications | Yes | Yes |
| Text, Calendar, Reminder Alerts | Yes | Yes |
| Fitbit Pay | No | Yes |
| Swimproof | Yes | Yes |
| Customizable Watch Face | Yes | Yes |
| Control Spotify | No | Yes |
| Battery Life | up to 5 days | up to 7 days (5 hours with built-in GPS) |
Since I use an iPhone, the Quick Replies wouldn't work for me. And since I use Apple Pay, I don't see a need to use FitBit Pay. I don't need GPS on a wearable; having it on my phone is enough. I'm not a Spotify user. So for me, the price difference between the Fitbit Inspire HR and the Fitbit Charge 4 comes down to counting my flights of stairs and color options. I prefer a smaller device, so the Inspire HR is more appealing in that regard. For my money, I'd choose the less expensive of the two.
Overall, it's worth it to save some money and skip on some features with the Inspire HR.
The bands can be changed regardless of which model you get. There is a difference in battery life, but the Inspire HR's five-day battery life is sufficient for me; I wouldn't pay more just to get seven days from the Charge 4.
The Fitbit Inspire HR comes only in Black, but you get your choice of three different color bands: Black, Lilac, and White. The Charge 4 comes in Black with a matching silicone band, Rosewood, with a matching band, Black with a Storm Blue band. The Fitbit Charge 4 Special Edition is the Black color, but it also comes with a Granite Reflective Woven band. Both Fitbits come in just one size; the small and large bands are included.
Overall, it's worth it to save some money and skip on some features with the Inspire HR. You'll still get plenty of extras with it and will be able to do most, if not all, of your fitness tracking. However, if the extra features will be useful to you, definitely go for the Fitbit Charge 4. Many will find the built-in tracking, Fitbit Pay, quick replies, Spotify control, and stair-tracking worth the extra money.
If you're interested in some of the other Fitbits on the market, check out some of our other favorite Fitbits.
Tons of features for a lower price
Get the most for your money with this fitness tracker that does so much more than the average wearable. Track almost all your fitness activities on up to five days of battery. You just won't get a few features.
Even more... for more
If the extra features you do get with the Fitbit Charge 4 matter to you, this is the one you should get. Spend extra and get access to Fitbit Pay, built-in GPS, a longer battery life, and Quick Replies (if you have an Android phone).
