Opting for a cheap heart rate tracker used to mean compromising on quality, but as the technology has developed and products have proliferated there has been a corresponding rise in accuracy in even the most inexpensive heart rate monitors.
When looking for a bargain it’s still advisable to focus your search on chest straps, which are more likely to be accurate owing to the tracker’s position close to the heart, though armbands worn around the biceps are almost as accurate and can be more comfortable. If you’re prepared to spend a little more, our selection of the best heart rate monitors covers all bases.
The Best Cheap Heart Rate Monitors
The Coospo H9Z just edges out other great budget straps thanks to its long rechargeable battery life. Instead of using standard coin batteries, which are long-lasting but annoying to change when they do run out, the Coospo H9Z is rechargeable and still lasts for 50 hours of use.
It also proved to be reliably accurate during my testing, which included several hard interval runs with my heart rate spiking and dipping quickly. It’s pretty comfortable, if not as good on this front as Polar’s straps in particular, and connects easily to apps and devices via both Bluetooth and ANT+. However—slightly inconveniently—the functions of the H9Z are split between two apps, Coospo Ride and Heartool.
Read more in my Coospo H9Z Heart Rate Monitor review
Despite originally launching in 2012, the 4iiii Viiiiva is still one the best available, especially for its $50/£50 list price. Over more than 30 hours of testing, the Viiiiva proved as accurate as the Polar H10, and it can store up to 65 hours of workout data so you can use it for swimming, which is not a common feature on cheaper HRMs.
An even less common feature is ANT+ to Bluetooth bridging. It can connect your ANT+ sensors to Bluetooth devices, which means you can continue to use older sensors and pair them to things like tablets and Apple TV more easily. The battery life isn’t very good on the Viiiiva, and it can only connect via one Bluetooth channel at a time, but it’s still a great-value option.
Read more in my 4iiii Viiiiva Heart Rate Monitor review
This budget heart rate monitor from Decathlon’s in-house brand Kalenji is a solid option at a lower price than most others. It connects via Bluetooth and ANT+ and I found it linked easily with a range of devices, including three watches, my phone and a tablet. It’s not the most comfortable strap available, but I found it OK to wear for long runs and other workouts.
During my testing, I had a couple of runs where the heart rate reading was inaccurate, with spikes at the start of runs and a track workout where it glitched for a couple of reps, with the reading jumping and falling for no reason. Overall, the Kalenji Dual was accurate and matched the reading of a Polar H10 the vast majority of the time, and it is indeed cheap, but I’ve found other chest straps more reliable.
Read more in my Kalenji Dual Heart Rate Monitor review
If you’re going for a coin battery-powered HR monitor then the TICKR’s outstanding battery life is attractive, because you’ll get 500 hours of use out of the belt before you’ll need to dig through your cupboards trying to find another battery. The TICKR can link up to three devices at once via Bluetooth, and also has ANT+ connectivity. It’s a great basic monitor that broadcasts accurate heart rate data, but if you want a couple of extra frills the TICKR X is also pretty cheap and able to track running technique stats like vertical oscillation.
I rate the Polar H10 as the best heart rate monitor available, but it’s a little pricy for this buying guide. So it’s fortunate Polar also makes the H9, which I have found to be just as accurate as the H10—it just omits a few of the H10’s features. The main loss is the ability to store workouts internally which means you can’t use it for swimming and transfer the data to a watch or app later. The H9 uses a coin battery and lasts 400 hours before you need to swap that out, and has a more comfortable strap than the other cheap heart rate monitors I’ve tested.
Armband heart rate monitors are nearly as accurate as chest straps and some find them more comfortable and convenient. The Coospo HW807 uses an optical monitor but using this kind of sensor on the thicker upper arm makes it more accurate than using a wrist-based optical monitor. The HW807 lasts for 20 hours on a charge and connects via both Bluetooth and ANT+.
FAQs
What’s the best cheap heart rate monitor for running?
Runners in particular can benefit from using an external heart rate monitor because the way you swing your arms during a run makes optical heart rate readings on watches pretty inaccurate, especially during harder runs. Any of the devices included in our guide here will work well for running, since they are all accurate heart rate monitors that link easily to running watches so you can see your stats live during a run, and I’ve used the Coospo H9Z to track many runs with unfailing accuracy. If you want more running stats from your heart rate monitor, upgrading to the Wahoo TICKR X might be worthwhile because it tracks technique stats like vertical oscillation and ground contact time.
What’s the best cheap heart rate monitor for cycling?
All the monitors above will work well for cyclists since they will link easily to bike computers and sports watches and have proved accurate for me when tracking rides. If you plan on using the heart rate monitor with a virtual app like Zwift then make sure it can handle at least two Bluetooth connections at once, in case you need to link via Bluetooth to both your watch/bike computer and the app. The Wahoo TICKR supports three Bluetooth connections at once, along with ANT+, so it offers peace of mind on that front.
What’s the best cheap heart rate monitor for the Apple Watch?
The Apple Watch Ultra and Apple Watch Series 8 both connect via Bluetooth to heart rate straps, and I have paired many straps easily with both watches. I’ve found the Apple Watch Series 8’s optical heart rate tracking accurate enough that it might not be necessary to pair an external strap, though I did find the larger Apple Watch Ultra had more drop-outs and errors in its heart rate tracking so it did need a strap paired with it. Any strap above will work well with any Apple Watch, so you can decide which to go for based on price, comfort or battery life.
