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Duda website builder review 2025
8:17 am | June 8, 2021
Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Pro Website Building | Comments: Off

Our latest Duda review takes a deep dive into a new yet unique website builder offering, offering you insight into all the pros, cons, features, and tools, helping you make an informed choice.

Duda comes with a wide range of features including drag-and-drop editing capabilities, access to hundreds of templates and widgets, and an advanced AI. This makes it easier to build attractive websites and manage them at scale without any of the usual hassle.

Wix remains our pick for the top website builder of 2025. But this website builder has been built specifically with professionals in mind, offering agency-level functionality and white labeled tools. This makes it one of the best website builders for agencies and freelancers who want to build great websites for their clients.

Duda: 2-minute review

Duda positions itself as a premium website builder designed specifically for agencies, freelancers, and professional web developers. The platform excels at creating responsive websites that look great across all devices, with particularly strong mobile optimization tools that set it apart from competitors like Wix or Squarespace. Its drag-and-drop editor is intuitive yet powerful, allowing users to create professional websites without coding knowledge while still offering advanced customization options for those who need them.

What makes Duda so appealing to agencies is its comprehensive white-label capabilities and client management features. You can customize the platform with your own branding, give clients controlled access to their sites, and manage multiple projects efficiently. The platform runs on Amazon Web Services hosting, ensuring fast loading times and reliable performance. However, Duda's focus on professional users means it comes with a higher price tag than many competitors, and it lacks the free tier that makes other builders accessible to beginners.

What is Duda?

Duda is a cloud-based website building platform that lets you create professional websites without needing to write code. It provides everything you need to build a website — templates, design tools, hosting, and management features, all in one place.

Instead of hiring a team of web developers who specialize in complex programming, you can use the visual editor to drag and drop elements like text, images, and buttons exactly where you want them.

Duda adjusts your website's layout to look great on any screen size, but it also gives you granular control to customize how your site appears on each device type. It also includes built-in features for online stores, contact forms, photo galleries, and other common website functions.

Features

screenshot of Duda app store

The Duda App Store lets you easily install apps from over 25 different categories. (Image credit: Duda)

The Duda App Store lets you easily install apps from over 25 different categories. Whether you’re looking for ecommerce tools, membership options, or website personalization options, there's plenty of options to choose from.

In more recent updates Duda has focused on rolling out better connectivity. Connectors are a new category available within the Duda App Store. They allow data transfer between Duda and other platforms such as ERPs, the best CRM software, and more. This allows agencies and freelancers to drastically expand the platforms to which they can connect client sites. Since launch Duda has released integrations with ActiveCampaign, MailChimp, Hubspot, Slack, and Facebook Conversions.

Duda has also added Blog APIs to its library. This addition will help agencies boost productivity by allowing the automatic import and push of blog content not created on the Duda platform to the sites they build. This will be especially useful to agencies using external writers or AI for blog writing.

If you’re running an online store, then you need an ecommerce solution. With Duda, we were able to easily set up an online store with its built-in ecommerce tools. We also took advantage of additional features such as payment processing integration and customer management tools.

Duda also provides membership options so that your customers can access exclusive content on your site. Whether it’s videos or podcasts, your site visitor can register for a paid membership to access this content without needing to leave your site. This is a great way to generate additional revenue for your business while offering your visitors more value.

Creating a website from scratch can take a lot of time and effort – but not with Duda. We were able to create a professional-looking website with Duda’s templates. These templates have been carefully crafted by industry experts so that they look great on any device or browser – regardless of size or resolution. Plus, all templates are fully customizable so that you can make them look exactly how you want them to be.

Mobile devices are becoming increasingly popular among web users – and if your site isn't optimized for mobile devices then it won't be seen by these potential customers. Fortunately, with Duda's mobile-friendly sites feature, creating mobile websites is easier than ever before. Not only does this feature allow visitors to view your site on any device or browser – but it also allows them to take advantage of features such as click-to-call buttons which give visitors direct access to contact information such as phone numbers and addresses right from their phones.

Widgets are small pieces of code snippets that add extra functionality and features to websites without needing any coding knowledge whatsoever. During our test, we were able to create custom widgets with drag-and-drop functionality. This can also be used by beginners to customize their sites in no time at all.

Keeping track of client payments is essential if you're offering services through your website - and luckily with the client billing feature in Duda, we were able to keep track of payments with ease. This feature allows you to easily set up invoicing systems through which you can keep track of clients' payments seamlessly - ensuring that all payments are made promptly and accurately every time.

Tools

Options

Click on an object to be presented with numerous customising options… (Image credit: Duda)

Despite being an AI website builder, Duda offers to its credit a powerful platform that has everything that a small-to-medium design or development agency would need. Here are some standout features that we thought were worth highlighting:

Accessibility

Everyone deserves to experience an accessible website regardless of their disability or technology. With the AudioEye tool, businesses get peace of mind knowing the product they are providing meets WCAG 2.0 AA standards for website accessibility in just a few clicks. Duda’s AudioEye tool allows visitors with visual impairments to access your site’s content in Audio format.

Ecommerce

With the Omni-channel ecommerce tool, you can easily drive sales from both your online stores as well as across the web. All products are synced with the store catalog and managed from one convenient platform.

This feature enables customers to shop from anywhere; whether it’s on a computer or mobile device and pay for purchases seamlessly without ever having to leave your site. This helps create a seamless shopping experience that customers will appreciate and come back for again and again.

Member management

The Simple Member Management & Reporting tool makes it easy for you to manage members directly from the Site Overview tab or the side panel of the editor. You can add, edit or remove members quickly while also keeping track of user interactions such as past purchases and more in one convenient place. This simplifies member management while also giving you valuable insight into how people are interacting with your website so you can adjust accordingly.

White labelling

If you are a web developer or web designer working with clients, then hiding your platform is essential for maintaining credibility and professionalism. With Duda’s white-label website builder & preview tools, you can place your client’s entire site-building process under your brand. That way your customers will never know that you are using Duda until you tell them yourself. This tool also includes preview tools so that your customers can get an accurate view of how their site will look before it goes live.

