Smart scales with handlebars promise deep insights into your body composition, measuring fat and muscle across your arms, legs, and torso. But for most people, that level of detail usually comes with a price tag that's hard to justify. At $119.98, the Wyze Scale Ultra BodyScan costs roughly half as much as competing models, making body composition readings a lot more accessible. It also includes useful extras that similar scales lack, such as built-in Wi-Fi for syncing data to your phone in the background and a safe mode for pregnant women. While its body fat and muscle mass readings showed some inconsistencies during testing, its weight measurements were reliable and accurate, and its body-part breakdown was clear and helpful. As a result, the Wyze Scale Ultra BodyScan earns our Editors' Choice award for body composition smart scales.

Features: High-End Metrics Without the High-End Price

Like every other smart scale, the Wyze Scale Ultra BodyScan uses Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) to calculate the precise makeup of your body during your weigh-in. It measures weight (in pounds or stones) from 11 to 400 pounds. In addition to weight, through BIA, it measures basal metabolic rate (BMR, the minimum number of calories burned in an inactive state), body fat percentage, body mass index (BMI, a measure of your body weight in relation to your height), body water percentage, bone mass, heart rate, lean body mass, metabolic age (which compares BMR to an age-based average), muscle mass, muscle mass percentage, protein level, subcutaneous fat (the fat just under your skin), and visceral fat (the fat stored within the abdominal cavity).

Strangely, Wyze undersells the BodyScan's feature set and says it measures 13 metrics, leaving out subcutaneous fat. However, the scale consistently generated subcutaneous fat readings during my two weeks of testing.

(Credit: Andrew Gebhart)

The handlebar allows the scale to go beyond these holistic readings and break down segmental muscle and fat for each of your arms, legs, and torso, similar to a medical imaging test called dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). According to WebMD, the average cost of a single DEXA scan paid out of pocket is roughly $160 to $175, but other sites put the average closer to $300 per scan. If you are focusing on a specific body part with your workouts, a model with a handlebar for DEXA-like insights may be well worth the premium.

If you don’t need this level of detail, you can save money on a smart scale without a handle like the excellent Etekcity HR ($79.99), which tracks the rest of the BodyScan’s metrics and is often on sale.

Other models with a handlebar cost much more than the BodyScan. The HumeHealth Body Pod ($299.95) and the Renpho MorphoScan Nova ($219.99) both have a handle, but lack basic features like Wi-Fi (so you can't save a reading unless your phone is within Bluetooth range) and a safe model that turns off the conductive BIA process for pregnant women and people with pacemakers.

The Wyze Scale Ultra BodyScan is a comparative steal—it includes those quality-of-life features and has a few extras, like a mode for weighing babies, luggage, and pets. I prefer a model with rechargeable batteries instead of replaceable ones, but the BodyScan comes with the requisite four AAAs, which should last for up to eight months. Otherwise, the BodyScan offers smart recognition for up to eight users and can sync your health data with third-party services, including Apple Health and Fitbit.

Design: Simple, Sturdy, and Easy to Read

The Wyze Scale Ultra BodyScan measures 15.43 by 13.39 by 2.13 inches (LWD) and weighs 5.95 pounds. It looks like a stylish version of a traditional bathroom scale, featuring a black plastic-and-silicone base with a tempered glass surface and a light blue striped pattern. A black grid pattern cuts through the stripes, subtly guiding your foot placement.

(Credit: Andrew Gebhart)

The top center of the body has a 4.3-inch full-color TFT display. The handle rests in a small indent on the top of the scale and is attached by a retractable cord. The long, horizontal handle has electrodes on top meant for your thumbs, and on the back for your fingers. Otherwise, the BodyScan has four anti-slip pads on each bottom corner. A small panel on the bottom slides open to the battery compartment.

When you step on the scale, the display shows a diagram of how to hold the handle, and when the reading is done, it scrolls through collected data such as your weight, body fat percentage, and muscle mass. For each stat, it shows a line graph comparing your latest measurement with your recent trends. It then shows a DEXA-like graph of your body displaying the amount of fat in each area. At the top of the display are icons indicating battery life and Wi-Fi status.

The BodyScan doesn’t have any onboard controls. The scale scrolls through the preset screens, pausing for a couple of seconds on each, and then turns off. The display falls short of high definition, but the information it displays is clearly readable at a glance under a variety of lighting conditions.

