Our pick
The Versa is Fitbit's best mass-appeal smartwatch the company's created to date. It has an excellent design, great battery life, tons of features, and starts at a very resonable $200.
For
- Sleek design
- More affordable
- 4+ days of battery
- Fitbit Pay on Special Edition
Against
- No built-in GPS
Flagship tracker
The Fitbit Ionic may not be Fitbit's flashiest smartwatch, but it is the most powerful. In addition to a built-in GPS chip and up to a week-long battery, all models come with NFC for Fitbit Pay and it's very comfy to wear.
For
- Up to seven days of battery
- Built-in GPS
- Very comfortable
Against
- Expensive
- Lackluster design
Unless you need built-in GPS, the Fitbit Versa is the better purchase for most people. It does just about everything the Ionic can, and if you step up to the Special Edition, you can still get Fitbit Pay for a great deal less than the Ionic's starting price.
Don't need built-in GPS? Get the Fitbit Versa.
The Fitbit Versa and Ionic are very, very similar products. They share more features than they don't, but there are a couple of key things to keep in mind. For starters, let's talk about those designs.
The Versa is Fitbit's best-looking smartwatch to-date, and it draws a lot of inspiration from both the Apple Watch and Pebble Time. Fitbit chose a squircle shape for Versa's body, and this gives it a very clean and minimalistic design that looks right at home whether you're at the gym or attending a formal dinner.
Along with the good looks, the Versa is also designed to fit and be comfortable on just about anyone's wrist. Versa is incredibly comfy to wear, and it practically disappears from your mind once you put it on thanks to how lightweight it is.
The Ionic feels just as good to wear, but its design pales in comparison when placed next to the Versa. While the Versa is sleek and fashion-forward, the Ionic has a sporty aesthetic that certainly won't appeal to everyone. It can be dressed up with a leather or metal watch band to look a touch classier, but even so, the Versa has a much more appealing and flexible design.
| Header Cell - Column 0 | Fitbit Versa | Fitbit Ionic |
|---|---|---|
| Operating system | FitbitOS 3.0 | FitbitOS 3.0 |
| Heart-rate sensor | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Waterproofing | Up to 50 meters | Up to 50 meters |
| Sleep-tracking | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Fitbit Pay | ✔️ (on Special Edition) | ✔️ |
| Battery | 4+ days | Up to 7 days |
| Music storage | ✔️ (up to 300 songs) | ✔️ (up to 300 songs) |
| Replacable bands | ✔️ | ✔️ |
However, while the Ionic may not be as stylish as the Versa, it is the more powerful smartwatch. One big advantage it has is built-in GPS. When you go running with the Ionic, it can map your route without having to be connected to your phone. The Versa can record a route of where you run/walk, too, but it requires a constant connection to your phone in order to do so.
The Ionic also gets a lead in battery life at up to seven days of use, but with a 4+ day rating on the Versa, it still has much better endurance than just about every other smartwatch in its price range.
The best all-around Fitbit smartwatch you can buy
The Fitbit Versa checks more boxes than any of Fitbit's other wearables. It looks great, battery life is fantastic, and it offers a full smartwatch experience for a lot less money than the Apple Watch or Fitbit Ionic.
Fitbit's most powerful tracker with built-in GPS
If you're deep in the Fitbit ecosystem and want the best tracker you can find, the Ionic is for you. It has a full smartwatch and fitness tracking capabilities with a built-in GPS chip for mapping your runs. However, with a price of $270, you could spend just $10 more and just get an Apple Watch Series 3.