Dynamic pages

The Dynamic Pages tool is one of Duda’s most powerful tools as it allows you to design a single page once and then use it over and over again for different purposes without having to manually enter new information each time. This tool uses collections of text, images, business information, video, and more to automatically populate pages with relevant data based on user input or preferences. You can even sync these collections with Google Sheets or Airtable for even faster results.

Search engine optimization

Duda also leverages AI to help make creating and growing your website easier. All plans come with access to their AI content assistant, which will automatically generate and edit site content for you. Those on the Team plan and higher also get access to the AI SEO assistant. This tool makes following SEO best practices easy by generating metadata for all site pages in just one click.

Along with AI tools, Duda offers users a powerful SEO overview. This tool provides, at a glance, an overview of your site’s search engine optimization, helping you find and fix issues quickly. It also provides insight into optimization opportunities and delivers a simple way to give clients an up-to-date SEO snapshot. Working behind the scenes, this tool will identify and alert you of any issues with essential SEO requirements including external and internal links, page meta tags, image alt text, etc.

Ease of use

Templates

It’s incredibly easy to locate the theme you’d like from Duda’s long list. (Image credit: Duda)

When you start your trial, and after you’ve verified your email address (par for the course these days), you’ll be asked about your business — are you a freelancer, a design agency, are you a web designer, or developer, that sort of thing. You’re then promptly sent to Duda’s template selection.

It’s incredibly easy to locate the theme you’d like from Duda’s long list. It’s even possible to preview its look on any type of device with just a click. Once you’ve found the template that’s right for you business, Duda will start setting it all up for you.

Duda has several features that make it easier for you to build the website you want without having to go through a complex process. For instance, you can drag and drop elements wherever you need them on your site. This makes it easy if you don’t have coding knowledge to add images, videos, and text boxes wherever you need them.

The dashboard is also designed in such a way that makes it easier for you to manage and edit your sites. The tools are all clearly labeled and easy to access – which means you don’t have to waste time figuring out how each tool works or where they’re located in the dashboard. This makes it possible for anyone with no web design experience at all to quickly and easily create a beautiful website that looks professionally done.

All of these features combine in such a way that makes Duda an incredibly user-friendly platform that anyone can use.

Pricing

Duda pricing

Duda's pricing structure reflects its positioning as a professional-grade platform. (Image credit: Duda)

Plan

Starting rate (paid annually)

Renewal rate (paid annually)

Basic

$25/month

$12.50/month

Team

$39/month

$19.50/month

Agency

$69/month

$34.50/month

White Label

$199/month

$99.50/month

Custom

Contact for pricing

Contact for pricing

Duda's pricing structure reflects its positioning as a professional-grade platform. It has no free tier but a 14-day free trial to test the service. The Basic plan at $12.50 monthly covers single users building one website, while the Team plan at $19.50 monthly adds collaboration features and white-label client access.

The Agency plan at $34.50 monthly includes four websites and advanced features like widget building, making it ideal for growing web development businesses. For larger agencies, the White Label plan at $99.50 monthly provides enhanced branding options and priority support.

Ecommerce functionality requires separate add-ons regardless of your main plan, with three tiers ranging from $8 to $49 monthly per site. While this initially seems expensive, it actually makes Duda more competitive since you only pay for eCommerce features when you need them. Additional websites beyond your plan's allocation cost extra too.

Support

Duda resources

Duda offers comprehensive and up-to-date information through its Knowledge Base & Documentation section. (Image credit: Duda)

Duda offers comprehensive and up-to-date information through its Knowledge Base & Documentation section. This section contains detailed step-by-step instructions on how to use various features on Duda, as well as frequently asked questions (FAQ) about common issues that may arise when using the platform. Additionally, this page also contains links to other helpful resources such as user guides, tutorials, and videos that can help you get started quickly with your website.

If you require more personal help with your website or need assistance troubleshooting something specific, Duda has you covered in this area too. With live chat, you can get quick answers from knowledgeable customer service representatives when needed. Plus, Duda even offers priority support for businesses that need immediate solutions or have urgent requests for their websites.

In addition to having access to direct customer service representatives via live chat or phone calls, Duda also provides users with access to its online forum and community support networks. This is great for users who are looking for advice from fellow web developers or want to learn from others who may have encountered similar challenges as they work on their websites.

However, it is important to note that the level of support you receive depends on the package you choose. Those on Basic or Team plans can only access support via email, whereas those on the more expensive Agency and White Label plans get full access to priority email, live chat, and phone support.

Security

Duda security features

Duda offers an optional SSL certificate for all websites hosted on its platform. (Image credit: Duda)

Duda offers an optional SSL certificate for all websites hosted on its platform. An SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate is a security protocol that encrypts data sent between a web server and a browser. This ensures that any personal information entered into your website is kept secure and protected from any potential hackers or malicious actors. The SSL certificate also adds an extra layer of protection against data breaches and other cyberattacks.

Finally, Duda also provides a Password Manager feature which allows you to store their passwords securely within the platform itself. This means that even if someone does get access to your account, they won't be able to view or use your passwords unless they have the correct login credentials for the Password Manager. This added layer of security further protects your account from malicious actors looking to gain access without authorization.

Alternatives

Squarespace has an intuitive drag-and-drop interface that makes it simple to design a beautiful website from scratch. Squarespace also offers dozens of templates that can help you get started quickly if you don’t have time to build your site from scratch.

If ease of use is what you're looking for in a website builder, then Wix might be the solution for you. Wix doesn't require any coding knowledge - just point and click. It has hundreds of templates available so you can easily create a stunning website in minutes without having any prior design experience. Additionally, Wix offers powerful features like customizable forms and ecommerce solutions so you can easily manage customer orders on your site.

Duda: Summary

Duda offers a complete package of features that make it easy to build and maintain a website. It includes everything from template designer tools, customization capabilities, content management tools, e-commerce integrations, SEO optimization options, and more. All of these features work together to give you control over how your website looks and functions.

In addition to having lots of features that make it easy to customize your website, Duda also offers several helpful support resources. From getting started tutorials to detailed user guides and FAQs, there are plenty of resources available that can help you design the perfect site for your business or organization in no time.

FAQs

Can I try out Duda before purchasing?

Yes. Duda offers a 14-day free trial with all the features available in the Team plan so that you can play around with the platform and make sure it fits your needs before making any commitment.

