Jumping or skipping rope has become popular in recent years. This HIIT workout has many benefits attached to it. To mention a few, it can improve lung capacity, build stamina/strength, burn calories, tighten your core and tone your calves.
On average, a single minute of jump rope can burn about 5-10 calories. It can go as high as 200-300 calories in 15 minutes, but it varies from person to person.
To quote American Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation here, the men who skipped rope 10 min. daily for 6 weeks are found to have better cardiovascular efficiency than those who jogged 30 min.
If you are reading this post, you might know the benefits of jump rope already. So let’s not beat around the bush.
Do smartwatches track jump rope? Not all of them, as this workout, is not made it to mainstream smartwatches yet. Smartwatches and Fitness Trackers by Amazfit and Huawei have dedicated jump rope modes, while others like Garmin, Apple, and Samsung rely on third-party apps.
However, if you are in a hurry here are our top 3 picks:
| Best Fitness Smartwatch for counting Jumping Rope | Garmin Venu 2/2S |
| Best Wear OS Smartwatch for counting Jumping Rope | Galaxy watch 4/4 classic |
| Best iOS Smartwatch for counting Jumping Rope | Apple Watch SE |
In this post, I will discuss the best smartwatches for counting Jumping Rope.
So without further ado, let’s get started.
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Table of Contents
Top Smartwatches for Counting Rope Jumping:
- Mi Band 6
- Amzafit T-Rex Pro
- Garmin Venu SQ
- Garmin Venu 2/2S
- Garmin Fenix 6/6S
- Galaxy watch 4/4 classic
- Garmin Forerunner 55
- HUAWEI Band 6
- Apple Watch SE
Mi Band 6: Best Cheap Fitness Tracker For Skipping Rope
Features and Specs:
- Dimensions: 47.4 × 18.6 × 12.7 mm
- Weight: 12.8 g
- Casing Material: PC plastic
- Display: Size: 1.56 inches | Screen Resolution: 152 x 486 Pixels | Screen Type: AMOLED ****| Always-on mode: Yes
- Straps: Material: TPU | Size: 155 – 219mm | Type: Replaceable (Quick-Release)
- Water Resistance: 5 ATM
- Companion App: Mi Fit app
- Smart Features: Music Storage: No | Third-Party Apps: Yes(Mi Fit app) | Wi-Fi Connectivity: Yes
- Health Features: Heart Rate: Yes | Stress: Yes | SpO2 (Blood Oxygen): Yes
- Sports Features: GPS connectivity: Yes | Sports Modes: 30+
- Battery Life: Up to 14 days | Charging Time: Approximate 102 minutes
Review:
Xiaomi Mi Band 6 is the cheapest fitness tracker on the market right now that you can buy to keep close tabs on your jumping rope workouts. You will be surprised to know the data you can get from the device, not to mention that, it has a dedicated mode for skipping ropes.
Apart from the regular metrics like time, total jumps, and frequency, Band 6 goes as far as to track training effect (both aerobic and anaerobic), heart rate zone, calories burned, and VO2 max data for you. The count can be a little off, but it gives you a good overall idea of the exercise.
The fitness tracker has about 30 modes (some of them GPS enabled) to take advantage of, and surely it covers all health tracking pretty well. You can track heart rate, sleep, stress, respiration, and blood oxygen without having to charge the device regularly.
Mi Band 6 is a solid buy if you don’t want to spend extra for day-to-day jump rope training. It has got GPS tracking, long battery life, and advanced health tracking that you only find in expensive Garmin or Fitbit watches.
Amazfit T-Rex Pro
Features and Specs:
- Dimensions: 47.7 x 47.7 x 13.5 mm
- Weight: 59g (with strap)
- Casing Material: Polymer body
- Display: Size: 1.3 inches | Screen Resolution: 360 x 360 Pixels | Screen Type: AMOLED | Always-on mode: Yes
- Straps: Material: Silicone l | Size: 22mm | Type: Replaceable (Quick-Release)
- Water Resistance: 10 ATM
- Companion App: Amazfit app
- Smart Features: Music Storage: No | Third-Party Apps: Yes(Amazfit app) | Wi-Fi Connectivity: Yes
- Health Features: Heart Rate: Yes | Stress: Yes | SpO2 (Blood Oxygen): Yes
- Sports Features: GPS connectivity: Yes | Sports Modes: 100+
- Battery Life: 18 days | Charging Time: Approximate 1.5 hours
Review:
Amazfit T-Rex Pro is the only smartwatch on this list that has a dedicated jumping rope mode. It mimics the Garmin Fenix series in looks but the features it offers make it more of a fitness tracker than a rugged watch for outdoor adventures.
