The direct answer: these three watches span a nearly 4x price range and aren’t really the same tier of “budget.” CMF Watch 3 Pro at $79 is the true entry-level pick with the longest battery life of the three. Samsung Galaxy Watch FE at $199.99 is the best middle ground, carrying genuine FDA-cleared ECG and BIA sensors down from Samsung’s flagship line. Amazfit Balance 2 at $299.99 sits closest to full-price flagship territory while still undercutting Apple and Samsung’s top watches.
At a Glance
- Best true entry-level pick: CMF Watch 3 Pro ($79) — up to 13 days battery (60 in power-saving mode), GPS, and calling for the lowest price of the three.
- Best value: Samsung Galaxy Watch FE ($199.99) — FDA-cleared ECG and BIA scans carried down from Samsung’s flagship watches.
- Best near-flagship budget pick: Amazfit Balance 2 ($299.99) — 21-day battery with no subscription required.
CMF Watch 3 Pro: The True Entry-Level Pick
CMF Watch 3 Pro, the successor to the CMF Watch Pro 2, runs $79 — by far the cheapest watch in this comparison. It packs a 1.43-inch AMOLED display, built-in GPS, Bluetooth calling with AI noise reduction, heart rate and sleep tracking, 130 sport modes, and IP68 water resistance. Battery life is rated at 13 days under normal use, stretching to as much as 60 days in power-saving mode — genuinely strong numbers for the price.
What you give up at this price is sensor depth and build polish: no ECG, no blood oxygen sensor mentioned in its spec sheet, and reviewers have flagged some tracking accuracy inconsistencies at this budget tier. For someone who wants basic fitness tracking and notifications without spending real money, it’s a legitimate option — just not a substitute for the health-sensor depth of the other two.
Samsung Galaxy Watch FE: Flagship Sensors at a Fraction of the Price
Galaxy Watch FE launched at $199.99 (Bluetooth-only) and carries over the same BioActive sensor from Samsung’s pricier watches — including FDA-cleared ECG readings and bioelectrical impedance (BIA) body composition scans, features you’d otherwise need to pay $299.99+ for on a full Galaxy Watch8. It has a 1.2-inch, 396×396 Super AMOLED always-on display and tracks 100 workout types with sleep tracking.
The tradeoffs versus Samsung’s flagship line are real: an older Exynos W920 dual-core processor (versus the newer W930 in current flagships), only one case size (40mm), and battery life that tops out around 40 hours with always-on display disabled — a fraction of what either Amazfit or CMF offer. Performance can lag visibly next to Samsung’s current flagship watches, per hands-on reviews.
Amazfit Balance 2: The Near-Flagship Budget Pick
Amazfit Balance 2 costs $299.99 — the most expensive of the three, though still well under Apple or Samsung’s flagship pricing — and its headline number is 21 days of battery life under typical use, using Amazfit’s BioTracker sensor for heart rate, sleep quality, blood oxygen, and stress monitoring. It requires no subscription; all tracking and analysis runs through the free Zepp App.
It doesn’t carry an ECG sensor the way Galaxy Watch FE does, so anyone specifically drawn to that feature should look at Samsung’s watch instead — Balance 2’s pitch is battery life and general fitness-tracking breadth rather than clinical-adjacent health sensors.
Spec Comparison
| Amazfit Balance 2 | Samsung Galaxy Watch FE | CMF Watch 3 Pro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $299.99 | $199.99 | $79 |
| Battery life | Up to 21 days | Up to 40 hrs (AOD off) | 13 days (60 in power-saving) |
| ECG sensor | No | Yes, FDA-cleared | No |
| Subscription required | None | None | None |
| Case sizes | One size | One size (40mm) | One size |
| Display | AMOLED | 1.2″ Super AMOLED, always-on | 1.43″ AMOLED |
Prices are approximate, current as of publication, and change frequently — confirm the latest price with the retailer before buying.
So Which One Should You Actually Buy?
Buy CMF Watch 3 Pro if your budget is genuinely tight and you want the longest battery life here without paying for sensors you may not need. Buy Samsung Galaxy Watch FE if ECG and body-composition tracking matter to you specifically — it’s the only one of the three with that sensor depth, at a real discount versus Samsung’s flagship line. Buy Amazfit Balance 2 if 21-day battery life without a subscription is your top priority and you’re comfortable spending closer to flagship pricing for it.
How We Compared
We did not test all three watches side by side for this comparison. Pricing and specs were verified against each brand’s own current product pages and retail listings, cross-referenced with 2026 hands-on reviews for real-world context — and we specifically checked that CMF’s Watch Pro 2 has been superseded by the newer Watch 3 Pro before finalizing which model to compare. More on our process is on our editorial standards page. Prices are approximate, current as of publication, and change frequently — confirm the latest price with the retailer before buying.
FAQ
Which budget smartwatch has the longest battery life?
Amazfit Balance 2, rated up to 21 days under typical use — ahead of CMF Watch 3 Pro’s 13-day rating and well beyond Samsung Galaxy Watch FE’s roughly 40 hours.
Does the Galaxy Watch FE have the same sensors as the flagship Galaxy Watch?
Yes for the core health sensors — it carries the same BioActive sensor with FDA-cleared ECG and BIA scans. The tradeoffs are an older processor, one case size, and shorter battery life than the flagship line.
Is CMF Watch 3 Pro a good first smartwatch?
For basic fitness tracking, notifications, and calling at the lowest price in this comparison, yes — just know it skips ECG and blood oxygen sensors, and some reviewers have flagged tracking accuracy inconsistencies at this price tier.
Do any of these budget smartwatches require a subscription?
No. All three — Amazfit Balance 2, Samsung Galaxy Watch FE, and CMF Watch 3 Pro — work fully without any ongoing subscription fee.
Ready to consider a flagship instead? See our flagship smartwatch comparison. Browse more in our Smartwatches category.