Does my website have to be hosted with Duda?

All websites built on the Duda platform are hosted on servers via Amazon Web Services (AWS). This guarantees your sites maintain a 99.999% uptime. However, if you’re on an Agency or Custom plan, you can export code from Duda - but importing code from an external source isn’t allowed.

What CDN does Duda use?

All websites created with Duda are served via Amazon's Cloudfront CDN for lightning-fast loading speeds. This makes sure visitors have quick access to your website no matter where they are located and that your content is delivered quickly and reliably across all devices.

Fitbit Versa 3 review
6:02 pm | June 4, 2021
Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Health & Fitness Smartwatches | Tags: , , | Comments: Off

Editor's note

  • First reviewed: July 2022
  • Launch price: $229 / £199 / AU$399
  • New official price:  $169 / £169.99 / AU$299.99

Updated: January 2024: We reviewed the Fitbit Sense 3 in 2022, during which we praised it and called it the best Fitbit watch device overall. Since then, quite a few Fitbit devices have come and gone, including the Fitbit Versa 4: but due to the removal of some community and music features, we didn't rate the Versa 4 as highly as the Versa 3. Therefore, we still think the Versa 3 is a great buy, and although the official price has gone down, you can find deals on the Versa 3 even cheaper with third parties. 

The rest of the review remains as previously published.

Two-minute review

The Fitbit Versa 3 has finally fixed our biggest gripe about the Versa line of smartwatches, and we can recommend it as a great buy. Depending on price, we've even ranked it above the Fitbit Sense in our list of the Best Fitbits, earning the top spot. The Versa 3 now comes with integrated GPS to track – in real time – the pace and distance of your walks, runs, bike rides or hikes if you choose to leave your phone behind.

While that’s definitely a step up from the Versa 2, as is the larger and truly gorgeous display, there are still little things about the Versa 3 that make it oh-so-frustratingly-close to being one of the best wearables on the market.

Key stats

Price: $229 / £199 / AU$399
Case size: 40.48mm x 40.48mm 
Display tech: AMOLED
On-board GPS: Yes
Max battery life: 6 days

Don’t get us wrong – the Versa 3 is a serious contender to be the best fitness tracker on the market, especially given its relatively affordable price tag and the plethora of fitness tracking capabilities it has, which also includes an SpO2 sensor to measure blood oxygen levels while you sleep. However, a lot more useful information is locked behind the Fitbit Premium paywall, and the redesign of the side button has made it frustrating to use.

Instead of a physical button, like there is on the Versa 2, there’s now an indent on the left side of the chassis that’s similar to the inductive button that debuted on the Fitbit Charge 3. Unfortunately, it’s not as well implemented on the Versa 3, and it takes a few tries to find the exact spot you need to press to bring up apps and sub-menus.

Other than that, though, the Versa 3 is a beautiful wearable that does a lot of what the Fitbit Sense can do, with the exception of stress management and advanced heart monitoring. That means it’s cheaper than the Sense, although it is slightly more expensive than the Versa 2 in some markets (it costs the same £199 in the UK as its predecessor). However, built-in GPS, a larger 1.58-inch AMOLED display (the same as the one on the Sense) and an SpO2 sensor more than justifies the slightly higher launch price of $229 / AU$399.

There’s also a lot more fitness monitoring features on the Versa 3, making the on-device interface a lot busier than what was available on the Versa 2 at launch. There are ways to manage them all, but they do take time to get used to.

Despite that, performance is excellent, as we've come to expect from Fitbit devices. Battery life is about six days on a dim screen setting, but it drops to half that if you have the display set to always-on. GPS isn't as pinpoint accurate as on some other bands we've reviewed, but for the average user that won’t matter very much. The heart rate monitor is now a bit more precise than the Versa 2, but without a chest strap to compare, it’s hard to judge exactly how accurate it is.

Alexa is, of course, on board to help you answer some questions that are displayed on the device, and with Google buying Fitbit, a firmware update some time in the future will add Google Assistant to the wearable as well.

There’s still a dearth of productivity apps for Fitbit’s smartwatches but, as we said in our Versa 2 review, these are first and foremost fitness trackers that have  a few smartwatch perks.

Fitbit Versa 3 settings screen

One of the Fitbit Versa 3's best features is its high-resolution AMOLED display (Image credit: TechRadar)

Fitbit Versa 3 price and availability

  • Cheaper than Fitbit Sense
  • Pricier than Fitbit Versa 2 in some markets
  • Available in three color options

Fitbit announced the Versa 3, along with the Sense and the Fitbit Inspire 2, at a virtual conference in August 2020. It went up for pre-order the following day and began shipping by late September. The Versa 3 is currently available to buy directly from Fitbit and from major retailers around the world.

Interestingly, in the UK, both the Versa 2 and the Versa 3 are listed for the same price of £199. In the US and Australia, though, the Versa 3 carries a higher price tag than its predecessor, retailing for $229 and AU$399 respectively. That makes the Versa 3 the middle child – it’s no longer the flagship, with the Fitbit Sense taking over that role and costing a lot more at $329 / £299 / AU$499.

Unlike the Versa 2, which had a more expensive Special Edition version available, the Versa 3 comes in just the standard issue in three different colors – two soft gold cases with a Pink Gold and Midnight Blue strap, and a black chassis with a black band.

Fitbit Versa 3 on woman's wrist

The Fitbit Versa 3 has essentially the same design as the Fitbit Sense, with a large square display and rounded corners (Image credit: TechRadar)

Design and display

  • 40mm AMOLED display
  • Easy strap removal mechanism
  • Redesigned side button

At first glance the Versa 3 looks identical to its predecessors, but a closer look reveals a few design tweaks that make the new device a bit sleeker. In fact, a change in the color of the aluminum chassis makes the Versa 3 look rather elegant. The ‘soft gold’ case is neutral, but a black option keeps the Versa 3’s universal charm. 

The change in chassis color isn’t the biggest design change though; it’s the size of the screen. The display is now a larger 40mm AMOLED panel as compared to the 39mm on the Versa 2, with a higher resolution of 336 x 336 pixels (the Versa 2 is 300 x 300). It’s a bright, crisp and very clear display that looks absolutely stunning even at its ‘dim’ setting at pretty much any viewing angle. The bezels, though, still remain quite thick, similar to the Versa 2.

