1. The quick list
2. Best overall
3. Best for beginners
4. Best for triathletes
5. Best smartwatch
6. Best adventure watch
7. Best looking
8. Best for marathons
9. Best for golfers
10. Best battery
11. Features comparison
12. How to choose
13. How we test
14. Garmin Connect
Finding the best Garmin watch depends on your needs and your budget. While some of the devices on this list are more of a fitness tracker, designed to count your steps, distance and calories burned, others are clearly designed with hardcore athletes and outdoor enthusiasts in mind. If you're looking to use a Garmin watch to reach your fitness goals, you've come to the right place.
Garmin watches range in price point, from the $149 Garmin Forerunner 55 to the $1099 Garmin Epix Pro Sapphire Solar Edition, and the features will vary, too. It's worth understanding what you'll need from your Garmin before investing and whether you'll use some of the fancier features.
If you're new to Garmin watches, they all track steps, sleep, and heart rate and they're all water-resistant, although some are specifically designed for swimming. Garmin watches also come with batteries that will last for days on a single charge even when using GPS, so you can venture outdoors with confidence.
These models also sync to Garmin Connect, which provides a wealth of health and fitness data to help you reach your goals. After much running, biking, and sweating, we've hand-picked the best Garmin watches on the market, to help you decide which is best for you.
Jane McGuire is Tom's Guide's Fitness Editor and she's spent years writing about all things health and fitness. She crossed the finish line of her last marathon in 3:38, with the Garmin Forerunner 965 on her wrist.
The quick list
The best Garmin for most people
The Garmin Forerunner 265 is the best overall Garmin for most people. It has a bright AMOLED screen, comes in two different screen sizes, has accurate GPS, and advanced training metrics.
Best Garmin for beginners
The Garmin Forerunner 55 is an entry-level running watch for those looking to track their training, without all the extras. It still looks and feels like a Garmin, without the price tag.
Best Garmin for triathletes
The Garmin Forerunner 965 is the best Forerunner we’ve ever tested. It’s got a bright AMOLED screen, a 23-day battery life, and some of Garmin’s most advanced training features.
Best Garmin smartwatch
The Venu 2 Plus is a stylish smartwatch on par with the Apple Watch and Fitbit Versa 3 — and it’s rugged enough for bike rides, strength workouts, and half marathon training.
The best Garmin for adventures
The Garmin Epix Pro has everything you need for an adventure, including a bright screen and a built-in flashlight. It comes in three different sizes, and has Garmin’s newest heart rate sensor.
Best looking Garmin smartwatch for women
If you’re looking for an activity tracker that doesn’t look like an activity tracker, the Garmin Lily is for you. It’s designed for women and has menstrual and pregnancy tracking built-in.
Best Garmin watch for marathons
The Garmin Fenix 7 is built for adventures — whether that’s 26.2 miles, or further. Some watches in the range have solar charging for an impressive battery life, and all have advanced training features.
Best Garmin Watch for golfers
The Garmin Approach S62 comes with key golf features such as access to data on 41,000 courses worldwide, GPS readings on distance and hole hazards, and a shot-tracking function.
Best Garmin watch for battery life
The Garmin Instinct 2 boasts an infinite battery life — yep, it has the power to last forever, charging with the sunlight. On the wrist, it's hard-wearing and waterproof up to 100m.
The best Garmin watches you can buy today
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The best Garmin overall
✅ You want a mid-level Garmin: The Garmin Forerunner 265 is a perfect training companion for anything from a 5K to an ultramarathon. It has plenty of advanced training metrics to help you PR your next race.
✅ You want a bright screen: The Forerunner 265 has a bright, AMOLED screen, which is easy to see in direct sunlight. It does mean, however, the battery life isn't as long as watches with an MIP display.
❌ You want a smartwatch: Like a lot of Garmin's the Forerunner 265 isn't the most exciting from a smartwatch perspective. That said, you can still view phone notifications, download music, and use Garmin Pay.
❌ You're a golfer: If you spend your weekend's on the green, there's no golf support on the Forerunner 265. There is on the Forerunner 965, however.
⌚ The Garmin Forerunner 265 is a wonderful watch, that'll help you train for your next race, and give you a lot of Garmin's advanced training features, without costing the earth.