The touch screen AMOLED display is a welcome addition, but we were overjoyed to find out that it features the old-school four physical buttons for navigation. It comes particularly handy during exercise when your hands are sweaty, and the touch screen becomes fiddly. And those who do jumping rope regularly know fully well that it involves a lot of sweating.
The following resource gives you all the details on jumping rope mode
As you can see, the watch allows you a lot of exciting features in the Jumping Rope mode. You can set duration, calories burned, Jumps count as your goals. Surprisingly, T-REX Pro also has the Training effect feature which basically allows you the effect of exercise on your aerobic or anaerobic energy system. We have seen this level of detail on the Premium Garmin Watches before.
Garmin Venu SQ
Features and Specs:
- Dimensions: 40 mm: 40.6 x 37.0 x 11.5 mm, 45 mm: 45.4 x 45.4 x 12.2mm
- Weight: 40mm: 37.6 grams, 45mm: 49 grams ****
- Casing Material: Fiber-Reinforced Polymer
- Display: Size: 40mm: 1.3 inches 45mm: 1.3 inches | Screen Resolution: 40mm: 240 x 240 Pixels, 45mm: 416 x 416 pixels | Screen Type: 40mm: Liquid Crystal, 45mm: AMOLED | Always-on mode: Optional
- Straps: Material: Silicone | Size: 40mm: 20 mm , 45mm: 22 mm, | Type: Replaceable (Quick-Release)
- Water Resistance: 5 ATM
- Companion App: Garmin Connect
- Smart Features: Music Storage: 40mm: No, 45mm: up to 650 songs | Third-Party Apps: Yes(Garmin Connect IQ Store) | Wi-Fi Connectivity: Yes (Wifi)
- Health Features: Heart Rate: Yes **** | Stress: No | SpO2 (Blood Oxygen): Yes ****
- Sports Features: GPS connectivity: Yes | Sports Modes: 20+
- Battery Life: Standard Mode: 45 mm: Up to 11 days, 40 mm: Up to 6 days | GPS mode: 45 mm: Up to 22 hours, 40 mm: Up to 14 hours | Charging Time: 1.25 hours
Review:
Venu SQ is the most affordable Garmin Watch you can get for counting jumping ropes. There is no built-in sports mode to track skipping ropes, but there are a number of third-party apps that are very much capable to do so. Popular ones are:
- Jump Rope Counter and Timer
- PlyoMetrics+
- Jumps
These apps can view data in various intelligible formats and track more than just the count. You would get comprehensive graphs (Energy Expenditure Graph, Seconds Per Jump Graph, Jumps Per Minute Graph, or JPM). Plus, you get heart rate and calories burned data from the watch itself.
Though these third-party apps take full advantage of automatic activity tracking on Venu SQ, there is also an option to log your jumps manually.
Other than sports tracking, it monitors your heart rate, stress, sleep, SpO2, and hydration level. We have compared the data from Venu SQ with the premium Garmin Fenix Series and Apple Watch and found it to be in line with that from mentioned watches.
The watch is lightweight and is suitable for all wrist sizes. It is more of a fitness tracker than a smartwatch. But if you spend $50 more, you can get music storage for 500 songs. This we think is worth the investment as you won’t have to lug around the bulky smartphone while skipping rope.
Garmin Venu 2/2S
Features and Specs:
- Dimensions: 40 mm: 40.4 x 40.4 x 12.1mm, 45 mm: 45.4 x 45.4 x 12.2mm
- Weight: 40mm: 38.2 grams, 45mm: 49 grams ****
- Casing Material: Fiber-Reinforced Polymer With Stainless Steel Bezel
- Display: Size: 40mm: 1.1 inches 45mm: 1.3 inches | Screen Resolution: 40mm: 360 x 360 Pixels, 45mm: 416 x 416 pixels | Screen Type: AMOLED ****| Always-on mode: Yes
- Straps: Material: Silicone | Size: 40mm: 18 mm , 45mm: 22 mm, | Type: Replaceable (Quick-Release)
- Water Resistance: 5 ATM
- Companion App: Garmin Connect
- Smart Features: Music Storage: Yes(650 songs) | Third-Party Apps: Yes(Garmin Connect IQ Store) | Wi-Fi Connectivity: Yes (Wifi)
- Health Features: Heart Rate: Yes | Sleep: Yes | Stress: Yes | SpO2 (Blood Oxygen): Yes ****
- Sports Features: GPS connectivity: Yes | Sports Modes: 75+
- Battery Life: Standard Mode: 45 mm: Up to 11 days, 40 mm: Up to 10 days | GPS mode + music: 45 mm: Up to 8 hours, 40 mm: Up to 7 hours | Charging Time: 1.5 hours
Review:
Venu 2/2S costs nearly double that that of Venu SQ, but you get a crisp AMOLED display, workout animations, and slightly more smarts for the price you pay. Also, the watch has the latest ELEVATE sensor, so it tracks the heart rate and other metrics more accurately.
