Best Garmin watch in 2023: Choose the right GPS tracker
We examine the many shades of fitness tracker on offer from the best Garmin watches. The best Garmin watch for you will depend on your needs and budget.
Some of the gadgets on this list serve more as fitness trackers, counting your steps, miles traveled, and calories burned, while others are obviously made with serious athletes and outdoor enthusiasts in mind. Before making a purchase, it’s a good idea to be very clear about what you want.
Garmin watche range from the $149 Garmin Forerunner 55 to the $999 Fenix 7X Sapphire Solar Edition.
Even the watches not specifically made for swimming are water-resistant and track steps, sleep, and heart rate. When connected to GPS, all Garmin watches have batteries that can last for days on a single charge, which means you should be able to use them for more than one workout.
All watches can also sync to Garmin Connect, which connects you to the global community of Garmin users and provides a detailed look at your health and fitness data.
Some Garmin watches include functions like mobile payments, music storage, and color displays that you’d find in the top smartwatches.
However, Garmin devices are better known for their fitness capabilities, and many of them rank among the best fitness trackers and sports watches available today.
To find out more about the best Garmin watches, continue reading.
Also read our guide Galaxy Watch Active Band Size – Best Review
What is the best Garmin watch?
The Garmin Forerunner 255, in our opinion, is the best Garmin watch overall after much sweating, biking, and running with a variety of Garmin watches. It combines the best sensors, training programs, and health trackers from Garmin into a lightweight, all-day wearable device. Additionally, there is a Music edition with room for 500 songs to keep you motivated during your workouts.
A simplified version of the Forerunner 255 is the Garmin Forerunner 55. Even though the display is smaller, Garmin’s coaching and training features are still available, and the days of battery life is also longer.
Like its predecessor, the Forerunner 45, the Forerunner 55 is a good choice for those who are new to running because it is an entry-level watch that doesn’t feel like one.
The Garmin Venu Plus 2 is the best Garmin smartwatch if you want something that can do more than just track your steps and calories burned—you also want to be able to answer calls, get notifications, and more.
The best Garmin watches you can buy today
Garmin Forerunner 255
The best Garmin watch overall
SPECIFICATIONS
- Heart rate monitor: Yes
- GPS : Yes
- Water resistance: 50 meters
- Display: 1.2-inch MIP
- On-board music: Yes (Music edition)
- Mobile payments: No
- Sleep tracking: Yes
- Battery life: 6.5 hours w/music / 30 hours w/out music
REASONS TO BUY
+Two sizes available +Accurate GPS + Multisport/triathlonn modes
+Two variants — music and nonmusic +Improved battery life +Garmin Elevate V4 sensor
REASONS TO AVOID
–No touchscreen –Lacks Garmin’s Training Readiness score
Updated from the now three-year-old 245 series, the Garmin Forerunner 255 is still a fantastic mid-range running watch. With an impressive variety of workout modes, dedicated feedback on your training load, including Body Battery and sleep scores factoring into suggested workouts (no Training Readiness score, though), and daily stress insights all on your wrist, it packs a lot of features into a small package.
The 255 is definitely worth your consideration if you’re primarily a runner and want to replace your entry-level watch with something more modern. The 255S Music is a great option because it’s both discreetly small and has enough memory to store your songs on the watch for phone-free runs.
Although it doesn’t have a metal bezel like more contemporary Garmin watches, the polymer bezel is light and unobtrusive enough to wear every day and durable enough to withstand abuse.
Additionally, Garmin offers the Forerunner 255 Music edition, which syncs with Spotify or Deezer accounts and has onboard storage for up to 500 songs.
You can switch tracks by pressing the watch’s buttons or using the controls on your headset. If you’re a runner who prefers to leave their phone at home, this is a bonus. The updates to this already excellent watch seriously impressed us, and the Garmin Forerunner 255 went on to win our guide award for best running watch.
