Best Garmin watch 2023

You won't find a more prolific fitness brand than Garmin. It targets a wide range of serious and casual athletes with six main product lineups — Epix, Fenix, Forerunner, Instinct, Venu, and Vivoactive — plus plenty of spin-off watches, adding up to dozens of options. 

Across all brands, you'll get fantastic battery life, superb health and GPS tracking, and all the data and metrics you could ever want. But figuring out which to buy, and whether it's worth upgrading to the pricier models, can be tricky. So while the Garmin Forerunner 265 is the best Garmin watch available in our minds, we've selected all the other models that might fit your specific needs, whether you're an athlete or just trying to get healthier.

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At a glance

Best overall

Not every Garmin user needs hardcore running tools like the Forerunner series offers. But the Forerunner 265 doesn't hold back for runners, cyclists, and swimmers who need guidance on when to push themselves or focus on recovery, and it finally replaces the efficient, hard-to-read MIP displays of most Garmin watches with a beautiful AMOLED — without hurting battery life too much. 

As our Garmin Forerunner 265 reviewer explains, this watch is essentially a Forerunner 255 Music with a better display and a couple new software tricks. If you don't need the AMOLED, music storage, or Training Readiness, then you can save $100 and get an equally excellent experience with key tools like Garmin Coach, ultra-accurate multi-band tracking, acute load data, and heart rate variance (HRV) data. 

That being said, the Forerunner 265 is just so much easier to read without eye strain while indoors, as well as easier to navigate through menus thanks to the touchscreen. And Training Readiness is our favorite new Garmin tool: rather than just judge your energy level based on sleep stats, it looks at your training load, recovery time, HRV, stress, and VO2 Max to guide you on when to work out or rest.

Plus, the Forerunner 265 is one of the rare watches with wrist-based running dynamics, meaning you can use it to check your cadence, oscillation, stride length, and other data without needing to wear the optional Garmin Pod accessory on your shorts. 

We consider the Forerunner 265 the best running watch available across all fitness brands; its only real competition is the fantastic, expensive Forerunner 965 further down on this list. Most runners and/or Garmin fans can save the extra cash and stick with the 265, however. 

Best affordable

Picking the best Garmin watch depends largely on your wallet, since almost none of them are especially "affordable" compared to the price of most fitness watches. If that's a concern, then the Forerunner 55 is a long-time favorite of ours that's less than half the price of the Forerunner 265.

The Forerunner 55 doesn't have some of the sensors you'd need to get a total glimpse of your health or your effort in high-altitude environments. But our reviewer raved that "the Forerunner 55 is a great place to start if you're a new runner or someone who's starting to track their workouts for the first time," with better tools than you'll find on most other Garmin watches at a lower price.

In terms of features, you get all the core running essentials like Garmin Coach, Pacepro, cadence alerts, race predictor, recovery advisor, Body Battery, Intensity minutes, respiration tracking, and women's health tracking. 

It'll last you two weeks per charge with 20 hours of GPS tracking — the same as the 265. At 37g, it's on the lighter end for a Garmin watch, and it has 5 ATM water protection, which older budget Forerunners like the 45 lacked. And with support for 20mm quick-release watch bands, you'll find plenty of great Forerunner 55 bands to try and swap between.

Generally speaking, these offer plenty of feedback and guidance for getting into better running shape. You're a generation behind what the 265 offers, and the lack of an altimeter is disappointing; but it's a fair trade-off to spend $250 less, at least until the long-awaited Forerunner 65 arrives.

If you're uncertain whether to buy the Forerunner 255, Forerunner 55, or another option, we have a guide on which Garmin Forerunner model is best, complete with tables comparing which features are on which watch. 

Best lifestyle

Garmin watches may never be known for their "smarts," compared to a Wear OS watch or even a Fitbit with Google apps. The Garmin OS isn't built for anything too complex. But if you want a Garmin watch that's as close to a traditional smartwatch as possible, you want the Garmin Venu 3.

You get a bright 1.2- or 1.4-inch AMOLED touchscreen depending on which size you buy, plus three buttons — one more than the Venu 2, used for shortcuts like summoning music controls or Garmin Pay. Also better than the Venu 2, it has a built-in mic and speaker, giving you the ability to take phone calls or ask your voice assistant questions with your phone stuck in your pocket.

We haven't yet reviewed the Venu 3, but we're in the midst of testing it, and it's essentially a better version of the Garmin Venu 2 Plus that we praised last year, except with better sleep coaching that tracks your naps, days of extra battery life, and a fantastic wheelchair mode that tracks pushes instead of steps and puts other fitness brands to shame. 

You have a stylish stainless steel bezel that gives the Venu 3 much more character than Garmin's usual plastic-heavy designs. The design itself is skinny and light for a Garmin watch, despite some key upgrades. You have most of the key software you'd want, though unfortunately no Training Readiness. Also, we've heard reports that the Venu 3 will support ECG and skin temperature readings in the future, but that Garmin hasn't activated them yet.

