The best smart scales do far more than simply weigh you. Sure, they can do that too, but they also give you measurements of everything from your bone density to your hydration status, your percentage of body fat to your muscle mass. They can also measure one of the key factors in your health, which can be hard to assess from the outside: visceral fat. This is the type of fat that is found around your vital organs, and which, in excess, is a risk factor in health problems such as diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
For the most accurate body composition measurements, the gold standard would be a DEXA scan (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, best known for bone density testing). However, these are medical imaging tests and aren't available for routine use.
Smart scales are therefore the practical, budget-friendly way to measure yourself and track if you are getting healthier and fitter, says sports scientist Jamal Ramsay, co-founder of JRNY supplement shakes in England. “Usually, to get a body composition report, you would need to book a private health assessment or go to a specific venue, which could be quite expensive,” he told Live Science. “But with smart scales, getting these measurements is a lot easier.”
If weight loss is your goal, then smart scales can also really help. For example, you might see your muscle mass improve when you embark on a new fitness routine. A good fitness tracker can also help with this, so do check out our guide to the best fitness trackers on the market.
At Live Science we have tried and tested some of the top rated smart scales, thoroughly checking their accuracy, assessing their design and looking into their app functionality. All this allows us to tell you whether they offer value for money in this, our definitive guide.
The quick list
The best overall
We loved the Renpho smart scale. It's acccuracy is excellent, and it syncs easily with all the main health apps such as Apple and Fitbit, meaning you can keep all your health data in one place. Not only is it affordable but the accuracy of the metrics was truly impressive. The fact that it's rechargeable was the icing on the cake.
The best for budget
The Wyze Scale X offers really impressive heart rate monitoring which can synch with your phone camera to reveal your heart health. It also features various other modes such as weighing luggage and pets. That makes it a family-friendly option, that doesn't break the bank.
The best for design
The Xiaomi Mi Smart Scale's sleek minimalist design make it look considerably more high end than its actual price point. Its LED screen is hidden but the companion Zepp Life app shows you more detailed stats. However, we would warn that the categories you are placed in can be demotivating and might not be ideal for those with a history of eating disorders.
The best for large feet
The Withings Body smart scale was the largest scale we tried and tested offering a great surface for those with larger feet or balance problems. It is more basic than some of the other smart scales but still pairs with a companion app and other major health apps.
The best for athletes
Fitness fans will likely already be familiar with Garmin, and the Index S2 has the specs you would expect from such a trusted brand. There's a new color display screen, better sensors and increased metrics. The app offers health trend graphs and we found there was an emphasis on multiple weigh-ins, making this ideal for athletes.
Best smart scales we recommend in 2025
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Best smart scale overall
The Renpho smart scale is one of the best smart scales we’ve tested. The design, ease of use and excellent accompanying app, combined with its affordable price, make it top of the class. The fact that it easily synchs with all the main popular health apps, from Apple Health to Fitbit via MyFitnessPal, is a really selling point. It makes it easy to access all your health data in one place.
The Renpho smart scale measures 13 different body metrics, while the app gives you further context about those measurements, and how they related to the average person. This gives you real insight into how healthy or unhealthy you might be in certain areas and where you could look to improve.
Unlike most smart scales we’ve tested, the Renpho refreshingly comes with a rechargeable lithium battery and USB charger (included) rather than triple AAAs. It also has unlimited users and baby and pet modes.
But what we loved most about this device is its accuracy. Compared with professional gym scales, it put our tester at two pounds (lbs) heavier — a close reading. We found similarly accurate results with other body metrics during our full Renpho smart scale review. Our only real complaint was that the glass on the black model smears easily and if you move it about it might need recalibrating. But if you’re looking for a budget-friendly gadget that really delivers, look no further.
- Read our full Renpho smart scale review
Best budget smart scale
If you are looking for a wallet-friendly smart scale, then may we suggest the Wyze Scale X. At just $33.99, you can log 12 body metrics, resting heart rate (RHR) and access body weight trend graphs to track progress.
Looking at the stats is easy on the app: Simply tap on the different sections to see your readings. However, you will need to either know your stuff already or do some research, because there is little insight into the data. And without that it's difficult to assess what your results actually mean and how they relate to your overall health and fitness.
However, we’re big fans of the heart rate monitor feature. This works with your smartphone camera. You just put your fingertip on the camera lens, which becomes an optical heart rate monitor, giving you a resting heart rate measurement. This can help give an indication of cardiovascular fitness and is a good place to start if you want to know how to get fit. Generally speaking, the lower your RHR, the stronger your cardiovascular system.
The Wyze Scale X can cope with up to eight users and also has both a pregnancy and a weight-only mode, as well as luggage, pet and baby modes. It also syncs with FitBit, Apple Health and Google Fit, making it a great value smart scale.
- Read our full Wyze Scale X review
Best smart scale for design
With its minimalist design, hidden LED screen and smooth edges, the Xiaomi Mi Smart Scale 2 certainly looks high end, even if it is actually budget-friendly.
It’s Bluetooth-enabled, so you will need to download and open the companion Zepp Life app to see your 13 body composition stats. On the scale itself, you will just get a basic weight reading, but the app has offers more insight, albeit in a way that felt a bit clunky.
