The best GPS running watches in 2025 from Garmin, Apple and more

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Jump to:

• The best running watches — the quick list
• Huge suite of training features and feedback
• How we test running watches
• Even the most basic running watches these days come with built-in&nbsp?
• The best running watches for 2025, tested & reviewed

The best GPS running watches have all the sport-specific features to track every stride you take — and some are packed with additional sensors and technology to provide a 360 degree view of your training and recovery and keep you connected outside of training, too.

But working out the right gadget for you is a bit like finding the best running shoes: the same watch won't suit everyone. For plenty of runners, accurate records of pace, heart rate, route, distance and time are all you need to get the most out of your runs. For others, advanced models will pack additional features that can benefit other aspects of your wellbeing.

What everyone's reading

Ready to find your perfect training partner? At RW, we’ve tested every running watch on the market, clocking up hundreds of miles to curate our recommendations below. Keep scrolling for our full reviews.

The best running watches — the quick list

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  Best in test

  Garmin Forerunner 970

  £710 at Amazon

  £710 at Amazon

  Read review
• 

  Highly commended

  Suunto Race Titanium

  £370 at Amazon

  £370 at Amazon

  Read review
• 

  Best value

  Coros Pace 3

  £219 at Amazon

  £219 at Amazon

  Read review
• 

  Best all-rounder

  Garmin Forerunner 570

  £521 at Amazon

  £521 at Amazon

  Read review
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  Amazfit T-Rex 3

  £220 at Amazon

  £220 at Amazon

  Read review
• 

  Best for adventurers

  Polar Grit X2

  £399 at Polar

  £399 at Polar

  Read review
• 

  Best for under £100

  Amazfit Active 2

  £85 at Amazon

  £85 at Amazon

  Read review
• 

  Best running watch money can buy

  Garmin Fenix 8

  £770 at Amazon

  £770 at Amazon

  Read review
• 

  Best for battery life

  Garmin Enduro 3

  £770 at Sports Shoes

  £770 at Sports Shoes

  Read review
• 

  Best Polar running watch

  Polar Pacer Pro

  £299 at polar.com

  £299 at polar.com

  Read review

Show more

Huge suite of training features and feedback

While a GPS watch can benefit all runners, someone who is Jump to Products best running shoes ultra-marathoner. Here are some things to consider.

Training features

Smartwatch features

Battery life

Design and display screen

Smartwatch or running watch?

How we test running watches

We're not exaggerating when we say that we've tested and reviewed pretty much every GPS running watch on the market, not only from the main players — Garmin, Coros, Polar and Apple — but the likes of Amazfit, Huawei and Samsung, too. We've clocked up hundreds of miles as a team over several months, putting the watches through their paces at parkruns through to ultra races, in urban settings and in remote environments, and in all weather conditions.

We compare the devices to older versions we've tested previously, evaluating the devices based on features, GPS and heart rate accuracy, battery life, connectivity, and ease of use (both in terms of the smartwatch and its companion app). Our most-recommended watches satisfied our data-tracking needs and delighted us with intuitive user experiences and additional apps and features. We also took price into consideration when selecting our final line-up below. So, whatever your budget, you should be able to find a device that suits you.

Even the most basic running watches these days come with built-in&nbsp?

Runner’s World UK has been vetting and reviewing running gear and tech since 1983. Our essential recommendations, including all kinds of running shoes, are selected based on data and insights gathered by our editors, who put the latest and greatest running shoes and gear through their paces day in and day out. In 2025, the Runner’s World test team is led by e-commerce editor Ali Ball, an 12-time marathoner and ultramarathoner who has over seven years of experience testing fitness gear and tech. This guide also builds on the knowledge of Kieran Alger, who has run over 60 marathons, numerous ultramarathons and is never seen without at least two running watches on his wrists.

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The best running watches for 2025, tested & reviewed

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Read our full Garmin Forerunner 970 review

With several upgrades snatched straight from Garmin’s adventure-tier series, the Forerunner 970 almost offers Fenix-level firepower in a more wrist-friendly design. You get Garmin’s brightest 1.4-inch AMOLED touchscreen, a scratch-resistant sapphire lens and the hugely useful built-in LED torch.

Under the hood, there’s a reliable Elevate Gen 5 optical heart rate sensor — Garmin's most up-to-date model — with medically-certified ECG capability and skin temperature readouts, plus accurate multi-band GPS. That hardware powers a huge swathe of Garmin tools across training, racing, recovery, health and smart-watch functionality, including new running economy and step speed loss (the braking effect on each stride) insights that you won’t find on other Garmin watches. We liked the new running tolerance score for estimating maximum weekly mileage and the race-day tools that automatically lock your splits to the official race markers.

