Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends 150 minutes of physical activity for seniors aged 65 and older. Activities such as walking, jogging and hiking prevent and delay many of the health problems that seem to come with age and help you in day-to-day activities without relying on others.
Counting your steps and keeping a record of your physical activities can be difficult. The solution to this problem is a step counter for seniors. A simple pedometer brings many benefits as compared to a smartwatch which is complicated, needs to be charged daily and requires a smartphone or app to operate.
We have analyzed different pedometers for seniors from all major brands evaluating them on basis of accuracy, design, ease of use, display size and battery life. Here are the 5 best pedometers for seniors.
Quick Pick
All 5 products are reviewed in detail in this article, here are quick pick options if you do not want to go through the detailed reviews.
- Best Over All Option : 3DFitBud
- Pedometer with Most Features : 3DTriSport
- Best Budget Option : NESKLA 3D Pedometer
5 Best Pedometers for Seniors – The Detailed Reviews
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1. 3DFitBud – Best Over All
3DFitBud is a simple pedometer for seniors that effectively count steps and keep the user informed and motivated. The key features of 3DFitBud include:
- Simple and Easy to Use: It is ready to use straight from the package. It is the simplest pedometer to start with which makes it ideal for the elderly. No setup, smartphone or app is required for 3DFitBud to work. Press the button at the back to start and press and hold the Reset button to clear the step count at the end of the day.
- Track Daily Steps Accurately: This simple pedometer for seniors comes with 3D Tri-Axis sensor technology that accurately counts steps in any position – up, down, flat, side or any angle. It has a 10-steps error prevention feature to prevent irregular non-walking movements from being falsely counted as steps.
- Excellent Battery Life: Battery life of up to 12 months. No charging is required. It auto sleeps when you are not moving and auto wakes and count steps when you start moving.
- Large Screen Display: Steps are shown on the large screen in large font. Easy to read without glasses and for seniors with vision impairment issues.
- Multiple Wearing Options: clip to your pocket or hip, place in your pocket or bag or wear around your neck
3DFitBud is your perfect walking buddy with a sleek design and lightweight. It is one of the best pedometers for seniors because of its simplicity, ease of use and accuracy to track daily steps. It is the #1 best-seller pedometer on Amazon for a long time and comes in different colors.
Pros
- Simplest pedometer for seniors and elderly
- Accurately counts steps with 3D sensors
- No setup, smartphone or charging required
- Long battery life of up to 12 months
Cons
- No additional features besides accurately tracking steps
2. 3DTriSport – Pedometer with Most Features
3DTriSport is one of the best pedometers for seniors because of the extensive features it has. It can accurately count your steps and help you lose weight by keeping you motivated with 30 days memory log. The key features include:
- Accuracy: The 3D Tri-Axis sensor technology tracks your steps and distance (KMs and miles) accurately. The additional features include recording calories burned and exercise time.
- Easy to Set Up and Use: Easy to set up and operate. No Bluetooth, smartphone connection or download is required.
- Large Display: Easy-to-read large display with built-in clock and steps goal
- 30 Days Memory: Stores up to 30 days of activity and total accumulated records
- Excellent Battery Life: up to 12 months with no charging. Standby mode to conserve battery power when not in use
All other standard features of best step counters for seniors including multiple wearing options and 10 steps error prevention. The additional features such as distance calculation, calorie count, 30 days memory and excellent customer support make 3DTriSport the best pedometer for seniors and a great gift idea for elderly parents.
Pros
- Accurate results with Tri-Axis Sensors and 10 steps error prevention
- Additional features such as distance measurement, calories count, built-in clock and timer and exercise count
- Stores up to 30 days of activities and records
- Lightweight, compact and easy to carry and use
Cons
- Need to setup before first use (but comes with an easy-to-follow user manual and helpful setup and operation video to guide through the process)
3. OZO Fitness CS1 – Most Basic Option
OZO’s simple pedometer for seniors is ready to use out of the box in 2 seconds. It is the best pedometer for elderly because of fewer buttons, a large display screen and a quick setup. The key features are:
- User Friendly: No setup or charging required. Ready to use out of the box. Reset button to keep it from resetting accidentally.
- Accurate Step Counter: It has one function that it performs very well, counting the steps. The 3D activity tracker is included in this basic pedometer.
- Large Display, Long Life Battery: Battery is included and a large display helps elderly users to easily read the count. It has an auto-dimming screen for lower battery usage when you are not moving.
It is the most basic yet most reliable OZO step counter. The best step counter for seniors and older adults who do not want any extra features such as calorie count, distance traveled or memory log of the last 7 or 30 days.
Pros
- Ready to use with no setup. Simple and easy to operate
- Large display to read count easily, lanyard cord and clip to carry in multiple ways
- 3D sensor to count steps in all directions
Cons
- Very basic – step counting only
- No Error prevention feature
4. NESKLA 3D Pedometer – Best Value for Money
NESKLA 3D Pedometer is well worth the money and is surprisingly accurate and considered the best step counter for seniors. It has impressive user feedback and reviews on Amazon and tech sites. The key features include:
- Simplicity: Very easy to use for elderly users with no setup required. It only counts the steps so no smartphone connection is required and fewer buttons to control. A reset button to press for 3-5 seconds to get the steps to “0”.
- Accurate Counting: It is considered the most accurate basic pedometer by users feedback and tech site reviews. 3D Tri-Axis Sensor technology accurately calculates steps.
- Multiple Carrying Options: The pedometer is only 26.5g and very easy to put in a pocket or bag or use a removable clip to clip on a belt or lanyard to hang in the neck.