For instance, the app gives you a “body age” and a body score out of 100, giving users a label (e.g. “good” or “poor”). It’s certainly a fairly simple ranking, but could be helpful to some people. Like most smart scales, you can view a section on how your weight and body fat has changed over time, but it doesn’t show info for the other metrics, which feels like an oversight.
Our tester also found the body type feature mildly offensive - based on your stats it puts you into a category like ‘thick set’, ‘skinny’ or ‘lacks exercise’. In simplistic terms this could be demotivating, but at worst it could be triggering for anyone with a history of body image issues.
Another quibble is that we would prefer a USB charger over batteries, but it’s a decent and affordable scale that gives some useful insight into health and fitness metrics.
- Read our full Xiaomi Mi Smart Scale 2 review
Best smart scale for people with big feet
The Withings Body smart scale is certainly well designed. But given it only measures your weight and BMI, some might reasonably argue it's really no different to a fairly basic digital scale.
However, on the plus side, the Body scale is super simple to use. It also pairs with the decent Health Mate app and will synch with many of the other main health and fitness apps too. It’s also bigger than a lot of smart scales, making it a good choice for anyone with big feet or those who struggle with balance.
However, we do have reservations about its accuracy. When compared with the professional body composition scales at the gym, the Withings Body scale showed wildly different readings. It also recorded our tester as 3.1 kilograms (kg) / 7 pounds (lbs) heavier than their home Renpho ones, a quite significant difference.
The Withings Body scale certainly does everything it’s meant to do well, but lacks any advanced metrics and gives no insight into body composition. If that’s what you want to track, you’re better off investing in the brand’s Body+ or Body Cardio scales instead.
- Read our full Withings Body smart scale review
Best smart scale for athletes
If you are already a Garmin fan, you might well be temped by the latest version of their smart scales. The Index S2 offers an upgrade on the previous model, with a new color screen, upgraded sensors and more body metrics. However, at $149.99, we have to say there are much better devices out there.
Firstly, the pros. It syncs well to the Garmin Connect app (as well as MyFitnessPal) and is certainly well designed. Its lightweight and portable, and easy to use. It looks good, too.
However, for the price we would expect a lot more information about the metrics it records and what they mean. It's pretty standard, certainly, for smart scales to have a small screens and not much data on them, but the accompanying app then should offer a deeper dive. Unfortunately that's not the case here. The scales and app simply offer the same data, with no context or explanation. The only extra you get on the app is health trend graphs.
We also found in testing there is an emphasis on multiple weigh-ins, which could be useful for pro athletes but for the average person is not particularly helpful if you might be inclined to obsessive behaviors.
There’s no doubt the Garmin Index S2 is well made and looks sleek, but it's expensive and simply doesn’t offer enough for the price.
- Read our full Garmin Index S2 review
Our Expert
Jamal Ramsay has a degree in Sports Science and has spent 5 years advising women on their health and nutrition at BUPA. He has since gone on to Co-found female health startup JRNY.
FAQs
How do smart scales work?
Sports scientist Jamal Ramsay explains that most smart scales measure body fat via bioelectrical impedance.
“Basically, they send a small current from the base of the scales throughout the body,” he said. “The current will flow freely through water and relatively freely through muscle, because muscle is around 80% water. When it hits the body fat, that current will meet resistance and that is how body fat is measured.”
This electrical charge is safe for most people, but if you have a pacemaker, medical implant or are pregnant, it’s best to speak to your doctor before you use one.
Are smart scales accurate?
Smart scales vary in accuracy but they can be a helpful way to track and understand your health and fitness — especially if you are trying to lose weight.
“Smart scales are a relatively new way of looking at a person’s weight, by looking at a lot more,” Ramsay said. “There are some limitations to just measuring weight when on a weight loss programme that includes exercise. Muscle weighs more than fat, so an exercise program — with a healthy diet — may elicit an increase in lean muscle mass and a reduction in body fat. However, if you are looking at just your overall weight, you may not see the reductions that you expect. This can lead to inaccurate reporting of progress and a drop in motivation.”
In general, Ramsay said, smart scales provide relatively accurate body fat percentage and lean muscle mass results. Some even record your resting heart rate, which can be a good indicator of fitness.
“But there are some limitations to measuring body fat via bioelectrical impedance,” he said. “If you are dehydrated, this method will overestimate body fat. Also, these smart scales aren’t calibrated on a regular basis for accuracy, so they may get less accurate over time.”
Depending on the brand, the best smart scales can be a great way of tracking your progress. Some may be less accurate than others, and are certainly not the gold standard of measuring body composition, but the important thing to look out for is the trend.
“If you can see that your body fat or muscle mass are moving in the direction you want to on the smart scales, the likelihood is that they are, even if the results vary by a few points,” Ramsay said.
How we test
How do we test the best smart scales at Live Science?
All of the smart scales in this guide have been tested by our team of health and fitness writers. We evaluate accuracy and performance by comparing readings to a professional body composition reading at a gym. We also consider factors such as design, the range of body composition metrics, the quality of supporting apps and the information they provide, and portability. Each smart scale is then awarded a star rating.