Best mid-range

Those who want a bit of everything Garmin offers without breaking the bank, designed with an Apple Watch-like squircle design, will appreciate the Venu Sq 2. As the name suggests, this is a square version of the Venu 2, with a beautiful 1.4-inch AMOLED display instead of the 1.3-inch LCD on the original Venu Sq. 

It doesn't have the mic/speaker combo of the Venu 3, nor some key features on most Venu models: Garmin removed the altimeter for stair tracking and elevation measurement, the gyroscope for a muscle map feature, the exercise guide animations, and live watch faces. You'll also have to pay $50 extra for the Venu Sq 2 Music to get music storage and a wi-fi connection. 

Still, it's rare to find a Garmin watch at this price point that isn't compromised in some way, and our Venu Sq 2 reviewer even called it the "Goldilocks smartwatch" because of how it struck the right balance between affordability and packing in enough features. You get the essentials like Body Battery, sleep score, HIIT timers, Garmin Coach, and preloaded workouts to guide you to success. 

As an alternative, you may want to look into the brand-new Garmin Vivoactive 5, which has a lot of the same upsides and downsides for the same price, but with a more traditional Garmin look and some of the Venu 3's new software tricks. Since it's brand-new, we're waiting to recommend it until we can actually test it for ourselves. 

Best premium

In a world where money wasn't a consideration, the Garmin Forerunner 965 would be the top option on this list. It's the best Garmin watch we've tested. Unfortunately, it's also $600, and while it justifies that price for serious runners and cyclists, most people don't have the budget for the 965 and can happily make do with the 265 or another pick. 

With that preamble done, let's dive into what makes it such a fantastic watch. Much like the 265, the 965 is a refreshed Forerunner 955 with an AMOLED upgrade; unlike the 265, this isn't just important for readability. Garmin reserved its high-resolution maps for the high-end Forerunners, but they looked dull on the 955; with the 965, you get gorgeous topographical maps on which you can follow round-trip pathing or see the next trailhead automatically. You also get Strava Live Segments, a great way to motivate you to hit PRs.

Our Garmin Forerunner 965 review had almost nothing but praise for the bright display with better anti-reflective coating than the 265, how it lasts just longer in the "highly accurate" SatIQ GPS mode than the 265 does in GPS-only mode, and how it has all of the running training data you could possibly want. Most people don't need real-time stamina, Endurance and Hill scores, advanced cycling dynamics, MTB Grit & Flow, and other premium 965 exclusives; they're just nice to have.

Why skip the Forerunner 965, aside from the price? Even though the software is much more advanced than the Venu 3, the latter gives you a mic & speaker, plus the promise of future ECG and skin temperature readings the 965 will never get. You also won't find a 965S option for smaller wrists. 

Still, compared to the Fenix or Epix lineups, we feel that the Forerunner 965 has 99% of what most athletes will need for hundreds less and at a significantly more comfortable weight. 

Best battery

Most new Garmin watches these days last upwards of two weeks, but this doesn't take GPS use into account. They actually need a recharge every few days to a week if you're regularly active. It's not nearly as bad as the daily recharge required by a Galaxy or Apple Watch, but if you really want a watch that'll last weeks even with daily workouts, the Instinct 2X Solar is unmatched.

We'll let the numbers speak for themselves: the Instinct 2X Solar lasts 40 days without solar, or an "unlimited" amount of time if you get a few hours of sun per day. For tracking, it lasts 60 hours for GPS or 27 hours for dual-frequency satellite data; add in solar power, and you jump to 145 GPS hours or 36 multi-band hours. And in Max Battery mode, it'd last 150 hours even in a deep, dark cave.

Add in 10ATM water resistance and a durable design meant to handle shocks and drops, and it's virtually impossible for the Instinct 2X Solar to fail you during a long trek. Plus, you have a built-in flashlight that can give you a glimpse of your surroundings in dark environments — useful for campers or early-morning runners, at the very least.

The Instinct 2 series lacks the specialization of a Forerunner, the affordability of a Vivoactive, or the advanced mapping and metric tools of a Fenix. But it has core features like Body Battery, sleep/stress tracking, Pulse Ox, VO2, Max HIIT workouts, training and recovery time suggestions, training effect, and training load. Best of all, it has Training Readiness, the guide on when and how hard to run that makes the Forerunner 265 so useful.

All of this software applies to the Instinct 2 Solar, a smaller model that still hits 48 GPS hours and won't quite weigh your wrist down as much. But our Instinct 2X reviewer, who also reviewed the Instinct 2, preferred the larger model thanks to the flashlight and easier-to-read display. Whichever you choose, you're getting an ultramarathon-ready, rugged watch.

Best for big spenders

We can only judge the Garmin Epix Pro Gen 2 by reputation, as Garmin has been sparing with review units for its Fenix or Epix watches. But we can't rightly name the "best" Garmin watches without discussing the most expensive options that have the best materials, software, and mapping tools. In the case of the Epix Pro Gen 2, it's like an Instinct 2X crossed with a Forerunner 965, two of the best Garmin watches smashed into one epic package.  

