The best smart scales available right now don’t simply tell you your weight — though, they do that pretty well. They can also give you a peek into your body fat percentage, BMI, muscle mass, and in some cases, even how much water weight you’re carrying. Even better, you won’t have to catalog these health metrics in an old-fashioned notebook. Smart scales usually come with companion apps, so you can track your health and your progress from one of the tiny screens you stare at all day. Here’s a selection of the best smart scales available right now.
— Best Overall: QardioBase2
— Best for Body Composition: Withings Body Plus
— Best for Body Fat: Sportneer Smart Scale 8
— Best for BMI: WYZE Smart Scale
— Most Affordable: RENPHO Body Fat Smart Scale
How We Picked the Best Smart Scales
Here are the factors we considered when compiling our list of the best smart scales:
Versatility: Bathroom scales have come such a long way since their inception, certainly in this century. Appliance manufacturers slap the name “smart” onto everything from wristwatches to toasters, and in some cases, it turns a simple idea into a cumbersome one. It’s enough to make even serious tech fans turn into full-blown Luddites. Making bathroom scales smart is actually inspired though, especially if the scale in question tells you more than just your weight. The more information the better, especially if it doesn’t require weird gymnastics on your part to get the scale to read your body fat, BMI, or muscle mass correctly.
App Compatibility: Just because a device comes with a companion smartphone app or connects to your smartwatch doesn’t automatically make it good. There are plenty of apps that are annoying to navigate, clunky, and crash at a moment’s notice. Any smart scale worth buying better have an app that’s at the very least, usable. Even better if the app can communicate with popular fitness apps including Apple Health and Google Fit.
Maneuverability: As archaic as non-smart bathroom scales can be, they do have one thing going for them: you can toss them around and cram them into any old corner. This becomes a dangerous concept once you shove electronics into a shell that’s usually made of glass. A smart scale should still be easy to store and be able to withstand a spill or two, within reason of course.
Accuracy: You’d think being smart would make all smart scales incredibly accurate. Plenty of scales available on the market requires you to step on them in a certain way for them to read your weight correctly. Weighing yourself one second could render up to two pounds more in either positive or negative directions than the next second. And that’s just weight. Things get even more complicated when you consider scales that also measure body fat percentages and muscle mass. For smart scales, accuracy, and accuracy without any extra steps is paramount.
Best Smart Scales: Reviews and Recommendations
Best Overall: QardioBase2
Why it Made The Cut: It’s expensive, but the QardioBase 2 offers an intense level of precision to give you the best picture of your current health.
Specs:
— Dimensions: 13.4 L inches x 13.4 inches W x 0.9 inches H
— Weight: 6.7 pounds
— Monitors: Weight, BMI, Body Fat, Muscle Mass, Water Weight, Body Composition
Pros:
— Premium level build quality
— Interactive LED display
— Innovative feedback
Cons:
— Very expensive
— Heavy and larger than other scales
Can a smart scale be so attractive it qualifies as decor? The QardioBase2 Smart Scale truly stands out.
The QardioBase 2 tracks much more than just weight. It’s as accurate as accurate gets, offering the best window into full body composition. The Qardio App (available on App Store, Google Play, and Amazon Kindle) doesn’t just provide fitness insights, it provides medical ones that monitor heart rate, and track weight loss goals over time using incredibly comprehensive and easy-to-read charts. From there, you’ll also receive innovative feedback you can use to achieve any and all of your fitness goals. You can also share your stats with a myriad of fitness apps including Apple Health, Google Fit, Wear OS, and Samsung Health. It even comes with smart home connectivity for Siri and Alexa.
While this scale is a bit larger and heavier than other smart scales, this is definitely one you won’t want to hide under the bathroom sink or worse, behind a toilet. With its sleek round design and interactive LED display, this smart scale would be equally at home in a master bedroom, a workout room, or a larger bathroom. And here’s the kicker: the scale even smiles at you. Nothing helps a weight-loss journey like a little positive reinforcement.
Best for Body Composition: Withings Body Plus
Why it Made The Cut: The Withings Body Plus is the best-selling smart scale in the US for a reason: its gorgeous interface and sleek build make it a joy to use.
Specs:
— Dimensions: 12.8 L inches x 12.8 inches W x 0.9 inches H
— Weight: 4.4 pounds
— Monitors: Weight, BMI, Weather Forecast and Activity Log, Food Tracking, Full Body Analysis
Pros:
— Simple and sleek screen design
— High accuracy
— Up to eight users
Cons:
— On the pricier side
Nokia doesn’t just make smartphones and streaming boxes, it also makes smart scales, including the celebrated Withings Body Plus. It’s not simply a scale, it’s a complete weight management companion.
