The best fitness watches and trackers for runners, from £33.99

A departure from the rugged Garmins we’re used to, the Vivomove Trend is part of the brand’s hybrid collection – combining classic analogue style with smartwatch functionality – and we’re big fans.

Design-wise, the watch is petite and lightweight, it felt comfy when strapped onto our wrists and, best of all, it has a hidden touchscreen – just flick your wrist or tap the screen to watch the ticking hands move away so you can see your stats and smart notifications.

The display, which is bright and easy to read, reveals metrics such as heart rate, step count, sleep, stress and blood oxygen levels, and you can access additional features via the Garmin Connect App including menstrual cycle, hydration and respiration tracking. It comes with all your usual workout modes, including cardio, strength training, cycling, swimming (it’s waterproof to a depth of 50 metres) and running. Just note that it doesn’t have built-in GPS, so you’ll have to tuck your phone into your pocket for GPS support. We would have liked to see more data on the in-workout screen, but you easily review these in the app after your session.

The Vivomove Trend is the very first Garmin model to offer wireless charging – no need to scramble around looking for a lead – plus a quick 15-minute charge will give you up to 24 hours of battery. All in all, it’s a top choice if you want a watch to monitor your health and fitness without wearing anything obviously sporty.

Android users looking for a sleek, simple wearable, should consider Google’s debut smartwatch. Like the Vivomove Trend, the Pixel Watch will look just as good on your wrist at a dinner party as it will in the gym thanks to its glossy pebble-shaped face and subtle silicone strap. But what about its performance?

Given it’s Google’s first foray into wearable tech, our experts were impressed. They heaped praise on the crystal-clear, responsive AMOLED display and rated the smooth digital crown for scrolling through apps. On that note, you can access all Google’s services, including Gmail, Calendar, Google Maps and Google Assistant, allowing you to essentially run your life from your wrist. Our testers found the voice recognition worked extremely well, but there’s also a teeny keyboard if you want to tap out messages. It also runs third-party apps like Spotify and Strava.

The Pixel Watch boasts Fitbit’s health and fitness tracking features, with 40 workout modes, sleep stages, menstrual tracking and metrics including breathing rate, HR viability, heart rate zones, as well as basics like step count, calorie burn. With a premium Fitbit subscription (you get six months free with the device, then it’s £7.99 a month), you can unlock extras such as a ‘readiness score’ to let you know whether to push for a PB or take a rest day, a breakdown of your daily stress levels, mindfulness sessions, workout videos and more.

One major downside is the lacklustre battery life – it lasts less than 24 hours without exercise – but that’s also the case with many of its smartwatch competitors. For Android users who want a fully-fledged smartwatch and high-quality fitness tracking in one, it has plenty to offer.

For dedicated iPhone users, this Apple watch is tough to top. Though not specifically designed for running, it is a trusty companion for your interval sessions and long runs alike. The Series 8 offers enhanced GPS (with full systems satellite support), a large, bright always-on display that’s a doddle to read when on the move, and heart rate zones to help you hit the right level of exertion. There’s also automatic run tracking and a BackTrack feature to help you retrace your steps if you get lost on a trail run (we’ve all been there). In terms of metrics, you can see everything from distance, pace and cadence to stride length, ground contact time and vertical oscillation (how much you bounce up and down as you run).

Beyond your daily jaunts, the Series 8 is rammed with advanced health and fitness monitoring features, including a new skin temperature sensor for menstrual cycle and ovulation tracking, in-depth sleep stats (including how long you spent in each sleep stage), a blood oxygen monitor and an ECG sensor.

All that and you also get a seamless smartwatch experience, with calls, messages, contactless payments, music and more. According to our experts, call quality was impressive, notifications were easy to read and manage and having all their apps in one place was seriously convenient.

Given its mediocre battery life (up to 18 hours or 36 using low power mode), it’s not one for trail runners, athletes or ultra fans, but it will do the job nicely for the casual road runner.

If you’re in the market for something more fitness-focused, consider this rugged Samsung design, which can compete with the likes of Polar and Garmin. Though bulky, the titanium case, sapphire crystal display (which is twice as durable as previous models) and chunky strap mean it’s a top choice for all your outdoorsy endeavours, from hiking to mountain biking and trail running.

Our testers confirmed it felt ultra robust when strapped onto their wrists, and they rated its next-gen features, including a ‘track back’ setting that allows you to find your way back to your starting point should you get lost, downloadable GPX routes with step-by-step directions and a dependable 80-hour battery life. It also worked a treat for gym sessions, with 90 workout modes and the option to track individual exercises. You can customise the in-workout screen to see the stats that are most relevant for you (including heart rate zones), the post-workout summaries provided plenty of actionable info and the large, bright screen proved easy to read mid-session.

