The 6 Best Heart Rate Monitors of 2024, Tested by Editors

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After spending 187 hours testing them, these are our top picks.

Samson McDougall is a journalist, copywriter, editor and science graduate. Samson specializes in making the complex simple, using the English language to democratize knowledge through highly effective, accessible communication.

Rich Scherr is an updates strategist and fact checker for Dotdash Meredith brands, including Health and Verywell. He is a seasoned financial and technology journalist who served as editor-in-chief of the Potomac Tech Wire for nearly two decades, and is a regular contributor to the sports pages of The Baltimore Sun. He has also been a news editor for America Online and has contributed to the Associated Press and The Washington Post.

In This Article

Health/ Kevin Liang

Heart rate monitors are a convenient, non-invasive tool for monitoring your heart health at home. According to the World Health Organization, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death globally, taking an estimated 17.9 million lives each year. Abnormalities in your heart rate (HR) can be the first indicator that something’s not quite right.

Regular heart rate monitoring is important for people experiencing CVDs or conditions like arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm) or hypertension (high blood pressure), but everyone can benefit from understanding and tracking heart rate, especially during exercise. As Mark Estes III, MD, past chair of the American Heart Association scientific publishing committee, notes, measuring HR during exercise will give you a sense of your overall fitness level and let you know if you’re overdoing it.

Whether you want to check your exertion levels against your personal best, program workouts to fit your lifestyle, or maintain regular checks on an existing condition, your HR monitor has to fit your purpose. But navigating the jargon—EKGs, ANT+s, and HRVs, to list a few examples—can be tricky. To help you find the best at-home HR monitors around, our editors spent over 187 hours testing 15 popular models. We measured usability, comfort, accuracy, connectivity, and extra features. After writing this article, we also had a physical therapist from our Medical Expert Board review it for medical and scientific accuracy.

I’m a Commerce Editor at Health, and I’ll admit it—I'd never seriously considered using a heart rate monitor. Like many, I viewed them as gadgets for serious athletes. However, as I get older and from editing stories like these, I’ve come to understand their value for preventive care. Dr. Estes says that HR monitors can detect patterns that may indicate a heart condition you’d want to bring up to your doctor for further tests.

HR monitors come in two types, as George Sopko, MD, MPH, Medical Officer and Program Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) explains. Basic models check your HR range, while advanced models provide detailed heart rhythm information and can indicate potential cardiovascular issues.

Remember that even though some smartwatches can track your heart rate, they may not be as effective as a dedicated heart rate monitoring device. Experts say that the type of smartwatch you use can impact data reliability, especially during arm-intensive exercises, and accuracy can decline with higher activity levels or sweating.-Lauren Paige Richeson, Commerce Editor

From the moment we connected the AliveCore KardiaMobile 1-Lean Personal EKG Monitor to the Kardia app, we loved its combination of comfort, ease of use, and accuracy. By placing two fingers on the sensors we were able to detect medical-grade EKGs/ECGs (electrical signals from the heart indicating various heart conditions) in 30 seconds, with metrics including atrial fibrillation, bradycardia, tachycardia, and normal sinus rhythm.

The monitor is small enough to keep in your pocket for use immediately pre- and post-workout, and the EKG history function allows you to track metrics over time and export data to your health apps or general practitioners. The color-coded readings alert you to abnormalities like signs of atrial fibrillation and arrhythmia, which means with each 30-second check, you’re not just tracking HR, but also proactively monitoring for serious health conditions.

You can't wear this monitor when exercising, so you’ll need to pause your workout if you want readings on the fly. It’s also 100% reliant on the Kardia app and lacks the broad-platform ANT+ connectivity of other models we tried.

After an initial charge of 1.5 hours and a little fiddling with the chest strap, the COOSPO REALZONE H9Z Rechargeable Chest Heart Rate Monitor was comfortable to wear during a variety of workouts. The CoospoRide app is geared towards cycling, so we only recommend it if bike workouts are your thing. Once we shifted to the Heartool app, we were able to track heart rate variability (HRV) data over time.

The simple chest strap design connects with a hook that holds the silicone sensor in place, barring some slight movement during cardio-intense workouts. The simple five-color LED notification system gives real-time HR zone tracking (red for intense, green for moderate, and blue for low-intensity workouts). Beyond this color code, you can’t access information during exercise.

All in all, this monitor lacks some of the detailed real-time tracking and advanced features of more expensive options, but the affordable price tag makes it an effective budget choice for measuring HR before and after exercise.

The monitor doesn’t have a display screen, and we found the connectivity and functionality lacking when compared to other devices we tried. The instructions were also difficult to interpret, so it’s not the best choice for the technologically challenged.