What you need to know
The Garmin Forerunner 265 is Garmin's latest mid-level running watch, replacing the Forerunner 255 — check out our Forerunner 255 vs Forerunner 265 face-off here if you're struggling to decide between the two watches. The main changes Garmin made to the watch was the screen, which is now a wonderfully bright, AMOLED touchscreen.
The Forerunner 265 comes in two different sizes — the Forerunner 265 has a 1.3-inch display, with a resolution of 416 x 416 pixels, and the Forerunner 265S has a 1.1-inch display, with a resolution of 360 x 360 pixels. During testing, we were blown away by how bright this little watch was, even in direct sunlight.
This is an excellent watch for most runners — it's got a lot of the training tools of the more expensive watches on the market, yet it's far more affordable than the likes of the Fenix, or the Forerunner 955/965. The bright touchscreen also makes it feel more like a smartwatch if you're planning on wearing your Garmin 24/7.
Design: Like all of Garmin's touchscreen watches, the touchscreen is automatically disabled in sports modes, meaning you can still navigate around the watch using the buttons — three on the left, and two on the right. This makes it easier to start, stop, pause, or lap the watch with sweaty fingers, or when wearing gloves.
The Forerunner 265 is lightweight and comfortable around the wrist, and the smaller size option is beneficial for runners with petite wrists.
Battery life: Despite the brighter display, the battery life of the Forerunner 265 has pretty much stayed the same. The 265S has a 15-day battery life in smartwatch mode, and a 24-hour battery life in GPS mode. The 265 has 13 days in smartwatch mode, and 20 hours in GPS mode. Normally, it’s the larger of the two watches that has the longer battery life, but it seems with the bigger and brighter screen, the larger 265 will need charging ever so slightly sooner.
Training features: Aside from the screen, the only other difference between the 265 and the older watch is Garmin's Training Readiness Score. The score shows you at a glance how ready you are for a difficult day of training based on sleep, recovery time, HRV status, acute load, and stress. Each category carries a different weight, so your Training Readiness might go up during the day, as your needed recovery time goes down.
The Forerunner 265 has Garmin’s Elevate V4 sensor — the green light records heart rate, the red light records blood oxygen levels (referred to as Pulse Ox on the watch). This sensor is used to calculate breathing rate, HRV, and stress. It also has Garmin’s Morning Report feature, which gives you a snapshot into how well you slept, how hard you’ve been training, and a look at the weather for the day ahead.
Read the full review: Garmin Forerunner 265
| Test | Notes | How it stacks up |
|---|---|---|
| Battery life | 15 days/ smartwatch, 24 hours GPS (265S), 13 days smartwatch, 20 hours GPS (265) | ★★★★☆ |
| Features | Multisport mode, Body Battery, Training Readiness Score, Race day widget, Suggested workouts, LiveTrack | ★★★★☆ |
| Design | 1.1-inches (265S), 1.3-inches (265) | ★★★★★ |
| Display | 416 x 416 pixels (265), 360 x 360 pixels (265S) AMOLED touchscreen | ★★★★★ |
Best Garmin for beginners
✅ You're looking for an entry-level watch: The Garmin Forerunner 55 is an excellent watch if you want to keep an eye on your running training and sleep, without all the extra bells and whistles. It's simple, and easy to use.
✅ You're on a budget: Unlike some of the other watches on this list, the Forerunner 55 won't cost you a month's rent. It's definitely the most affordable Garmin for runners.
❌ You want to listen to music from your watch: There's no built-in music storage on the watch, so if you want to leave your phone at home, you won't be able to here.
❌ You want to record strength workouts: There's no strength training mode on the Forerunner 55, so you'll have to record strength workouts as 'Other'.
❌ You want to make contactless payments from your wrist: Unlike other watches on this list, the Forerunner 55 doesn't support Garmin Pay contactless payments.
⌚ The Garmin Forerunner 55 is a basic running watch that definitely isn't to be sniffed at. Sure, it doesn't have Training Readiness or Garmin Pay, but it'll give you suggested workouts, connect with Garmin Coach, and let you get a better idea of how well you're sleeping.
