9 best bathroom scales to buy in 2022

Bathroom scales have come a long way in the past 20 years. Gone are the days when you simply choose between mechanical scales with an old-school dial or scales with a digital display.

Nowadays, there are a wealth of options to suit all needs and budgets. Once simply a tool for keeping track of your weight, now you can own bathroom scales that can take all manner of body measurements to help you monitor your health and fitness more thoroughly, allowing you to see your progress (or lack of progress) in a clear and understandable way.

Whether you’d like to track your Body Mass Index (BMI), body fat percentage or muscle mass, or even if you want your scales to connect to your fitness app on your phone for an all-encompassing approach to health, there are simply hundreds of scales out there designed to provide accurate and detailed measurements of your body composition.

To help make your life a little easier, we’ve pulled together a list of the best on the market. Here are the best bathroom scales to buy right now.

1. Best overall bathroom scales: Renpho Smart Body Fat Scale

Throw yourself into the new world of tracking your body composition with this set of smart bathroom scales. Able to monitor an impressive 13 key body measurements, these scales will tell you everything you need to know to get into shape.

Not only are basic measurements like body weight, BMI and body fat percentage covered, but this nifty gadget also tells you your skeletal muscle amount, your fat-free body weight, your muscle mass, your bone mass, your basal metabolism, your metabolic age, your subcutaneous and visceral fat amounts.

It quickly and reliably syncs via Bluetooth with all the main fitness apps like Fitbit or Apple Health to give you the full picture of what is going on inside your body, bringing a whole new dimension to healthy living.

• Type: Smart

• Batteries: 3 AAA (included)

• Bluetooth connectivity: Yes

• BMI: Yes

• Body fat: Yes

• Maximum weight: 180kg

2. Best budget bathroom scales: Hilington Digital Body Fat Bathroom Scales

If funds are low, but you still want to get more out of your scales than a simple weight reading, then look no further than this Hilington Body Fat Scale.

Made from lightweight anti-slip glass, these durable scales show you body weight, body fat percentage, BMI and water measurement. Simply enter your height and age and step on board.

It’s not a smart scale so it won’t connect to a fitness app, but it will give you everything you need to input the information yourself.

• Type: Digital

• Batteries: 1 CR2032 battery (included)

• Bluetooth connectivity: No

• BMI: Yes

• Body fat: Yes

• Maximum weight: 180kg

3. Best mechanical bathroom scales: Salter Doctor Style Mechanical Bathroom Scales

For a more straightforward approach to tracking your body weight, you can’t go wrong with a basic mechanical scale, and this one from leading brand Salter more than fits the bill. Designed in a retro style with a large analogue dial and long red pointer, your weight is displayed in easy-to-read kilos, stones or pounds.

Take note – these analogue scales have a maximum weight of 150kg which is around 24 stone, so if you weigh more than this you may want to look elsewhere. However, the scales are built with a solid base and an anti-slip surface, so are safe to use even in slippy, wet bathrooms.

Being mechanical, there’s no need to press any buttons or change any batteries. Zero maintenance, accurate readings and completely hassle-free.

• Type: Mechanical

• Batteries: Not required

• Bluetooth connectivity: No

• BMI: No

• Body fat: No

• Maximum weight: 150kg

4. Best digital bathroom scales: Vitafit Digital Bathroom Scales

If you want a simple-to-use set of scales but are looking for something with a clear display and a streamlined look, then these budget-friendly digital scales from Vitafit are just what you need.

Complete with four high-precision weight sensors, these scales can give you an accurate reading of your weight to within 0.05kg. They have a large footplate and a strong tempered glass surface and, what’s more, they look good too. For such a low price, you can’t go far wrong.

• Type: Digital

• Batteries: 1 CR2032 battery (included)

• Bluetooth connectivity: No

• BMI: No

• Body fat: No

• Maximum weight: 180kg

5. Best smart bathroom scales: Active Era Smart Body Fat Scales

Not only does this product offer you all the features of an average set of smart scales, but it’s an incredible price too making it phenomenal value for money.

All the usual body composition data is analysed, like weight, BMI and body fat, but this gadget also shows you visceral fat, body water percentage, muscle mass, bone mass, skeletal muscle percentage, protein percentage, metabolic rate and age.

The brand, Active Era, even has its own app for you to use to record your progress, although the scales are fully compatible with all the well-known fitness apps too.

• Type: Smart

• Batteries: 2 AAA (included)

• Bluetooth connectivity: Yes

• BMI: Yes

• Body fat: Yes

• Maximum weight: 180kg

6. Best high weight capacity bathroom scales: Salter Max Capacity Digital Bathroom Scales

If you require scales with a higher maximum weight than average, you should take a look at this offering from Salter. Capable of weighing up to 250kg, which is just over 39 stone, these scales give accurate and reliable readings that once may only have been accessible from a doctor’s scale.