Like the Instinct 2X, the Epix Pro was "tested to military standards for thermal, shock and water resistance," has a built-in LED flashlight, and lasts up to 31 days or 82 GPS hours (even without a solar panel). And it does this with a bright AMOLED display instead of an efficient, low-res MIP display. Also like the Instinct 2X Solar, it's painfully heavy unless you get the smallest 1.2-inch model; the largest option weighs a whopping 98g or 3.45oz. 

Like the Forerunner 965, the Epix Pro Gen 2 has a ridiculous amount of software tools for runners, cyclists, winter and water sports, hiking, and so on. You'll get guidance on everything from ski dynamics to MTB dynamics and surfing. And its mapping tools are even better: you can use Garmin's Maps+ subscription for premium maps, Nextfork to see upcoming intersections and landmarks, and Skiview or golf course maps for specific sporting needs. 

Generally speaking, the Epix Pro Gen 2 is the "everything and the kitchen sink" Garmin watch if you want to get every new feature, packed into a watch with premium materials. You just have to be ready to spend a healthy chunk of your rent/mortgage money for the month to afford one.

Best hybrid

If you're not quite ready for a full-blown smartwatch, you might be interested in a hybrid model instead. Garmin has an impressive hybrid lineup, including the vívomove Trend and vívomove Sport, both of which resemble traditional analog watches but with hidden LCD or OLED panels in the display.

Hybrid smartwatches are made for fashion-forward folks who still want to enjoy some extra perks at a reasonable price compared to "regular" smartwatches, and the vívomove Trend is our latest favorite because it improves on our previous pick (the vívomove Sport) in a few key ways.

Available in Silver, Slate, Cream Gold, or Peach Gold bezels, the Trend is incredibly stylish compared to most Garmin watches, even if it means you miss out on a lot of functionality. As our reviewer described it, this hybrid watch is best if "you'd rather have a watch that looks stylish and feels comfortable to wear than some bulky lump on your wrist."

That being said, the vívomove Trend still packs in plenty of useful features. You get a few key activities — Walk, Run, Cardio, Bike, Strength, Breathwork, Yoga, Pool Swim, Treadmill, and Other — Sleep score, Body Battery, respiration and hydration tracking, menstrual cycles, intensity minutes, Pulse Ox, and fitness age. Or the "Garmin Starter Pack," as our reviewer dubbed this suite of tools. 

It has an older Elevate heart sensor and no built-in GPS, which is for the best since the battery life is on the shorter side. But it's still far more useful than many hybrid watches without the Garmin connection, and its monocolor LCD display is surprisingly readable compared to the vívomove Sport's multicolor, low-res display.

Best for kids

Garmin watch designs can be too large for many adults' wrists, let alone children's little arm bones. Most of the features are too advanced, sport-specific, or workout-specific for kids' unstructured playtime, and Garmin watches just aren't that fun-looking. But the Garmin Bounce is the exception to the rule as the best kids' smartwatch geared specifically towards fitness.

For starters, the Vivofit Jr. 3 design with 5ATM water resistance and is even rated by Garmin itself to be swim-friendly. That's a huge deal as most kids' watches simply can't withstand the water pressure from being in a pool for a long time.

The battery lasts for a solid two days and is designed to be worn at night, giving your child the ability to track their sleep and even set their own alarms if you allow that in the Garmin Jr app.

The watch even comes with educational games and daily challenges rewarding them for completing chores or 60 minutes of activity per day. You set up what chores you want them to complete and what rewards they'll receive for doing so. Our reviewer found that his kid enjoyed trying to beat his workout and sleep scores, and found it comfortable to wear while sleeping.

It's got both Wi-Fi and LTE connectivity so it can save battery when you're at home or another familiar place, all of which are configurable through the Garmin Jr. app. Garmin's LTE service is $10 per month and Garmin manages its own network with an LTE coverage map that you can check before buying.

The app is dead simple to use and doesn't hide features within sub-menus or confusing UI elements. Plus, it's even got a school mode — so they're not playing games or texting friends when they should be paying attention — a do not disturb mode, and other similar ways to configure the watch so it's a helpful tool and not a distraction.

Best Garmin smartwatch: Which should you buy?

Considering how many incredible choices you have, it's challenging to crown only one of these wearables as the best Garmin watch. You can choose an Instinct for battery power, Venu for lifestyle tools, vívomove for style, the Forerunner for in-depth running and cycling tools, or a Fenix for all of the bells and whistles possible.

Since it's our job to recommend just one, we have to go back to the Garmin Forerunner 265 and 265S. Whether you're a runner, swimmer, cyclist, or triathlete, these watches have all the software tricks you'd possibly want to guide you towards your latest PR, to the point that you'll have to spend weeks finding every feature to take full advantage of it. 

Otherwise, if you're looking for something more affordable, the Venu Sq 2, Forerunner 55, or Vivoactive 5 are three options that'll save you money and still give you the Garmin essentials you crave.

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