The best smartwatches for women are also among the best smartwatches for everyone, but the options vary in terms of style, price and features.
Yes, any person will be satisfied with the smartwatches below. But these specific models may cater to women with their diverse designs, wrist-friendly sizes and advanced health tools. Some are also optimized to work with specific smartphones, but all are among the best smartwatches for women you can buy now.
Still, not all of the best smartwatches for women are made the same. Some are sophisticated fitness trackers beyond step counting, helping you manage sleep, stress and menstrual cycle patterns. Others have functional materials that make the ultimate fashion statement. A few of these smartwatches even support LTE, so you can communicate from your wrist, wherever you are.
For brand-specific smartwatch buying advice, see our guides to the best Fitbit, best Apple Watch and best Garmin watch models. Otherwise, see all the best smartwatches for women below.
The best smartwatches for women right now
The Apple Watch 9 is the best Apple Watch yet. It’s not a major upgrade over the Apple Watch Series 8 in terms of features, but it does introduce some useful updates. What’s new is the S9 processor, which is 25% more efficient before, powering a brighter 2,000 nit display and neat new double-tap gesture. The double-tap gesture makes it possible to navigate the watch one-handed, while a next-gen ultra-wideband chip helps you track down a misplaced iPhone more easily.
What’s more, the Apple Watch Series 9 is one of Apple’s first carbon-neutral certified devices. Using more recycled parts, less packaging, and coming with a 82% recycled yarn Sport Loop, the Series 9 takes a big step in an eco-conscious direction.
Otherwise, the Apple Watch Series 9 is a full-featured health tracker and communications tool. With watchOS 10, this smartwatch packs the latest and greatest of what the Apple Watch experience has to offer. Whether you want a smartwatch for working out, answering calls from your wrist, or using the best Apple Watch apps, this is the best smartwatch for you. As long as you have an iPhone, of course.
Read our full Apple Watch 9 review.
The Galaxy Watch 6 is the best smartwatch for women who use Android smartphones thanks to design improvements, refreshed built-in apps and added health features. While Samsung’s smartwatch lineup has received mostly iterative updates in past years, the Galaxy Watch 6 presents some truly substantial upgrades.
Samsung continues to offer one of the most robust smartwatch collections on the market with not one, but two wearable devices. The Galaxy Watch 6 strikes a balance of sleek and sporty, while the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic elevates style with the fan-favorite physical rotating bezel. Larger displays and a new interchangeable band mechanism make for a more user-friendly design, too. Our comparison of Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 vs. Galaxy Watch 6 Classic can help you decide which is right for you.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 review.
The Fitbit Sense 2 is the company’s premium smartwatch that comes with more advanced health and wellness features that the Versa line. Not only does it have an FDA-approved ECG sensor and blood oxygen reading, but the Sense has the ability to measure electrodermal activity and skin temperature, too.
An update to the stress-detecting EDA (electrodermal activity) sensor plays a large role in the device’s success: now called cEDA (‘c’ for continuous,) the sensor monitors stress levels or heightened responses throughout the day, prompting the user to take action on mood monitoring with Body Response notifications. During testing, we were impressed by the Sense 2’s long battery life and attractive design, as well as the huge number of health tracking options.
The Sense 2 works with both iOS and Android, and comes with onboard GPS, Alexa, and more.
Read our full Fitbit Sense 2 review.
The Garmin Lily is a small and stylish smartwatch that will make you forget the bulky GPS wearables the brand is best known for. An offering designed with first-time, female smartwatch users in mind, the $199 Garmin Lily isn’t one of the best sport watches, but it is a great choice for those who don’t like the traditional smartwatch look.
We like the Garmin Lily’s barely-there feel and fashionable appearance, which is accentuated by a patterned lens that somehow doesn’t obstruct the display. Of all the best smartwatches for women we’ve tested, this one looks the most like actual jewelry. Between its 34-millimeter button-less case, intricate hardware details and thin straps, it’s dainty. For female users, the Garmin Lily offers menstrual cycle tracking, as well as a pregnancy tracking guide that gives expecting mothers a more complete overview of their health. Although the Lily isn’t compatible with the Garmin Connect IQ app store, the pregnancy tracking app is one of the options that comes pre-installed on this smartwatch.
Read our full Garmin Lily review.