Navigating through the menus and apps via the screen is also a walk in the park – not once did the screen lag during our testing period, and swiping to bring up different functions works remarkably well.

Another design change is the side button, or rather the lack thereof – and it’s perhaps our biggest complaint about the Versa 3. Instead of a physical button, there’s a capacitive indent on the left side of the watch that, when pressed correctly, sends a short vibration to indicate you’ve activated the smartwatch. It’s located below the lip of the chassis, so you need to feel for it, and finding the exact spot to press is not especially easy. We've been using the Versa 3 for over a month now and we still need a few tries to find the exact spot. Thankfully, you don’t always need to use this “inductive” button to interact with the watch – you can set the watch to wake with a tap on the screen, then swipe to bring up whichever menu you need. That said, there are ‘shortcuts’ (like bringing up Alexa) that can be set on the watch, and these require either a tap-and-hold or double-tap-and-hold action to activate them. And they can be frustrating to bring up due to that button inconsistency.

Fitbit Versa 3 showing button on side of case

The Fitbit Versa 3 has a redesigned side button that's easier to operate (Image credit: TechRadar)

On the right edge of the watch chassis is a tiny mic and a speaker which, in theory, should allow you to take calls.

Fitbit has also changed the strap mechanism – the same as in the Fitbit Sense – and we think it’s better than the mechanism on the Versa 2. A small button acts as a latch, which when pulled slightly down releases the clasp. It gives the watch a much more streamlined look and makes it remarkably easy to swap out the default sporty strap it comes with.

This silicone strap is also different to the one that comes with the standard edition of the Versa 2. Fitbit calls this new model the "Infinity Band", as it lacks a buckle – it’s the same one that ships with the Sense as well.

Another major difference between the Versa 2 and the new iteration is the charger. Instead of the older box-like USB charger, there’s a small magnetic dock that tops up the juice extremely quickly – we went from 64% battery to 100% in under 15 minutes.

The Versa 3, like its predecessor, is also water resistant to 50m/164ft – meaning you can wear it in the shower or head out for a swim with it on your wrist. It can even survive a dip in salt water, although Fitbit recommends you not wear it in a hot tub or sauna.

Fitbit Versa 3 showing main menu

The large screen makes menus easy to scroll through (Image credit: TechRadar)

Smartwatch features

  • Alexa support, with Google Assistant coming in the future
  • Limited productivity apps
  • Phone call support

As a smartwatch, the Versa 3 functions exactly the same as its predecessor. It’s still a pared-back, no-frills experience as compared to something like an Apple Watch, but there should still be enough apps to keep many users happy. For example, a Philips Hue app is available to control smart lights, and there's a map app as well. That said, some apps are geo-specific to the US, UK or other regions, so the range of apps available to you will vary depending on your location. Fitbit Pay, though, should be a convenient option for most countries, with many banks around the world now supporting the cashless payment method.

It's worth reiterating that many of the better Fitbit apps are paid, just as they are on Apple Watch or Android Wear OS devices, so you'll need to pony up if you want some of the expanded functionality they provide.

Fitbit has a decent range of clock faces to choose from, so it should be easy to find something you like... although strangely, switching to a new face takes a while to apply. Amazon's Alexa is also on board to help with quick questions and, if you set up the Alexa app on your phone and sync your Amazon account, you can do a lot more, like set reminders and control your smart home devices. With Google set to buy Fitbit, Google Assistant support is also due to be added, but there's no firm timeline on when that is due to occur yet. 

As before, there's Deezer and Spotify music-streaming support available, but if you’re leaving your phone behind when on a workout, the only way to get access to your tunes offline is via Deezer. There’s still no offline Spotify feature, which is certainly quite disappointing.

Alarm app on Fitbit Versa 3

The Fitbit Versa 3 comes with various handy tools, including an alarm that can wake you up without disturbing your partner (Image credit: TechRadar)

With a built-in mic and speaker, you should, in theory, be able to take calls, although at the time of writing we were unable to test this functionality. We were able to answer an incoming call, but it seems Fitbit needs to enable this feature so users can use the device’s Bluetooth connection to their phone to speak to a caller (and hear them) by just raising their wrist close to their mouth. Fitbit lists this feature as "coming soon" on its website, so we’ll update this review when the company rolls out a firmware update to fully enable it.

As before, you’ll get all your phone notifications on your wrist, and you can choose which apps can push notifications to the Versa 3 in the Fitbit app. Most commonly used messaging apps are supported, including Slack and WhatsApp, along with emails and Uber.

Android users can reply to text via the Versa 3 with a handful of preset messages, but iPhone users don’t have that option. If you're an iOS user and keen on more smartphone functionality from a wearable, then you could consider opting for the Apple Watch SE. Unfortunately, having an onboard mic doesn’t mean you’re able to dictate messages and send them on any platform.

Fitbit Versa 3 fitness tracking modes

The Fitbit Versa 3 has a wide range of tracking modes for indoor and outdoor activities (Image credit: TechRadar)

Fitness and health tracking

  • SpO2 monitoring
  • GPS enabled
  • Several workout options

Like the previous iteration, fitness and health are the areas where the Versa 3 shines. Admittedly, it doesn’t have as many health tracking features as the Sense does, but there’s enough here for the average user to stay on top of things, thanks to 24/7 activity and heart monitoring.

There are guided breathing exercises available now, with ways to track your mindfulness and the ability to listen to meditation tracks on the Fitbit app. You can set up hourly reminders to move around a little, set your fitness goals and keep tabs on your sleep quality. The Versa 3 will also monitor your blood oxygen level while you sleep (provided you wear the device to bed), and this can be important in detecting disorders like sleep apnea. 

Fitness tracking stats in the Fitbit mobile app

The Fitbit mobile app is available for both iOS and Android devices (Image credit: TechRadar)

Your daily activities are broken down into step counts, steps taken, calories burned and zone minutes. You can get a pretty good picture on how you’re tracking, but if you want to delve deeper, you’ll need to be a subscriber to the Fitbit Premium service, which costs $9.99/£7.99/AU$15.49 per month. This gives you access to the new Health Metrics dashboard that offers advanced statistics on breathing rate, oxygen saturation and heart rate variability. While you won’t get notifications when your heart rate spikes (like on the Sense), there will be a record of it in case you’re monitoring yourself closely. Like the Sense, the Versa 3 vibrates when you’re moving between heart rate zones – useful when you’re working out and can’t keep looking at the clock face to check your pulse.