Garmin Forerunner 55
Garmin’s best entry-level running watch
SPECIFICATIONS
- Heart rate monitor: Yes
- GPS : Yes
- Water resistance: 50 meters
- Display: 1.08-inch MIP
- On-board music: No
- Mobile payments: No
- Sleep tracking: Yes
- Battery life: 14 days/20 hours with GPS
REASONS TO BUY
+PacePro suggested workouts +Bright screen +Easy to read stats +Battery life
REASONS TO AVOID
–No onboard music storage –No interchangeable bands –Only available in one case size
Although the Forerunner 55 is very reasonably priced and Garmin’s entry-level running watch, we’d happily recommend it to runners of all skill levels. You get a ton of value for your money with this purchase because, despite its affordable price, it is a highly accurate GPS watch with impressive heart rate monitoring, recovery stats, and training tools like suggested workouts and advised recovery times.
Okay, so its color memory in pixel screen isn’t as vibrant as the Venu 2 Plus or Epix’s AMOLED display, but it’s still clearly visible in most lighting conditions, comes with a backlight for when it’s dark, and all of your stats are presented clearly with graphs and charts to show trends over time.
Despite the fact that it was only released in 2021, you can already purchase it for a significant discount from the list price, making it an especially excellent deal. This Garmin watch should check the most crucial boxes if you’re unsure of which model to pick.
Despite the fact that it was only released in 2021, you can already purchase it for a significant discount from the list price, making it an especially excellent deal. This Garmin watch should check the most crucial boxes if you’re unsure of which model to pick.
Garmin Forerunner 955
The best Garmin for triathletes
SPECIFICATIONS
- Heart rate monitor: Yes
- GPS : Yes
- Water resistance: 50 meters
- Display: 1.3-inch AMOLED display
- On-board music: Yes
- Mobile payments: Yes
- Sleep tracking: Yes
- Battery life GPS mode: 42 hours/49 hours with solar
REASONS TO BUY
+Touchscreen+Solar power (on solar model) +Training readiness functionality
+Amazing battery life
REASONS TO AVOID
–Can’t sync running power sensors to watch
If you want all of Garmin’s features but can’t afford the more expensive Fenix 7 or Epix 2, the Garmin Forerunner 955 is the watch to consider. The most effective way to cut costs is obvious from the outside.
To use Garmin’s own terminology, the Forerunner 955 is a “fibre-reinforced polymer” watch. The 5ATM water resistance is only half that of the Fenix 7, and there are many watches available for much less money that look more upscale.
But there are significant advantages to this approach. Compared to more expensive models, the Garmin Forerunner 955 is lighter and more comfortable to wear continuously.
95% of the content of those watches is also yours. The Forerunner 955 has the most recent heart rate and GPS technology; in fact, it was the first model to include Garmin’s HRV Status feature. A continent’s worth of map data can be downloaded to the 32GB storage, and some of that space can be used to store music.
The Garmin 955 is all about functionality, and some people may even prefer its understated design to the frequently more aggressive models higher up the range.
But there were some oddities, too. Even though the Forerunner 955 shared the same heart rate hardware as the Fenix 7, we encountered more problems with high exertion reliability. It also makes use of a less robust version of Garmin’s mapping program, which can be problematic.
Garmin Venu 2 Plus
The best Garmin smartwatch
SPECIFICATIONS
- Heart rate monitor: Yes
- GPS : Yes
- Display: 1.3-inch AMOLED
- On-board music: Yes
- Mobile payments: Yes
- Sleep tracking: Yes
- Battery life: 9 days/24 hours with GPS
REASONS TO BUY
+Stunning AMOLED display +Reliable fitness tracking and Garmin Coach +Call quality is better than expected +Fantastic battery life
REASONS TO AVOID
–Recovery advice could be better–Not enough third-party apps
The Garmin Venu 2 Plus might be the perfect replacement for your Apple Watch if you’re thinking about switching to a more sports-oriented timepiece. It has all the fitness tracking features you’d anticipate from a contemporary sports watch, but it also has a ton of practical extras that make it the perfect watch for everyday use.
In our tests, we discovered that the Venu 2 was much easier to read messages and view maps on than many other Garmin watches due to its bright AMOLED display, which is clear and easy to read in all lighting conditions.
We also liked the inclusion of a microphone on the left-hand side of the case, which lets you use your phone’s voice assistant and answer calls without taking it out of your pocket. You can also purchase the regular Venu 2, which has all the same features minus the built-in microphone, if money is a little tight.