Its large digital display makes readings quick and easy and the extra large platform ensures plenty of space for comfortable standing. It doesn’t come with the bells and whistles of a set of smart scales, but it’s certainly a great place to start.

• Type: Digital

• Batteries: 1 CR2032 battery (Included)

• Bluetooth connectivity: No

• BMI: No

• Body fat: No

• Maximum weight: 250kg

7. Best fitness bathroom scales: Fitbit Aria Air Smart Scale

From fitness experts Fitbit comes the Aria Air Smart Scale, perfect if you use a Fitbit smartwatch and app to track your exercise sessions.

Once synched, these scales track your weight in a single step and send your stats to the Fitbit app where you can see your BMI and other information. Using Bluetooth technology, the Aria Air compiles your measurements into simple charts and graphs making it easy for you to visualise your progress over time.

These scales don’t offer much else in the way of body composition measurements, so if that’s something you’re after then look elsewhere. But for Fitbit fans, the simple useability of these scales makes them a superb addition to your fitness journey.

• Type: Smart

• Batteries: 1 Lithium Ion battery (included)

• Bluetooth connectivity: Yes

• BMI: Yes

• Body fat: No

• Maximum weight: 180kg

8. Best family bathroom scales: Youngdo Bluetooth Body Fat Scale

There’s nothing wrong with introducing children to monitoring their weight if it’s done with a healthy mindset, and these smart scales will help you do just that.

Not only do they calculate a whopping 19 different measurements of body composition, but they also come with different modes of use specifically calibrated for ‘athletes,’ who have long been engaged in regular fitness several times a week, as well as ‘baby mode’ for younger family members.

This ensures that the data recorded is appropriate and gives you exactly the insight you need into the health of the whole family.

• Type: Smart

• Batteries: 2 AAA batteries (included)

• Bluetooth connectivity: Yes

• BMI: Yes

• Body fat: Yes

• Maximum weight: 180kg

9. Best pregnancy bathroom scales: Withings Body+ Body Composition Smart Scale

While you can use any set of scales to track your weight and body composition during pregnancy, these smart scales from pioneering brand Withings actually include a pregnancy tracker to help you accurately monitor your weight gain, track your baby’s weight, and offer obstetrician-reviewed advice along the way.

The scales also deliver ultra-precise weight measurement, body fat and water percentages plus muscle and bone mass, all of which is compatible with more than 100 of the top fitness apps, including Apple Health, Fitbit and Google Fit.

• Type: Smart

• Batteries: 4 AAA (included)

• Bluetooth connectivity: Yes

• BMI: Yes

• Body fat: Yes

• Maximum weight: 180kg

What should I look for when buying bathroom scales?

High levels of accuracy and reliability are the main things to consider when buying bathroom scales. Mechanical scales are designed to simply measure your weight and use a dial display. Digital, body composition and smart scales present your measurements as an exact figure on a small display screen. Deciding which is best for you largely depends on the amount of detail you want to know regarding your body composition.

What can smart bathroom scales do?

Smart bathroom scales connect to your smartphone or tablet via either Bluetooth or WiFi and enable you to view, store and track your statistics in whichever fitness app you use. Most smart scales will measure Body Mass Index, body fat percentage, body water percentage, muscle mass and visceral fat.

How long do bathroom scales last?

Most brands of bathroom scales come with a five-year guarantee. You may need to replace the batteries within this time depending on how often you use the scales. In time, technology may advance to spearhead the creation of even more comprehensive scales, which would likely be the reason that you upgrade rather than due to general wear and tear.

Which bathroom scales are the most accurate?

Based on the information gathered about the scales featured in this article, the most accurate bathroom scales are the Renpho Smart Body Fat Scale. This hugely popular set of scales comes recommended as a five-star product by over 100,000 customers and is highly praised for its accuracy and reliability.

How we chose our recommendations

Because we know that there’s nothing like a real recommendation from a real parent, we first headed to the Mumsnet forums to find out which bathroom scales discerning Mumsnet users had bought for themselves.

We then did some research across the wider web, looking at which bathroom scales had won accolades or been featured in ‘best buy’ lists across websites and print media, and what customers reviews said about them. Having collated all that information, we picked the bathroom scales we thought would make the best buys in several interest categories.

Why you should trust us

We work hard to provide unbiased, independent advice you can trust. We do sometimes earn revenue through affiliate (click-to-buy) links in our articles. This helps us fund more helpful articles like this one.

Read next: The best fitness trackers for adults and kids »

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