There are several workout options to choose from, including circuit training and interval workouts, covering most people’s needs. As mentioned earlier, you can even wear the Versa 3 during a swim, either in the pool or the sea.

Run tracking stats in the Fitbit mobile app

The Fitbit Versa 3's on-board GPS means it can track your route on runs and walks even if you leave your phone at home (Image credit: TechRadar)

And now, thanks to the Versa 3’s onboard GPS, all your outdoor activities can be mapped in real time. The GPS isn’t always very precise and does momentarily drop out, but despite that it’s a huge step up from the Versa 2. Keep in mind that the GPS only gets activated when you select a workout mode manually. Fitbit’s SmartTrack feature – which automatically detects and records movement that’s 15 minutes or longer as exercise – will not activate the GPS. Maps are available on the Fitbit app almost immediately after you’ve ended the exercise, with pace, heart rate and calories burnt graphically denoted as well.

Fitbit Versa 3 case back

The Fitbit Versa 3 features an SpO2 sensor on the rear to track blood oxygen saturation (Image credit: TechRadar)

Battery life

  • Up to 6 days of battery
  • 2-day battery with always-on display
  • Charges quickly

Battery life is another thing Fitbit does really well, far better than Apple or Samsung. Like the Versa 2 before it, the Versa 3 offers up to 6 days of juice on a full charge, with the display set at normal brightness and the GPS being used no more than 2-3 times a week. The more you use the GPS, though, the quicker the battery drains; we measured a roughly 8% drop for 30 minutes of GPS use.

Keeping the screen always-on, though, drains the battery significantly, giving you no more than two days on a full charge. And if you use the GPS combined with the always-on display, you’ll need to charge the battery every day.

When the Versa 3’s battery needs some juice, topping it up is thankfully very quick. As we mentioned earlier, a 15-minute stint on the new USB charger gave us 36% more power. 

First reviewed October 2020

Fitbit Versa 3 with weather app on screen

The Fitbit Versa 3 comes with a handy weather app preinstalled (Image credit: TechRadar)

Also consider

Buy it if

Don't buy it if

Fitbit Sense review
5:54 pm |
Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Health & Fitness Smartwatches | Tags: , | Comments: Off

Editor's Note

  • First reviewed: July 2022
  • Original price: $329.99 / £299 / AU$449.95
  • Current official price: $159.99 / £219.99 / AU$224.95

Updated: January 2024: There are two reasons why we think the Fitbit Sense is worth buying over its successor, the Fitbit Sense 2. For one thing, since its launch, the Fitbit Sense has drastically dropped in price. And for another, the Fitbit Sense 2 has arrived on the heels of Fitbit's gutting of several community and music-related features in its watches going forward. At this very attractive price (and you can get it even cheaper during deals events at third-party stores like Best Buy in the US and Currys in the UK) the Sense remains worthy of inclusion in our best Fitbit list, and a relevant cheap watch for Fitbit enthusiasts.

The rest of this review remains as previously published. 

Two-minute review

The Fitbit Sense is one of the best Fitbits, and builds on the success of the Fitbit Versa line with several thoughtful upgrades. It's designed to put you in charge of your wellbeing, helping you understand your body and mind, and make changes to improve your physical and mental health. It succeeds, for the most part – even better than its sequel, the Fitbit Sense 2.

Fitbit Sense: Key specs

Case size: 40mm x 40mm x 12mm
Weight with strap: 49.5g
Display type: color OLED
GPS: yes
Sports modes: 20
Operating system: Fitbit OS

Like many of the best smartwatches and best fitness trackers, it includes an ECG sensor to detect signs of atrial fibrillation, but its stress monitoring function is what really stands out, and is something everyone can benefit from and use every day – not just in a health crisis. It's a shame that many of the tools for managing your stress levels (such as meditation sessions and mindfulness tutorials) are only available to Fitbit Premium subscribers, but the Sense comes with a six-month free trial, so you can get a lot of benefit from them even if you choose not to extend the subscription afterwards.

The fitness tracking features offered by the Sense are also impressive, particularly if you're interested in training using heart rate zones. There's a wide range of activity tracking options, and together the watch and Fitbit app provide you with a set of workout appropriate stats once you've finished.

The ECG feature wasn't available at launch, but was activated in October 2020 via a firmware update. In June 2021, Fitbit began rolling out a new firmware update for the Fitbit Sense and Versa 3 that added audible Google Assistant notifications, new goal celebrations, and the ability to more easily change the watch face. Some users also received a new 'snore detection' tool as part of a public beta test.

The Sense isn't perfect though, and we can also see room for improvement within the Fitbit companion app - particularly the menstrual tracking tool, which would benefit from integration with the skin temperature sensor and stress-monitoring functions.

Price and availability

Fitbit Sense: Price and availability

At the time of writing, the Fitbit Sense is available directly from Fitbit and from third-party retailers, and currently costs $159.99 / £219.99 / AU$224.95. It's not available from Fitbit in the US due to the release of the Fitbit Sense 2, so the price above was pulled from Best Buy. 

Contrast this with the Sense 2, which costs $299.95 / £269.99 / AU$449.95. 

Fitbit Sense on woman's wrist

The Fitbit Sense's color OLED display is clearly visible in all lighting conditions, though using always-on mode will drain the battery more rapidly (Image credit: Future)

Fitbit Sense: Design and display

  • Bright, clear display
  • Comfortable Infinity Band strap
  • Wide range of watch faces

The Fitbit Sense is a good-looking smartwatch. It has a very similar, almost identical
screen design to the Fitbit Versa line, with a square face and rounded edges that Fitbit's designers say are inspired by the lines of the human body.

The case is stainless steel, giving the sense a premium look, with a small touch-sensitive button on the left-hand side that can be set up for quick access to your most frequently used apps. A single-press will open one app (this is Alexa by default), and a double-press will display four shortcuts to other apps. We found this particularly useful for accessing our favorite workouts without scrolling through the watch's menus, and for quickly starting an EDA scan (more on that below).

