The Best Smart Scales
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The humble bathroom scale has long been overdue to learn some new tricks. After all, who needs to devote precious real estate to a device whose purpose is merely to tell you your weight? The “smart scale” category sprung to life in the early days of the internet of things, but early models weren’t always the best, hampered by connectivity issues and general usability problems. As such, the category has largely stagnated; only a handful of companies are now making the devices, and some haven’t updated their product line in years.
Only recently has that started to change, as newer, faster, and all-around better products have begun to hit the market again. Not only can newer smart scales track a bevy of health metrics for multiple members of your household via sophisticated mobile apps, but they’ve also ironed out all the kinks, so it’s easier than ever to track your weight.
Just how smart can a scale be? And which should you buy? If an accurate weight is what’s most important to you, don’t sweat the decision too much. All of these scales I've tested are quite accurate. My highest and lowest weight never varied by more than 0.6 pounds across all of them—that means getting one of the cheaper models will suffice. But if you’re serious about weight loss or physical training, you’ll probably want to get further into the weeds and consider the accuracy of the additional body metrics, the wireless format, and the overall usability and robustness of the hardware and software. It’s here where I’ve spent the bulk of my testing time to find the best smart scale. With all that in mind, I have some thoughts.
How Do Smart Scales Work?
Smart scales come in two basic flavors: Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. The former connects directly to your phone to sync its readings. The latter uses your home’s wireless network to sync readings straight to the cloud, which your phone’s app can then access. Wi-Fi scales are more expensive but more versatile. While older scales often featured erratic wireless connections, newer models have had many of their kinks worked out—and firmware updates have improved connectivity.
Virtually all smart scales use the same type of system to gauge your additional vitals: bioelectrical impedance analysis, which involves sending a minuscule electric current up one leg and measuring what happens when it comes down the other side. Some mathematical magic converts all of this into any number of derived measurements about things like your body’s percentage of fat, water, and bone; body-mass index; and, sometimes, arcana like your basal metabolic rate, a measure of your body’s energy consumption at rest. All the scales I tested can sync data with Apple Health and Google Fit or Health Connect, either directly or by passing data via the app.
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- Photograph: Withings
Best Overall
Withings Body Comp Smart ScalesEarly Withings scales weren't great, dragged down perhaps by complications related to the company changing ownership a few too many times in the past decade. Now back in the hands of its cofounder, Withings is doing things right again, starting with the Body Comp, a much more advanced version of its earlier Body Cardio scale, which suffered from a few flaws. In contrast, the experience here is quick and painless: Step on the new Wi-Fi-enabled Body Comp and it (very) quickly runs through a series of measurements, starting with your weight and moving on to a variety of biomarkers that include heart rate, various fat and muscle measurements, vascular age, and electrodermal activity—which measures “skin response via sweat gland stimulation in your feet.” Strangely, the scale’s heart rate measurement is regularly skewed about 10 beats per minute too fast. It’s capped off with the day’s weather report and even a forecast for air quality in your area. After the crawl of personal data, I’ve come to rely on seeing the weather on the Body Comp’s bright color display first thing each morning.
The company has resolved longstanding issues around the user having to stand in the perfect spot to get readings, and its app has matured impressively over the past few years. That’s good because this scale isn’t cheap. It’s the most expensive I’ve tested to date. But as an unintentional weight-watcher, I think it’s worth it. The Withings app tracks data for up to eight users seemingly forever; I now have readings on Withings devices going back to 2010 and hope to keep the streak going well into the future.
- Photograph: Eufy
Best Budget Scale
Eufy Smart Scale C1Eufy’s $24 Smart Scale C1 doesn’t exactly come stuffed with features, though its inclusion of a whopping 12 “insightful measurements of your body’s health” and support for up to 16 users is impressive. The scale connects to your phone via Bluetooth and is quick to set up. To get measured, you step on the four metal electrodes—they give the scale a somewhat industrial but not quite homely appearance—and it works fast, taking its measurements significantly faster than most competitors.
The scale offers only a weight readout on the display; you’ll need the EufyLife app (Android, iOS) to get the rest your data. Those insightful measurements can be a bit arcane (what is lean body mass versus muscle mass?) and sometimes suspect (could I weigh 172 pounds, have 133 pounds of muscle, and have “high” visceral fat?). For the most part, the readings are on target, though I had a little trouble getting measurements to sync some of the time. It’s a simple and versatile scale, but the incredible price tag ultimately seals the deal.
- Photograph: Wyze
A Good Alternative
Wyze Scale XWyze has built its entire business by offering smart home technology at a fraction of the price of other brands, and its products always manage to be capable and well made. Its latest scale is the Wyze Scale X, an update of its old, no-frills Wyze Scale. The Bluetooth-only device displays your weight on its LED screen; you’ll need to turn to the Wyze app to get additional metrics—13 in total, including muscle mass, visceral fat, and BMR measurements.
You can share the scale with up to eight users, and there are even modes for babies, pets, and luggage, so you don’t screw up your personal stats before you go on a trip. Save the scary weigh-ins for when you get back. As with most Wyze products, it’s an amazing value—though Eufy’s well-aged C1 is currently the rock-bottom low-price leader.
Photograph: GarminOther Smart Scales
Garmin Index S2 for $150: Four years after its release, the Index S2 is still Garmin’s current model, a surprise for a company otherwise obsessed with fitness. It’s still noteworthy for its lovely color display, which walks you through its six body metrics (for up to 16 users) with each weigh-in. The display also provides your weight trend over time in graphical form and can even display the weather. The scale connects directly to Wi-Fi and Garmin’s cloud-based storage system, so you don’t need a phone nearby to track your progress as with Bluetooth-only scales. A phone running the Garmin Connect app (Android, iOS) is handy, so you can keep track of everything over time. Unfortunately, as health apps go, Connect is a bit of a bear, so expect a learning curve—especially if you want to make changes to the way the scale works. You can turn its various LCD-screen widgets on or off in the app, but finding everything can be difficult due to the daunting scope of the Garmin ecosystem. The color screen is nice at first but ultimately adds little to the package.
Omron BCM-500 for $72: With its large LCD panel, quartet of onboard buttons, and oversize silver electrodes, the Omron BCM-500 is an eye-catching masterwork of brutalist design. If your bathroom is decked out in concrete and wrought iron, this scale will fit right in. The Bluetooth unit syncs with Omron’s HeartAdvisor app (Android, iOS), but it provides all six of its body metrics directly on the scale, cycling through them with each weigh-in (for up to four users). It can be difficult to read the label for each of the data points, in part because the LCD isn’t backlit, but the app is somewhat easier to follow, offering front-page graphs of weight, skeletal muscle, and body fat. On the other hand, the presentation is rather clinical, and the app is surprisingly slow to sync. For a scale without a Wi-Fi connection, it’s rather expensive too.
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