Venu 2/2S isn’t just suitable for jump rope. The watch was Garmin’s very first that has HIIT modes pre-installed in it (TABATA, ENOM, AMRAP). Also, there are workout animation and Garmin Coach support for beginners. There are plenty of other sports modes too.
However, for jumping rope, you would have to download third-party apps that might cost you a dollar or two. The main difference between Venu SQ and Venu 2 is that of display and the advanced training metrics in the latter. Though the Venu 2 doesn’t show training effect, recovery, and training status, the watch does track VO2 max, fitness age, body battery, and more.
The watch can make contactless payments, can store songs, and can download apps from the Garmin ConnectIQ store. It has a week-long battery life, so you won’t have to worry about charging the watch every day.
Related Posts: Garmin Venu 2 Tips and Tricks
Garmin Fenix 6/6S
Features and Specs:
- Dimensions: 42 x 42 x 13.8 mm
- Weight: Steel: 58 g (case only: 41 g)
- Casing Material: Fiber-Reinforced Polymer With Metal Rear Cover
- Display: Size: 1.2 inches | Screen Resolution: 240 x 240 Pixels | Screen Type: Sunlight-visible, Translative memory-in-pixel (MIP) | Always-on mode: No
- Straps: Material: Silicone | Size: 20 mm | Type: Replaceable (Quick-Release)
- Water Resistance: 10 ATM
- Companion App: Garmin Connect
- Smart Features: Music Storage: No | Third-Party Apps: Yes(Garmin Connect IQ Store) | Wi-Fi Connectivity: No
- Health Features: Heart Rate: Yes | Stress: Yes | SpO2 (Blood Oxygen): Yes
- Sports Features: GPS connectivity: Yes | Sports Modes: 48+
- Battery Life: Standard Mode: Up to 9 days | GPS mode: Up to 25 hours | Charging Time: Approximate 3 to 4 hours
Review:
You only invest in the Fenix Series when you are an outdoor enthusiast or into advanced-level sports training. Nobody wants to invest in a $500+ smartwatch just to count ropes, there needs to be another reason behind it.
To track your Jump Rope workout, you would have to install third-party apps like PlyoMetrics+. The Jump Rope data from the app when combined with the native metrics covered by Garmin gives you deep insights into your training.
The watch tracks heart rate and blood oxygen as you skip rope, and can make a guess of calories burned and heart rate zone. And the watch with its body battery feature allows you to plan your training (When to go full throttle, when to take the rest).
Fenix 6 is rugged to the core and lacks a touchscreen. The watch offers more workouts/sports profiles than any other watch on this list. Plus, the ABC sensors and a solid GPS make it an excellent Outdoor watch.
Galaxy Watch 4/4 Classic:
Features and Specs:
- Dimensions: 44mm: 44.4 x 43.3 x 9.8mm, 40mm: 40.4 x 39.3 x 9.8mm
- Weight: 44mm: 30.3 grams, 40mm: 25.9 grams ****
- Casing Material: Aluminum
- Display: Size: 44mm: 1.36-inch 40mm: 1.19-inch | Screen Resolution: 44mm 450 x 450 Pixels 40mm 396 x 396Pixels | Screen Type: Super AMOLED | Always-on mode: Yes
- Straps: Material: Silicone | Size: 20mm | Type: Replaceable
- Water Resistance: 5 ATM
- Companion App: Google Fit, Galaxy Wearable
- Smart Features: Music Storage: Yes | Voice Assistant: Yes (Bixby) | Third-Party Apps: Yes (Wear OS play store) | LTE/Wi-Fi Connectivity: Yes
- Health Features: Heart Rate: Yes | Sleep: Yes | Stress: Yes | SpO2 (Blood Oxygen): Yes | ECG: Yes | BIA: Yes
- Sports Features: GPS connectivity: Yes | Sports Modes: 90+
- Battery Life: Standard Mode: Up to 3 days | GPS and Music: 2 days | Charging Time: 2 hours
Review:
Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 runs the Wear OS and therefore has the access to Google Play store. The reason why it is important is that there is no pre-built Jumping Rope profile on the Galaxy Watch 4 itself, however, the third-party apps fill the void here.
