The Best Heart Rate Monitors 2023 For Workouts

Keen on tracking your ticker? Here are the best heart rate trackers to guide your training

Heart rate has a strong case for being the most useful thing to keep tabs on during exercise. Heart rate zones make it easy to see how hard your body is working so you can judge the intensity correctly. That's crucial, because one of the considerations for how to start exercising safely is limiting intensity, while following a demanding training plan for an endurance sport also requires a fine balance of easy and hard efforts.

A device that monitors your heart rate during exercise can also provide an estimate of your VO2 max, an excellent proxy for your cardiovascular fitness and how long you can sustain periods of high effort.

A heart rate monitor is now a staple feature on wrist-worn wearables, and these devices’ optical heart rate monitors are reasonably accurate for tracking your heart rate 24 hours a day. Wearing one around the clock adds a resting heart rate estimate, and many will also measure your heart rate variability and use that information to gauge the stress and fatigue on your body, and how well you recover during your sleep.

However, optical heart rate monitors worn on the wrist during workouts can struggle to get an accurate reading, which is why we always recommend using an external heart rate monitor, usually worn on the chest or upper arm. These can link up with the best running watches and some leading fitness trackers to provide more accurate data.

You’ll find a range of excellent heart rate monitors below, along with a thorough breakdown from an expert from Polar, one of the industry leaders, of how the different types of heart rate monitors work and why chest straps are generally the most accurate.

The most accurate chest strap heart rate monitor

Type: ECG | Battery: CR2025 | Connectivity: Bluetooth, ANT+, 5kHz | Waterproof rating: 3ATM (up to 30 metres)

The H10 is accurate, comfortable and able to connect via Bluetooth, ANT+ and 5kHz, allowing two Bluetooth connections at a time and unlimited ANT+ connections. The battery lasts for up to 400 hours before it needs to be replaced, which means even keen athletes will get through most of a year before having to replace it (a CR2025 replacement battery is widely available and cheap).

It's also the most comfortable chest strap we’ve worn, a consideration that shouldn't be underestimated. We found the buckle-like attachment better than the usual slip and loop you get on chest straps, and haven't had any skin irritation from the H10 while using it for runs every day for months.

The downside to the H10 is that most of its features are available on the cheaper Polar H9 strap, which only allows one Bluetooth connection and is a little less comfortable than the H10, though just as accurate. The H10 also lacks the advanced features of straps like Garmin's HRM-Pro Plus, which tracks running technique stats, as well as your pace and distance when on a treadmill. So, while the H10 remains the gold standard for accuracy and comfort, there is better value to be found elsewhere for most people.

Read more in our Polar H10 review

Best budget heart rate chest strap

Type: ECG | Battery: CR2032 | Connectivity: Bluetooth, ANT+ | Waterproof rating: 1ATM (up to 10 metres)

Heart rate straps can be very clever in the extra features they offer, but fundamentally all you really need them to do is connect to your devices and measure accurately. This more affordable option from Decathlon does both, offering both Bluetooth and ANT+ connections so it will pair easily to whatever watch, app or piece of fitness equipment you have in mind. Just keep it out of the water – the waterproof rating of 1ATM means it can withstand splashes and exercising in the rain, but won't survive being submerged for long.

Most versatile heart rate monitor

Type: Optical and ECG | Battery: Rechargeable | Connectivity: Bluetooth, ANT+ | Waterproof rating: 1ATM (up to 10 metres)

The MZ-Switch lives up to its name by being able to track your heart rate from your wrist, arm or chest. It contains an ECG sensor for measurements on the chest – the most accurate position – plus an optical PPG sensor for tracking from your arm or wrist, which many find more comfortable and convenient than a chest strap.

Wherever you wear it, you’ll be earning MyZone Effort Points (MEPs) during your exercise, and these are being earned at a faster rate when you’re working in higher heart rate zones. It's another way to motivate yourself during HIIT sessions in particular, and some gym chains have partnered with MyZone to broadcast your heart rate and zone to screens during classes to help you work at the right intensity.

The MZ-Switch also boasts an impressive battery life for such a small, rechargeable device, lasting three to six months (the optical sensor uses more battery than the ECG). It connects easily to any device via ANT+ or Bluetooth, and swapping the sensor between the included straps for your chest, wrist and arm is a doddle.

The only real downside here is the price – it's more cost-effective to buy a separate arm and chest strap tracker if you don't plan on using the MyZone app and earning those MEPs.

Read more in our MyZone MZ-Switch review

Best arm strap heart rate monitor

Type: Optical | Battery: Rechargeable | Connectivity: Bluetooth, ANT+ | Waterproof rating: 5ATM (up to 50 metres)

Our previous favourite arm strap HRM was the Polar OH1, and the Verity Sense is a straightforward upgrade. The battery life is longer at 20 hours (vs 12), the Bluetooth range is twice as big at 150m, it has a bigger memory for storing workouts, and it's also waterproof to 50m, compared with the 30m of the OH1. The Verity Sense also comes with a clip so you can attach it to your goggles for measurements in the water.

Arm straps offer more accuracy than a wrist-based monitor while being more convenient and comfortable than a chest strap. The Verity Sense slips on easily and in our tests we found it impressively close to a chest strap's readings in running, strength and cycling sessions.

It connects via both ANT+ and Bluetooth, and the lights system on the device shows the three training modes available. The first is for when you want to pair it to a device like a watch, the second is for recording a workout directly on the Verity Sense itself (which links to Polar's Flow app to show your readings), and the third is a swimming mode.