There’s only one case size available, and if you’re used to the Apple Watch’s wireless charging then you might find it frustrating to mess about with a fiddly charging cable, but with a battery life of up to 14 days, you won’t need to charge the Venu 2 Plus anywhere near as frequently as one of Apple’s devices.
Garmin Epix 2
Best Garmin for adventurers looking for a beautiful watch
SPECIFICATIONS
- Heart rate monitor: Yes
- GPS : Yes
- Display: 1.3-inch AMOLED
- On-board music: Yes
- Mobile payments: Yes
- Sleep tracking: Yes
- Battery life: Up to 16 days (6 days always-on)
REASONS TO BUY
+Gorgeous design +Bright display +Long battery life +Lots of tracking features
REASONS TO AVOID
–Very expensive –Not as many smartwatch features as Apple, Samsung –Only comes in one size
For more than five years, hikers who required on-watch maps wore the original Garmin Epix. The Epix 2 is best thought of as a Fenix 7 with a lovely OLED screen because great maps are now available in other watches.
It looks better on screen because it is sharper, bolder, and more colorful. But after a few weeks of utilizing the Epix 2, we found that at home, its OLED screen served us best.
Compared to the Fenix 7, the Garmin Epix 2 is flashier and more resembling a smartwatch as a result. The main characteristics, however, are all the same. You receive excellent depth and heart-rate accuracy as well as quick-connecting GPS.
What about the catch? The base Fenix 7 is much more affordable than the pricey Garmin Epix 2. The Epix would be at the top of this list if their prices were equal.
One more thing: because the Epix 2 has an OLED screen, it doesn’t operate in the Fenix 7’s always-on mode as long. Instead of the two weeks and some change you’ll see with the Fenix, it lasts about six days between charges.
Some people might find this offensive, but we regularly review full smartwatches that last for about a day. Just under a week of use doesn’t seem at all concerning in that situation.
Garmin Lily
Possibly Garmin’s most attractive smartwatch to date
SPECIFICATIONS
- Heart rate monitor: Yes
- GPS : No
- Water resistance: 50 meters
- Display: 1-inch MIP
- On-board music: No
- Mobile payments: No
- Sleep tracking: Yes
- Battery life: 5 days
REASONS TO BUY
+Stylish design +On-board pregnancy tracking app +Good display
REASONS TO AVOID
–No built-in GPS –Incompatible with Garmin Connect IQ app store
In an effort to appeal to women, Garmin has unveiled its smallest smartwatch to date. It is the smallest mainstream smartwatch available thanks to its tiny 34mm case and 14mm strap. You won’t be wearing a dead display on your wrist because the screen is an LCD with low resolution that leaves a pattern when it dims.
It’s not exactly an exercise powerhouse. There is no GPS, but if you bring your smartphone along for a run or ride, you can use it instead. The SpO2, heart rate, Body Battery (an energy level metric), and advanced sleep tracking are just a few of the health and wellness features available.
And as you might expect, it supports both the brand-new pregnancy mode, which enables the watch to understand how your rapidly altering biometrics, and Garmin’s cycle tracking (that’s menstrual, not two-wheeled).
Although it’s not the ideal sports watch for runners (the Fenix 6S or Forerunner 45S are better options), this has a lot of potential for more casual users looking for something sleek.
If you engage in an average amount of activity and interaction and turn off the pulse oximetry mode, Garmin estimates that your battery will last up to five days. With the pulse ox on, we discovered a life of almost four days, with a drop of about 10% over night.
Garmin Approach S62
The best Garmin watch for golfers
SPECIFICATIONS
- Heart rate monitor: Yes
- GPS : Yes
- Water resistance: 50 meters
- Display: 1.3-inch MIP
- On-board music: No
- Mobile payments: Yes
- Sleep tracking: Yes
- Battery life: 14 days/20 hours with GPS
REASONS TO BUY
+Accurate distances+Virtual caddie analysis+Battery life
REASONS TO AVOID
–Not for beginners
The Garmin Approach S62 is the watch for you if you play golf. It is tough enough for a round of 18 holes while still being fashionable enough for the clubhouse’s 19th hole thanks to its scratch-resistant ceramic bezel and silicone straps.
