Fitbit Inspire vs Inspire HR (3 Major Differences)
If you’re thinking about buying a Fitbit Inspire or Fitbit Inspire HR, you’ll definitely want to know what’s the difference between these two Fitbit fitness trackers.
In this detailed and skimmable Fitbit Inspire vs Inspire HR comparison, I discuss the differences in design, features, accuracy, and a few alternatives you might want to consider. Ideally helping you decide which is the best fitness tracker for you.
Comparison Notes:
I purchased a Fitbit Inspire and a Fitbit Inspire HR from Fitbit.com at the retail price with my own money, and this comparison is based on my own personal experience wearing and using the Fitbit Inspire and Fitbit Inspire HR.
My aim is for this to be the most comprehensive Fitbit Inspire vs Inspire HR comparison on the internet.
Note: If you use a link below to make a purchase, I may earn an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. Learn more about affiliate links
Table of Contents
Fitbit Inspire vs Inspire HR: Design
Style & Materials
- Style type: Wristband
- Housing material: Plastic
- Can be worn in a clip?: Inspire only
- Interchangeable bands:
- Band material: Elastomer (Inspire) / Silicone (Inspire HR)
- Band closure: Peg-and-loop (Inspire) / Buckle-and-tang (Inspire HR)
The style of the Fitbit Inspire and Inspire HR fitness trackers is that of a wristband, where the display is rectangular and the same width as the band.
They also both have a slim design that can make it feel like you’re wearing more of a bracelet than a fitness tracker (or even make you forget you’re wearing anything on your wrist at all).
The housing of Fitbit Inspire and Inspire HR trackers are both made of plastic.
Both the Fitbit Inspire and Inspire HR have bands that are interchangeable, which means they can be swapped out for bands of different colors or materials.
The band attachment mechanism is proprietary, so only bands that are designed for the Inspire or Inspire HR will fit. (To be clear, bands that fit the Inspire will also fit the Inspire HR, and vice versa.)
A potentially significant difference is that the band that comes with the Fitbit Inspire HR is made of a softer, more flexible material. It also has a more traditional buckle-and-tang closure type, which I personally find much easier to fasten than the peg-and-loop closure type that the Fitbit Inspire band has.
Another difference is that Fitbit Inspire is able to be worn in a clip that you can put in your pocket (clip accessory sold separately). However, Fitbit Inspire HR is not compatible with the clip accessory, and Fitbit does not recommend trying to wear the Inspire HR this way.
Winner: Depends (Fitbit Inspire HR has a softer, more flexible band that is also easier to fasten, but Fitbit Inspire can be worn in a clip)
Size & Weight
- Length: 1.47 inches (37.4 mm)
- Width: 0.66 inches (16.8 mm)
- Thickness: 0.46 inches (11.6 mm)
- Weight: 0.013 pounds (6 grams)
- Length: 1.47 inches (37.3 mm)
- Width: 0.66 inches (16.7 mm)
- Thickness: 0.5 inches (12.6 mm)
- Weight: 0.015 pounds (7 grams)
I used a digital caliper and a scale to measure the dimensions and weight of my own personal Fitbit Inspire and Fitbit Inspire HR.
The size or dimensions of the Fitbit Inspire tracker (not including the band sections) is 1.47 inches in length (top to bottom), 0.66 inches in width (left to right), and 0.46 inches thick.
The weight of the Fitbit Inspire tracker (not including the band sections) is 0.013 pounds or 6 grams.
The size or dimensions of the Fitbit Inspire HR tracker (not including the band sections) is 1.47 inches in length (top to bottom), 0.66 inches in width (left to right), and 0.5 inches thick.
The weight of the Fitbit Inspire tracker HR (not including the band sections) is 0.015 pounds or 7 grams.
In comparison, Fitbit Inspire HR is one millimeter thicker and one gram heavier than Fitbit Inspire, with the exact same length and width. So, they are roughly the same size (and you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference without measuring).
Winner: Tie
Water Resistance Rating
- Can be worn while swimming?
- Fully waterproof?
Like most other modern wearables, both Fitbit Inspire and Inspire HR are water resistant up to a point, but they are not fully waterproof.