Fitbit Sense watch showing options menu

You can adjust the watch's brightness, volume, and other options through the settings menu (Image credit: Future)

The color display (covered with Gorilla Glass) is bright, sharp and responsive. Swiping to the right reveals various settings, including access to sleep mode, which dims the screen and deactivates vibrations, volume, screen brightness, always-on screen, and do-not-disturb mode. Swiping down from any screen will reveal a shade containing your notifications, which can be customized in the Fitbit app.

The Fitbit Sense comes with an Infinity Band strap, which is made from soft silicone with no hard buckles or catches. It’s very similar to the band on the recently released Polar Unite, and has the same issue of being ever so slightly tricky to fasten as you have to feed the end of the band underneath the strap to secure it. However, once you've mastered it, the band is extremely comfortable, and we found we barely felt it, which is particularly useful at night.

Fitbit recommends wearing it a little tighter while you’re working out to ensure an accurate heart rate reading, cleaning the band regularly with soapy water, and taking it off periodically to allow your skin to breathe.

Fitbit Sense side view

The Fitbit Sense has a smart aluminum case and soft silicone strap (Image credit: Future)

Like most Fitbits, the Sense is supplied with two bands to fit a range of wrist sizes. The smaller band fits wrists 5.5-7.1 inches in circumference, while the larger one fits wrists 7.1-8.7 inches in circumference.

There’s a huge array of watch faces to choose from in the Fitbit app (including the newly released SpO2 face), and you can pick four to save to your Sense for quick access. However, their location on the Sense is a little counterintuitive. Although the watch’s settings menu allows you to change various settings related to its face, including setting the brightness and toggling always-on mode on and off. However, if you want to change the design of the watch face, you need to access a separate menu labelled ‘Clocks’.

Fitbit Sense: Features

  • Supplied with Alexa voice controls; Google Assistant coming soon
  • Daily stress tracking and mood logging
  • Wide range of mindfulness and meditation tools

The Fitbit Sense offers a maximum battery life of six days, but regular use of its various sensors will reduce that time significantly – as will use of the always-on screen. When it's time to top it up, charging is simple; the Sense comes with a small USB charger with a square dock that attaches to the watch’s pack using magnets. It’s very easy to use, and the magnetic connection means it’s impossible to misalign.

It offers all the usual smartwatch features you'd expect from a high-end Fitbit, including voice controls via Alexa (Google Assistant is coming towards the end of 2020) and Fitbit Pay (provided your bank is among those supported).

You will also receive call and SMS notifications from your phone, and can dictate responses to text messages using the Sense's built-in microphone. We'll be testing these features in depth over the coming days and updating this review based on our findings. Bluetooth call-answering is coming later in 2020. 

Fitbit Sense showing main menu

The large display of the Fitbit Sense makes navigation easy (Image credit: Future)

The Sense's standout feature is stress monitoring, which is measured in the form of electrodermal activity (EDA) responses, which are caused by the conductivity of your skin. This is affected by sweat, which is in turn affected by your adrenal glands. It’s worth noting that emotional stress isn’t the only factor that can affect EDA responses – physical stress like exercise and heat can affect it as well.

To run a scan, make sure you have the Sense secured well so that it can record your heart rate accurately, then swipe left, select ‘EDA scan’ and place your free hand over its face for two minutes. You’ll feel a gentle vibration when the scan begins and another when it’s completed. The fewer EDA responses the watch records, the calmer you (probably) are.

Once the scan is done, you’ll also be prompted to enter a quick record of how you’re feeling at that moment – very calm, calm, neutral, stressed or very stressed. You can then review these measurements in the Fitbit app.

Stress monitoring falls under the category of ‘Mindfulness’ within the Fitbit app. Here you can find a record of all past scans, plus a calendar showing your mood variations over time and a set of exercises to help you manage your stress. You can set ‘Mindfulness goals’, which will prompt you to perform an EDA scan, record your mood and practice mindfulness exercising  over the course of several days. You can then look back at how your mood fluctuates over time and get an understanding of the factors that affect it.

Data collected by Fitbit Sense in the Fitbit mobile app

You can download additional faces for the Sense through the Fitbit mobile app for Android and iOS (Image credit: Future)

There are various tools for managing stress within the Fitbit app, but it’s worth noting that most of these require a subscription to Fitbit Premium. The Sense comes with six-month free trial of Premium, but you may well want to continue subscribing after this expires to get the most out of the device.

The Sense can also measure skin temperature at night, allowing you to monitor it for trends over time. It can’t explicitly tell you whether you’re suffering from an infection, but raised temperatures can be a sign that something is amiss. 

After three nights, the Fitbit app will be able to establish a baseline temperature for your skin, and show you how it fluctuates as you sleep (some changes overnight being normal). The graph only shows variation, but this is sensible, as skin temperature on your wrist will be vastly different to core temperature, so the trends are more useful than the specific value and skin temp is better used to inform your overall sleep score than provide accurate core temperature readings. 

If you choose to, you can take your core temperature with a thermometer and enter it manually.

Sleep tracking metrics in the Fitbit app

The Sense offers advanced sleep tracking, though you'll need a Fitbit Premium subscription to access full insights (Image credit: Fitbit)

The Sense also tracks blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) as you sleep, which can help you spot signs of conditions such as sleep apnea, in which you stop breathing periodically during the night, resulting in disturbed sleep and fatigue in the morning. You will need to activate the sensor manually in your device's settings, and bear in in mind that doing so will cause the battery to drain a little faster.

Menstrual tracking is present in the Fitbit app, and although it's not recommended as a form of contraception, it shows when you're likely to be most fertile and allows you to log symptoms of PMT so you can be better prepared each month. This could be improved by integration with the mood tracking tools, so you can more easily see the impact of monthly hormonal fluctuations. We'd also like to see it incorporate data from the skin temperature sensor, which could be a useful indicator of ovulation.