Key golf features like access to data on 41,000 courses worldwide, GPS readings of distance and hole hazards, and a shot-tracking feature are all included with the Garmin Approach S62.
Additionally, a virtual caddie can suggest clubs based on how far they are from the target. It might be a lot for a beginner golfer (if that describes you, check out our review of the Garmin S20), but seasoned golfers will value the advice and might even leave the rangefinder at home.
Along with heart rate, sleep, and Garmin’s “Body Battery” energy monitor, the watch also keeps track of a variety of other indoor and outdoor exercises, including swimming, that are performed off the course.
With features like Garmin Pay and programmable smartphone notifications, it also functions well as a smartwatch.
Garmin Forerunner 745
A solid Garmin watch for overall fitness tracking
SPECIFICATIONS
- Heart rate monitor: Yes
- GPS : Yes
- Water resistance: 50 meters
- Display: 1.2-inch MIP
- On-board music: Yes
- Mobile payments: Yes
- Sleep tracking: Yes
- Battery life: 7 days/16 hours with GPS
REASONS TO BUY
+Easy to set up and use+Robust activity and training data+Limited smartwatch features
REASONS TO AVOID
–Battery life could be better
The Garmin Forerunner 745 is the best watch for athletes who need less bells and whistles and want more functionality than the Forerunner 45. Although it isn’t as feature-rich as the Garmun Venu, it does support mobile payments, music storage, and some third-party apps. These are two essential features for anyone who exercises frequently.
Additionally, you’ll have access to step and sleep tracking, though neither is prominently displayed on the watch like it is on lower-end fitness trackers.
More than a dozen different types of indoor and outdoor workouts are supported by the Garmin Forerunner 745, which also offers feedback on your training (including suggested workouts and recovery times) and quickly detects GPS signals.
Although the battery life isn’t as long as the Forerunner 945’s, most athletes can still complete several workouts while using the device in GPS mode for 16 hours at a time.
Garmin fenix 7 series
The best Garmin watch for the outdoors
SPECIFICATIONS
- Heart rate monitor: Yes
- GPS : Yes
- Water resistance: 100 meters
- Display: 1.2-inch MIP
- On-board music: Yes
- Mobile payments: Yes
- Sleep tracking: Yes
- Battery life: 14 days/72 hours with GPS
REASONS TO BUY
+Battery can last for weeks+Packed with features+64MB of storage
REASONS TO AVOID
–Very large –Screen lacks contrast –No microphone
Garmin Fenix 7 is a sports watch made for competitive athletes who enjoy participating in different sports and pushing themselves to break personal bests.
It contains a ton of cutting-edge training tools, including some brand-new ones like a real-time stamina visual that assists you in timing your efforts during competitions and a graph displaying your VO2 max’s evolution over time.
The touchscreen on this watch, the first in the Fenix family to have one, is quite helpful for panning through maps when the watch is in navigation mode. It is, however, automatically locked during workouts to avoid inadvertent touches.
Free maps are now widely available, and Garmin has improved the watch itself with a new map manager, making the procedure simple and quick. In our tests, satellite positioning showed to be quite precise and quick to acquire a lock.
Garmin Fenix 7 is a fantastic tool if you’re interested in heart rate training because the watch’s biometric tracking is extremely great, and heart rate monitoring is especially responsive.
It’s not quite perfect—the memory-in-pixel display lacks contrast, and the blue backlight’s choice mutes the colors—but it’s a thoughtfully designed watch that’s packed with all the tools you need to get your training on track, whether you’re a runner, swimmer, cyclist, triathlete, golfer, skier, or something else.
Garmin vivoactive 4
Garmin’s best fitness smartwatch
SPECIFICATIONS
- Heart rate monitor: Yes
- GPS : Yes
- Water resistance: 50 meters
- Display: 1.3-inch MIP
- On-board music: Yes
- Mobile payments: Yes
- Sleep tracking: Yes
- Battery life: 8 days/18 hours with GPS
REASONS TO BUY
+East two-button navigation+Build-in exercises
REASONS TO AVOID
–No OLED screen
The Vivoactive 4 is Garmin’s sport-focused smartwatch, built to provide the advantages of alerts and smart features with a multi-sport tracking system that can support up to 20 activities.