What you need to know
If you’re starting to get into running, chances are you want a device that’s a step up from a basic fitness tracker but also won’t overwhelm you with too many features. Among Garmin watches, the Forerunner 55 is a clear choice. It's a simple, easy-to-use running watch that'll help you keep an eye on your running stats, heart rate, and sleep from your wrist.
The watch doesn't have some of the high-end training features you'll see in other watches on this list. There's no Training Readiness Score, for example, and the watch doesn't let you listen to music, or pay for groceries from your wrist, but don't let this put you off.
Design: The Forerunner 55 looks like most of the other Forerunners in the Garmin collection — it doesn't have a touchscreen, so you'll need to navigate around the watch using the buttons, three on the left, and two on the right. The watch only comes in one size, and has a 1-inch, MIP display, with a resolution of 208 x 208 pixels. Even on the sunniest days, we could see the Forerunner 55’s transflective MIP display without an issue
Battery life: A fully charged Forerunner 55 can last up to two weeks in Smartwatch mode and 20 hours in GPS mode, which is a significant increase from its predecessor’s battery life expectations. This is impressive when compared to the Apple Watch Series 8, which requires charging ever8 18-hours, but the screen on the Forerunner 55 isn't anywhere near as bright as Apple's smartwatch. Either way, you could go away for a weekend marathon without worrying about packing your charger.
Training features: The Forerunner 55 has Garmin's new PacePro technology, which gives you gentle speed and cadence alerts on the run. There are also suggested recovery times and workouts, based on your training history, fitness levels, and recovery.
Like most of the watches on this list, you can also use Garmin Coach on this watch, which lets you download free training plans from one of Garmin's coaches. We've used a Garmin Coach training plan over the marathon distance, and have been impressed.
Read full review: Garmin Forerunner 55
| Test | Notes | How it stacks up |
|---|---|---|
| Battery life | 2 weeks smartwatch/ 20 hours GPS | ★★★★☆ |
| Features | Garmin Coach, Pace Pro, Cadence alerts | ★★★☆☆ |
| Design | 1-inch screen | ★★★☆☆ |
| Display | 208 x 208 pixels MIP display | ★★★☆☆ |
Best Garmin for triathletes
✅ You want a running watch with the best GPS: The Forerunner 965 has Multi-Band GPS, which is the most accurate GPS in situations that are tricky for GPS watches, like cities with skyscrapers.
✅ You want to view maps on your watch: If you're looking for a watch to view maps on, the large AMOLED screen on the Forerunner 965 makes things easier.
✅ You're looking for a watch to cope with multiple sports: The Forerunner 965 has multisport modes for triathlon, duathlons, brick workouts and swim/run.
❌ You're using the watch for watersports: Compared to watches like the Fenix 7, which has a water resistant rating of 10ATM, the Forerunner 965 only has a rating of 5ATM. It's fine for swimming, but don't wear it for watersports or diving.
❌ You're clumsy: The Forerunner 965 has a plastic “resin” backing, rather than the stainless steel or titanium used in the Fenix and Epix line. This means is less hardy, and is more likely to get scratched.
❌ You prefer a smaller watch: The Forerunner 965 only comes in one size — 47.2mm/1.4 inches.
⌚ The Forerunner 965 is our favorite Forerunner yet it has all of Garmin's top training features, a beautiful color touchscreen, and multisport modes.
What you need to know
The Garmin Forerunner 965 is the upgraded version of the Forerunner 955. It's a top-tier running watch, and possibly the best Forerunner we've ever tested. If you're trying to decide between the newer model and the older version, read our Forerunner 955 vs Forerunner 965 face-off here.
The Garmin Forerunner 965 has all of the high-tech training features of the Forerunner 955, but one big upgrade — an AMOLED touchscreen. Compared to the likes of the Fenix 7, this bright screen makes it easier to use full-color maps on the Forerunner 965. The watch is also equipped with Multi-Band GPS, making it more accurate in areas with notoriously bad GPS reception.
Design: The AMOLED screen has a resolution of 454 x 454 pixels; it's extremely bright and easy to see in all weather conditions. Like all of the Garmin watches with touchscreens, the screen is automatically disabled during activities, allowing you to start, stop, pause, and lap the watch using the buttons. There's five buttons in total — three on the left, two on the right. They are easy to use and press with sweaty fingers, or when wearing gloves.
