Looking for the best bathroom scales?
There are hundreds of options available in various shapes, sizes, and prices, however in general, they split into three distinct groups: mechanical bathroom scales that feature a traditional dial, simple digital bathroom scales that display your weight on an LCD screen, and more advanced smart bathroom scales that measure your body’s composition including body fat, BMI, even bone mass and upload the data to an app allowing you to track changes remotely on your smartphone.
Which you choose depends on how much information you want to know about yourself, but over recent years the cost of smart body fat monitoring scales has fallen almost in line with traditional models.
We’ve found the best in each style of scale and are confident there’s a design perfect for you and your family.
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Fitbit has now sold more than 100 million devices, and if you’re the owner of one of their step counters or smartwatches, this is the ideal set of bathroom scales.
Unlike the more fitness-orientated Fitbit Aria 2 the Aria Air only tracks weight and BMI, but because they have Bluetooth all your weight data is uploaded instantly to the Fitbit app.
Over time – and assuming you jump on the scales every day – you’ll get a detailed picture of your health, with hopefully, the graphs and charts doing in the direction you want them to.
This weight data, combined with your step and exercise activity and sleep – also tracked by the Fitbit App – will help you see where you can improve, all in a user-friendly, easily accessible way.
And if someone in the family doesn’t care about the app, they can use it just like a standard set of bathroom scales, and don’t worry: it can recognize different people, so your statistics won’t be affected.
Like the Aria Air, the Withings Body is a stripped back set of smart scales that help you build a picture of your health without bombarding you with complicated statistics like bone mass and fat percentages.
Instead, you stand on the scales, and it shows your weight, but also displays a graph of your last eight weigh-ins and automatically calculates your BMI. As a result, it’s a great way to chart progress without having to use a smartphone app.
That being said, the Withings Body also sends your weight data to the Health Mate app and, together with any other health information such as steps or diet diary’s gives you all the information you need to manage your weight healthily.
The Health Mate app syncs with over 100 other health and fitness apps and up to eight users can be automatically recognized, and each person's data will be independently synced to their own Health Mate profile.
There’s also a pregnancy weight tracker and you can also monitor your baby's weight simply by stepping on the scale while holding them in your arms.
A superb innovation from Salter, and one we hope to see on more products soon; instead of using replaceable or rechargeable batteries, this set of digital scales is powered by the person standing on it. To get started, press the button in the center of the scale and the ingenious mechanism generates enough power for the scales to work.
It’s a fantastic idea and gives you the longevity, of a pair of mechanical scales, but with the style and pinpoint accuracy of a digital design. As well as the innovative power generation, the scales are good looking in dark glass and can display your choice of kilograms, stone, or pounds
And Salter must be very confident the technology is durable as the Eco Power Digital Bathroom Scales come with a 15-year guarantee.
We love the retro look of these mechanical scales from Salter, which have a huge non-slip footbed suitable for people with up to size 12 shoes, and the 7.5” long needle and large glass display makes them easy to read.
Mechanical scales require no battery and minimal upkeep – you will need to center the needle every once in a while, to ensure they’re accurate – but if you look after them then should give you service for decades. Salter offers a 15-year guarantee too.
Both pound and kilo measurements are included, and while they can’t handle more than 150kg/330lbs (most manage 180kg/400lbs) they’re ideal for the vast majority of people.
Admittedly, mechanical scales like this don’t offer the same pinpoint accuracy of a digital or smart scale, so if you’re a fitness nut who cares about every ounce, they may not be for you, but if all you want is a quick guide every morning, they’re ideal.
Despite costing only slightly more than a basic set of digital scales the Eufy C1 packs in the features, and if you’re into fitness or want to learn more about your health they’re a bargain.
These Bluetooth connected smart scales can measure your weight, body fat, BMI, water, muscle, bone, and basal metabolic rate (BMR) - the amount of energy your body uses just to perform its basic functions day today -as well as visceral fat.
Just stepping on them once generates a huge amount of data, but don’t worry, the bright LCD keeps things simple, so you can choose to ignore all the technical jargon. But when you do want to engage, all your health information can be uploaded to the EUFYLIFE App, or you can use Apple Health, Google Fit, and Fitbit, making this a great all-around option.
By tracking your weight, BMI, etc. over several weeks you will be able to see even small changes in your body, and hopefully, this will help you maintain your ideal weight.
With a huge display and 4.5cm/1.7” number the Sense 300 is a great bathroom scale for anyone who struggles to find their glasses first thing in the morning. It’s bright, easy to read, and also easy to switch quickly between kg, lb, and stone, depending on your generation.
We also love the sleek design and use of stainless steel that oozes quality and will look great in a modern bathroom. What’s more, the stainless steel has been treated to be non-slip and fingerprint-proof, so it needs very little maintenance and won’t have you siding around dangerously if you’ve just stepped out of the shower.
At 15”/38cm wide it is larger than most making it easier and safer to use no matter how agile you are, and they’ve included extremely solid non-slip feet as added protection if positioned on tiled floors.
Finally, a set of bathroom scales with a personality! The Quardiobase 2, as well as being one of the more stylish designs we’ve seen, uses your choice of either the standard LCD display or you can keep it friendly and opt for emoticons with smiling, frowning, or passive faces depending on your progress.
It’s a Bluetooth-connected set of smart scales that monitors your weight, BMI, Body fat percentage, muscle, bone, and water composition data and it synchs with Apple Home Kit, Map My Fitness, and other leading apps. The more you use this type of scale, the more you’ll learn about your overall health, but you will need a smartphone to make the most of it all.
We also love the pregnancy mode that always shows a happy face to mums-to-be.
It’s also good to see a set of scales that is rechargeable – and lasts an impressive 12 months – instead of having to throw away any more batteries.
How do I choose bathroom scales?
There has been plenty of innovation in bathroom scales in recent years, but if all you want to do is see how much you weigh in kg/lbs when you step on, a pair of simple mechanical scales will treat you well and never run out of battery. If you demand accuracy a set of digital scales will be better, and they come with backlit displays you can see in the dark.
But if you’re buying a set of scales to help you lose weight and get in shape, we would strongly recommend you choose a ‘smart’ set that can also record BMI and body fat percentage as well weight. These clever scales upload data to your smartphone and let you track your diet and fitness journey, even add in information from fitness trackers.
How much should I spend on bathroom scales?
A simple set of mechanical scales can cost as little as $17/£20, and you can also find perfectly good digital designs for not much more, but we think it is worth budgeting a little more for designs with extended guarantees, which should offer peace of mind. Those designs that don’t need batteries are also sensible as there’s no additional cost after purchase.
Do bathroom scales lose their accuracy?
If used properly, on an even, hard surface, most scales will remain accurate for years, but if you choose a set of mechanical scales you will have to adjust them occasionally. This means turning a dial to bring the needle back to 0.
Which bathroom scales are most accurate?
Unless you’re a boxer or jockey who needs to hit a specific weight before an event, it doesn’t matter how accurate your weighing scales are, as long as you use the same set every time, and preferably at the same time of day. That way, readings are relative, and you can accurately monitor the difference in your weight, even though your actual weight might differ.