For starters, it’s incredibly accurate and will gauge your weight within 0.22 pounds. The scale even helps you center your position on it to up its precision. Withings Body Plus not only weighs you, but measures your fat percentage, muscle mass, and even water weight. It utilizes bioelectrical impedance technology, a small current that runs through the scale that can assess just about everything about your body in regards to its weight. Withing’s Health Mate app, (available on Google Play and App Store) not only catalogs your body composition but also helps you with any weight loss goals you may have with comprehensive solutions.
It even has modes to meet all lifestyles including Pregnancy, Athlete, and Baby modes. That’s right, this scale is totally baby-friendly, should your tot want to go the distance. In fact, it accommodates up to eight individual users, which is more than enough for most families. It even works in conjunction with other popular fitness apps including but not limited to Lifesum, Yazo, IFTT, and Apple Health. And while it does run on batteries, you won’t have to change them out for 18 months.
Best for Body Fat: Sportneer Smart Scale 8
Why it Made The Cut: For the most accurate peek at body fat percentage, bet on Sportneer Smart Scale 8.
Specs:
— Dimensions: 12.59 L inches x 11.81 inches W x 0.82 inches H
— Weight: 4.37 pounds
— Monitors: Weight, BMI, BMR, Muscle Mass, Bone Mass, Body Fat, Lean Body Mass, Metabolic Age, Subcutaneous Fat, Protein, Water Weight, Skeletal Muscle, Visceral Fat, Fat-Free Body Weight
Pros:
— Incredibly accurate body fat scale
— Ultra-thin design
— Offers full body and multi-segment measurements
Cons:
— Annoying to store
— Finicky handle
Like the Withings Body Plus, the Sportneer Smart Scale 8 utilizes bio-electrical impedance analysis technology to get a deeper perspective of your body composition. Using eight different sensors on your hands and feet makes this scale perfect for gauging body fat.
Using a handle that plugs into the scale, these currents flow through your body through your feet and your hands, which not only provides better accuracy but yields details down to entire segments of your body. You can see how much further you need to go to see visible abs or gauge everything from bicep growth to fat loss in your thighs. It’s great for tracking even the most specific goals, especially when paired with its app (available on App Store and Google Play). And because the scale lets you add countless users, it’s great for big families and fitness studios alike. It’s as smart as you want it to be, and you don’t have to turn on the app just to weigh yourself.
Still, the handle is ideally stored separately, which makes this scale a little more annoying to store. And while the handle offers some serious precision for recording your body’s fat percentage, you have to ensure you hold it just right to get a good reading. Like any great smart device, it charges via USB and runs up to 60 days on a full charge.
Best for BMI: WYZE Smart Scale
Why it Made The Cut: The WYZE Smart Scale has great BMI readouts while being one of the most affordable scales to boot.
Specs:
— Dimensions: 11.81 L inches x 11.81 inches W x 1.18 inches H
— Weight: 3.32 pounds
— Monitors: Weight, Lean Body Mass, Metabolic Age, Body Fat, Muscle Mass, Bone Mass, Water Weight, Protein Level, Basal Metabolic Rate, BMI, Visceral Fat, Heart Rate
Pros:
— High capacity, up to 400 pounds
— Relatively affordable
— Crystal-clear display
Cons:
— Does not sync to some popular fitness apps
The WYZE Smart Scale only looks expensive. Its muted design packs plenty of smart scale goodness, including a fairly good BMI scale.
The WYZE App (available on App Store and Google Play) helps gauge everything from lean body mass to heart rate, functions that are so impressive for a scale in this price range that they almost feel dubious. Rest assured, they’re not, which is why this smart scale is easily one of the best. Some scales require you to align yourself for them to get an accurate reading. Not this one. Go on, step anywhere, and you can still set your watch to the accuracy. Like any great scale, it allows for unlimited users, so long as they have the app, to use the scale and track their progress. WYZE Smart Scale can even save up to eight profiles, which can recognize you seconds after you step on it.
And while it works with Apple Health and Google Fit, its app compatibility just doesn’t compare with the rest of the smart scales in the bunch. Still, WYZE Smart Scale sings because of its sheer simplicity, its great display, and price point. It’s also one of the more high-capacity offerings, working with users that weigh up to 400 pounds.
Most Affordable: RENPHO Body Fat Smart Scale
Why it Made The Cut: At its price point RENPHO Body Fat Smart Scale is well within any budget.
Specs:
— Dimensions: 11 L inches x 11 inches W x 1 inch H
— Weight: 2.86 pounds
— Monitors: Weight, BMI, Body Fat, Subcutaneous Fat, Visceral Fat, Water Weight, Skeletal Muscle, Muscle Mass, Bone Mass, Protein, Metabolic Age, BMR, Fat-Free Body Weight
Pros:
— Very inexpensive
— Share weight loss journey to social media
— Unlimited users
Cons:
— Only displays weight on scale
Smart scales don’t always have to empty your wallet, and the RENPHO Body Fat Smart Scale weighs in with the best of them.