Best for runners and triathletes

Type: ECG | Battery: CR2032 | Connectivity: Bluetooth, ANT+ | Waterproof rating: 5ATM (up to 50 metres)

The HRM-Pro Plus is Garmin's top heart rate chest strap, replacing the HRM-Pro in its line-up. The Pro Plus does all the great things the Pro did, including measuring advanced running stats like running power, ground contact time and vertical oscillation, which you can see on compatible Garmin watches live during your runs. It also works in the water and will sync your HR data to the Garmin app once you’ve finished swimming.

There's nothing to choose between the software of the Pro and Pro Plus – the Pro Plus adds the ability to measure indoor running distance and pace, but this will come to the Pro in an update. However, the key upgrade you get here is a new battery compartment that you can open without using a screwdriver. This means changing the battery is not only easier than on the Pro, but it also reduces the chances of you breaking the strap, which was a common complaint about the Pro.

Read more in our Garmin HRM-Pro Plus review

Best heart rate monitor under $50/£50

Type: ECG | Battery: CR2032 | Connectivity: Bluetooth, ANT+ | Waterproof rating: IPX7 (waterproof up to 5ft/1.5m)

Wahoo has recently updated its popular TICKR heart rate monitors: both the standard TICKR and the TICKR X have seen an increase of almost 50% in the life of the CR2032 coin battery they use. That's up to 500 hours – you’ll have to be an elite athlete to get through that in a year. The more expensive TICKR X adds running dynamics stats like vertical oscillation and ground contact time, but if you don't feel the need for those extras then stick with the cheaper TICKR, which offers tremendous value. It can connect via ANT+ and Bluetooth, and can be paired with up to three Bluetooth devices at once.

To find out more about how chest straps and optical heart rate monitors work, and advice on which is more accurate, we spoke to Polar research center director Jyrki Schroderus.

Chest straps measure electric signals arising from heart activity, which is the same thing as if you were in hospital and you put on the wires for an electrocardiogram (ECG). The strap measurement is a simplified version of the hospital measurement with only one channel, one connection, but we are able to measure the heart rate from that. In the hospital there are 12 leads, and it makes a map of your electrocardiogram activity.

The cardiac activity comes actually from your heart muscle, and the tiniest cells that we have in our heart. When they operate, very small electric activity is generated and when we combine all of them together, it's still very low, but we get a measurable signal from the skin. You can see a difference in your voltage, basically.

If you take the strap you can see the black pads, which actually receive the electric signal from your chest. You have to have a very good contact at your chest area, so that the electric signal gets into the electronics of the device.

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Comfort is one issue because it results in pressure on your chest area, but it's very accurate, and it's very tolerant of disturbances which arise from motion. It's a hard environment to make the measurement: there's motion at your chest, there's lots of sweat too so all the electric characteristics of your skin are changing from dry to sweaty skin. There's also flapping of the shirt, perhaps because you are riding a bicycle and there's wind coming against you.

So even though the strap looks very simple, there is a lot of engineering behind it and the price point of the device is very low.

It's called photoplethysmography or PPG measurement, which is basically measuring the blood pulse in your skin.

It uses LED lights and a sensor. Light penetrates into your skin and when it's under your skin, your blood pulse changes the power of the light which comes back to the sensor. It measures your blood – it doesn't measure your heart directly.

The advantage is that you can make the measurement anywhere where you have skin – your forehead, lower arm, upper arm, anywhere. It's very handy.

The measurement is, basically, not as accurate as the chest measurement. There are a couple of reasons for that. First, the location of the sensor could be your lower arm and there is a lot of motion in your arm area. The most catastrophic place for PPG is actually your wrist – it's a very hostile measurement place. That's why there are lots of complaints about the quality of the measurement with the wrist devices. We know that and we have lots of people here solving the problem!

If you put it on the upper arm, it's almost as good as the ECG-based measurement for heart rate because the motions are not that violent.

With an ECG measurement, you can do HRV measurements in almost any situation, but if you take a PPG measurement, optical heart rate, it's practically impossible to measure that during motion. If you want to calculate some more advanced parameters, like breathing frequency, you can measure that during your run from your chest, but it's not possible with the optical heart rate.

But if you are at rest, we can measure the PPG PP interval – the separation between successive heartbeats. That's why we can measure sleep and stress parameters at night with a wrist device.

ByNick Harris-Fry published 14 March 23

The Hammerhead chest strap offers reasonable value, but frequent tracking inaccuracies make it hard to trust

ByNick Harris-Fry published 16 February 23

The Polar H10 is the most reliable heart rate monitor we’ve tried, but there are better value alternatives

ByNick Harris-Fry published 17 August 22

A small hardware update makes the Plus a big upgrade on the HRM-Pro heart rate monitor, and it offers a wealth of stats beyond your heart rate

ByNick Harris-Fry published 31 March 22

The Oura Ring 3 continues to impress with its sleep tracking, but new features are currently either unreliable or lacking

ByNick Harris-Fry published 28 March 22

Peloton's new armband offers limited connectivity and is not even the best heart rate monitor the company offers

ByNick Harris-Fry last updated 21 January 22

Keep your finger on the pulse without breaking the bank

ByNick Harris-Fry published 13 May 21

The MZ-Switch is a great idea that's well executed, but if the fitness gamification doesn't appeal there are more affordable options

ByNick Harris-Fry published 4 March 21

The Whoop gives a useful breakdown of the strain your body is under, but it's limited by unreliable heart rate tracking

ByNick Harris-Fry published 30 March 19

If you’re in the UK and Europe, that is, because the ECG feature has been approved

ByRichard Easton published 21 July 14

It promises to make heart rate monitoring simple. But just how useful is the PulseOn?

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