The Polar H10 Heart Rate Sensor was the top-performing chest-strap monitor we tried. Throughout testing we found the real-time ECG/EKG monitoring accurate, and we loved that the ANT+ connectivity options allowed us to record and track our HR via the free Polar app. You an also broadcast to additional apps, devices, and gym equipment.

The firm buckle, soft textile straps, and slip-preventing silicone dots hold the unit in place with zero discomfort, and the 400-hour battery life means there’s little chance of mid-workout shutdown. This is a no-fuss HR monitor with no additional bells or whistles, but in terms of accuracy, ease of use, and comfort, it was one of our favorites.

We attempted to use this sensor during a heated vinyasa yoga class, but it felt uncomfortable in the steamy setting. Also, the device itself doesn’t provide any metrics, so you’ll have to rely on apps to track your results.

The Polar H9 Heart Rate Sensor is an accessible, accurate chest-strap HR monitor that connects to your watch or Peloton seamlessly every time. Once fitted correctly, this device stays in place for more than an hour at a time during low-impact workouts like yoga, strength training, and cycling.

We loved how easy it was to connect this sensor to multiple apps and devices via ANT+, including a Garmin watch, a Peloton bike, TrainingPeaks, and Strava. Sharing data with the Health app on our phones was also straightfoward. The Polar app offers workout tracking and diary functions, which are useful features for newbies who don’t yet have their systems streamlined. This combination of reliability, accuracy, and no-fuss connectivity make this monitor our top pick for beginners.

After extended periods of high-intensity workouts like running, the strap tends to stretch and slip out of place, so it pays to tighten it before every workout. We also found the strap itchy in some positions, so it might take some trial and error to find the most comfortable fit.

If you enjoy a variety of exercises and need adaptable accessories, the wrist-, arm-, or chest-mountable MyZone MZ-Switch Heart Rate Monitor is an ideal choice. Once fully charged, setup is easy and the instructions are clear and to the point. Just sync it to your phone, and you’re ready to go. Using this monitor is like having your own workout coach motivating you to reach your personal bests.

We love that this device transfers accurate data to the app in real time, allowing you to dial up the intensity and hit the upper HR zones for fat-burning workouts. It also tracks up to 36 hours of exercise data, including calories burned, your comparative effort, and time spent within each HR zone.

Make sure you’re connected to the app pre-workout, or you may miss tracking your efforts (a mistake we made). In terms of comfort, the monitor takes some getting used to. We’d recommend experimenting with positions until you find the one that feels best.

Definitely one for the cyclists, the combination of breathable fabric and adjustable velcro make the Wahoo TICKR FIT Heart Rate Armband a comfortable choice for people who don’t like the restriction of chest straps. With the super-simple ANT+ connectivity, you can link with apps like Strava and measure average HR, real-time HR, and max HR data, alongside other metrics like distance and power. A paid subscription allows you to unlock a heap of additional features and metrics.

During our testing, we found the history function helpful for honing in on a specific part of a workout like hill climbs. The GPS tracking was also useful for reviewing HR variations throughout each section of a run or ride. Overall, for a simple, reliable, functional HR monitor to use during cardio workouts like cycling and jogging, this armband is a solid choice.

During longer weight training sessions, we found the monitor only recorded HR data for part of the workout. It also slipped out of position during high-impact sessions and was tricky to use while wearing long sleeves. Additionally, keep in mind that to access real-time data, you’ll need to carry your phone.

We tested these heart rate monitors, but they don't measure up to the ones on our list:

To determine the best HR monitors, our editors tested 15 popular models at home. After unboxing and evaluating ease of setup and pairing to apps and devices, we fitted each monitor according to manufacturer instructions and took a stationary reading. We then compared this reading to a manual pulse reading from our radial arteries.

We tested each monitor during various exercise activities including running, cycling, and weight training, and noted comfort in different positions. Post-workout, we measured HR again and compared the results to a manual reading. After a minimum of six workout sessions, we evaluated each monitor based on the following criteria:

We spoke to experts at every stage of researching and reporting this story. Prior to testing, we consulted with cardiologist Dr. Neel Chokshi, who helped us define our testing criteria. For further expert advice and health recommendations, we interviewed several cardiology professionals, including:

Samson McDougall is a journalist, copywriter, editor, and biology graduate. His work encompasses everything from web copy for science museums to sexual health articles for universities, info sheets for first-in-category pharmaceuticals to brand messaging for wearable touch therapy by neuroscientists.

World Health Organization. Cardiovascular diseases.