Fitbit Sense: Performance

  • Great choice of workout options
  • Good for heart rate zone training
  • On-board GPS and Strava support

Workout options for the Fitbit Sense include bike, bootcamp, circuit training, elliptical, golf, hike, interval workout, kickboxing, martial arts, pilates, run, spinning, swim, stair climber, tennis, treadmill, weights, workout and yoga – which should cover pretty much everyone.

Fitbit Sense showing Active Zone Minutes notification

Get moving and raise your heart rate to earn Active Zone Minutes, and the Sense will notify you when you achieve your goal (Image credit: Future)

The Sense is water resistant to 50m, making it suitable for swimming in the pool or the sea (though Fitbit advises rinsing the strap with clean water afterwards).

We took the Sense for a pretty intense spin session and noticed no unexpected dips in heart rate that indicate an issue with fitness trackers. Our heart rate shown on the watch face mirrored our efforts on the bike, with only a slight delay as you'd expect from any wrist-mounted heart rate monitor.

The Sense vibrates to indicate when you're moving between heart rate zones, which is a very useful for training. We also liked the fact that the heart rate was displayed prominently on the screen at all times – something not all fitness trackers do.

Heart rate, female health, and sleep metrics in the Fitbit mobile app

The Fitbit Sense can alert you if your heart rate is unusually high or low, and the app can track your menstrual cycle (Image credit: Future)

The only issue we encountered was that the Fitbit Sense logged quite a few steps while we were on the static bike, even though we were using the dedicated Spin exercise mode. It seems like it would be wise for cycling modes to temporarily turn off the watch's pedometer, though we're not sure how feasible that would be.

The Sense also features on-board GPS, so you can map out your runs, walks and bike rides without the need to carry a phone. The GPS will only be activated if you select the correct workout mode manually (it won't be activated if the device detects that you've begun exercising by itself), but this makes sense as it conserves battery life.

Once you've finished, your maps are visible in the Fitbit app straight away, and you can connect your Fitbit account to Strava so they are synced automatically.

Physical and mental wellbeing can have a huge effect on one another, and this is the first smartwatch we've seen that puts an equal focus on both. It still has some quirks to be ironed out, but these are mostly on the software side, so we anticipate the Sense will become even more useful over time.

Fitbit Sense: Buy it if

Fitbit Sense: Don't buy it if

Also consider

First reviewed October 2020.

Iolo Search and Recover review
9:01 am | June 2, 2021
Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets | Comments: Off

When you've deleted files, folders, or partitions in error, you need an affordable data recovery solution that works fast.

That's exactly the idea behind IOLO Search And Recover 4, which lays claim to speedy, "fast" recovery and "one-click restoration."

Established in 1998, IOLO is a US-based company that has provided award winning software to millions of customers and over 80 million devices. That's quite a reputation – but is IOLO Search And Recover 4 going to meet expectations? 

Iolo Search and Recover review

Iolo Search and Recover is an affordable data recovery solution (Image credit: Iolo)

Iolo Search and Recover: Plans and pricing

Many data recovery tools provide a free trial or a free option. Free trials are typically limited by functionality – some will only show you what you can recover, whereas others put a cap on the volume of data recovered.

This isn't the case with IOLO Search And Recover 4. There is no accessible free trial and no free download. Instead, you have the option of buying the data recovery utility for a $39.95 (£32) annual license or not buying it. Currently Iolo Search and Recover's available at a special price of just $31.95 (£26).

While Iolo Search and Recovery is available as a standalone tool, it's also included in System Mechanic Ultimate Defense. This is another Iolo product which combines 7 of their tools into a single dashboard. This includes antivirus/malware protection as well as tools to securely delete files, so they can't be recovered with most commercial data recovery methods. The System Mechanic suite is currently available for $63.94 (£52). 

This is twice the price of the IOLO tool on its own but good value for money when compared to buying individual programs for antivirus protection, secure file deletion and so on. 

During our most recent tests we used a copy of System Mechanic Ultimate Defense to try to recover data, but we only used the "Search and Recover" tool. 

As it is more affordable than many competing products, these are price points that might suit you, especially if you can recover your data. 

You can also use the software in evaluation mode, but this isn't accessible until you actually pay for it. 

IOLO Search And Recover comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee and can be used on all of your home PCs. It runs on Windows 7, 8, 8.1, and Windows 10.

Iolo Search and Recover review

Iolo Search and Recover is backed by a number of special features (Image credit: Iolo)

Iolo Search and Recover: Key recovery features

You can expect to find and recover deleted and lost media files, office documents, system files, and even emails with IOLO Search And Recover.

Capable of recovering emails from Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express, Mozilla Thunderbird, and even older apps like Netscape Mail and Eudora, IOLO Search And Recover 4 can potentially help you recover lost email messages from years ago.

There is also support for removable media, such as cameras and memory cards, CDs, DVDs, USB flash drives, and MP3 players. IOLO Search And Recover 4 can even recover from IDE, SCSI, USB, USB 2.0, FireWire, and other drive connections. 

Importantly, it also claims to be able to recover data from "malfunctioning, damaged, formatted, and repartitioned drives and devices," though this wasn't borne out in our test (see below) 

How we tested 

For our data recovery tests we used a virtual machine with a clean install of Windows 11. The only third-party tools installed besides System Mechanic Ultimate Defences (which incorporates Iolo Search and Recover), were VLC Media Player and GIMP. 

Data files

The files we chose for recovery are an album of Mozart's Music available from the Internet Archive. 

We did this as we wanted to see how the utility performed with a wide variety of files.The album included 4 music files (2 in Mp3 and 2 in FLAC) format, 6 JPG image files of album covers (with thumbnails) and 2 PNG image files. The files also included 2 XML files, a torrent file and an 'SQLite' file containing details of the album. There were 25 files in total. 

We copied the files in the music album to a 512MB virtual NTFS-formatted hard drive, which was then attached to the Windows 11 virtual machine.

Data tests

The tests were performed one after the other on three separate virtual drives:

1. File deletion: the album files were simply deleted from the drive and the Recycle Bin emptied. No other data was copied to the drive. We then tried to recover the files. 

2. Delete & format: The files were deleted as outlined above and we also performed a 'Quick Format' using the 'Disk Management' utility built into Windows 11. We then tried to recover the files from the formatted partition. 