You sacrifice battery life for the super-bright screen but if the budget stretches, this is probably Garmin’s best running watch right now.

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Read our full Suunto Race review

The Suunto Race joins the growing line-up of running watches now packing big smartwatch-style AMOLED displays, and despite a bit too much bezel, this one gets a big thumbs up.

For a start, it’s cheaper than many of the AMOLED rivals. The killer crisp, colourful touchscreen is the hero here, elevating Suunto’s strong offline maps and navigation tools, and adding vibrancy to your run data. But behind that smart screen, there’s a capable run tracker, too.

When it comes to insights, Suunto serves up pretty standard fare — all your usual mid-run metrics plus post-run reads on training load, training progress and recovery. There’s also AI coaching advice, race pacing tools and sleep and activity tracking.

Other headlines include accuracy-boosting all-systems, dual frequency GPS and a strong suite of navigation tools with heat-map route planning, breadcrumb trails and estimated time of arrival.

The on-paper battery life is competitive with 40-120 hours and excellent granular power save customisation. In tests, a one-hour run using the highest accuracy GPS mode burned an average of 3%, draining faster than the 40 hours Suunto claims but it matched the Garmin Forerunner 965 and the Polar Vantage V3. The GPS tracking was excellent but the heart rate performance was more mixed. Where optical sensors can struggle, it did.

On features and price it’s in the mix with the Forerunner 965 and Vantage V3, but at 83g, it’s built more like a chunkier Garmin Fenix, Coros Vertix 2 and the Polar In-depth sleep and health insights. If you’re looking for light and compact, this is not the one.

However, if you want a rugged build there’s a lot of watch here for under £400. Even if you opt for the pricier – and lighter – Titanium model, the Race is still significantly cheaper than the Garmin Forerunner 965 and the Polar Vantage V3.

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Read our full Coros Pace 3 review

If you're after impressive staying power, in-depth training features and accurate GPS, the Pace 3 is one of the best money-can-buy choices going.

The latest model benefits from an improved heart rate reader with 5 LEDs and four light-detecting photosensors, which act a bit like cameras. There’s also a bigger and better battery life - 24 days daily use and 38 hours continuous GPS (compared with 20 days use and 30 hours GPS in the Pace 2). It's got dual-frequency GPS – the type found in higher-end Garmin watches and the Up to 21 hours, which stays impressively stable, even in high-rise urban environments.

There's also new mapping features, including a route planner where you can either build your own custom route or search for a destination and sync it to the watch within the Coros app, and turn-by-turn navigation.

The Pace’s range of advanced running analytics is impressive. On the latest model you can view Running Performance, Training Load, scores and pace ranges for Aerobic Endurance, Aerobic Power, Threshold, Anaerobic Endurance and Anaerobic Power, cadence, stride length, elevation and more within the Coros app. This is then compatible with a selection of third party running apps, including Strava and Apple Health. Plus, the Pace 3 comes with training plans and workouts if you're not following a plan already.

Sure, it is a bit plasticky, so if you're looking for a slightly more premium, all-day smartwatch, that could be a dealbreaker. Ultra and trail runners should probably look elsewhere too. But for everyone else – particularly those looking for a reliable running watch to use for their workouts – it's an excellent watch at a hard-to-beat price.

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Garmin’s brightest ever smartwatch-style touchscreen is fast, reactive and notably more vibrant than AMOLED-toting rivals. But the 570 is more than a pretty face. It boasts Garmin’s latest Elevate Gen 5 heart-rate set-up, accuracy-boosting multi-band GPS, plus altimeter and blood oxygen sensor. The training, recovery and health insights are comprehensive, covering everything from training effect, training load and performance condition to HRV, Body Battery, recovery time, VO2 max and race-time predictions. A new auto-lap feature synchs to the markers of known race routes for more accurate splits and Suggested Finish Lines trims unwanted data if you forget to press stop. It also spots when you’ve hit the track, locking you to lanes for added accuracy.

There’s no offline mapping and you sacrifice staying power for the display – at full brightness, we got four days on a single charge with two hours running in Max GPS – but at just 50g, even the larger 47mm is 24/7-wear-friendly and lifestyle smartwatch tools now include voice commands, contactless payments, offline music and safety alerts.

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On paper, Amazfit’s rugged, budget adventurer has the tech, tracking tools and insights to rival the likes of the Garmin Fenix 8 and other top-tier trackers. Just at a third of the price. It packs 177 sports modes, an impressive 42-hour runtime battery life, accuracy-boosting dual frequency GPS, plus offline maps and navigation, all brought to life on a bright and bold, 1.5-inch smartwatch-style touchscreen.

