I walked 6,000 steps with the Fitbit Edge vs Apple Watch 12 — and I'm shocked by the results

I walked exactly 6,094 steps wearing the Fitbit Edge on my left wrist and the Apple Watch Series 12 on my right wrist to find out which is the more accurate fitness tracker.

My 55-minute walk also included just under 500 feet of elevation gain with roughly three miles of ground covered. As a control, I separately logged my walk using the Strava app on my iPhone 16 Plus.

Find the results of my Fitbit Edge versus Apple Watch Series 12 head-to-head fitness tracking performance test below, along with the five biggest takeaways from the data.

Fitbit Edge vs. Apple Watch 12

But first, it's worth calling out key differences in terms of cost, features, and intended user between these two modern devices. For instance, when it comes to full-featured wearables, the Apple Watch 12 is one of the best smartwatches you can buy.

The Fitbit Edge, meanwhile, has essentially zero smart features, but is still among the best fitness trackers on the market because it offers reliable, distraction-free holistic insights. Cost-wise, the Fitbit Edge starts at $179, and the Apple Watch 12 starts at $399.

While the Apple Watch 12 is for iOS users only, the Fitbit Edge brings Google's best health and fitness features to both Android and iOS devices.

Ultimately, when it comes to onboard holistic and tracking tech, the two are fairly evenly matched: Both models have GPS, barometric altimeters, and continuous heart rate monitors.

With that out of the way, on to the test results!

I walked 6,000 steps with the Fitbit Edge vs Apple Watch 12

1. Fitbit's step count is closer to the control

I walked precisely 6,094 steps during my 55-minute walk, according to the control data logged by Strava, a tally that the Fitbit Edge came ridiculously close to matching.

In terms of accuracy in these comparisons, my rule of thumb is that any step count within 100 steps of the control is excellent and well within a reasonable margin of error. With that in mind, Apple and Fitbit each performed seriously well. But while Apple undercounted by only 41 steps, the Fitbit Edge came within 15 steps of my actual total.

2. But Apple's total distance is more accurate

On the flip side, when it came to correctly logging my total distance, the Apple Watch Series 12 proved more accurate than the Fitbit Edge, with a tally that's just 0.06 miles off from Strava's measure.

The Fitbit Edge didn't do too badly, though, coming within 0.13 miles of the control data, a result I still deem more than acceptable.

3. Fitbit's climb data is spot-on

I just published my Fitbit Edge review, and one of the upgrades I'm most excited for is the onboard barometric altimeter for precise elevation tracking. The Edge's predecessor, 2023's Fitbit Charge 6, lacked this important piece of tech. While some wearables try to roughly calculate climb using GPS data, the Charge 6 never did.

The upgrade definitely paid off, because the Fitbit Edge logs uphill efforts with impressive reliability. For this test, the Edge's climb data is within four feet of the control. The Apple Watch 12, meanwhile, proved a little more generous with its climb data, a trend I've noted several times before in similar head-to-heads.

4. Apple's average heart rate is slightly higher than expected

I'm not sure if the Apple Watch 12 wasn't worn tightly enough (or maybe too tightly), but the logged average heart rate of 133 bpm for this brisk yet not overly demanding walk is slightly higher than I expected, especially when compared to heart rate data from walks of similar effort (~120 bpm tends to be my average).

That said, the Fitbit Edge's average heart rate is slightly lower than anticipated, though the max pace is much more aligned with what I've come to expect from such a workout.

5. Apple's pace is closer to the control, but Fitbit wins overall

Finally, Apple's average pace data is much more closely aligned with Strava's. Fitbit's tally, meanwhile, I'd label as "slower than expected," especially given the fact that I was moving briskly and barely paused at any point during the walk.

That said, the Edge logged several additional minutes of workout time compared to Strava and Apple (it was the last device I ended my workout on), which might be the reason for the sluggishness.

Ultimately, pace aside, I'm calling the Fitbit Edge the winner for this head-to-head fitness tracking showdown versus the Apple Watch Series 12. Not only did the Edge log a more accurate step count, but it also beat Apple at logging my climb and heart rate (even if the Apple Watch was closer in terms of distance and pace).

Of course, I'd happily trust either device as my daily fitness tracker. Which begs the question: Which of these two 2026 wearables would you rather own? Let me know in the poll below.

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