Fitbit Charge 6 vs Garmin Vivoactive 6 vs Galaxy Watch9: sleep tracking, subscription and battery compared

The three side by side

All three are watch-style wearables you can wear to bed. The Charge 6 is a small band with a color screen, and the Vivoactive 6 and Galaxy Watch9 are round smartwatches. Prices are US prices before tax, checked from Oct 16 to Nov 6, 2026. The Charge 6 was on sale on Oct 30, and the table shows its list price.

The three-year rows use the 40 mm Galaxy Watch9 and assume you pay for each optional plan the whole time. None of these figures is evidence of a health effect. For each review, see Fitbit Charge 6, Garmin Vivoactive 6 and Samsung Galaxy Watch9.

These links go to each brand’s own store and earn us no commission.

Which one suits you?

Each suits a different need, and this isn’t a ranking.

• Choose the Fitbit Charge 6 if you want a small tracker with GPS and Google’s app for the least money up front. It’s $159.95 with 3 months of Premium, and Google rates it at up to 7 days a charge^{1, 2}. It also lists an ECG app¹. The trade-off: Premium is $9.99 a month after the trial, the Daily Readiness Score sits behind it, and returns close after 15 days^{1, 3, 4}.
• Choose the Garmin Vivoactive 6 if you want a full watch with no required fee and the longest rated battery here. It’s $299.99, and Garmin rates it at up to 11 days, or 5 with the always-on display⁸. The trade-off: nutrition logging and AI insights need Connect+, and no ECG app is listed^8–10.
• Choose the Galaxy Watch9 if you have an Android phone on Android 13 or later and want an ECG app and a sleep apnea alert with no listed fee. It’s $379.99 for the 40 mm Bluetooth model^{15, 16}. The trade-off: Samsung rates the battery at up to 30 hours, so plan to charge it daily, and returns carry a 5% restocking fee unless the watch is damaged or defective^{17, 19}.
• If you use an iPhone, Samsung’s page doesn’t mention it, so the Galaxy Watch9 is a poor fit¹⁵. The Charge 6 and Vivoactive 6 both work with iPhone^{2, 8}. For an Apple option, see Oura Ring vs Apple Watch.

Price now or fees later: what does each cost over three years?

The Charge 6 is the cheapest to buy and the only one of the three whose scores sit behind a fee. Google lists no required fee, but its Charge 6 page marks the Daily Readiness Score as a Premium feature¹. Premium is free for 3 months for new members, then $9.99 a month³.

Garmin works the other way. The Vivoactive 6 costs $299.99 and Garmin says all existing Connect features stay free^{8, 12}. Connect+ is optional, at $6.99 a month or $69.99 a year¹¹. Samsung lists no fee for the Galaxy Watch9’s health features¹⁵.

Kept for all three years, Premium puts the Charge 6 at $489.62 and Connect+ puts the Vivoactive 6 at $509.96. Google’s pages show no yearly Premium price. Without the plans, the totals are $159.95, $299.99 and $379.99. For every wearable in one table, see what wearables cost over three years.

Battery: 7 days, 11 days or about a day?

These are each maker’s figures under its own test conditions, and they aren’t directly comparable. Google rates the Charge 6 at up to 7 days, from mid-2023 testing on pre-production hardware. A full charge takes about two hours, and Google says the always-on display and SpO2 tracking need more frequent charging².

Garmin rates the Vivoactive 6 at up to 11 days in smartwatch mode and 5 with the always-on display. Battery saver mode is rated up to 21 days⁸. Samsung rates the 40 mm Galaxy Watch9 at up to 30 hours with the always-on display on. It charges to 50% in 30 minutes, and Samsung doesn’t give a figure with the display off¹⁷.

For sleep tracking, this matters most for the Galaxy Watch9. Wearing it overnight means finding a time to charge it during the day. The Charge 6 and Vivoactive 6 can usually go several nights between charges at their rated figures.

What do they track for sleep, and has anyone checked?

The Vivoactive 6 lists sleep tracking with a coach, HRV status, Body Battery and nap detection^{8, 9}. The Galaxy Watch9 lists Bedtime Guidance, Energy Score and Vitals, which needs 7 nights of sleep data within 28¹⁵. For the Charge 6, the pages we checked name sleep guidance in the Premium coach and the Daily Readiness Score, and don’t spell out sleep stages^{1, 3}.

