Fitbit doesn’t rank at the top of Apple on my list of wearable brands. But it offers free tools under one umbrella with the option to upgrade to premium. The only question is, is Fitbit Premium worth it in the first place?
Fitbit Premium may be worth if you need access to advanced tools and expert guidance. Going for $9.99 per month, the Premium plan gives you access to guided programs, sleep tools, health coaching, dynamic workouts, stress and mindfulness, and games and challenges.
The goal of Fitbit Premium is simple:
With it, you get access to features designed to help you reach your fitness goals.
And given that Fitbit has optimized the service for ease of engagement and self-motivation, it just might be worth it after all.
What is Fitbit Premium?
Fitbit Premium is a membership service that uses data collected from a Fitbit fitness tracker or smartwatch to provide you with personalized guidance and coaching.
From its initial launch to this day, the goal of Fitbit Premium has been to help subscribers set, work toward, and meet their fitness and wellness target.
If you want to find more motivation on your day-to-day workout, you might want to consider trying this service.
How Much is the Fitbit Premium?
I must say the Fitbit Premium service comes at a fair price bearing in mind that you get all the premium service served right from your wrist.
Premium membership on the platform costs $9.99 per month. Or you can pay $79.99 annually for a full year subscription.
You can access and pay for the Fitbit Premium service through the in-app purchases.
In addition, you can combine Fitbit Premium with Health Coaching, which is a reasonable deal if you intend to exercise more.
Sadly, I find the Health Coaching feature to be unreliable in two ways:
- You can’t access Health Coaching if you live outside the United States.
- Health Coaching costs $45 per month, which is very expensive in my opinion.
Is It Worth Getting Premium on Fitbit?
To determine whether it’s worth getting the Fitbit Premium subscription or not, you first have to look at what you get for the paid membership.
Generally, premium members can access advanced fitness and wellness features, but that’s not to say the free version of the app isn’t as useful.
To me, being a paid Fitbit user means getting the most out of guided program, sleep tools, challenges, advanced insights, and health metric dashboard.
1. Guided Programs
The purpose of Guided Programs on Fitbit Premium is to:
- Ensure you are sleeping better.
- Keep you on toes so that you move more.
- Teach you the right way of breathing.
- Ensure that you are eating well.
Interestingly, each guided program include reminders, which can be quite handy in ensuring you become more accountable.
With the 15+ systematic programs in the Fitbit Premium offer, you can train yourself to eat well, workout the right way, and sleep better.
2. Sleep Tools
With Fitbit Premium, you will understand your sleep behavior using the sleep score breakdown, which is available every morning when you get out of bed.
The Fitbit Premium sleep tool is an option to consider if you have a problem finding your way into sleep, and that’s because it includes useful guided sleep programs.
Although Fitbit standard users will also access the Sleep Score feature, they won’t have access to in-depth details such as sleeping heart rate.
And as far as sleep optimization is concerned, Fitbit Premium is worth every cent.
3. Challenges and Adventures
If you’re a Fitbit’s standard user, you can access Challenges and Adventures. However, you won’t get as many option as those subscribed to the premium option.
Fitbit includes a custom challenge option to allow premium users to choose the metrics they prefer.
What’s more?
A premium member can complete against other premium members for a set period.
One of the top games in the Challenges and Adventures repository, which also doubles as my favorite example, is the Fit Bingo where each member needs a Bingo card to compete.
4. Workouts
The Fitbit Premium service enrolled Fitbit Coach under Dynamic Workouts.
These days, premium members have access to exercise plans from Fitbit and from platforms such as Daily Burn and Barre3.
A premium subscription gets you access to over 200 workout audios and videos. Some of the best examples include:
- Yoga
- HIIT
- Core Crush
- Push Up Prep
- Get Moving
- Beginner Bodyweight
If you choose to become a Fitbit Premium subscriber, you will also get access to over 100 mindful sessions.
5. Health Metrics Dashboard
Health Metrics Dashboard is available to free and premium members on Fitbit – with a twist on what both membership levels can access.
If you’re a free user, you can only use the Health Metrics Dashboard to track sleep, wellness, activities, nutrition, and weight.
You will have to upgrade to Fitbit Premium if you want to access more stats from the Health Metrics Dashboard.
In my eyes, the Health Metric Dashboard is a real estate that makes the premium membership worth the asking price.
And you know why?