3. Recover corrupted files: We used the freeware program 'Victoria' to overwrite the volume header of the drive containing the files with zeroes. The drive didn't mount automatically in File Explorer and showed as being unpartitioned in Windows "Disk Management" utility. We then checked if the utility could see it and if so, recover the files. 

We do not believe that running data recovery tools in a virtual environment has a significant effect on how they function. Still, if you're considering buying software we encourage you to read all reviews thoroughly and make sure that the developer offers a refund policy.

Iolo Search and Recover review

There are five different search options available (Image credit: Iolo)

Iolo Search and Recover: Finding files

Back in 2021 when we first reviewed IOLO Search and Recover 4, we tested with an unmountable 16GB SanDisk Cruzer Blade USB thumb drive. This was connected to a Windows 10 laptop (a Dell 5505).

It was a perfect opportunity to test IOLO Search And Recover 4's claim to be able to handle "malfunctioning, damaged" drives. Sadly, despite demanding nearly $40 to use the software, IOLO could not recover data from our unmountable USB device. 

Unfortunately it seems not much has changed in recent years. Our test on a drive with a corrupted volume header had the same result : the disk appeared in Windows 11 Disk Management Utility but when we fired up the Search and Recovery tool, the drive wasn't listed.

This is in contrast to other data recovery tools which offer a free tier like EaseUS Data Recovery Pro, which almost instantly recognized the lost partition. Even if IOLO's tool had been able to see the lost partition, it also only offers an option to recover data: there doesn't seem to be a feature for rebuilding the filesystem. Naturally we can't be certain of this as the utility couldn't see the corrupted volume.  

Iolo Search and Recover review

Standard, SmartScan, and StrongScan options are available (Image credit: Iolo)

Iolo Search and Recover: Recovery performance

IOLO's Data Recovery Tool had much more joy with the other drives we tested. The recovery interface is very straightforward to use in that you can choose both a "Search Location" and where to "Save Recovered Files". 

One minor annoyance is that unlike other data recovery tools we've reviewed, you can't create a new folder to store the recovered files from within the app. This is a minor point and doesn't take away from the fact that the tool is extremely well laid out and simple to use. 

Iolo Search and Recover review

These are the results of a SmartScan conducted with Iolo Search and Recover (Image credit: Iolo)

Standard analysis ("SmartScan") of the virtual 512GB drive completed in just a few seconds, which was much faster than expected. The "SmartScan" feature supposedly exists to ignore "junk" and "irrelevant" files, so you can get at your data. We assume this means it won't recover files that were created by the computer like System Volume Information but focus on human-created ones instead.

We also performed a "StrongScan" of the drive. This tool analyses the drive more deeply for lost data by looking for fragments and trying to rebuild files.  

We were able to compare the two types of scans in our first test. The initial "SmartScan was able to recognize 24 of the 25 deleted files from the virtual drive. These files listed as "Good" and when we restored them to a folder on the hard drive, we found they could open without issue. 

When we ran the test again using "StrongScan", the missing JPG turned up along with 44 other files which were actually duplicates of the originals and system files. 

Next we tested the drive whose files had been deleted, then "quick" formatted using Windows' built-in tools. An initial "SmartScan" revealed no files at all. However when we ran the "StrongScan", the utility was able to recover 21 of the 25 files. The images, XML and MP3 files made it intact but there was no sign of the 2 FLAC audio files, the torrent file or the .sqlite file. 

Individual and groups of files can be selected for recovery from the results. These are listed along with file path, quality, file format, and date information. Other filter options are available, although there is no search tool. Recovery involves simply clicking the Recover this File button and selecting a destination.

Along with recovery, data can be terminated, deleting it fully from the disk. 

Overall, recovery is satisfactory, but the lack of options (beyond focusing on specific filetypes) is a shortcoming, as is the undetected "corrupted" drive. 

Iolo Search and Recover review

Iolo provides numerous support options (Image credit: Iolo)

Iolo Search and Recover: Support

Using new software can often lead to confusion. In the case of IOLO Search And Recover 4, publishers IOLO provide a complete, modern online support system.

The IOLO support page starts off with a search box for inputting questions (avoid single words). You'll also find direct telephone numbers for customer service and technical support. One number is free, the other for customers who have paid for a support package. 

The number itself is tool-free to call from US and Canada. Still, you'll need to pay for a support package if you want IOLO to help you. Prices start from $99 (£80) for one-time troubleshooting support on a single computer or mobile device. You can also pay $240 (£193) for a year of unlimited 24/7 tech support on up to 3 devices. There are monthly plans for those who can't afford this in one go. 

For further software instruction, IOLO provides a knowledge base. 

There's some information here on System Mechanice but nothing that concerns IOLO Search And Recover itself, which is somewhat disappointing. The IOLO support page also has a live chat support box for you to raise any issues you may have with their technical personnel.

Iolo Search and Recover: Final verdict

Is IOLO Search And Recover the recovery tool for you? It is, overall, a decidedly average piece of software. The hidden evaluation version aside, it is affordable and comes with a 30-day money-back offer.  That at least means if you do buy the software and it can't recover your data e.g. because it can't see a damaged drive or partition, you'll get your money back. 

If you need the extra features it may also make sense to buy this as part of the package offered by the System Mechanic Suite. 

The user interface for both apps looks a little dated, reminding us of the heady days of Windows 7. Still, it's well laid out and there are helpful information boxes next to unfamiliar terms like "StrongScan" to help explain features.

When you launch the tool, you'll also spot a nag box at the bottom advising you how much is left on the current license. This even happened when we first installed it, kindly informing us there were 366 days left. 

While scan and recovery is fast, IOLO Search And Recover couldn't even detect our unmountable virtual drive, accessible to many competitor apps. This is disappointing when the software makes specific claims about being able to do just that. 

Overall, whether taken as a standalone or as part of the System Mechanic suite, Iolo Search and Recover seems to lack the fine tuning of some of its competitors. This is a good thing in that it's very simple to launch and use but a lack of fine tuning makes data recovery difficult. We also expected more in terms of seeing and restoring "lost" partitions, as IOLO's competitors can do. Still, the money back guarantee means you've very little to lose by purchasing a license and attempting to recover files with IOLO Search and Recovery, as you can always claim a refund if you have no joy. 

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