Long battery life and extra-large display for easy reading. NESKLA 3D Pedometer is one of the best pedometers for seniors because of its accuracy and ease of use in this price range.
Pros
- Very Accurate: One of the most accurate step counters for seniors, even for short distances.
- Easy to Use: Extra-large display to show steps count and large reset button to easily reset
- Excellent Battery Life: Up to 12 months of battery life which is very good for the large display
- Highly recommended: Good feedback and ratings from users. Excellent reviews by tech experts. Highly recommended by all.
Cons
- Comes in black and white colors only
5. iGANK Simple Pedometer – Creative Design to Carry
The next on the list of best pedometers for seniors is iGANK pedometer which is a simple step counter for seniors. It has a beautiful design to put into a keychain or hook to your belt and easily read during your walk. It has all the main features, such as:
- Track your steps accurately because of 3D Tri-Axis Sensors
- Non-Bluetooth, no setup and no charging is required
- Creative design and multiple carrying options
- Easy to reset and long battery life
- Very light (14 grams) and compact design
The best feature of iGANK pedometer is the lanyard-free carrying option to hook it to a belt or keychain.
Pros
- Easy to use, no setup or charging required
- Accurately counts steps
- Creative design to use in keychain or hook to belt
Cons
- Only a step counter, no other features
- The screen size is a bit smaller than other pedometers for seniors
These are the 5 best pedometers for seniors from our research and on basis of users feedback and ratings and tech expert reviews. Although some older adults use smartwatches as step counters, a smartwatch is not easy to use and set up for the elderly. It needs constant recharging and comes with a small screen and confusing user interface. The accuracy of step counts is also debatable on smartwatches,
These pedometers and step counters make a great gift for elderly parents and loved ones and there are many reasons to use them instead of smartwatches for non tech savvy older adults.
Pedometers vs Smartwatches: 7 Reasons Pedometers are a Better Choice for Seniors
1. Simple and Easy to Use
Pedometers are simple and easy to use for the elderly as compared to a smartwatch. You need to set up the watch and then connect it to a smartphone to use. It is not easy to use a touch screen on a small screen smartwatch for older adults.
A smartwatch comes with many unnecessary and complicated features that seniors never use.
2. Long Battery Life, No Charging Required
As discussed above, all the best pedometers for seniors come with an excellent battery life of up to 12 months and you do not need to charge them ever.
The smartwatches need to be charged on a daily basis which is a hassle for older adults and they often forget to charge.
3. Multiple Carrying Options
Many older adults do not like wearing a smartwatch on their wrists and feel uncomfortable. All the above pedometers for seniors come with a variety of carrying options.
You can clip them to a pocket or hip, wear them around the neck using a lanyard or place them in a pocket or bag. They all work accurately, no matter where you put them, because of 3D Tri-Axis sensors to count the steps.
4. No Smartphone Requirement
These simple pedometers for seniors come ready to use out of the box. You do not need a smartphone or app to use them. Smartwatches not only need to set up; they need a smartphone connection to use apps and operate properly.
5. Extra Large Display
Seniors complain about tiny size smartwatch screens that are not easy to touch and operate. These simple step counters for seniors come with extra-large displays that show step count and other data in a large font that is easy to read, even in sunlight and without glasses. It is very helpful for older adults with vision impairment.
6. Accurate Tracking
These simple pedometers for seniors are great at what they do. The step counting is excellent with 3D Tri-Axis technology and accuracy is better than most smartwatches. 10 steps error prevention is a good feature to not count non-steps movements.
7. User Friendly
Smartwatches need you to have the technical know-how to operate them while these easy pedometers for seniors are very simple to operate. You can reset them with a button and they do not have any complicated user interface.
There are fewer buttons and you can start using them right away. The large displays only show necessary data such as step count. Multiple wearing options and small sizes make them ideal for seniors to carry.
Although smartwatches have many extra features, they may not be useful and required for older adults. Smaller screens and the complexity of smartwatches make them inconvenient for seniors.
Buyer’s Guide – 5 Qualities of Best Pedometers for Seniors
There are certain features and qualities that are vital for the best pedometers for seniors. Here are some of the key factors to keep in mind.
1. Ease of Use
This is a very important factor when deciding which pedometer is good for seniors. Simple functions such as step count and distance covered may be enough for older adults.
Look for a pedometer with fewer buttons that is easy to reset and does not have lots going on screen.
2. Large Display
Large displays with large fonts make it easy for the elderly to read on screen. They do not need fancy LED screen that is hard to read in sunlight. The display should be easy and big for seniors to read.
3. Easy to Wear
There is a reason that I did not include a pedometer watch in this list. Many seniors do not want to wear a watch on their wrist and they come with small display screens.
The best pedometer for elderly should have multiple wearing options like clips, and lanyards to wear on the neck or easy to carry in small pockets.
4. Battery Life
A simple pedometer for seniors should come with excellent battery life (as all the above options). Changing the battery should be an easy task. Do not settle for a few months of battery life, go for a year.
5. Accuracy of Step Count
This is also a very important factor to consider when buying pedometers for seniors. IT should have 3D Tri-Axis Sensor to count moves properly and 10 steps error prevention is a great option to have.
Also, read users reviews about the accuracy of tracking. This is one of the key factors we considered when evaluating all of the above step counters for seniors.
Final Verdict
On the basis of the features that are required for the best pedometers for seniors and reviewing the current pedometers from different brands, I recommend 3DFitBud as the best pedometer for elderly.
3DFitBud is the #1 best-selling pedometer on Amazon because of accurate step counting, easy-to-use interface, long battery life and large display. The reasonable price and excellent features make it the best step counter for seniors.