The Apple Watch SE is kind of a hybrid device, pairing an older Apple Watch design with the Apple Watch Series 8’s chipset. The $249 smartwatch doesn’t have all the Series 8’s features, but still stands out for its great fitness tracking and safety features. It also offers an LTE option, making it a good choice for those interested in trying out Family Setup.
When choosing between the Apple Watch Series 8 vs. Apple Watch SE (2022), your ultimate decision will be if you want to spend an extra $150 for a brighter display with an always-on option, an ECG monitor and skin-temperature sensor, and a bigger display. If those tools aren’t deal-breakers for you, the SE is a highly capable option for iPhone users. It even gets watchOS 9, the most up-to-date Apple Watch software with low power mode, fresh new watch faces, an upgraded workout interface, a redesigned compass tool and the new Medications app.
Read our full Apple Watch SE (2022) review.
The Fitbit Versa 4 is the best smartwatch for women for basic step tracking based on our testing. We will say it’s not the best smartwatch for fitness tracking overall, as it struggles to provide accurate heart rate readings. But if you’re looking for something that will get you moving with hourly step reminders and alerts when you’ve reached your daily goal, this smartwatch is a great choice.
Not only that, the Versa 4 a lovely-looking smartwatch with a slim profile and sleek metallic finishes. It looks very similar to the Fitbit Sense 2, yes, but this is the better choice if you’re on a tighter budget or aren’t as interested in stress-tracking. The Versa 4 still has reliable sleep-tracking and other perks available via Fitbit Premium.
Read our full Fitbit Versa 4 review.
Though it’s a previous gen-version, one of the best smartwatches for women interested in basic fitness tracking and advanced sleep tracking is the Fitbit Versa 3, the next-generation of the popular Fitbit Versa 2. The Versa 3’s standout upgrade is on-board GPS. Even when you leave your phone at home, the Versa can track your location during outdoor exercise. Sleeker metallic finishes are welcome, too.
Plus the Versa 3 has gained a great motivational workout feature, Active Zone Minutes. Active Zone Minutes monitors the time you spend in the fat burn, cardio or peak heart-rate zones while exercising. Your goal is to earn the AHA’s and WHO’s recommended 150 Active Zone Minutes each week. Again you can use your Fitbit Versa 3 for phone calls and speak to voice assistants for queries, but note you can only enable one voice assistant at once.
Read our full Fitbit Versa 3 review.
How to choose the best smartwatch for women
Among the best smartwatches for women, you have a bounty of options to match your needs and style. That said, if you have an iPhone, you’ll probably appreciate the ecosystem experience of the Apple Watch 7 or Apple Watch SE. The same goes those with Samsung smartphones, your best choice is a Samsung-made Galaxy Watch, But if fitness tracking or working out is your priority, a Fitbit or Garmin wearable might be better for reaching your goals. Plus both those companies offer diverse design options.
When picking any smartwatch, you’ll also want to get one that fits your wrist comfortably. Those with smaller wrists may find larger smartwatches bulky and cumbersome. All of the smartwatches above have 40mm or smaller size options, though the 34mm Garmin Lily is by far the more compact.
Some of the best smartwatches for women look like high-tech fitness trackers while others look like traditional timepieces, too. If you want something sporty, stick to sleek materials with fewer embellishments. If you want something you can wear on nicer occasions, look for bezels or other eye-catching accents.
Be sure to check out our smartwatch buying guide for more smartwatch shopping advice.
How we test the best smartwatches for women
Whenever an attractive smartwatch for women is released, we fully charge it up, then strap it on our wrist for about a week or so to test out all the features.
We gauge how it feels on our wrist throughout our day-to-day, as well as how easy (or not) the interface is to navigate when we need to read notifications, set timers or change other settings. Next, we look at its fitness features, such as heart rate readings, blood oxygen readings, step counts and, when applicable, GPS. How accurate are all these readings? Does the smartwatch offer female-specific features for menstrual cycle or pregnancy tracking?
Finally we consider battery life claims and compare it to our actual use. Some features like continuous GPS use, playing music or enabling an always-on display chew up juice faster than others. We understand that not all smartwatches last two weeks — we just want our experience to match up with the expectations set by the company.
Jessica Irvine is a tech enthusiast specializing in gadgets. From smart home devices to cutting-edge electronics, Jessica explores the world of consumer tech, offering readers comprehensive reviews, hands-on experiences, and expert insights into the coolest and most innovative gadgets on the market.
