Best scales for body fat
Track your body fat and muscle mass levels with these top-rated smart scales tested by our experts
Research has shown that the best smart scales for body fat can increase the frequency of self-weighing, which in turn, boosts weight loss.
They often look similar to normal scales, but use smart tech to measure weight and body composition—the relative percentages of fat, muscle and water in the body. Tracking how much fat and muscle make up the body can help give an overview of health and fitness, and often encourages users to up their activity levels and improve their nutritional habits.
The best scales for measuring body fat can cost anything from $20 to $200, and the more you pay, the more features you can expect to get. Cheaper models tend to only track weight and BMI, while the more expensive options have a wider range of body composition metrics covered, as well as advanced insights on the companion apps.
Read on as we’ll take a deep dive into some of the bestsellers, looking at design, price, performance, accuracy and the pros and cons of each.
Best scales for body fat overall
The Withings Body Smart proves that you don’t need to spend a fortune to get really useful health insights at home. Sitting as the most budget-friendly model in the brand’s current range, this smart scale delivers all the essential body composition metrics without any of the gimmicks sometimes found in this kind of tech.
Its design is undeniably premium, featuring a vibrant color display and a minimalist tempered-glass surface that fits perfectly into any modern wellness space. One of our favorite features during testing was the frictionless Wi-Fi connectivity; unlike standard Bluetooth scales that require your phone to be nearby, the Body Smart handles everything independently, syncing your stats instantly.
In terms of performance, the data is impressively consistent, and the companion app acts like a digital health coach, providing deep dives into your metrics alongside practical lifestyle tips to help you reach your fitness goals. However, we did find that the data could benefit from better context benchmarking, as it isn’t always clear how your results compare to the averages for your specific age, sex, and height. Despite that minor oversight, for anyone looking to level up their health tracking with a reliable, stylish, and easy-to-use tool, the Body Smart is a top choice.
Best budget scales for body fat
The Renpho Smart Body Fat Scale features high on our list of the smart scales for good reason. Despite its low price, it’s quick and easy to set up, very accurate and has an impressive companion app that takes a deep dive into the stats.
The Renpho Health app also syncs with MyFitnessPal, Apple Health, Fitbit, Google Fit and Samsung Health, making it an easy one-stop shop to access all your health and fitness data. It’s smart and well designed, has a durable tempered glass surface and is a great way to keep track of your health. Available measurements from the scale include weight, body fat percentage, muscle mass, bone mass, and visceral fat estimates.
Best scales for multiple users
The Xiaomi Mi 2 is a solid entry-level smart scale for tracking body composition. It looks premium despite the low price, and the app provides some useful insights. It connects via Bluetooth but the lack of Wi-Fi means you can only use it with your phone and the app open.
A handy feature is the ability to create up to 36 user profiles for different people, so you won't have anyone interfering with your stats if they hop on the scales.
The scale itself only displays weight, so you’ll need to open the Zepp Life app for more data on the 13 body composition metrics it measures (which include body fat and muscle mass, amongst other things).
We found the body type feature on the app rather off-putting if not mildly insulting, with labels ranging from ‘thick set’ to ‘skinny’, which feels out-dated and potentially damaging language. If you can put that aside, it’s a decent and affordable smart scale.
Best scales for all-round health tracking
The Wyze Smart Scale X gives a detailed overview of health and fitness data at a budget-friendly price. It also provides weight trends so you can monitor changes in body composition.
It connects easily via Bluetooth, but that means you need the companion app open to record weigh-ins. Like most smart scales, it’s battery powered, and collates all your health and fitness data together if you pair it with Apple Health, Google Fit, or Fitbit. We think it gives a big bang for the buck with its built-in heart rate monitor – a great way to measure cardiovascular health and fitness.
Our main complaint is that there is no context or insights on the data recorded, but if you don’t mind that, it’s an affordable and decent choice for anyone tracking body composition stats like body fat and muscle mass.