You’ll often hear them referred to as swimproof. This is because both Inspire and Inspire HR are suitable for shallow water activities like swimming, but they are not suitable for all water activities.
The official Fitbit Inspire and Inspire HR water resistance rating is that they are water resistant up to a depth of 50m (164ft) or a water pressure of up to 5 ATM.
This means you can wear them while swimming or snorkeling, but not while scuba diving or participating in high-velocity water sports like water skiing.
Fitbit does not recommend wearing your Inspire or Inspire HR in a hot tub or sauna.
Click here for a more in-depth discussion of Water Resistance Ratings
Winner: Tie
Display
- Touchscreen:
- Always-on display option?
- Screen timeout duration 5 seconds
- Easy to read in bright sunlight?
Both Fitbit Inspire and Inspire HR have the same easy to use OLED touchscreen display. Neither have a color display, however, they both have a greyscale display.
The greyscale display can help distinguish some of the text on the display as more primary (white) or secondary (grey), however, I have noticed that the grey can be harder to read outside in the sunlight.
Many people find that the Fitbit Charge 4 display is too hard to read in bright sunlight.
Neither Fitbit Inspire or Inspire HR has the ability to use 3rd party clock faces or have an always-on display. You also cannot adjust the brightness of the display.
Some people also consider it a deal-breaker that the notification font size is too small and not able to be made larger.
Another potential deal-breaker is that the display will go blank after only 5 seconds and there is no way to increase the duration that the screen stays on.
Winner: Tie
Clock Faces
- Customizable:
- 3rd Party:
Fitbit Charge 4 has a total of 24 clock faces to choose from.
They are not customizable and there is no ability to use third-party clock faces.
There are no exclusive clock faces, so all 24 options are available whether you have the regular Fitbit Charge 4 or the Fitbit Charge 4 Special Edition.
Interaction
- Touchscreen display:
- # of buttons: 1
The two main ways you can interact with both the Fitbit Inspire and Inspire HR are via a touchscreen display and a single button on the left side of the tracker.
Two other ways you can interact with both the Fitbit Inspire and Inspire HR are used to wake up the display. First, you can double-tap the screen to make the text appear. And, second, you can activate the display with a “wrist flip”.
The wrist flip functionality is actually a feature called “Screen Wake” that you can enable or disable in the Quick Settings (which can be accessed by pressing and holding the button for two seconds).
Winner: Tie
Sensors & Components
- Optical Heart Sensor: Inspire HR only
- Altimeter:
The most obvious difference between Fitbit Inspire and Fitbit Inspire HR is that Fitbit Inspire HR has an optical heart sensor that allows for 24/7 heart rate tracking, while Fitbit Inspire doesn’t have any ability to track heart rate.
It is also important to note that neither Fitbit Inspire nor Fitbit Inspire HR contain an altimeter, so neither fitness tracker can provide an estimate of the number of floors climbed per day (nor elevation gain during a workout).
Winner: Fitbit Inspire HR (for having an optical heart sensor)
Battery Life
- Battery life: Up to 5 days
- Can be turned off?
Fitbit Inspire and Inspire HR both have a stated battery life of “Up to 5 days”.
It is also important to note that there is no way to turn off either Fitbit Inspire or Inspire HR.
So, if you’re not going to be wearing your tracker for a while, your only option is to let the battery drain completely to 0% (which isn’t particularly great for the battery long-term).
Winner: Tie
Charger
- Charger type: Magnetic
- Connector type: USB Type-A
Fitbit Inspire and Inspire HR share the exact same charging cable.
Unfortunately, it is yet another proprietary charging cable that won’t work with any other device (except Fitbit Ace 2, a fitness tracker meant to be worn by kids).
The Fitbit Inspire and Inspire HR charging cable attaches magnetically to the back of the tracker.
The other side of the charging cable has a USB Type-A connector that can be used with a compatible power source or wall adapter.
From end-to-end, the Fitbit Inspire and Inspire HR charger measures only 7 inches in length.
It takes approximately 2 hours to charge fully (from 0% to 100%) and it is not capable of fast-charging.
