Wyze Scale review

Wyze has done it again, this time weighing in for those trying to reach their fitness goals from home with the ultra-affordable Wyze Scale.

Sticking to the brand’s basic-but-effective naming strategy, the Wyze Scale joins the Wyze Bulb, Wyze Cam and Wyze Smart Lock in putting a more accessible price tag on the features of pricier smart home products. The newest offering is a capable, health-focused Bluetooth smart scale that costs less than you’d spend on a sports bra, gym shorts or workout supplement: $20.

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Like all the best smart scales, the Wyze Scale supports a number of health metrics like weight, body mass index (BMI) and body composition. While its display and app is basic compared to the category-leading Withings (Nokia) Body Plus, the Wyze Scale has plenty of clever features, including Apple Health and Google Fit integration, a heart rate monitor and more.

Wyze Scale price and availability

The Wyze Scale costs $19.99, which is an unbelievable steal in the scope of competing scales, smart or not. When it comes to testing budget options within our best smart home devices category, we do so with a skeptical eye. Nothing about the Wyze Scale has given us reason to believe the $20 price tag is too good to be true.

The Wyze Scale is available to purchase now through Wyze and Amazon. 

Wyze Scale design and display

With its sleek, blue-black coated glass surface, it’s easy to mistake the Wyze Scale for the Withings (Nokia) Body Plus. The middle of the 12 x 12 x 1-inch device dons a chrome company logo, with darker, perpendicular lines creating a guide on the platform to assist with even foot placement. 

It doesn’t scream home decor, but the Wyze Scale will look just fine on any tiled bathroom floor. Be careful not to step on with wet feet after a shower, though. The scale is rated IPX 3, meaning it’s only durable enough for light sprays of water.

The Wyze Scale’s LED display is large and employs an easy-to-read digital font for weight, heart rate and body fat percentage measurements. Additional metrics can only viewed and monitored on the Wyze app or certain third-party health trackers, which you know are synchronizing with the scale’s readings when a Bluetooth icon appears in the upper left corner of the display.

Wyze Scale set up

To set up the Wyze scale, you’ll first need to insert the four included AAA batteries into a compartment on the underside of the scale. You’ll also want to download the Wyze app (iOS, Android) to your smartphone and turn on Bluetooth if you haven’t done so already. More premium smart scales offer a Wi-Fi setup, which doesn’t require your phone to be in range for updating metrics.

On the Wyze App, click the ellipses icon in the top right corner and select ‘Add a Product.’ Tap the Wyze Scale from the list of gadgets to initiate the setup process. Adjust your gender, year of birth, height and activity level accordingly. Step on the scale with bare, dry feet to get your inaugural reading and begin your body profile on Wyze.

As with most scales, you’ll need to place the Wyze Scale on a hard, flat surface like tile or wood for accurate measurements. Once I situated the gadget in my bathroom, I stepped on before breakfast in the morning and compared my readings side-by-side with my trusty, 10-year-old non-smart scale. Though Wyze says the Scale’s weight measurements are accurate within 0.5 percent, I was pleased to see identical results, plus a heart rate that matched the current pulse displayed on wrist, as noted in our Wyze Band review.

If you’re pregnant or have a pacemaker, bioelectric impedance analysis (BIA), which uses a weak electric current to determine body fat percentage, could pose a safety threat. Turn on ‘Only Measure Weight,’ also known as a ‘Safe Mode,’ in your user settings to disable BIA scans when you step on the platform.

Wyze Scale app features

Though you can see your weight, body fat percentage and heart rate directly on the Wyze Scale, you’ll need to reference the Wyze app for metrics on lean body mass, BMI, muscle weight, visceral fat, basal metabolic rate, bone mass, metabolic age, protein and body water percentage.

And if you’re unsure what any of these metrics mean, you can tap them on the app for an explanation of how they relate to the rest of your body’s composition.

While most of these stats are offered by competing smart scales, it’s more information about my body than I ever thought I wanted to know. As someone who actively avoids stepping on the scale unless I’m on a stretch of eating well and exercising, seeing a detailed picture of my anatomy feels less threatening. If I’ve put on a few pounds, I can see that it’s because I’ve adhered to a weight-lifting regimine, and not that I should adjust my diet (or vice versa.) I haven’t skipped a reading in my two weeks with the Wyze Scale, which is more than I weigh-in over the span of two months.  

The Wyze app also lets you add up to eight users, which is the same as our current top smart scale picks. Depending on the weight contrast between members, the scale will either automatically identify the current user, or the app will ask you to confirm the current user before showing a reading’s metrics.

Wyze Scale Apple Health and Google Fit integrations

One of the Wyze Scale’s perks is its compatibility with Apple Health and Google Fit, with Fitbit and Samsung Health support coming soon. Both Apple Health and Google Fit amalgamate fitness data gathered from your phone, fitness tracker or smartwatch and other gym equipment with built-in support. 

Within the Wyze Scale settings, click on ‘Authorize 3rd Party Apps’ and select Apple Health or Google Fit depending on which app you have on your smartphone. Choose which metrics you’d like to incorporate into your Apple Health or Google Fit profile to complete the pairing process. 

Wyze Scale verdict

The last thing anyone needs is more anxiety, and the Wyze Scale makes stepping on the platform less intimidating with metrics that reveal your body is more than your weight. With a plethora of features, ample third-party app integration — and a $20 price tag — it dethrones our current budget pick from Withings. You should consider it if you’re looking for a low cost means to start tracking fitness goals. 

I wish the Wyze Scale had Wi-Fi so I didn’t need to keep my phone nearby, but that’s a minor qualm. I’m also a bit skeptical about how long a $20 alternative will work compared to the pricier competition, because a scale isn’t something you want to replace often. I guess I’ll just have to leave it time — and gravity — to tell.