The foremost app you will find on the both Apple and Google Wearable Store is ‘YaoYao – Jump Rope’.
The app has many handy features. Take for example the repetition record, it broadcast the current count at every 100 Jumps from the Galaxy Watch 4 speakers. Furthermore, it tracks Jump speed, number of consecutive jumps, exercise time, calories, heart rate, time, and jump intervals. Also, it can seamlessly sync data with Google fit.
Galaxy Watch 4 is the only watch with a BIA sensor to measure body composition. In fact, there are no health features that this smartwatch can’t track. From the standard heart rate, sleep tracking to the advanced blood pressure and ECG monitoring this watch has it all.
Plus, it also keeps account of your steps and calories burned but that doesn’t make it special, any $50 watch can do so these days.
The only major drawback of this watch is a design that is a screen that is prone to scratches and short battery life of almost 2 days.
Garmin Forerunner 55
Features and Specs:
- Dimensions: 42 x 42 x 11.6 mm,
- Weight: 37 grams
- Casing Material: N/A
- Display: Size: 1.04 inches | Screen Resolution: 208 x 208 Pixels | Screen Type: Sunlight-visible, Translative memory-in-pixel (MIP) | Always-on mode: No
- Straps: Material: Silicone | Size: 22 mm | Type: Replaceable (Quick-Release)
- Water Resistance: 5 ATM
- Companion App: Garmin Connect
- Smart Features: Music Storage: No | Third-Party Apps: Yes(Garmin Connect IQ Store) | Wi-Fi Connectivity: No
- Health Features: Heart Rate: Yes | Stress: Yes | SpO2 (Blood Oxygen): No ****
- Sports Features: GPS connectivity: Yes | Sports Modes: 18+
- Battery Life: Standard Mode: Up to 14 days | GPS mode: Up to 20 hours | Charging Time: 2 hours
Review:
Garmin Forerunner 55 has been recently released and is the entry-level watch for runners. We can definitely use the watch to track the jump rope work-out, but the prime focus here is on running. There are several tools like race time predictor, training suggestions, body battery that you may find on the premium Fenix or Forerunner watches, but the watch itself isn’t a big upgrade from the predecessor.
Within the same budget, you can also get your hands on Forerunner 245 which with its small size and lack of touchscreen has a lot in common with FR 55. But the latter offers better GPS accuracy, has a refined display, and boasts a lightweight design.
The affordable price tag and the fact that this is a dedicated sports watch rather than a regular fitness tracker makes a strong case for this watch.
HUAWEI Band 6
Features and Specs:
- Dimensions: 43 x 25.4 x 10.99 mm
- Weight: Approximately 18 g (without the strap)
- Casing Material: Durable Polymer Materials
- Display: Size: 1.47 inch | Screen Resolution: 194 x 368 Pixels | Screen Type: AMOLED | Always-on mode: Yes
- Straps: Material: Silicone | Size: N/A | Type: Replaceable (Quick-Release)
- Water Resistance: 5 ATM
- Companion App: Huawei Wear
- Smart Features: Music Storage: No | Third-Party Apps: Yes(, Google Play Store) | Wi-Fi Connectivity: No
- Health Features: Heart Rate: Yes | Stress: No | SpO2 (Blood Oxygen): No
- Sports Features: GPS connectivity: No | Sports Modes: 96+
- Battery Life: 14 days | Charging Time: Approximate 90 minutes
Review:
Huawei Band 6 is priced as so to compete Xiaomi MI Band and Amazfit Bip U Pro, and like the former has a dedicated mode for Jumping Rope. It features an AMOLED display, weeks-long battery life, and a host of fitness and health features.
Among 96 sports modes on the watch, only a few give comprehensive data, the Jump Skipping is one of them. The band not only monitors jump counts accurately but also provides training data such as the number of consecutive jumps. This also includes useful metrics like the number of consecutive jumps, heart rate, and calorie consumption. You can set goals on the band, and it would notify you whenever you reach that goal in the middle of the exercise.
Though there is an auto-detection function on the band, it only applied to a handful of sports that unsurprisingly doesn’t include Jumping Rope. The fitness tracker has a large real-estate to display all the health metrics like heart rate, sleep, stress, respiration, but the companion app is where you get most of the details.