Winner: Tie
Colors
Bands
- Small size: 5.5″ – 7.1″
- Large size: 7.1″ – 8.7″
- Easy to change?
Fitbit Charge 4 has a total of 18 official bands to choose from in varying colors and materials (classic, sport, woven, and leather).
Both Fitbit Inspire and Inspire HR bands are pretty easy to remove and put back in.
It is important to note that Charge 3 bands will fit the Charge 4, but Charge 2 bands will not fit the Charge 4.
The small size bands should fit wrists 5.5″ to 7.1″ in circumference.
The large size bands should fit wrists 7.1″ to 8.7″ in circumference.
Fitbit Inspire vs Inspire HR: Features
All-Day Activity Features
- Steps:
- Distance:
- Calories Burned:
- Floors Climbed:
- Active Minutes:
Fitbit Inspire and Inspire HR can both track your all-day activity including steps, distance, total calories burned, and active minutes.
However, both Fitbit Inspire and Inspire HR lack an altimeter, so neither can track your floors climbed.
Winner: Tie
Heart Rate Features
- 24/7 Heart Rate Tracking: Inspire HR only
- Resting Heart Rate: Inspire HR only
The most obvious difference between the Fitbit Inspire and Inspire HR is that the Fitbit Inspire does not have an optical heart sensor, while the Inspire HR does.
(See below for other features that are dependent on the optical heart sensor.)
Winner: Fitbit Inspire HR (for being able to track heart rate)
Exercise Features
- Steps:
- Distance:
- Calories Burned:
- Floors Climbed:
- Active Minutes:
Fitbit Inspire and Inspire HR can both track your all-day activity including steps, distance, total calories burned, and active minutes.
However, both Fitbit Inspire and Inspire HR lack an altimeter, so neither can track your floors climbed.
Winner: Fitbit Inspire HR
Sleep Features
- Steps:
- Distance:
- Calories Burned:
- Floors Climbed:
- Active Minutes:
Fitbit Inspire and Inspire HR can both track your all-day activity including steps, distance, total calories burned, and active minutes.
However, both Fitbit Inspire and Inspire HR lack an altimeter, so neither can track your floors climbed.
Winner: Fitbit Inspire HR
Smart Features
- Steps:
- Distance:
- Calories Burned:
- Floors Climbed:
- Active Minutes:
Fitbit Inspire and Inspire HR can both track your all-day activity including steps, distance, total calories burned, and active minutes.
However, both Fitbit Inspire and Inspire HR lack an altimeter, so neither can track your floors climbed.
Winner: Fitbit Inspire HR
Health & Fitness Features
- Steps:
- Distance:
- Calories Burned:
- Floors Climbed:
- Active Minutes:
Fitbit Inspire and Inspire HR can both track your all-day activity including steps, distance, total calories burned, and active minutes.
However, both Fitbit Inspire and Inspire HR lack an altimeter, so neither can track your floors climbed.
Winner: Fitbit Inspire HR
Social Features
The Fitbit companion app for both the Inspire and Inspire HR allows you to add friends and compare your step counts in a rolling 7-day leaderboard. You can also create challenges with some or all of your friends to see who can take the most steps in a day, workweek, or weekend.
If you want some extra motivation you can try Fitbit’s Adventures and take a virtual hike with your daily steps, or discover like-minded people through topic-specific communities with Fitbit Groups. Fitbit even has their own Feed where you can see updates from your friends and groups.
Winner: Tie
Fitbit Inspire vs Inspire HR: Accuracy
All-Day Activity Accuracy
- Steps:
- Distance:
- Calories Burned:
- Floors Climbed:
- Active Minutes:
Fitbit Inspire and Inspire HR can both track your all-day activity including steps, distance, total calories burned, and active minutes.
However, both Fitbit Inspire and Inspire HR lack an altimeter, so neither can track your floors climbed.
Winner: Tie
Heart Rate Accuracy
- 24/7 Heart Rate Tracking: Inspire HR only
- Resting Heart Rate: Inspire HR only
The most obvious difference between the Fitbit Inspire and Inspire HR is that the Fitbit Inspire does not have an optical heart sensor, while the Inspire HR does.