It also offers a breadth of health and recovery insights, with a 3-in1 bioactive sensor for measuring heart rate, blood oxygen levels and body composition, and nightly sleep reports to help you improve the quality of your kip. Those with a Samsung phone can enjoy extra features including ECG and blood pressure management.

You don’t need to spend a fortune on a fitness watch for innovative features, as this Amazfit gem proves. For less than £70, you get built-in GPS for phone-free runs, over 60 workout modes, sleep and stress monitoring, music playback and a mammoth two-week battery life. It also has third-party integration with Apple Health and Strava, and offers smart basics including alarms, to-do lists, weather reports and message notifications. Whew!

The Bip 3 Pro was an instant hit with our experts, who loved the slick Apple-esque design with its bright responsive touchscreen and the smooth silicone strap, which felt comfortable to wear at night and during workouts. The lightweight style didn’t get in the way of their sessions, and they were particularly impressed with the post-workout summaries, which break down your heart rate, pace, calories and even whether your workout was aerobic, anaerobic or fat burning. For deeper health insights and trends over time, you can log into the accompanying Zepp app – according to our testers, it’s extremely user friendly and offers helpful tips on how to interpret the data.

Any drawbacks? The pre-set heart rate zone measurements needed tweaking and it doesn’t have the premium feel of the Apple Watch, but that’s hardly surprising when you consider the pocket-friendly price. Overall, a savvy buy for anyone on a budget.

The Honor watch's health and fitness package is commendable. The offering includes no fewer than 100 trackable activities, built-in GPS and route tracking, plus heart rate, stress, sleep and Sp02 monitors – you can keep track of these via intricate graphs on the lentous AMOLED screen. For runners, there’s targets, pace reminders and the option to track automatic or manual splits.

This Android-only device provides a decent level of smart features – our experts said taking calls and sending messages was a faff-free experience (the audio quality was top notch) and they appreciated the music player, which allowed them to leave their phones at home when pounding the pavement. They did find the lack of core features such as third-party apps, contactless payments and a voice assistant a tad disappointing but this may or may not bother you.

Another one that looks more like a smartwatch, but this Huawei is a bona fide fitness tracker in disguise. The brilliantly responsive touch screen sets it apart from many of its competitors and it’s fully customisable, meaning you can have the stats most important to you displayed front and centre.

The Watch Fit also has plenty of fitness features to dive into for tech fans, recording almost 100 different exercises while accurately tracking sleep, steps, pace and more. It’s easy on the eye, too, which always helps. However, we wish you didn’t have to connect to the app to alter your daily movement targets.

Tiny price tag aside, this fitness tracker impressed on test. The sleep tracking feature records your forty winks and gives useful tips on how to optimise your time between the sheets, while the band reminds you to move if you stay sedentary for too long, and a 'find my phone' feature proved useful on more than one occasion.

Steps, distance covered and heart rate were all tracked accurately, and the watch face can be changed to suit your chosen aesthetic. It doesn't automatically log exercise sessions – you’ll need to start this yourself – and there’s no in-built GPS for mapping running routes. But, for less than £35, who are we to complain?

The Inspire 2 lasted an impressive 10 days between charges — one of the longest results of all the trackers we tested. It accurately tracked 20 exercises (seven automatically), it's waterproof and comes with a year’s free access to Fitbit Premium – a series of guided workouts and nutrition programmes found on the app.

Other benefits include a built-in heart-rate monitor and menstrual-health monitoring. You will need to take your phone with you if you want to track pace and location for outdoor exercise, but we don't think that's a dealbreaker.

It’s safe to say that any heart rate monitor good enough for LeBron James and Michael Phelps is good enough for us. Fortunately, you don’t have to earn an eight-figure salary to enjoy the tracking benefits of this celebrity-endorsed armband. With memberships starting from £27 per month, the Strap 4.0 allows anyone to give it a try without the commitment that goes along with the one-time purchase of a premier device.

On the flip side, this can be a pricey option for those who decide they can’t live without the monitor’s outstanding features. The investment is likely worth it for competitive athletes, as it also tracks heart rate variability and offers interchangeable bands composed of high-tenacity filaments.

'WHOOP is really for anyone looking to perform at a higher level,' Whoop CEO, Will Ahmed, told Runner's World. 'That includes the world’s best athletes, that includes competitive runners, but it also includes everyday people like you and me who want to be more optimal in our daily lives.'

Longer-term memberships (24 months) start from just £16 per month.