Garmin is one of the major players in the fitness tracker and smartwatch world – many runners won’t leave the house without one of its wearables. But the brand started life in 1989 as a specialist in GPS navigation products for boats, planes and more.
It wasn’t until 2003 that it used this tech for fitness purposes, unveiling the chunky-yet-enterprising Forerunner 201. Since then, Garmin’s wearables have become significantly smaller, and it has expanded its product range to suit a wide variety of fitness-lovers. The only issue is, this can make it tricky to buy the right one for all of your health and fitness tracking needs.
To help you find a Garmin watch that fits your goals, the IndyBest fitness team has taken it upon themselves to test the brand’s best products and share their thoughts below. Read on to find the top options for running aficionados, exploratory exercisers, bargain hunters and more.
Why you can trust IndyBest reviews
The IndyBest fitness team is a collection of exercise enthusiasts and freelance fitness fans who specialise in reviewing the top products in the space. Their weekends are filled with long runs, CrossFit competitions, Pilates classes, triathlons and any number of other sporting activities, giving them the opportunity to review the latest and greatest fitness releases in an appropriately-demanding environment. Between them, they share decades of testing experience and know exactly what separates an elite smartwatch or fitness tracker from the less impressive of the bunch.
How I tested the best garmin watches
I worked up a sweat and burned some calories doing different activities with each Garmin watch to fully explore its features. Each model was tested while running and cycling, as well as swimming so we could check how well it operated in water. After setting up the Garmin watches and trying to sync them with both an Apple and an Android phone, I scrolled through the watch interfaces to explore which features were on offer and what metrics they could monitor. I rated each watch for usability – such as how easy it was to find the key statistics – as well as the accuracy of the GPS, durability and comfort on the wrist. I also tested the watch in daily life, assessing how it looked and felt.
The best Garmin watches for 2025 are:
- Best Garmin watch overall – Garmin vivoactive 6 GPS smartwatch: £279.99, Argos.co.uk
- Best budget Garmin watch – Garmin vivoactive 5 GPS smartwatch: £199, Very.co.uk
- Best Garmin watch for running – Garmin forerunner 265 wrist heart rate GPS fitness watch: £329.99, Johnlewis.com
- Best Garmin watch for Ironman athletes – Garmin fenix 7S sapphire solar: £654.70, Amazon.co.uk
- Best Garmin watch for cycling – Garmin forerunner 955: £371.25, Amazon.co.uk
Garmin vivoactive 6
Best: Overall
Weight: 36g
Battery life: Up to 11 days in smartwatch mode and 21 hours with GPS enabled
Display type: 1.2in AMOLED touchscreen
Water resistance: 50m
Colourways: Four
Heart-rate monitor: Yes
Why we love it
- Great value for money
- Versatile with coaching features
- Lightweight and sleek design
Take note
- Limited third-party apps and integration
I love the Garmin vivoactive 6. In a world where premium fitness trackers are becoming chunkier – the Apple Watch ultra 2, as a prime example – this sleek watch sits innocuously on the wrist and weighs so little I often forgot it was even there.
The exercise offering has significantly improved from its predecessor, with 80-plus sports tracking modes to choose from and a rich bank of coaching features. Whether you want to improve your 10K time or simply move more, Garmin Coach will whip you up a training plan to make it happen, which added welcome structure to my usual running plans.
For this reason, I think the watch is a great option for all-comers, no matter your sport of choice or fitness level. Dedicated runners might want to look at the forerunner range for slightly more accuracy (the vivoactive 6 doesn’t have a barometric altimeter or Garmin’s latest sensor tech) but those in the market for a versatile tracker will find more than enough metrics to sink their teeth into.
The bright display was easy to see, and the vivoactive 6 does the basics brilliantly too. There’s a step counter, continuous heart rate tracking, a detailed breakdown of your nightly slumber and a handy body battery score to inform when you should push, and when you should pull back, during your training.
Buy now £277.61, Decathlon.co.uk
Garmin vivoactive 5
Best: Budget buy
Weight: 37g
Battery life: 13 hours in training mode, seven days in watch mode
Display type: AMOLED touchscreen
Water resistance: 50m
Colourways: Four
Heart-rate monitor: Yes
Why we love it
- Bright AMOLED screen display
- Sleek design
Take note
- It can receive messages but you can’t reply to them from the wrist
The first thing I noticed about the vivoactive 5 was its sleek, streamlined design. You could wear it day and night and it wouldn’t detract from your outfit. Once on, I loved that it weighed next to nothing (37g, to be precise), which meant I barely noticed it on the wrist.