Because you get access to advanced health features, which you can’t find anywhere else, including heart rate, SpO2, body/skin temperature, breathing rate, and heart rate variability.
Also, you’ll get a detailed view of your skin temperature with breakdowns.
You should access your fitness and wellness metric from the watch or the dashboard whether you’re a premium or a free Health Metrics Dashboard user.
6. Advanced Insights
If you upgrade to premium membership, you’ll get an in-depth insights on your average activities and insights on specific activities.
In addition, the Advanced Insights offer ways to improve your active minutes, sleep, Fitbit heart rate, wellness, and steps.
If you use a device such as Fitbit Sense, you’ll get access to advance stress management tool, an important feature that shows you your Stress Management Score Breakdown in the simplest form.
As a user not subscribed to the Fitbit Premium service you get a general insight into your nutrition, sleep, and workouts, which isn’t bad especially if you’re just getting started with using a Fitbit.
Note that wellness report stats from the Advanced Insights are available only to the premium members.
With such details, you can easily determine whether you have a health condition and begin to manage your conditions.
7. Health Coaching
Health Coaching is another feature introduced to the Fitbit Premium level.
Unfortunately, Fitbit charges for this service separately. So in addition to the monthly premium subscription fee, you’ll pay additional to access Health Coaching.
Formerly Fitbit Coach, the Health Coaching program connects you with qualified health and fitness instructors who will help you meet your fitness targets.
You get the opportunity to receive expert answers and pieces of advice, chat with coaches in real-time, and have one-on-on guidance.
Fitbit Premium vs Free: What’s the Difference?
The following table is a summary of the difference between Fitbit Premium and the free version of the service:
| Fitbit Premium | Free Fitbit Plan | |
| 1. | It costs $9.99 a month, or $79.99 a year in the US and £7.99 a month or £79.99 a year in the UK. | This option costs $0. |
| 2. | You get access to advanced insights into their sleep, heart rate, active minutes, nutrition, and water intake. | Users only get an overview of their weight, sleep, heart rate, and nutrition. |
| 3. | A user with Fitbit Sense subscribed to the premium service can track stress. | A user with Fitbit Sense on a regular account can’t monitor stress. |
| 4. | You get access to unlimited Fitbit Challenges and Games. | You get access to limited Challenges and Games. |
| 5. | You get access to certified health and wellness coaches to help them achieve a targeted goal | Regular subscribers are not able to access health and wellness coaches |
If you’re a paying subscriber but you would like to pause using the service, you can cancel Fitbit premium any time you want.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Can I use Fitbit Premium on My Computer?
You can use the Fitbit Premium service on your computer.
All you have to do is to download the Fitbit app to your computer, preferably via the Microsoft Store.
2. What Extra Features does Fitbit Premium Have?
The extra features available on the Fitbit Premium is the Health Coaching Program.
It’s through this program that you get in touch with certified health and wellness coaches for one-on-one workouts and health and fitness advice.
3. Do I Need Fitbit Premium to Track Sleep?
Fitbit regular will only provide you with overall insight into your sleep. If you want in-depth insights into your sleep then consider joining the Fitbit Premium Service.
Here is a simple table to help you understand more about sleep insight in Fitbit Premium and Fitbit Free:
| Fitbit Premium | Fitbit Free | ||
| 1. | Duration of Sleep | Yes | Yes |
| 2. | Analysis of Sleep Duration | Yes | No |
| 3. | Restoration | Yes | No |
| 4. | Sleeping Heart Rate & Restlessness Analysis | Yes | No |
| 5. | Sleep Quality (Deep & REM sleep stages) | Yes | Yes |
| 6. | Sleep Stage Analysis | Yes | No |
| 7. | Sleep Schedule | Yes | Yes |
4. Is Fitbit Premium Required for ECG?
Smartwatches and Activity Trackers like Fitbit Sense, Fitbit Charge 5, Fitbit Inspire, Fitbit Versa 3, Fitbit Luxe and Fitbit Versa 2 have the ECG sensor.
If you’re a user with a Fitbit that can read ECG, you will need to have a premium subscription to get access advanced ECG readings.
Final Thoughts
Fitbit Premium gives you access to more features and tools that you can use to monitor advanced stats and take your health and fitness to the next level.
Given how advanced the Premium option is, it might be worth upgrading your account if you need more than what you get from the free version.
