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Fitbit Charge 5 : Is It Worth Buying

ByOlsen Ia

So the Fitbit Charge 5 has been out since September 2021 and purchased the Fitbit Charge 5 as a Christmas gift to myself. My free premium subscription has long expired some time ago, but I want to share with you my experience when using the Charge 5.

So the crucial question is, is the Fitbit Charge 5 worth buying? my answer is yes but with conditions. I think the Fitbit Charge 5 is worth buying if you fit a specific profile, which is

  • Prioritize sleep health
  • Prioritize heart health
  • Prioritize stress management
  • Simple fitness tracker, water resistant with GPS
  • Good battery life

In my experience when reviewing fitness trackers or smart watch’s, I always thought that to get the best out of a smart watch or fitness tracker, you will need to meet a specific profile. If you answered yes to all 5 bullet points or even the first three, then the Charge 5 is definitely for you.

However if none of these things are important to you in a fitness tracker or smart watch then the Charge 5 isn’t for you. This is how I am going to review fitness trackers and smart watch’s from now on, so hopefully I will write a future article that will suit your profile.

Let’s Look At The Charge 5 Profile in Detail

I have thought long and hard about the profile I constructed. Im quite happy to share with you my reason as to why I think the Charge 5 is worth buying if you meet the profile.

You are a Person That Prioritizes Sleep Health

Fitbit is one of the leading brands when it comes to sleep tracking health and analysis. It’s something that Fitbit does really well. I have found that Fitbit have spent the last decade in sleep tracking research. Fitbit then put there research into practise when the First Fitbit Sense was released back in 2018, and then the the rest is history.

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If you are a person that values your sleep health, rest assured the Fitbit Charge 5 can provide that for you. Please note that the Charge 5 is not a medical device and should not be used as one.

You are a Person That Prioritizes Heart Health

Heart health is something that we all should take seriously, and I think its important to have a fitness tracker or smart watch that monitors our heart health. The Fitbit Charge 5 does have an SpO2 sensor which can help you track your blood oxygen saturation levels.

You are a Person That Prioritizes Stress Management

The Fitbit Charge 5 have what is called Active Zone Minutes, and it is basically a measure of time spent in fat burning, cardio or peak heart rate zones. I think this is important as it can help you see how much stress your body is under.

The Charge 5 also have a relaxation breathing timer, which can help you manage your stress levels. The relaxation breathing timer will guide you through 2-minute, 3-minute or 5-minute breathing sessions.

You are a Person That Wants A Simple Fitness Tracker

The Fitbit Charge 5 is a simple fitness tracker, it is not a smart watch. I think this is important as some people just want a simple fitness tracker that does the job and nothing else.

The Charge 5 is water resistant up to 50m, which means you can take it for a swim. The Charge 5 also have GPS built-in, so you can track your runs without your phone.

You are a Person That Wants Good Battery Life

The Charge 5 have a really good battery life, I get 7-10 days on a single charge. I get 5 days battery life with very intense usage. I wrote an article about my battery usage so you should check that out

What Were My Favourite Features When Using The Fitbit Charge 5?

I would have to say, I was very impressed with the Fitbit Charge 5. So let me explain some of my favourite features when using the Charge 5.

Daily Readiness Score (Premium Feature)

This feature I like to use a lot. If you are a first time user, the Charge 5 needs to collect at least 14 days of data before it can provide you what your daily readiness score is. Every morning when I wake up, this is the first thing I check when planning my workout days. If my score is low I will focus more on recovery workouts, if it’s normal then I do more normal workout routine. But if it is high, then I train at a higher intensity.

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To get a high score, you have to exercise regularly with quality sleep and minimal stress. I think this is a very useful feature as it provides you with the data you need to have an optimal workout day.

Recipes Inspiration (Premium Feature)

I found this feature extremely helpful to me. One of my health goals is to prioritize heart health and with the recipe inspiration feature I can create meals that can help improve my heart health. What’s even more better is that it comes in a short video that is so easy to follow and prepare. It’s also got so many other meal inspirations such as gluten free, vegetarian etc.

Mindfulness Sessions (Premium Feature)

Managing my stress is very important to me and Fitbit has a great feature called mindfulness sessions. I like to use this feature when dealing with stress, and before I go to bed. I find that if you manage your stress before you go to bed, the quality of your sleep will improve. It’s something I do on a regular, which helps lower my heart rate, relaxes the body and make you feel sleepy.


Is The Fitbit Charge 5 Still Useful When The Premium Subscription Expires

My subscription expired a few months ago and it doesn’t quite provide the health insights that I need. It’s almost like I become dependant on my favourite features. Now that it’s gone trying to do it on my own has it’s challenges. However the premium features did help me develop new habits especially with sleep my sleep health has improved a lot. If you are looking for more health insights, then you may want to consider signing up for the premium subscription.

Final Conclusion

The Fitbit Charge 5 is a great fitness tracker, it’s simple to use and has a lot of features that can help you improve your health. Just remember the profile that I created at the beginning of the article.

The Charge 5 is a very good fitness tracker, it’s strengths really ties into the premium subscription which is something you have to consider when buying the Charge 5. If you are looking for more health insights, then you may want to consider signing up for the premium subscription. However if you just want a simple fitness tracker that does the job and nothing else, then the Fitbit Charge 5 is a great choice.

I hope you enjoyed the article, thank you so much for reading.

Updated : Is it Still Will Buying in 2023

A lot has changed ever since the Charge 5 was released back in September 2021. Fast Forward to March 2023, is the Fitbit Charge 5 still worth buying? My answer is still yes, but how I look at the watch now versus the time of this original article has completely changed.

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In this brief update I am going to provide a quick overview of how I look at the Charge 5 now.

Is it Still Worth Buying If you Don’t Want Fitbit Premium

If you decided to buy the Charge 5, and you also decided to not continue with Fitbit premium. my answer would be no. Like I say a lot has changed since 2021 and the best alternative would be the Fitbit Inspire 3.

The way I see it is that, if you take away Fitbit’s greatest feature which is Fitbit premium, then all you are really left with is a basic fitness tracker. Which is like for like with a Fitbit Inspire 3. The only real advantage is that the Charge 5 only has a few extra workout modes, with a not so consistent GPS tracker.

I have recently wrote a comparison article between the Fitbit Charge 5 versus the Inspire 3. The only difference is that the Charge 5 has the superior Health features via Fitbit premium. Apart from that the Inspire 3 is the better option in my opinion. I have provided a link below for your reference.

Is it Still Worth Buying As A Current Fitbit Subscriber

Many Fitbit premium subscribers have there reasons for choosing premium. What ever those reasons are, they are still relevant now in 2023. After the Charge 5 release Fitbit have released the Inspire 3, Versa 4 and the Sense 2 in September 2022. If I was to rank from highest to lowest in terms of Premium features it will go a little some thing like this

  1. Sense 2
  2. Charge 5
  3. Versa 4
  4. Inspire 3

The Sense Watch series is Fitbit’s flag ship model, and the Charge 5 can almost match it. The only advantage that the Sense 2 has over the Charge 5 in terms of Fitbit premium is the new patented feature which is the all day body response tracking.

Final Conclusion

I hope this new information is helpful to you. A lot of the information that I portrayed originally is still fairly relevant, but with this update should give you an idea if you should buy or not.

Fitbit’s speciality is really about providing two things, health (for premium only) and a basic fitness tracker. Thank you for reading and I hope you found this update useful.