This watch, like its primary rivals the Apple Watch SE and Samsung Galaxy Watch 4, aims to provide more than simply fitness intelligence on your wrist. An improvement over the Vivoactive 3, it still has a transflective display with a poor resolution, but this time it has a glossy screen, making the whole thing look much more fashionable.
It still supports Spotify and has Garmin Pay, as you might assume, and you can add apps using Connect IQ, which also sells watch faces and widgets at a brisk clip.
It offers a wide range of sports monitoring options, including running (indoors, outdoors, and on a treadmill), cycling (indoors and outdoors), swimming (only in pools), golf, strength training, cardio, elliptical machines, indoor rowing machines, yoga, and more. Is it sufficient for you? Additionally, 5ATM water resistance is built in. You guessed it.
You won’t get information on recovery, training load, training status, VO2 Max, or the like because none are recorded with the crazily high level of detail used by the specialized Forerunner or Fenix devices.
You will receive adequate fitness tracking, and the pulse oximeter, which will give advanced sleep stages and information on your respiration while you sleep, will help with sleep. Hardcore material.
Additionally, the fact that this will give you a week in smartwatch mode with 13 hours of GPS is quite fantastic when you consider that the Apple Watch SE will only last a single day and won’t carry you through a marathon unless you turn off the heart rate monitor.
Garmin Vivomove Sport
Garmin’s most stylish watch
SPECIFICATIONS
- Heart rate monitor: Yes
- GPS : No
- Display: 0.35-inch OLED
- On-board music: No
- Sleep tracking: Yes
- Battery life: 5 days
REASONS TO BUY
+Stylish, lightweight design +Female health tracking
+Can be used as a watch, no phone required
REASONS TO AVOID
–No GPS–Can be fiddly to use
Of all the top Garmin watches, the Vivomove series is the most fashionable. Additionally, there isn’t a sub-dial to clog the watch face with activity or notification information. To read this information, you must swipe on the OLED touchscreen. Despite the small display size, the analog watch face is always visible.
The most recent entry in the Vivomove series is the Vivomove sport. With a 40mm bezel and a weight of 33.8g, it is more compact and lighter than the Vivomove HR Sport edition.
The watch is available in black, cool mint, chocolate (brown), and ivory (white). The watch comes with a silicone band that matches the watch face as standard, but it is also compatible with Garmin’s 20mm fast release bands, so if you prefer, you can switch to a leather or suede band.
The lack of a GPS sensor in Garmin’s Vivomove watches is a trade-off for the aesthetics, though. The watch must be connected to a smartphone in order to manage music and log workouts, and you must use the Garmin Connect app to view your workout data.
Having said that, the Garmin Vivomove includes sensors for monitoring your heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, and sleep as well as the ability to track ten distinct activity categories from your watch.
For someone just starting out in fitness or who wants to obtain a better overall view of their health in 2023, the Vivomove Sport is a good health tracker.
Garmin Enduro
Designed for ultramarathon runners or serious adventurers
SPECIFICATIONS
- Heart rate monitor: Yes
- GPS : Yes
- Water resistance: 100 meters
- Display: 1.4-inch MIP
- On-board music: No
- Mobile payments: Yes
- Sleep tracking: Yes
- Battery life: 50 days/65 days with solar
REASONS TO BUY
+Impressive battery life +Comfortable for its size+Less bulky than the Fenix 6 Pro
REASONS TO AVOID
–No music storage –Inaccurate altimeter
The Garmin Enduro will help you keep track of your ultramarathon running excursions, even if it caters to a very specific market. Given that it is more compact, comfy, and affordable than the Fenix 6 Pro Solar, it is nearly an update or enhancement.
Other than that, it gives identical measurements, a battery life that will last months (should you need it), and the majority of the features you’ve come to expect from higher-end Garmin watches.