The range of training, fitness and health smarts is comprehensive, with everything from training readiness and recovery readouts to VO2 Max, AI-generated training plans, structured workouts, virtual pacer and track running mode.

There are compromises that come with the price tag, though: some of the tools and insights lack depth and finesse and at 70g, it’s quite heavy. The distinctly chunky stainless steel bezel has a unique look and the Gorilla Glass screen lacks the protection of the Garmin’s stronger sapphire screen. But you’ll be hard pressed to find a watch that offers more bang for buck.

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The rugged Grit X2 crams all the features you’ll find on Polar’s bigger, pricier In-depth sleep and health insights into a more compact package that’s ideal for runners who want rugged adventure smarts but less heft on the wrist. It has a bright AMOLED display, toughened sapphire screen and teeny-tiny stainless steel bezel.

A snappy processor zips through taps and swipes, the dual frequency GPS and optical sensors are decently accurate, plus there’s ECG, blood oxygen and skin temperature sensing. Polar’s nightly sleep and recovery tools are excellent, but do burn through battery overnight. We loved unique tools like Hill Splitter for breaking out climb and descent splits on hilly runs and Fuelwise that generates effort-based fuelling strategies.

The 30-hour GPS runtime is competitive and it’s easy to import routes from Komoot and Strava to make the most of the offline maps and turn-by-turn navigation functionality. On the downside, it’s short on smartwatch smarts compared to the rivals with no offline music, contactless payments or apps.

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The old-school circular style won’t be everyone’s cup of Lucozade, but there’s far more watch here than you really have a right to expect for under £100. The lively 1.32-inch AMOLED touchscreen, subtle stainless steel body and bezel avoids looking cheap and the suite of sensors includes blood oxygen, body temp and altimeter.

Some of the health, fitness and smartwatch tools on the impressively long list lack the finesse of pricier rivals, but there’s all the usual sport tracking with 164 different sport modes, a clever-ish AI-powered Zepp Coach serving up customised training plans, and an auto-rep-counting strength that detects 25 exercise types. You also get training and recovery insights like readiness scores, heart rate variability, sleep and activity tracking.

There are inevitable compromises – notably, no accuracy-boosting dual frequency GPS – but the GPS and heart rate performance were passable if not perfect. A great entry-level smart run tracker that offers decent performance on a tight budget.

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Read our full Garmin Fenix 8 review

The Fenix 8 is arguably the most comprehensive multi-sport watches on the market. If Garmin has a tool for it, it’s on this watch. You get the full suite of Garmin’s run tracking, training, recovery, navigation and health tools, including everything from training effect, training load and performance condition, to HRV, Body Battery, recovery time, VO2 Max and race time predictor estimates. Plus, it has progress-charting readouts like Hill Score (how good you are on the ups) and Endurance Score (how good you are at going long).

There’s military-style multi-band GPS, designed to improve GPS accuracy in areas where regular signals can struggle. Though it’s impressive, our tester found it’s not totally infallible. It locks routes as well as any watch we’ve tested, though it suffered a few wobbles under heavy tree cover. Overall, though, total distances landed well within the margin for error.

The headline updates from the Garmin Fenix 7 range include a stunning smartwatch-style AMOLED display, bigger screens on the smallest watches, plus increased battery life (in most settings). It’s also packed with all the features you’d expect from a smartwatch – including smart notifications delivered right on the wrist, contactless payment, wrist-based heart rate, sleep and stress tracking. The con? It’ll cost you.

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Read our full Garmin Enduro 3 review

Basically a Fenix (without the AMOLED screen) with a beefed-up battery life, this hard-wearing hulk of a multi-sport watch is built to handle off-road and ultrarunning adventures. And the latest version packs even more solar-boosted staying power, a lighter build, brighter screen and a reduced price tag.

On paper, even without the solar smarts, it offers between 60 and 210 hours of GPS tracking. In the right light conditions, that jumps to 60 hours in accuracy-boosting multi-band mode and 320 hours in standard GPS mode. It’s a beast. In our tests, it lived up to billing, too. When we weren’t running, the average overnight burn was just 1%. Over 24 hours without any workouts, the Enduro 3 shed just 3%. A 90-minute run in Normal mode burned 3%, while a 3-hour marathon using the multi-band Max Accuracy mode burned 5%.