(Credit: Andrew Gebhart)

Setup: Easy to Pair and Easier to Use

The Wyze Scale Ultra BodyScan comes with a quick-start guide for setup. To get started, insert the included batteries into the scale, download the Wyze app (available for Android and iOS), create an account, and then select the option to add a device. When prompted, grant the app permission to search for nearby devices, and it should quickly locate and connect to the scale.

(Credit: Andrew Gebhart)

The app will then ask for demographic data, such as your birth year and height, to calibrate your metrics. It also asks whether you want to turn on athlete mode, which improves data calibration accuracy if you work out more than 10 hours a week. From there, follow the in-app prompts to set up Wi-Fi, then step onto the scale for your first reading when directed.

Before you step on, be sure to put the scale on a hard, level surface. Step on it with dry, bare feet spaced roughly shoulder-width apart. Pull the handle up to waist level, with your thumbs out to the sides over the electrodes and your fingers wrapped around the back. Hold the handle at 45 degrees from your body, with your arms straight.

The scale should take less than a minute to complete a reading, at which point you’ll see your initials confirmed on the display, so you know it has attributed the data to your account. You’ll then see basic stats and charts on the display, and can check the app for the rest of your data.

App Experience: Data-Rich, Though Sometimes Overwhelming

Tap the scale icon on the main page of the Wyze app to view details of your most recent and past measurements. At the top, it shows your weight, any goals you’ve set, your BMI, and the time of your last reading. Scroll down for all other metrics, and tap any one to see where your value lies on a typical scale.

Scroll further for a detailed report listing all your metrics on a single page, which you can download and send to a doctor. Below that is the body part breakdown, with on-screen buttons that let you easily switch between muscle and fat values. Scroll even further for a graph of your weight history, and tap to see trend graphs for your other metrics, as well as buttons to change the displayed time frame.

(Credit: Wyze/PCMag)

I wish I could see comparative values for my data without having to scroll so far, but this is a minor gripe, as it was easy enough to find once I knew where to look. Below the charts are buttons to turn on baby, luggage, or pet mode, and one to take a heart rate reading. Like the handle-free Wyze Scale X ($33.99), the BodyScan itself doesn’t measure your heart rate. You need to do that with the app.

Tap the gear icon in the upper-right corner to access scale settings, such as goals, units, and users. Here, you can also change what information the scale displays during a weigh-in, sync it with third-party apps, and export your data to email.

Accuracy: Highly Consistent Weigh-Ins With Some BIA Variability

I tested the Wyze Scale Ultra BodyScan alongside the HumeHealth Body Pod and the Garmin Index S2 ($199.99), which I’m also testing for a future review. All of the values from the BodyScan were consistent, and the ebbs and flows made sense within the context of my life. Most numbers went up after a night of indulgence, and down after a day or two of restraint.

Values like BMI and lean body mass matched those from HumeHealth almost exactly, and I was particularly impressed with the BodyScan’s weight readings. They stayed close to those from HumeHealth and proved reliable throughout my testing. When I weighed in multiple times in a row, the BodyScan consistently showed the same value. When I then pocketed my 6.8-ounce Google Pixel 7a, it showed an increase of 0.7 pounds (11.2 ounces). When I put the phone back to the side, it returned to the exact value from before.

The BodyScan also accurately reflected my weight change when I added and removed clothing, and showed an appropriate increase after I drank a bottle of water. Other smart scales, including the HumeHealth Body Pod and Etekcity HR Smart Fitness Scale, have performed reliably in those tests too, but the BodyScan is the first to pass my phone test.

(Credit: Andrew Gebhart)

The precise weight readings continued when I enlisted my two cats to help me test the pet mode. To do this, you first weigh yourself, then grab the animal and step on the scale again. It mostly just saves you the effort of breaking out a calculator, but I can create individual profiles for each of my cats, including their names, ages, and breeds, and the scale then saves and charts their weight separately. Thanks to the BodyScan, I found out that my more svelte-looking striped cat, Shadow, is only a half-pound lighter than my big, fluffy calico, Scout, so Shadow apparently just wears the weight better.

The BodyScan’s body fat and muscle mass numbers weren’t quite as precise. They would occasionally vary across repeated weigh-ins. On one occasion, the BodyScan showed that I had less muscle mass after breakfast than I had an hour earlier. These numbers also deviated from those given by the HumeHealth Body Pod. The body fat percentage in particular was sometimes off by as much as 5%.