We found no independent accuracy study of any of the three. A 2025 sleep-lab study of six wrist devices tested the Fitbit Charge 5, an earlier model. Its sleep-stage agreement with polysomnography was moderate (kappa 0.41), and it identified about 48% of wake epochs⁷. That doesn’t tell you how the Charge 6 performs.

Garmin says its wearables give a close estimate of activity and may not be precisely accurate²³. Because no study covers these models, this page doesn’t rank them on sleep accuracy. Our evidence review covers what studies of other devices show, and how we choose wearables explains how we weigh makers’ claims.

Phone fit and FDA status

The Charge 6 needs iOS 16.4 or later or Android 11 or later². Garmin lists iPhone and Android and no minimum versions^{8, 9}. Samsung lists its sleep apnea alert, Bedtime Guidance and Energy Score for Android 13 or later, and its blood pressure estimates need a cuff calibration at least every 28 days^{15, 22}.

The FDA cleared the Fitbit ECG App in 2020 for Fitbit wrist wearables without naming the Charge 6. In FDA’s summary it detected AFib with 98.7% sensitivity and 100% specificity in 475 people⁶. Garmin says the Vivoactive 6 isn’t a medical device and lists no ECG app⁹.

The FDA granted Samsung’s sleep apnea feature a De Novo in February 2024. In that review, it flagged 82.7% of people with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea and correctly cleared 87.7% of people without it²⁰. A version 2.0 was cleared in July 2026 for users 18 and older²¹. Neither document names the Galaxy Watch9, so its status is unknown. These are risk alerts for adults without a diagnosis, not a diagnosis.

What if you’d rather not wear a watch?

Screen-free bands are covered on two other pages. See WHOOP alternatives with no membership and WHOOP Peak vs Garmin CIRQA vs Google Fitbit Air for the Fitbit Air and Garmin CIRQA. To choose between Google’s own Air and Charge 6, see Fitbit Air vs Charge 6.

Sources

1. Fitbit Charge 6 Tracker Google Store · manufacturer
2. Fitbit Charge 6 tech specs Google Store · manufacturer
3. Google Health Premium with Google Health Coach Google Store · manufacturer
4. Return your Google Store purchase Google Store Help · manufacturer
5. Safety, Warranty & Regulatory Guide for Charge 6 Google Help · manufacturer
6. 510(k) K200948: Fitbit ECG App US Food and Drug Administration, 2020 · regulator
7. A performance validation of six commercial wrist-worn wearable sleep-tracking devices for sleep stage scoring compared to polysomnography SLEEP Advances (Schyvens et al.), 2025
8. vívoactive 6 | Fitness Smartwatch with GPS Garmin · manufacturer
9. vívoactive 6 Owner's Manual Garmin · manufacturer
10. vívoactive 6 Owner's Manual: Garmin Connect+ Subscription Garmin · manufacturer
11. Garmin Connect+ Garmin · manufacturer
12. Elevate your health and fitness goals with Garmin Connect+ Garmin · manufacturer
13. Consumer Limited Warranty Garmin · manufacturer
14. Shipping, Returns & Refunds Garmin · manufacturer
15. Galaxy Watch9 Samsung US · manufacturer
16. Galaxy Watch9 buy page (40mm and 44mm, Bluetooth) Samsung US · manufacturer
17. Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra2 and Watch9: Your Health Companion on the Wrist Samsung Newsroom · manufacturer
18. Samsung Warranty: Check Your Samsung Products Samsung US · manufacturer
19. What is Samsung's return policy? Samsung US · manufacturer
20. De Novo classification request for Sleep Apnea Feature (DEN230041) decision summary US Food and Drug Administration, 2024 · regulator
21. K261011 clearance letter and 510(k) summary: Sleep Apnea Feature (v2.0) US Food and Drug Administration, 2026 · regulator
22. How do I recalibrate the Galaxy Watch? Samsung Support · manufacturer
23. Activity tracking accuracy Garmin · manufacturer