It can track a wide range of fitness metrics including steps, heart rate, distance, calories burned, sleep quality and more than 30 preloaded sports. I was also impressed by its sleep coaching capability, as it gives you a sleep score and personalised sleep coaching. Priced competitively, it offers a lot of features for roughly £200 and is easy to sync to Garmin Connect for more insights and coaching plans.
Buy now £199.00, Garmin.com
Garmin forerunner 265
Best: Garmin watch for running
Weight: 46g
Battery life: 20 hours in training mode, 13 days in watch mode
Display type: AMOLED; Corning Gorilla Glass 3 lens
Water resistance: 50m
Colourways: Three
Heart-rate monitor: Yes
Why we love it
- It’s training readiness score can help runners avoid injury
Take note
- The 46.7mm screen may be too large and attention-grabbing for some
Any runner knows it’s not how many hours you train that determines race performance, it’s how smart you train. The forerunner 265 can help with that, with a training readiness feature that tells you when you’re primed for peak performance. I enjoyed receiving personalised workout plans each day, which motivated me to get out and run as I knew each session was helping me get faster and stronger.
The large AMOLED display was a dream to read during runs, keeping me informed of my progress in real time. It’s customisable data fields and intuitive interface made it easy to track essential metrics such as pace, distance and heart rate during workouts too.
Buy now £329.99, Johnlewis.com
Garmin fenix 7S sapphire solar
Best: Garmin watch for Ironman athletes
Weight: 58g
Battery life: 37 hours in training mode, 14 days in watch mode
Display type: Transflective memory in pixel (MIP)
Water resistance: 100m
Colourways: Three
Heart-rate monitor: Yes
Why we love it
- Offers detailed training insights for 40+ activities
Take note
- Expensive
While it may hurt to spend upwards of £600 on a watch, you are getting a lot for the price. The garmin fenix 7S sapphire solar comes pre-loaded with more than 40 activities and each offers expert tracking, recording and coaching detail.
For example, I tested it for running and enjoyed uploading routes and letting the fenix 7S guide me to a target time, telling me when I was going too fast and when I could push harder.
But it was post-workout that I really appreciated what this watch has to offer; it told me everything from estimated sweat loss, cadence and calories to time spent in different heart-rate zones. I could track my progress with VO2 Max and training effect figures, and recover smarter with analysis of my weekly training load and recovery time.
It performed equally efficiently, to a dizzying level of detail, for strength training, cycle rides and swimming. If you do a lot of sport, or you’re training for a big event such as an Ironman, it’s definitely worth the splurge.
Buy now £654.70, Amazon.co.uk
Garmin forerunner 955
Best: Garmin watch for cycling
Weight: 52.2g
Battery life: 42 hours in training mode, 15 days in smartwatch mode
Display type: 64-colour
Water resistance: 50m
Colourways: Two
Heart-rate monitor: Yes
Why we love it
- Lightweight and comfortable
Take note
- The display isn’t as crisp as an OLED display
Admittedly, this is not the cheapest of watches, but the data it offers is staggering. Once I strapped it to my wrist and wore it for just 24 hours, I was granted access to a whole host of numbers about recovery, health, training readiness, optimal training zones, stress levels and more.
For cycling, it tracks every second of your workout in impressive detail. To start, select your cycling activity from bike, indoor bike, gravel bike cyclo-cross, MTB, ebike, bike commute and bike tour. Then, customise the data screens for each activity to see time, speed, power and navigation at a glance.
The map feature also blew my mind. You can use it in real time to navigate your route from your wrist or use it in advance to plan courses or navigate to a place of interest. It’s a safe way to explore some new cycle paths without worrying about getting lost.
Buy now £371.25, Amazon.co.uk
Garmin approach S70
Best: Garmin watch for golf
Weight: 56g
Battery life: 20 hours in tracking mode, 16 days in watch mode
Display type: AMOLED
Water resistance: 50m
Colourways: Two
Heart-rate monitor: Yes
Why we love it
- It cleverly advises golfers on what clubs they need
Take note
- It’s an investment purchase
Whether you’re a new player or a seasoned veteran of the sport, this watch could save you a lot of money in coaching fees.