The watch only comes in one size — 47.2mm/1.4 inches, so if you have particularly small wrists, you might want to look at the Forerunner 265 instead. It comes in three different colors — yellow, black, and white, and the bands are interchangeable.
Battery life: Despite the higher resolution and the bigger screen, the battery life on the Forerunner 965 still holds its own. It has a battery life of 23 days in smartwatch mode, 31 hours in GPS mode without music, and 8.5 hours in GPS mode with music. During testing, we found it lived up to Garmin's estimates, although it dipped dramatically if the always-on display was turned on.
Training features: The watch is also jam-packed with Garmin's most advanced training features, mapping capabilities, and recovery tools. Garmin has also added a new feature, which will be soon rolled out to the Fenix 7 and Forerunner 955 — Chronic Training Load. Where the Acute Load feature measures a short-term sum of your training, Chronic Load focuses on a longer period of 28 days.
Read full review: Garmin Forerunner 965
| Test | Notes | How it stacks up |
|---|---|---|
| Battery life | 23 days smartwatch/ 31 hours GPS | ★★★★★ |
| Features | Training Readiness, Training Status, Multisport modes, Chronic Training Load, Acute Load, Advanced mapping | ★★★★★ |
| Design | 1.4 inch | ★★★★☆ |
| Display | 454 x 454 pixels AMOLED touchscreen | ★★★★★ |
Best Garmin smartwatch
✅ You're looking for a smartwatch: The Venu 2 Plus is an excellent smartwatch, with some of the sports tracking we know and love from Garmin.
✅ You want to make calls from your wrist: Unlike all of the other Garmin watches on this list, the Venu 2 Plus has a speaker and mic, allowing you to make and take calls from your wrist.
✅ Voice assistant is important to you: The Venu 2 Plus has built-in voice assistant.
❌ You want maps on your watch: While the Venu 2 Plus has some navigation features, it doesn't have full mapping like other watches on this list.
❌ You're training for a triathlon: The Venu 2 Plus does not have an open-water swimming, or triathlon mode.
❌ You want advanced training features: While you'll be able to record workouts on the Venu 2 Plus, it doesn't have Garmin's advanced training metrics.
⌚ The Garmin Venu 2 Plus is the best smartwatch Garmin make. If you want the feel of an Apple Watch, but the fitness tracking capabilities of a Garmin, this is the watch for you.
What you need to know
Garmin watches aren’t just for serious athletes. The Venu 2 Plus is a stylish smartwatch on a par with the Apple Watch and Fitbit Versa 3 — and it’s rugged enough for bike rides, strength workouts, and playtime with the kids. It’s also a step up from the Garmin vivoactive 4 with an AMOLED display and a stainless steel bezel.
The Garmin Venu Plus 2 blends the fitness and health-tracking features you’d expect from a Garmin device with smartwatch features such as mobile payments, notifications, a touchscreen, and storage for up to 650 songs. Unlike all of the other Garmin watches on this list, the Venu 2 Plus also has voice assistant features and on-wrist calls. If you want your smartwatch to act as an extension of your smartphone, this is the Garmin for you.
Design: Like pretty-much all of the Garmin's on this list, the watch has buttons as well as a touchscreen for easier navigation with sweaty fingers. Two of the buttons act as assigned apps or shortcuts (I set mine to the workout menu and my music player) while the lower one is a back button. All three buttons open different controls with a long press, like a tool menu or settings.
The Garmin Venu 2 Plus’s 43mm color AMOLED screen has multiple brightness levels and an ambient light sensor that can auto-adjust the brightness based on your environment.
Battery life: According to Garmin, the Venu 2 Plus has up to 9 days battery life in smartwatch mode, up to 8 hours in GPS mode with music, and up to 24 hours of GPS mode without music. This far exceeds smartwatches like the Apple Watch Series 8.
Training features: As well as tracking your sleep and stress, the Venu 2 Plus tracks most workouts, aside from open-water swimming and multisport modes. There are also animated on-screen workouts you can follow, and 25 different pre-loaded activity profiles on the watch, which can be swapped out. Compared to some of the more high-tech watches on this list, there aren't features like Training Load, Daily Readiness Score, and Stamina. There's also no mapping capabilities on the Garmin Venu 2 Plus.
