Taking inspiration from the tracking sensors in the iPhone, James Park and Eric Friedman founded Fitbit in 2007, with the aim of putting the sensors in a smaller package.
Fitbit spent the first two years ramping up production to meet demand. They originally launched at TechCrunch 50 conference in 2008 expecting 50 pre-orders, but came away with more than 2,000.
By 2011, Fitbit was a national brand in the US, available in Best Buy and Walmart. It commanded a hefty lead over all other fitness trackers, which it held until the launch of smartwatches and an influx of cheaper brands from China.
With every Bluetooth update, Fitbit enabled more health and fitness tracking. In 2013, Fitbit launched a fitness tracker with a heart-rate sensor, and has since added new sensors to track EDA, temperature, sleep and menstrual cycle.
Fitbit went public in June 2015, surging from a $4 billion company to $9.7 billion by 2015. This was the height of fitness tracker hype, as Apple launched the first Watch and Pebble launched a second Kickstarter, reaching $20 million.
Fitbit would acquire Pebble in 2017 for $23 million, a sign that some of the spark had left the wearables market. More than $8 billion had been shaved off Fitbit’s market cap by 2017, as Apple and Xiaomi overtook Fitbit.
Fitbit entered the smartwatch market late. Like most market leaders, the company originally called the smartwatch a different product type, only to slowly realise many of its customers were happy to ditch a fitness tracker for a feature-packed smartwatch.
In the past few years, Fitbit has attempted to build an Apple Watch competitor, with the ability to make payments and respond to messages. However, it remains geared towards fitness and health, while Apple and Samsung have been able to broaden their market to other types of customers.
In 2019, Alphabet announced its intention to acquire Fitbit for $2.1 billion. It was completed in January 2021.
Google has not been great at handling its hardware acquisitions. Motorola suffered catastrophic market share loss under the search giant, and the internal affairs of Nest under Google ownership have been thoroughly detailed. Google has retained the brand for now, but appears to be stripping Fitbit of several features and merging it into its hardware division.
We have collected data and statistics on Fitbit. Read on below to find out more. Explore further with our in-depth health & fitness app report.
Fitbit Key Statistics
- Fitbit made an estimated $1 billion revenue in 2023, a 10% decrease on the previous year
- Fitbit sold 6.6 million units in 2023, a 28% decrease on 2022 figures
- 38 million people use Fitbit once a week, 128 million have registered to use the app
Health & Fitness App Report 2024
Want to learn more about the health & fitness app industry? In our Health & Fitness App report, we cover financials, usage, downloads, and demographics by age and gender, alongside market share, engagement, and benchmarks.
Fitbit Overview
| Title | Title 2 |
|---|---|
| Launch date | 26 March 2007 |
| HQ | San Francisco, California |
| People | James Park (CEO), Eric Friedman (CTO), Sundar Pichai (Alphabet CEO) |
| Business type | Subsidiary |
| Parent company | Alphabet |
| Industry | Health & fitness |
Fitbit Revenue
Fitbit generated $1.04 billion revenue in 2023. The value is estimated, as Google does not break out Fitbit revenue.
Fitbit annual revenue 2014 to 2023 ($bn)
| Year | Revenue ($bn) |
|---|---|
| 2014 | 0.74 |
| 2015 | 1.85 |
| 2016 | 2.16 |
| 2017 | 1.61 |
| 2018 | 1.52 |
| 2019 | 1.43 |
| 2020 | 1.13 |
| 2021 | 1.21 |
| 2022 | 1.16 |
| 2023 | 1.04 |
Source: Company data
Fitbit Users
Fitbit had 38.5 million active users in 2023, an decrease of 3.75% on the previous year.
Fitbit monthly active users 2014 to 2023 (mm)
| Year | Users (mm) |
|---|---|
| 2014 | 6.7 |
| 2015 | 14.9 |
| 2016 | 23.6 |
| 2017 | 29 |
| 2018 | 33.8 |
| 2019 | 38.3 |
| 2020 | 40.2 |
| 2021 | 41.5 |
| 2022 | 40 |
| 2023 | 38.5 |
Note: Active Fitbit users use their device once a week. Source: Company data
Fitbit Registered Users
Fitbit had 128 million registered users as of 2023, adding eight million in the year.
Fitbit registered users 2014 to 2023 (mm)
| Year | Registered users (mm) |
|---|---|
| 2014 | 11 |
| 2015 | 29 |
| 2016 | 50 |
| 2017 | 75 |
| 2018 | 85 |
| 2019 | 90 |
| 2020 | 98 |
| 2021 | 111 |
| 2022 | 120 |
| 2023 | 128 |
Source: Company data
Fitbit Device Sales
Like revenue, Google does not disclose Fitbit device sales. In 2023, we estimate it sold 6.6 million units.
Fitbit annual device sales 2014 to 2023 (mm)
| Year | Device sales (mm) |
|---|---|
| 2014 | 10.9 |
| 2015 | 21.4 |
| 2016 | 23.2 |
| 2017 | 25.4 |
| 2018 | 13.9 |
| 2019 | 16 |
| 2020 | 10.8 |
| 2021 | 10.6 |
| 2022 | 9.2 |
| 2023 | 6.6 |
Source: Company data
Fitbit Valuation
Fitbit was last valued at $2.1 billion by Google when it acquired the company in 2019.
Fitbit valuation 2013 to 2019 ($bn)
| Year | Valuation ($bn) |
|---|---|
| 2013 | 4 |
| 2015 | 9.7 |
| 2017 | 1.4 |
| 2019 | 2.1 |
Sources: FT, Macro Trends, TechCrunch
Fitbit Fitness Market Share
Fitbit has struggled to maintain market share, against the growth of Apple Fitness and Leap Fitness Group’s many fitness orientated apps.
Fitness app market share 2023 (%)
Want to learn more about wellness apps? Check out our Health & Fitness App Report
Fitbit FAQ
How many Fitbit users use groups?
Over 4.7 million Fitbit users are active in at least one group
How many steps have Fitbit users taken?
Fitbit users have taken over 75 trillion steps (Fitbit)
How much did Google pay for Fitbit?
Google acquired Fitbit for $2.1 billion
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- Health App Revenue and Usage Statistics (2024)
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