It acts as a virtual caddy, suggesting the best club to use based on your performance and the wind conditions, as well as tracking your putts and providing statistics on your putting accuracy. An innovative shot dispersion chart also helps you visualise potential hazards, based on your club choice.
I’m not a golf pro, but I did like the wind speed and direction data that gave me a bit of extra direction on the course.
I also tried using the pin pointer feature, which is essentially a compass that points to the pin location when you are unable to see the green. This is designed to help good golfers line up a shot even if they are in the woods or in a deep sand trap, and while it was too advanced for me, I can see how it could help take your game to another level.
Buy now £500.02, Garmin.com
Garmin venu 3S
Best: Garmin watch for tracking gym activity
Weight: 40g
Battery life: Eight hours in tracking mode, 10 days in watch mode
Display type: AMOLED
Water resistance: 50m
Colourways: Five
Heart-rate monitor: Yes
Why we love it
- You can make and take calls directly from the wrist
Take note
- Pricey
With a beautiful French grey coloured strap and gold detail around the bezel, this watch looks the part. If you love to look your best when you work out, the venu 3S is the accessory to complete your outfit.
Don’t underestimate its powers, either. The venu 3S is a great tool if you’re stuck in a rut in the gym, as you can follow animated workouts that motivate you to leave your comfort zone behind.
I loved that it presents health as a holistic concept, providing insights on your overall energy levels based on your sleep quality, naps, stress levels, previous workouts and more. This alerted me to when I was in peak condition and ready to push a little harder, as well as letting me know when I should take things a little easier.
It is on the pricier side, but it did have the best connectivity out of all the watches I tested. With a built-in speaker and microphone, the venu 3S allowed me to make and take calls right from my wrist when paired to a smartphone, as well as reply to texts by using my phone’s voice assistant.
Buy now £378.95, Johnlewis.com
Garmin instinct crossover solar
Best: Garmin watch for outdoor activities
Weight: 65g
Battery life: 31 hours in tracking mode, 70 days in watch mode
Display type: Luminescent analogue hands and a digital display
Water resistance: 100m
Colourways: Three
Heart-rate monitor: Yes
Why we love it
- Epic battery life
Take note
- Bulky, design
This rugged and hardy watch combines the best features of a traditional analog watch with the latest smart technology, making it a perfect companion for outdoor adventures such as kite surfing, hiking or skiing.
Thinking about climbing a mountain or going off the beaten track? One of the biggest positives of the instinct crossover solar is its long battery life. With solar charging, it can last for weeks on a single charge, making it ideal for extended trips off-grid.
It is also incredibly durable and water-resistant, so you can wear it in any condition, without having to worry about damaging it. One of my favorite features was the clock face, as the watch’s hands are pigmented with super-luminova black, which meant I could clearly read the time in any lighting conditions – even in complete darkness during dawn runs.
Buy now £316.99, Garmin.com
Garmin Forerunner 165 Music
Best: For beginners
Why we love it
- Cheaper than most Garmin watches
- Still provides plenty of data
Take note
- Training insights aren't as deep as other Garmins
I’ve quickly come to learn that in training for a race, data is your best friend — and the Forerunner 165 delivers it in a simple, streamlined way. This GPS watch might be designed for beginners, but it’s packed with features even seasoned runners will appreciate.
Its adaptive training plans tailor workouts to your goals, while recovery time insights and body battery monitoring keep you from overtraining. You can track everything from naps and stress levels to race predictions for your 5K, 10K, half, or full marathon.
Battery life is solid — up to 11 days in smartwatch mode and 19 hours in GPS — and the bright AMOLED display is easy to read, even mid-run.
The music feature is another standout. It lets you download playlists and connect directly to your headphones, so you can leave your phone behind - or at least tucked away - on long runs.
Buy now £249.00, garmin.com
The verdict: Best Garmin watches
Garmin watches are expensive pieces of kit but the vivoactive 6 GPS smartwatch offers all of the features you need for a smart workout at the lower end of the price scale. It also looks like a chic, streamlined smartwatch, rather than a bulky fitness tracker. However, the forerunner 265 watch is a great choice for anyone who’s serious about running. If you wear it three times a week for several years, it will work out as excellent value per wear while powering you through several PBs.
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