Read full review: Garmin Venu 2 Plus
| Test | Notes | How it stacks up |
|---|---|---|
| Battery life | 9 days smartwatch / Up to 8 hours GPS w/music, 24 hours GPS w/out music | ★★★★☆ |
| Features | Voice-assistant, Wrist calls, Garmin Coach | ★★★★☆ |
| Design | 1.3-inch screen | ★★★★☆ |
| Display | 416 x 416 pixels AMOLED touchscreen | ★★★★☆ |
Best Garmin adventure watch
✅ You want a Fenix with a beautiful screen: If you like all of the features on the Fenix 7, but love an AMOLED screen, this is the Garmin for you.
✅ You like the sound of a built-in flashlight: All of the watches in the Epix Pro line have built-in flashlights, and different flashlight modes for running and safety.
❌ You want a solar charging watch: Unlike the Fenix 7 below, the Epix Pro line doesn't have solar charging capabilities due to the AMOLED screen.
❌ You're on a budget: This is an expensive watch. If you're on a budget, check out the Forerunner 965, that has a lot of similar features.
⌚ The Garmin Epix Pro is a top-tier adventure watch with a beautiful screen, a killer battery life, and all of Garmin's most advanced training features. That said, all of that comes at a price.
What you need to know
Until now, the Garmin Epix has been the company’s high-end, high-spec adventure smartwatch. With a bright, AMOLED display, a large 1.3-inch screen, and an impressive battery life, it’s been a popular choice since its release in January 2022. Now, Garmin has a new and improved version with the Epix Pro series: available in three different sizes, to suit every wrist size.
The Epix Pro is available in three different sizes — 42mm/1.6 inches, 47mm/1.8 inches, and 51 mm/2 inches. It also has Garmin's latest heart rate sensor, with twice as many LEDs as that of the Epix 2, spread over a wider area for more accurate data. All of the watches in the Epix Pro line-up also have a built-in flashlight.
Design: The Epix Pro looks very similar to the Epix, with a beautiful AMOLED touchscreen that is wonderfully bright and easy to read, even in direct sunlight. Like all Garmin watches with touchscreens, the screen is automatically disabled in sports modes, meaning you can navigate around the watch with its five buttons, rather than accidentally pausing your run with sweaty fingers. Read more about the difference between the Epix and the Epix Pro here.
Battery life: The main difference between the Fenix 7 and the Epix 2 is the battery life — in Expedition mode, the Fenix can last up to 40 days (74 days with solar), whereas the Epix will wind down after just 14 days. Due to it's AMOLED screen, the Epix Pro doesn't have solar charging. The standard 49mm Epix Pro lasts 16 days in smartwatch mode, and 42 hours in GPS mode.
Training features: When it comes to health and fitness tracking, the Garmin Epix Pro features are identical to that of the Fenix 7, in that it can track just about everything. In addition to a heart rate monitor, the Epix 2 has a blood oxygen sensor that can keep tabs on your levels throughout the day, as well as perform on-the-spot checks.
There are two new running features — hill score, which shows you how easy it is to run uphill, without the need to look at your phone or a map. Garmin does this by measuring your running strength on steep elevations, and endurance on long ascents, as well as progress over time, based on your VO2 max, and training history. There’s also a new endurance score, which is a measure of how easy it is for you to sustain prolonged efforts, looking at data like VO2 max, and your short and long-term training loads. These new training features will also be available on the Garmin Epix 2, and all of Garmin's high-end watches in a later firmware update.
Read full review: Garmin Epix Pro
| Test | Notes | How it stacks up |
|---|---|---|
| Battery life | 10 days (42mm), 16 days (47mm), 31 day (51mm) smartwatch/ 28 hours (42mm), 42 hours (47mm), 81 hours (51mm) | ★★★★☆ |
| Features | Training Readiness, Training Status, Multisport modes, Chronic Training Load, Acute Load, Advanced mapping, Hill score, Endurance score | ★★★★★ |
| Design | 1.6-inch, 1.8-inch, and 2-inch screen | ★★★★★ |
| Display | 390 x 390 pixels (42mm), 416 x 416 pixels (47mm), 454 x 454 pixels (51mm) AMOLED touchscreen | ★★★★★ |