Our major gripe is the software limitations. Unlike other brands, Huawei has a hard time syncing data with third-party apps like Strava and NRC. Also, the push notification can sometimes be delayed.
Apple Watch SE
Features and Specs:
- Dimensions: 44 x 38 x 10.4 mm
- Weight: 36.4 g
- Casing Material: Glass front, ceramic/sapphire crystal back, aluminum frame
- Display: Size: 1.78 inches | Screen Resolution: 448 x 368 Pixels | Screen Type: Retina LTPO OLED ****| Always-on mode: Yes
- Straps: Material: Stainless Steel | Size: 22mm | Type: Replaceable (Quick-Release)
- Water Resistance: 5 ATM
- Companion App: Companion
- Smart Features: Music Storage: Yes (32GB)| Third-Party Apps: Yes(Apple Store) | Wi-Fi Connectivity: Yes
- Health Features: Heart Rate: Yes | Stress: Yes | SpO2 (Blood Oxygen): Yes
- Sports Features: GPS connectivity: Yes | Sports Modes: N/A
- Battery Life: Up to 18 hours | Charging Time: Approximate 2.5 hours
Review:
Like Wear OS watches, none of the Watches in the iconic Apple Watch Series has a dedicated mode for Skipping/Jumping Rope. But Apple has a huge number of third-party apps on its store as leverage. We preferred the Apple Watch SE for its affordability and the fact that has almost the same features as the latest Apple Watch Series 7 minus the ECG monitoring.
To count jumps on the Apple Watch, you would have to install YaoYao-Jump Rope App on the watch. It essentially works the same as for Wear OS devices. The app takes advantage of Apple’s motion sensor to calculate jumps. Live Count, Exercise time record, Jump sp, consecutive jumps, heart rate, and calories burned, Time or Jumps Interval are all there on your wrist. Plus, it seamlessly syncs data with Apple health.
We are particularly fond of the HIIT mode on the app that includes cycles of intense rope skipping (let’s say for 45 minutes) followed by 30 seconds of rest.
Verdict:
Xiaomi Band 6, Amazfit T-Rex Pro, and Huawei Band 6 can count rope jumping the true sense. Of all these three, we would prefer the Xiaomi Band 6 not only because it is cheap but also because it syncs data with third-party apps like Strava and Google Fit. We would only recommend you to go for the T-Rex Pro if you hate the fitness tracker and prefer durability over all other features.
Best Jump rope Apps?
Here are a few smartwatch apps for counting jumping rope:
- Jump Rope Counter and Timer (Only compatible with Garmin Watches)
- PlyoMetrics+ (Only compatible with Garmin Watches)
- Jumps (Only compatible with Garmin Watches)
- YaoYao – Jump Rope ( For Wear OS and Apple OS)
- Jump Rope Training | Crossrope (Apple OS)
Does Fitbit Track Rope?
Fitbit trackers or smartwatches don’t automatically track jumping rope, but you can log the data manually on the device. Here are a few steps as explained by the Fitbit Customer Support
- On the Fitbit app dashboard tap the Exercise tile to open your exercise history.
- Tap the stopwatch icon in the top right corner.
- Tap Log.
- Tap a recent activity or search for an exercise type (jumping rope).
- Adjust the activity details and tap Add.
Does Garmin Track Jump Rope?
Garmin watches can track Jump Rope, but surprisingly the company has not added ‘jump/skip rope’ as a built-in profile on its watches. You have to rely on third-party apps like PlyoMetrics+, Jumps, and Jump Rope Counter and Timer for it.
Some of these apps are free, and some cost almost $2 on monthly basis. Keep in mind, not all Garmin watches are compatible with these apps. A good rule of thumb is the high-end Garmin watches with touchscreen or AMOLED display or all Garmin watches that cost more than $400.
Does Samsung Galaxy Watch Track Jump Rope?
The latest Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 and 4 Classic can count rope with the help of third-party apps on the Google Play Store. The previous watches run on Tizen which doesn’t have a dedicated mode for skipping rope, neither does it has third-party apps for it.
Does Apple Watch Track Jump Rope?
Yes, Apple Watch can track Jump Rope but keep in mind that like Wear OS and Garmin Watches you will have to use third-party apps for it.
Does Fossil Watch Track Jump Rope?
Fossil Watches runs Wear OS, and all of its latest watches have motion sensors, so they can definitely track jumping rope by installing third-party apps.