Etekcity HR Smart Fitness Scale Review: Don’t Put a Step Wrong

Price upon review

$79.99

Best prices today: Etekcity HR smart fitness scale

$79.99

If you’re looking to embark on a fitness journey, a smart scale is one of the best tools you can buy. It provides an easy way to track your progress and takes the emphasis off weight to other body composition metrics, such as muscle mass and hydration.

Etekcity, like Levoit and Cosori, is a brand of smart home company VeSync. In this review we look at the mid-priced smart scale, the HR smart fitness scale.

Design and construction

• USB charging
• Comfortable size
• Color screen shows a choice of measurements

If you’ve ever seen a smart scale, this Etekcity model will look familiar. It has a plastic base, with four non-slip feet and a black, glossy tempered glass platform on top. Like most smart scales, this means it picks up fingerprints and footprints. The most distinguishing feature is the brand name and logo, which appear on a raised badge in the center.

Above the badge is a TFT color screen, on which a maximum of nine measurements can be displayed of the fourteen measurements that the Etekcity carries out. You can choose which one you want to see in the app and switch between kg, lbs or st.

Emma Rowley / Foundry

Emma Rowley / Foundry

Emma Rowley / Foundry

The HR smart fitness scale measures approximately 30 x 30 cm (12 x 12 inches), which isn’t as large as some of the larger models on the market – such as the Withings scale – but should still provide plenty of room for everyone to sit comfortably to stand.

It has a maximum load capacity of 400 lb/180 kg/28st and measures in 0.1 lb/0.05 kg increments.

One of the best things about this scale is the fact that it charges via USB, meaning you never have to worry about having batteries on hand.

Performance and features

• Easily send data to other fitness apps
• Unlimited users
• 14 measurements

To get started, you’ll need to charge the scale and download the VeSync app. It is free and available for iOS 12.0+ and Android 6.0+. Then set up your account. There is no limit to the number of possible users.

The scale connects via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi and in our test it paired with the phone without any problems. If you are outside the US, you may need to use a VPN to receive and enter the verification code that links your account to the scale.

Once logged in, it immediately offered to send data to Apple Health, Fitbit, MyFitnessPal, Google Fit, and Samsung Health, making it a good choice for anyone who uses these health apps.

For an accurate measurement, place the scale on a stable, hard floor, not on carpet. Then stand on it with bare feet. Use it in the same place every time.

The HR smart fitness scale provides 14 measurements: weight, heart rate, BMI, BMR, metabolic age, subcutaneous fat, visceral fat, body fat, bone mass, body water, skeletal mass, protein, muscle mass and fat-free body mass.

This is a very comprehensive set of statistics. Only the most expensive Withings scales (the mid-range but expensive Body Comp and the flagship Body Scan) give you wider and more detailed information – and they cost twice or three times as much.

In fact, this Etekcity model costs less than the value scale in Withings’ newest line, the Body Smart, but it delivers a similar range of metrics And it has USB charging. While Withings is the gold standard in smart scales, if your budget doesn’t stretch to one of the top two models, we recommend the Etekcity HR smart fitness scale over the Withings Body Smart.

When you step on the scale, your weight, your weight trend, body fat percentage and heart rate are displayed by default. But in the app, under Settings you can choose up to nine of the fourteen measurements to display on the scale – plus the weather. Many smart scales do not allow customization, and many smart scales only display weight and BMI on the screen.

The display also shows the remaining battery life.

You can also enable zero current mode, so you can use it as a simple scale if you have a pacemaker, are pregnant or want to weigh a pet or child.

One of the things that sets higher quality smart scales apart from the rest – aside from the number of readings you get and hardware features like USB charging – is how well fitness data is presented in the app and what information is provided to help you looking forward to it.

The VeSync app is well designed, with all the important measurements on one page. At the top is a weight trend graph and below that are the other measurements. Click on one of these and your measurement will be evaluated (for example as low, standard or high) with explanatory text underneath to tell you what the measurement means and how you can improve it.

There’s only one translation issue that stands out, and that’s when the app offers “nutrition advice,” which I was happy to overlook.

But how accurate is the HR smart fitness scale? We compared it to a smart scale from Withings and they matched up well, for what that’s worth. Anyway, perfect accuracy is not the most important thing with a smart scale. Consistency though. Using the Ekekcity scale in the same place and at the same time of day will give you an accurate picture of your fitness progress – and that’s what matters.

Price and availability

If you’re in the US, you can buy the Etekcity HR smart fitness scale from Amazon or directly from the brand itself for $79.99.

It’s not the cheapest smart scale out there, but for what it offers, it’s good value. If you’re looking for something a little more budget-friendly, check out our round-up of the best smart scales we’ve tested.

At this time, the Etekcity HR smart fitness scale is not available in the UK.

Should I buy the Etekcity HR smart fitness scale?

You can buy a smart scale for less, but you can also pay more. However, if it’s within the budget, the Etekcity HR smart fitness scale offers everything you could wish for. It features USB charging and an easy-to-read display that you can customize to show the measurements you want. It plays nicely with other fitness apps, supports unlimited users, and has a solid app that offers a lot of information and is easy to navigate.