Garmin Vivofit 2 vs Fitbit Charge: Difference and Comparison

In the contemporary world, taking care of your fitness is available on the wrist itself. The fitness tracker offers features like sleep quality, step-taking, calorie intake, and heart rate monitoring.

A fitness tracker is the best gadget to manage and track all these factors and lead to a healthier lifestyle.  

Regarding fitness devices, Garmin and Fitbit are two of the brands that receive the most attention.

If someone is planning to get fit, then these two are better options. Both devices are fitted with functionality, but there are several distinctions between them. 

Key Takeaways

1. Garmin Vivofit 2 has a longer battery life than Fitbit Charge.
2. Fitbit Charge offers more heart rate monitoring and GPS tracking features than Garmin Vivofit 2.
3. Garmin Vivofit 2 is more affordable than Fitbit Charge.

Garmin Vivofit 2 vs Fitbit Charge 

The Garmin Vivofit 2 is a band-like fitness tracker with a display screen that shows information like the number of steps taken, etc. It is waterproof and has longer battery life. Fitbit charge has more built-in features like a GPS tracking system, heart rate monitoring along with other information.

Garmin Vivofit 2 is offered by a brand name, Garmin. Its headquarter is in Switzerland, but it is an American multinational company. Gary Burrell and Min Kao in the year 1989 founded this company.

The former name of this brand was ProNav, but later renamed Garmin, which is a mashup of the founder’s name.  

Fitbit Charge is offered by a company, namely Fitbit. It is an American company that has headquarters in San Francisco, California.

James Park and Eric Friedman founded Fitbit in 2007. In 2014, this brand faced controversy with Fitbit Force. 

Comparison Table

Parameters of Comparison	Garmin Vivofit 2	Fitbit Charge
Brand	Garmin	Fitbit
Sync	USB	Bluetooth and USB
Waterproof depth rating	10m	50m
Heart rate monitor	Have	Don’t have
Passcode	Cannot set	Can set

What is Garmin Vivofit 2? 

The Vivofit 2 is an activity tracker based on the wrist. It can measure distance travelled, sleep at night, calories burned and steps taken throughout the day.

The original Vivofit model features a backlight, stopwatch function, and audible alerts. Most good trackers include a silent alarm feature with a light vibration, but it lacks this feature.  

This model is considered bulkier compared to the Fitbit charge and Jawbone Up 2, but Vivofit 2 still feels comfortable and light on the wrist.

It is water-resistant, with about 50 meters of pressure which can be worn while swimming and in the shower. Garmin has a variety of different colours and designs with a few metal options too.  

It uses two replaceable coin cell batteries, namely CRI623, that last more than a year. There is no need to worry about charging the tracker for once.

While there is no need to remember about USB chargers or clunky dongles, just unscrew the back cover, and when the battery runs out of juice, then manually replace it.  

Vivofit 2 is good for checking the time without lifting the wrist and pressing a button. It is also easier to see in direct sunlight. There is a single button located on the strap with the help of that button, date, activity data, and time can be scrolled at once. 

What is Fitbit Charge? 

The Fitbit Charge has a glowing OLED readout vivid and shows steps taken, time, distance travelled, flights of stairs climbed, and estimated calories burned.

To read the display, there is a need to give hard double tap on the screen or push a side button, otherwise, it stays dark for power conservation.  

Fitbit Charge is not meant to wear all time because it is not water-resistant enough for swimming or showering. It feels so light, and sometimes it can create a problem by not taking it off. The Fitbit Charge applications are well-designed, but it feels a little dated in comparison to the competition.  

The Fitbit Charge uses a USB charge dongle for charging. Underneath the band, there is a small plug pop. Fitbit Charge can be synced wirelessly to Windows apps, iOS or Android or manually synced to a Mac or PC.   

Among fitness trackers, Fitbit Charge is well known for step counting. Monthly active exercise, daily step counts, and night sleep are easily scanned with clean graphs. But Fitbit Charge applications lack intelligent insight-based coaching. 

Main Differences Between Garmin Vivofit 2 and Fitbit Charge  

1. Garmin Vivofit 2 has a sleek and sexy design with straps that can be interchanged, while Fitbit Charge also has a sexy and sleek design but lacks interchangeable straps.  
2. Garmin Vivofit 2 offers a “dull-ish” LCD along with a dim backlight. But Fitbit Charge features an attractive OLED display along with a backlight for nighttime strolls.  
3. Garmin Vivofit 2 has a 1-year battery life which is magnificent, but it does not have a rechargeable battery, whereas Fitbit Charge has a battery life of around five days with a rechargeable battery.  
4. Garmin Vivofit 2 features dull and unmotivating notifications and can be critical in self-motivation. On the other hand, the Fitbit Charge offers great notifications.  
5. Regarding applications, Garmin Vivofit 2 does not have great apps, but it provides all the required functions, whereas Fitbit Charge offers excellent apps that cannot be denied. 

References

1. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/sms.13074
2. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02640414.2017.1412235