It’s not all battery, though. The Enduro 3 offers Garmin’s complete suite of training tools and insights. That includes reliable heart rate and accurate GPS plus training effect, training load, recovery recommendations and training-session suggestions. Plus, it’s got progress-charting readouts like Hill Score (how good you are on the ups), Endurance Score (how good you are at going long). Running modes include road, trail, ultra and indoor with trail-adjusted VO2-max estimates and a nifty ultra feature that splits out the time you spend dawdling at aid-station buffets.

It’s a highly competent navigator, too, with mapping upgrades that add terrain contours on your TopoActive map, dynamic round trip, and route guidance that can update mid-run to hit a specified distance if you go off-course. It’s easy to create routes on the fly or upload courses downloaded from Strava and third parties.

If you can live without the AMOLED screen, the voice tools and dive skills that land with the new Fenix 8, it packs the features, accuracy and durability to rival its much pricier stablemate.

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This might just be Polar’s best value running watch. For under £300, it packs in many features you’ll find on the brand’s pricier watches into its lightweight 41g frame. And while you don’t get premium materials like titanium bezels, it still looks stylish with interchangeable straps and a sleek-looking frame.

With 35 hours of full GPS run time – extendable up to 100 hours in low-power modes – the battery life is pretty much unrivalled at this price. Only the slightly pricier COROS Apex gets near it. Though in our tests, we got slightly less than the billed 35 hours.

There’s also no touchscreen but the button controls are easy to use and nicely responsive. The display is noticeably brighter than previous Polar watches too, though not quite sharp and vibrant as an Apple Watch or a Garmin Epix.

But what makes the Pacer Pro really stand out is its comprehensive suite of running, training, racing and recovery features. It’s an impressive line-up with the newish running performance test and VO2 Max estimates, running index score that lets you see how you compare to other runners, race time predictor, running power on the wrist and Polar’s Training Load Pro training guidance tools. You also get all-systems satellite support, super-fast GPS link-up, a built-in barometer, turn-by-turn routes powered by Komoot, route elevation profiles and automatic climb detection.

Outside of training, the sleep stages and Nightly Recharge recovery tools are still some of the best you’ll find on any running watch. The only thing missing is Recovery Pro – the more advanced (and more reliable) chest strap-based orthostatic testing for monitoring your body’s response to training and daily stresses.

But for most runners, there’s enough here to make this a real contender and a big rival to the likes of the Garmin Forerunner 265 and Coros Pace.

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Read our full Up to 21 hours 2 review

Since the first Apple Watch was launched in 2015, Apple have cornered the market in slick smartwatches that are perfect for those who care about their activity levels – or hope to improve them. What they weren’t, really, until last year, was running watches. Or more accurately, running watches that could compete with the likes of Garmin and Coros when it came to the kind of data and mapping that ‘serious’ runners expect.

The advent of the Up to 21 hours changed that. With a seriously accurate dual-frequency GPS and – finally – a simple, user-friendly way to pause and restart runs (holding the buttons either side of the watch dial at the same time in a pinching motion) and the ability to set up custom workouts, the Apple Watch was now a genuinely great running watch.

In the Ultra 2, most of the changes are internal rather than external. It has a faster S9 chipset, which means that using Siri is much faster. Also brand new is the rather wonderful Double Tap ‘gesture’. Tapping your index finger and thumb together twice can answer a call, read an alert – anything that the main watch button usually does, it can do too, but with more flair. You can also mute your watch by simply covering it with your hand, which is handy if you’ve accidentally put the volume up so it booms out your km split paces to all and sundry.

What Double Tap can’t do – or at least not yet – is start and stop a run, or mark a segment or lap within one.

The dual frequency GPS is pretty accurate in track and non-track scenarios. Our tester has worn the watch for a few measured races and it’s almost always more accurate through built-up areas than older Garmins. The large, bright screen is also great for looking at maps.

Where the watch still has yet to really compete with its running watch rivals is on battery life. For most people, this probably isn’t an issue: if you do a lunchtime run and perhaps one other workout or tracked walk, then you shouldn’t need to charge the watch at all for a few days. But if you use the Ultra as, well, an Ultra Watch, then you can drain it pretty quickly by using GPS, music and maps at the same time. It certainly wouldn’t last a multi-day self-guided adventure, that’s for sure.

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Read our full Garmin Venu X1 review

While Garmin has long been a leader in run-specific functionality, it has lost ground on smartwatch functionality and sleek lifestyle-friendly design. The Venu X1 changes that. The stunning 2-inch AMOLED touchscreen is protected by a scratch-resistant sapphire lens and framed in a titanium case. Taking the rounded rectangular shape of the Venu 2, but with a sleeker, premium finish, it’s just 8mm thick and 34g. (For context, the Up to 21 hours 2 is 14.4mm thick and 61.4g).