Don’t let anyone fool you—this watch isn’t for everyone. Even though it’s still comfortable, it looks large on the wrist and unmistakably like a “sports watch” when you’re not working out. Additionally, the solar charging is a costly feature if you don’t need it unless you spend hours outside; however, if you do, get ready to unhook that charger and run, ride, or even ski to your heart’s content.
If you don’t have any immediate plans to compete in the Western States 100, you can definitely find several other Garmin watches that are just as spectacular and have comparable capabilities for hundreds of dollars less.
This is a pretty fantastic piece of equipment, though, if super adventures are more your style. In fact, we rated it the best smartwatch for the outdoors overall in our 2021 Health and Fitness Awards.
Garmin Instinct 2
An adventure watch for those who don’t want to spend Fenix prices
SPECIFICATIONS
- Heart rate monitor: Yes
- GPS : Yes
- Water resistance: 100 meters
- On-board music: No
- Mobile payments: Yes
- Sleep tracking: Yes
- Battery life: 21 days (2S)/ 51 days (2)
- Solar battery life : 28 days (2S)/ Unlimited (2)
REASONS TO BUY
+New smaller size option +Killer battery life +Has Health Snapshot +Has Garmin Pay + Garmin Connect
REASONS TO AVOID
–Limited sport types
The Garmin Instinct 2 claims to have an endless battery life, which it achieves by solar charging. There are a few limitations, including the features that can be powered by solar energy, which Garmin Instinct 2 models include a solar panel, and how long a day the watch must be exposed to sunshine. Beyond that, though, the Garmin Instinct 2 outperforms the original Garmin Instinct in almost every respect.
While including features from some of Garmin’s more costly watches, it yet maintains a tough feel. The 2S, which is intended for smaller wrists, is also available in a smaller 40mm size.
On the wrist, it is durable (with a Military Standard 810 grade against harsh conditions and temperatures), waterproof to a depth of 100m, and it has a brilliant, legible display even in bright sunshine.
There is no touchscreen, unlike the new Garmin Fenix 7 line, but the five button functionality is simple to operate while moving.
Overall, this is a fantastic adventure watch that is ideal for people searching for the Fenix 7’s battery life without the price tag.
How to choose the best Garmin watch for you –
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Battery Life
The majority of Garmin watches have fantastic battery life, however others have longer lasting batteries. For instance, the Forerunner 945 has a 14-day wristwatch battery life and a 36-hour GPS battery life, and the fenix 6 has a 20-day adventure GPS battery life.
Training features
Although the majority of Garmin watches have great training functionality, pay attention to the stats that are important to you. Some models, like the Garmin Forerunner 945, track heat and altitude in addition to the standard parameters, which is essential for determining the effectiveness of outdoor workouts. In-depth golf training is also provided by others, such as the Garmin Approach S62.
GPS
It comes as no surprise that almost all of Garmin’s watches offer top-notch GPS functionality given that the company is famed for its GPS technology. The only Garmin watches without a GPS sensor are those in the vivomove line.
Smartwatch features
More smartwatch functionalities are available on some Garmin models than others. For instance, the Venu offers features uncommon for Garmin devices, such as a touchscreen and an AMOLED display, as well as compatibility for mobile payments, onboard music, and a stainless steel bezel.
Onboard music
Not all Garmin watches include built-in storage for onboard music. You’ll need a tracker that enables you to leave your phone behind if you’re an athlete who wants to bring music with them as they work out. Even some Garmin series have a version specifically for music, as the Forerunner 245 Music.
How to download Garmin Connect
The Garmin Connect App must be downloaded in order to sync your watch with your phone. You can link your Garmin to your phone once you’ve downloaded the app and registered on both Android (opens in new tab) and iOS (opens in new tab).
You may view all of your data in an easy-to-read format at a glance with the Garmin Connect app. Deeper insights, such as your body battery (based on your sleep data) and your fitness age, will depend on your tracker. You should also keep a watch on the difficulties and thorough sleep reports.
Additionally, depending on the model of your watch, you may be able to obtain running and cycling training plans from Garmin Coach using the Garmin Connect app, then upload them directly to your watch.
To do this, open the Garmin Connect app and select more, then training. Depending on your skill level and your objectives, you may then choose training plans and download the most appropriate one for you.