Finding an Accurate Pedometer for Counting Your Steps Menu Verywell Fit Nutrition Weight Management Nutrition Facts Nutrition Basics Diets Meal Plans Meal Delivery Services View All News Fitness and Nutrition What to Buy How We Test Products Fitness Gear Nutrition Products Tools Recipe Nutrition Calculator Weight Loss Calorie Goal BMI Calculator Body Fat Percentage Calculator Calories Burned by Activity Daily Calories Burned Pace Calculator About Us Editorial Process Meet Our Review Board Search Walking Shoes, Apparel, and Gear Finding an Accurate Pedometer for Counting Your Steps By Wendy Bumgardner Wendy Bumgardner Wendy Bumgardner is a freelance writer covering walking and other health and fitness topics and has competed in more than 1,000 walking events. Learn about our editorial process Updated on January 27, 2020 Reviewed Verywell Fit articles are reviewed by nutrition and exercise professionals. Reviewers confirm the content is thorough and accurate, reflecting the latest evidence-based research. Content is reviewed before publication and upon substantial updates. Learn more. by John Honerkamp Reviewed by John Honerkamp John Honerkamp is an RRCA and USATF certified running coach, celebrity marathon pacer, and recognized leader in the New York City running community. Learn about our Review Board Print Ruth Jenkinson / Dorling Kindersley / Getty How accurate is your pedometer? Are you really walking 10,000 steps per day? Pedometers have undergone rapid evolution from designs that used spring-lever and pendulum mechanisms (readily available in the mid-1990s) to those that use a piezo-electric mechanism, and to accelerometer chips built into mobile devices and fitness bands starting in 2010. Pedometer Accuracy Spring mechanisms used in some pedometers are affected by tilt, while dual-axis and tri-axis accelerometers are not. Pedometers with dual-axis and tri-axis designs can be worn in a wider variety of positions. Pedometers have been shown to not be accurate when people walk at a very slow pace. However, a 2019 study concluded that "particularly at slow gait speeds, relevant improvements in accuracy have been achieved" with recent technology. According to a study published in 2015, tri-axial piezo-electric pedometers tested less accurate when carried in a pocket and when walking at very slow speed or very high speeds. They were generally accurate within 5% (which is 500 steps in a 10,000-step total) when worn on the waist, lanyard, or armband while walking at a moderate pace. If you are going to buy a pedometer to wear on your hip, check what kind of mechanism it has. It's best to buy one that can be worn in a variety of positions so you will have better accuracy with less fuss. If the pedometer doesn't tout that as an option, look for one that does. Fitness Tracker Accuracy Step tracking has largely moved past non-connected pedometers worn on your waistband to app-connected activity monitors, especially those worn on the wrist. However, which of these is accurate is a moving target as they continue to evolve. Manufacturers can improve their accuracy by studying the data and revising the algorithm that translates the movement they sense into steps. They can then update the software of the device rather than the user having to buy a new device. Or, in lieu of a separate tracker, many people simply use the data they can get from their mobile phone's built-in accelerometer. A 2015 study that tested smartphone pedometer apps against fitness bands and hip-worn pedometers found that apps and hip-worn pedometers were quite accurate for counting steps on a treadmill, while the fitness bands had the most variation. Step-Count A small 2017 study pitted the Fitbit Charge and Smart Health wristbands against an Omron HJ-303 waistband accelerometer and a Sportline spring-lever model. In their short treadmill test, researchers counted steps taken via video and manually counted with a clicker to compare with what the units registered. The Fitbit Charge was the least accurate, followed by the Smart Health wristband, then the Omron, and finally the Sportline—which uses the oldest technology. However, another small but similar study, this one from 2018, validated the step-counting accuracy of the Fitbit Surge and the now-discontinued Microsoft Band 2 (but not the Fitbit Charge HR). How to Set Your Fitness Band for Better Accuracy Calorie-Burn A 2014 study of the accuracy of activity monitors and fitness bands in estimating calories burned found that the best of them (BodyMedia FIT, Fitbit Zip, and Fitbit One) were about 90% accurate. The study compared those three devices along with Nike FuelBand, Jawbone UP, Basis B1 Band, and others. A 2018 study comparing the Fitbit One, Fitbit Zip, Fitbit Flex, and Jawbone UP24 with a research-grade accelerometer (the ActiGraph) found the inexpensive, commercial devices to be about as accurate as the ActiGraph in tracking both physical activity (steps and active minutes) and energy expenditure (calories burned). Most of these devices are no longer produced, but Fitbit still has several other watches and trackers on the market. Heart-Rate Many wrist-worn fitness trackers also measure heart rate. A small study published in 2019 compared two wrist trackers (the Polar A370 and the inexpensive Tempo HR) with a chest-strap tracker (the Polar H10). Both wrist trackers were "reasonably accurate," but as heart rate increased, so did inaccuracy, especially in the Tempo HR device. Features to Look For in a Heart Rate Monitor A Word From Verywell Activity tracking tech is not yet perfect, but it's constantly evolving and improving. While a fitness band, app, or smartwatch may not give you exactly accurate step count details, it still gives you a good idea of your activity level, and a way to compare your day-to-day performance and incremental improvement (competing against yourself). If you find wearing a fitness tracker motivating, keep it up. 30 Easy Ways to Walk 2,000 More Steps a Day 9 Sources Verywell Fit uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Bassett DR Jr, Toth LP, LaMunion SR, Crouter SE. Step counting: A review of measurement considerations and health-related applications. Sports Med. 2017;47(7):1303-1315. doi:10.1007/s40279-016-0663-1 Ehrler F, Weber C, Lovis C. Influence of pedometer position on pedometer accuracy at various walking speeds: A comparative study. J Med Internet Res. 2016;18(10):e268. doi:10.2196/jmir.5916 Keppler AM, Nuritidinow T, Mueller A, et al. Validity of accelerometry in step detection and gait speed measurement in orthogeriatric patients. PLoS ONE. 2019;14(8):e0221732. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0221732 Case MA, et. al. Accuracy of smartphone applications and wearable devices for tracking physical activity data. JAMA. 2015;313(6):625-626. doi:10.1001/jama.2014.17841 Husted HM, Llewellyn TL. The accuracy of pedometers in measuring walking steps on a treadmill in college students. Int J Exerc Sci. 2017;10(1):146-153. Tophøj KH, Petersen MG, Sæbye C, Baad-Hansen T, Wagner S. Validity and reliability evaluation of four commercial activity trackers' step counting performance. Telemed J E Health. 2018;24(9):669-677. doi:10.1089/tmj.2017.0264 Lee JM, Kim Y, Welk GJ. Validity of consumer-based physical activity monitors. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2014;46(9):1840-8. doi:10.1249/MSS.0000000000000287 Imboden MT, Nelson MB, Kaminsky LA, Montoye AH. Comparison of four Fitbit and Jawbone activity monitors with a research-grade ActiGraph accelerometer for estimating physical activity and energy expenditure. Br J Sports Med. 2018;52(13):844-850. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2016-096990 Müller AM, Wang NX, Yao J, et al. Heart rate measures from wrist-worn activity trackers in a laboratory and free-living setting: Validation study. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2019;7(10):e14120. doi:10.2196/14120 By Wendy Bumgardner Wendy Bumgardner is a freelance writer covering walking and other health and fitness topics and has competed in more than 1,000 walking events. See Our Editorial Process Meet Our Review Board Share Feedback Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! What is your feedback? 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