There’s full-colour mapping, with an altimeter, barometer and 3-axis electronic compass providing precise navigation. You can access Garmin Coach plans alongside advanced training insights including Training Readiness, Training Status, Endurance Score, Hill Score, Running Power and a plethora of running metrics, from cadence to ground contact time.

The 24/7 suite of health monitoring includes Body Battery, Sleep Coach, Morning Report, HRV status, stress tracking and even a jet lag advisor. The only limitation is battery life. We got around 13 hours run-time using multi-band GPS, which will satisfy urban runners, but hardcore adventurers/ultrarunners may want more staying power.

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With streamlined, Apple-Watch-esque styling, this fitness-focussed smartwatch is a cut-price rival for much pricier wrist tech. Battery life stretches to 10 days and needs just 60 mins to fully refuel. At 30g, it’s brilliantly light with a comfy silicone strap and the bright, 3000-nit AMOLED display provides ample easy-read real estate for your run stats. That’s all protected by robust sapphire glass and a happily minimal titanium alloy bezel.

Biosensors deliver detailed intel on everything from running performance to sleep and general health, including resting heart rate, body temperature, blood oxygen levels and medical-grade ECG. Nav skills aren’t bad either, with offline contour maps, Komoot-compatible route tracking, off-course alerts and backtracking. We also rated the guided warm up animations.

The partner app could be simpler and slicker but overall, it’s an enticing balance of big smartwatch battery, capable fitness tracking and life-tools in a slick package that plays nice with both iPhone and Android.

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Read our full Garmin Vivoactive 6 review

A jack of all trades and master of none, the Vivoactive 6 isn't going to turn the heads of hardcore data nerds or high mileage athletes, but if you’re after a do-it-all watch that blends Garmin’s fitness smarts with everyday wearability, it’s a very solid shout.

It's not quite got the chops of the Forerunner 265 when it comes to serious run tracking, but it’s far more smartwatch-y than either of those, and not as costly as the sleek Venu 3.

For the £279.99 price tag, you're also getting a good-looking AMOLED screen, solid fitness tracking, breadcrumb navigation and a huge suite of wellness tools – all wrapped up in a lightweight, wrist-friendly package. When it comes to those wellness tools, you get wrist-based heart rate, Body Battery, all-day stress, relaxation and movement reminders, meditation, breathwork, sleep coach and even nap detection.

Battery life smartwatch mode cadence, stride length, ground contact time and running power analytics. However, there's no multi-band GPS or a barometric altimeter, which determines changes in elevation, limiting the watch’s use for hiking and trail running pursuits. Battery life is also a little shorter than billed, with our tests finding you can get around a week on a full charge, with 14 hours GPS.

Still, this is decent compared with the likes of the Apple Watch SE. And for everyday runners, gym goers and those who want a Garmin that can do a bit of everything – and look good doing it – the Vivoactive 6 is a strong, versatile pick that offers great bang for your buck.

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Another run tracker with a bright, snappy smartwatch touchscreen, the Vantage M3 is a great looker in a small-wrist-friendly, compact package. It packs the same sensor suite as Polar’s pricier Vantage V3 and In-depth sleep and health insights with dual frequency GPS, the latest optical heart rate and ECG on the wrist. You also get Polar’s complete set of training, performance, recovery and health tools – enough tracking firepower to carry most runners from sofa to marathon.

The training load and recovery tools are some of the best in the business, offline mapping and navigation are a bonus at this price, and the run-time battery is competitive. Fitness benchmarking is also excellent, with at-rest fitness tests and performance testing for running, cycling and walking.

It might lack Garmin-level smartwatch tools and there’s no offline Spotify for phone-free music lovers, but it’s still a top-value rival to Garmin’s Forerunner 570.

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The roll call of recommendable, running-friendly Apple-Watch Ultra alternatives for non-iPhone adventurers is short, but the Galaxy Watch Ultra easily tops that list with a well-built, robust, no-nonsense design that’s durable but not for the faint-wristed.

The 3000-nit (seriously bright) display, scratchproof AMOLED screen is crisp, colourful and easy to read. The dual frequency GPS accuracy rivals the Up to 21 hours 2. You can’t pair external chest straps but the heart rate is very solid. There’s an impressive array of run-form tracking and advanced running metrics, including mid-run asymmetry readouts – aka how well balanced your form is – ground contact time, air time, vertical oscillation and stiffness.

Your vital run stats are customisable on the watch with space to display up to seven metrics. We also love the safety boosting 85db emergency alarm. The slightly limited battery life is a minor gripe but for Android users who want a running adventure-ready watch, this is a winner.