See below for other features that are dependent on heart rate.
Winner: Fitbit Inspire HR
Sleep Accuracy
- Steps:
- Distance:
- Calories Burned:
- Floors Climbed:
- Active Minutes:
Fitbit Inspire and Inspire HR can both track your all-day activity including steps, distance, total calories burned, and active minutes.
However, both Fitbit Inspire and Inspire HR lack an altimeter, so neither can track your floors climbed.
Winner: Fitbit Inspire HR
Fitbit Inspire vs Inspire HR: Specs
Fitbit Inspire vs Inspire HR: Alternatives
Fitbit Inspire vs Inspire HR: Summary
Features
Both the Fitbit Inspire and Inspire HR are waterproof and have interchangeable bands.
The Fitbit Inspire HR also has 24/7 heart rate tracking and can connect to your phone’s GPS to give you real-time pace and distance during your workout as well as a map of your route that you can view in the app after your workout.
Neither tracker has music storage or playback, payments, or an SpO2 sensor nor can they connect to an external heart rate monitor (like a chest strap).
Exercise Features
Both the Fitbit Inspire and Inspire HR can automatically detect certain exercises, including pool swimming.
Only the Fitbit Inspire HR can track your heart rate, track multi-sport exercises and show you stats during your workout, and start a workout based on a goal (time, distance, or calories). You can also see post-workout summaries, your minutes in each heart rate zone, and your cardio fitness level estimation.
Neither tracker has customizable alerts during exercise or on-screen workouts, nor can either track open-water swimming.
Winner: Fitbit Inspire HR (for having Multi-sport exercise tracking, Goal-based exercise tracking, Post workout on-screen summaries, Minutes in heart rate zones, and Cardio fitness level, and Heart rate tracking)
Sleep Features
Fitbit trackers are easily the best wearables for tracking your sleep and the slim designs of the Inspire and Inspire HR might even make you forget you’re wearing something on your wrist while you sleep.
Both trackers can track your sleep automatically and wake you with a quiet vibration. Additionally, the Fitbit app can help you set a Sleep Schedule, give you a Bedtime Reminder, and provide some basic Sleep Insights.
The Fitbit Inspire HR and its 24/7 continuous heart rate monitoring makes it a much better sleep tracker over the Fitbit Inspire. You’re sleep tracking will be more accurate, you’ll get Sleep Stages, and you can monitor changes to your Resting Heart Rate over time.
Finally, in case you were wondering, neither the Fitbit Inspire nor the Inspire HR have a relative SpO2 sensor.
Winner: Fitbit Inspire HR (for having Sleep Stages, Resting Heart Rate, and more accurate sleep tracking)
Smart Features
With both the Fitbit Inspire and Inspire HR you can set a timer or stopwatch, view call, text, and calendar alerts, and see all your smartphone app notifications. However, neither tracker is able to accept or reject phone calls or send quick text replies.
Winner: Tie
Wellness Features
You’ll get Reminders to Move on both the Fitbit Inspire and Inspire HR as well as the ability to customize the reminders and see your Hourly Activity history in the Fitbit companion app.
The app for both trackers also allows you to log your food, water, and weight.
Additionally, females can use the Fitbit app to track periods, record symptoms, see a predicted ovulation calendar and more.
Guided Breathing sessions, however, are only available on the Fitbit Inspire HR.
