Long gone are the days when you have to splash out hundreds to get a good smartwatch. The budget wearable market is stronger than ever with such good value that could buy smartwatches for the whole family for the cost of one flagship.
And you won’t want to throw it in the bin after a month either. They offer seriously good design, include features not even premium models offer, and often have longer battery life to boot.
There have been plenty of great cheap smartwatches launched in 2025 and we’ve been testing them all year to see which is best. These are the three models which impressed us the most.
Best New Budget Smartwatch of the Year – Winner: Huawei Watch Fit 4
Mike Sawh
After taking a runner up spot last year, Huawei has taken the crown with the Watch Fit 4 for 2025 with a 9/10 review score.
We’ve always been a fan of the Watch Fit series and the fourth-generation takes it to new heights. It looks similar to before (still very much inspired by the Apple Watch) but comes with a lot of upgrades making it better value than the Pro model.
there isn’t really a smartwatch that’s doing a significantly better job compared to Huawei
These include the addition of free full colour maps, dual-band GPS support, new health and wellbeing monitoring smarts and new watch faces. Furthermore, it offers up to 10 days of battery life, a large punchy display and great waterproofing.
We also love how comfortable it is and it’s already widely available for around a third off, making it even better value.
Downsides are minimal, such as the NFC chip only being on one colourway and the core smartwatch features being a mixed bag. However, this wasn’t enough to stop it from winning the award for best budget smartwatch of 2025.
Read our Huawei Watch Fit 4 review.
Best New Budget Smartwatch of the Year – First Runner Up: CMF Watch 3 Pro
Thomas Deehan / Foundry
CMF (Nothing’s budget brand) won this award last year and although the Watch 3 Pro took a small backstep, it’s still an excellent choice.
We wish the interchangeable bezel feature wasw still present and the device lacks NFC. There’s still a lot to like and it stands out when it comes to design and software as well as being the best value on the market.
Read our CMF Watch 3 Pro review.
Best New Budget Smartwatch of the Year – Second Runner Up: Amazfit Active 2
Britta O’Boyle
Amazfit’s Active 2 is a worthy runner-up this year with a good all-round package including a clean, stylish design, plenty of fitness features, a good screen and solid battery life.
It just lacks NFC on the regular model and doesn’t have the most accurate heart rate sensor.
Read our Amazfit Active 2 review.
Author: Chris Martin, Managing Editor, Tech Advisor
Tech Advisor Managing Editor Chris got his break as a reporter at infamous site The Inquirer and has been with us for more than 12 years. With a BA degree in Music Technology, audio is his specialism, but over the years he has reviewed all kinds of gadgets, from smartwatches to mesh Wi-Fi to coffee machines.