The RENPHO app (available on App Store and Google Play) is just as thorough as the other smart scale apps, complete with comprehensive looks at your muscle mass, weight, and even BMI. It even provides some surprising features you would normally get from a more expensive scale. RENPHO Body Fat Smart Scale comes with a baby weighing mode, secure Bluetooth connection, and works with plenty of fitness apps including Google Fit and Apple Health. It even lets you flex on social media, by sharing your progress reports as you set out on your fitness journey. And unlike more expensive scales, you can add as many users as you want.
That said, the RENPHO Body Fat Smart Scale does look and feel less expensive, however. And while the app provides insights into your body composition, the actual scale itself will only display weight. Still, at this price point, it’s still a great impulse buy.
Things to Consider Before Buying a Smart Scale
Necessity
Flashy as they are, not everyone needs a smart scale. If you like weighing yourself a couple of times a week in order to monitor whether or not you’re going to treat yourself to a Dairy Queen chicken basket combo (like me), a regular, old-fashioned bathroom scale will be more than enough for your needs. Bathroom scales are for folks looking to get really deep insights into their body composition. Weight is but one factor of overall health after all, and sometimes learning the specifics of your current body makeup can help you achieve long-term fitness goals. Smart scales are great for weight loss because they can help keep things in perspective. Whom amongst us hasn’t gotten a little discouraged when we do our weekly weigh-in, only to find that we’ve lost no weight? Of course, it’s more complicated than that. For all you know, your body lost a pound, put on a pound in muscle weight. Maybe you’re retaining more Coke Zero than you thought. A complete insight is not only great for staying on track but not getting discouraged. Smart scales also work with apps to help you map out realistic and healthy weight loss goals. Sticktoitiveness is half the battle. This goes double for folks looking to put on a fair amount of muscle mass while gaining as little fat as possible. It’s tricky no matter how you do it, but a little easier using the technology in the best smart scales.
Reliability
If you’ve ever watched a trashy reality show based around weight loss, annoying hosts like to tout that “The scale doesn’t lie.” Unfortunately, as far as smart scales are concerned, this couldn’t be more false. Even the best scales will occasionally need recalibration, and every model has a mode to help you do this quickly and easily. Still, sometimes you just want to weigh yourself. Even if you decide to go digital, it wouldn’t hurt to keep an analog bathroom scale around in case you need it in a clutch. We recommend the Thinner Extra-Large Dial Analog Precision Bathroom Scale. It has a 330-pound capacity, and can even help you keep your smart scale in check.
Safety
Many smart scales have something in common, and that is that they are made of glass. When using these, remember that small cracks on the screen can turn into big ones when weight is applied. Or worse, the scale can crack beneath you and cover your feet in sharp glass shards. Using a scale, smart or not, should not require a surprise trip to the emergency room. If your smart scale looks damaged, step on it at your own peril. Always take great care to put it away carefully so as to not damage it. And above all, never exceed a smart scale’s weight capacity. And once you’re ready to upgrade, here is our guide to how to recycle electronics.
FAQs
Q: How much do smart scales cost?
In general, smart scales cost anywhere from just over $20 up to a couple of hundred dollars. Our budget pick, RENPHO Body Fat Smart Scale, and the QardioBase2 cover the price gamut pretty well, from the low end to the higher end.
Q: Are smart scales accurate for body fat?
According to Healthline, smart scale accuracy can vary wildly depending on height, sex, and workout habits, along with the build of your device.
Q: Are smart scales worth it?
If all you monitor is your weight, a regular scale may be more than enough for your needs. However, if you’re determined to make big fitness goals for the future, a smart scale can not only monitor progress but provide plenty of insight into your health.
Q: How accurate are smart scales?
Accuracy varies from scale to scale and person to person, but in general, premium build scales like the QardioBase2 offer an edge when it comes to accuracy.
Q: What do smart scales do?
Smart scales help you monitor your weight, BMI, BMR, body composition, and other things like muscle mass, depending on your scale.
Q: Do smart scales need WiFi?
Not always, but because smart scales work in tandem with smartphone apps, they do need to be able to connect to devices via WiFi or Bluetooth.
Final Thoughts on Smart Scales
The best smart scales aren’t for everyone, but they’re a fantastic tool for anyone looking to get deeper insights into their body composition. They’re also great for making and sticking to fitness goals big and small. For the absolute best, most accurate, and gorgeous-looking smart scale that smiles back, the QardioBase2 is your best bet. However, if you don’t want to spend an arm and a leg, our budget choice, the RENPHO Body Fat Smart Scale will get you pretty close. The WYZE Smart Scale also packs a surprising amount of features in it, for just a few dollars more.
This post was created by a non-news editorial team at Recurrent Media, Futurism’s owner. Futurism may receive a portion of sales on products linked within this post.
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