Winner: Fitbit Inspire HR (for having Guided Breathing)
Specs
 |  |
|
|---|---|---|
| Fitbit Inspire HR | Fitbit Inspire | |
Price (i)Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price | $99 | $69 |
| Battery Life (i) | Up to 5 days | Up to 5 days |
| Compatibility (i) | View Devices | View Devices |
| Release Date | March 2019 | March 2019 |
| Predecessor | Fitbit Alta HR | Fitbit Alta |
| Successor | — | — |
| Body | Fitbit Inspire HR | Fitbit Inspire |
| Style | Wristband | Wristband |
| Interchangeable Bands | | |
| Water Resistant (i) | Yes, up to 50 meters | Yes, up to 50 meters |
| Display | Fitbit Inspire HR | Fitbit Inspire |
| Type | OLED | OLED |
| Color | | |
| Touchscreen | | |
| Adjustable Brightness | | |
| Always-on Display | | |
| Sleep Mode (i) | | |
| Watch Face | Fitbit Inspire HR | Fitbit Inspire |
| 3rd Party Watch Faces | | |
| Customizable Watch Faces | | |
| Sensors | Fitbit Inspire HR | Fitbit Inspire |
| Optical Heart Rate Monitor | | |
| Built-in GPS | | |
| Altimeter (i) | | |
| Pulse Oximeter (SpO2) (i) | | |
| All-Day Activity | Fitbit Inspire HR | Fitbit Inspire |
| Steps | | |
| Distance | | |
| Floors Climbed | | |
| Calories Burned | | |
| Activity Minutes | | |
| Reminders to Move | | |
| Exercise | Fitbit Inspire HR | Fitbit Inspire |
| Automatic Exercise Detection | | |
| Multi-Sport Exercise Modes | | |
| Goal-Based Exercise (i) | | |
| Customizable Data Fields | | |
| Built-in GPS | | |
| Connected GPS (i) | | |
| VO2 Max (i) | | |
| Swim Tracking | | |
| Sleep | Fitbit Inspire HR | Fitbit Inspire |
| Hours Slept | | |
| Sleep Stages | | |
| Sleep Score | | |
| Resting Heart Rate | | |
| Silent Alarms | | |
| Smart Wake | | |
| Wellness | Fitbit Inspire HR | Fitbit Inspire |
| Guided Breathing | | |
| Female Health Tracking | Yes, in app | Yes, in app |
| Weight Logging | Yes, in app | Yes, in app |
| Water Logging | Yes, in app | Yes, in app |
| Food Logging | Yes, in app | Yes, in app |
| Social | Fitbit Inspire HR | Fitbit Inspire |
| Friends | Yes, in app | Yes, in app |
| Challenges | Yes, in app | Yes, in app |
| Groups | Yes, in app | Yes, in app |
| Adventures | Yes, in app | Yes, in app |
| Notifications | Fitbit Inspire HR | Fitbit Inspire |
| Call Notifications | | |
| Accept/Reject Calls | | |
| Text Notifications | | |
| Quick Text Replies | | |
| Email Notifications | | |
| Calender Notifications | | |
| All Smartphone Notifications | | |
| Apps | Fitbit Inspire HR | Fitbit Inspire |
| Alarms | | |
| Timer | | |
| Stopwatch | | |
| Weather | | |
| 3rd Party Apps | | |
| Music | Fitbit Inspire HR | Fitbit Inspire |
| Smartphone Playback Control | | |
| Music Storage and Playback | | |
| Payments & Transit | Fitbit Inspire HR | Fitbit Inspire |
| Contactless Payments | | |
| Pay for Transit | | |
Final Thoughts
The Fitbit Inspire HR is an impressive upgrade from the Alta HR, especially considering that it’s being offered at a significantly cheaper price. It’s also easily Fitbit’s best fitness tracker under $100 and is a great, cheaper alternative to the Fitbit Charge 3 if you don’t need the extra features.
If you don’t need heart rate tracking and don’t care to see stats about your exercise while you’re exercising and you want to save even more money, the Fitbit Inspire is the best cheap Fitbit you can buy in 2019.
I am happy with my purchase and really like the Fitbit Inspire HR for its slim design and having a quite full feature set for a great price. The Fitbit Inspire is a great fitness tracker also, but not having the ability to start a workout from my tracker and see stats like current heart rate and elapsed time is a deal-breaker for me.
Best Fitbit Fitness Tracker Under $100
Fitbit Inspire HR
If you’re on a budget or you prefer the look of a fitness tracker to a smartwatch, it’s hard to go wrong with the Fitbit Inspire HR. You’ll get a slim, swim-proof tracker that can optionally display your smartphone app notifications directly on your wrist.
Best Cheap Fitbit
Fitbit Inspire
If you want the best cheap Fitbit, it’s hard to go wrong with the Fitbit Inspire. You’ll get a slim, swim-proof tracker that can optionally display your smartphone app notifications directly on your wrist.