Best scales for nutrition and lifestyle
The Withings Body+ is a very popular scale, boasting a range of quirky features like nutrition tracking (which you have to put in manually) and a weather forecast. Luckily, it also has the basics covered, with body composition allowing you to measure things like your fat-to-muscle ratio and bone density. It also has some position control technology, which will advise you where to stand on the scales for the best reading.
Like a lot of the other scales, it packs in helpful tracking and coaching tips. We also highly recommend the companion app, which is genuinely useful and pleasantly laid out. Unfortunately, it can only accommodate up to eight users, which is a much smaller number than the other scales in this list.
Best scales for Garmin users
If you use a Garmin watch or bike GPS computer, you'll likely already be using Garmin's Connect app. The Index S2 scale adds your body composition data to the app, which helps to paint a holistic picture of your health and fitness metrics.
With a color display, better sensors and more body composition metrics, the Garmin Index S2 is an upgrade from the older Index Smart scale.
What is lacking here, however, is any context about the stats. In fact, the scales and app offer the same information. Given that it's one of the priciest scales here, we would expect more advanced insights than just a history of your weight and body composition. It does track multiple weigh-ins over the course of a day though, so you can see how your weight might fluctuate from morning to night.
The Garmin Index S2 does what it says and does it well, measuring fat percentage, muscle, bone density and water in your body. But unless you already use other Garmin devices, you might prefer to save some money and get a cheaper scale.
Best scales for app support
There's a lot to like about this product from Eufy. It can be used by an unlimited number of users, which is useful if you have an exceptionally large household, and it can calculate all the basic measurements like body fat, muscle, weight and water. It can also track your heart rate, bone mass, and visceral fat.
The handy companion app has good reviews, with people praising its easy layout. It also syncs with Apple Health, Google Fit, and Fitbit. Be aware that the scale will also generate a 3D rendering of your body after taking your readings, which is not something everyone will appreciate.
How we tested
We tested the scales for body fat by standardizing our weighing routine with multiple daily weigh-ins, including first thing in the morning, then again at lunchtime and then five minutes after that. We tested the smart scales for a minimum of two weeks, making notes of how easy they were to set up and use. Where we haven't finished testing a product, we've noted this in the article above.
We also looked at design, price, features, accuracy and performance, then analyzed the effectiveness of the companion smartphone apps. Finally, to get a proper sense of the accuracy of the smart scales for body fat, we used a professional body composition machine at the gym to compare results.
Frequently asked questions
Are body fat scales useful?
Research has shown that the best scales for body fat can increase the frequency of self-weighing and boost weight loss.
However, accuracy can vary between specific models and just because a smart scale is expensive doesn’t guarantee that it will give a realistic reading. Also, there are a ton of variables that can affect the results—from gender, body shape, age, and height.
What’s more, a body fat scale can only tell you the overall percentage, and not where on your body you are storing potentially dangerous fat.
Are body fat scales accurate?
While body fat scales can accurately measure your weight and provide a reasonable assessment of your body's water content, the other statistics are less reliable.
Additional data is calculated by statistical formulas that rely on the metrics already recorded and the information you provide (age, height, body shape, etc) when registering for the scales' companion app.
While many of the stats provided are a 'best guess' calculated from statistical info, body fat scales are still useful tools for tracking your changes over time. Just don't rely too heavily on specific measurements.
How do body fat scales work?
When you step on the scales with bare feet, a small electrical charge is sent up into your body. It’s perfectly safe, and you can’t feel it happening. They also use load cells to measure your weight.
The vast majority of body fat scales have the electrodes built into the surface. The current then travels up one of your legs and returns down the other. This only measures the composition of your lower body though, so statistical formulas are used to calculate the rest.
More accurate scales also have additional electrodes that you hold with your hands. These models give a much more reliable picture as they measure the composition of your arms and upper body as well as your lower body.
Disclaimer: Anyone with a pacemaker, medical implant, or who is pregnant should check with their doctor before using body fat scales.
