Best Garmin Running Watch Alternatives (That Aren’t Pricey)

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Garmin is the leading running watch brand for all serious athletes. It has tons of features, it works really well and it has an unmatched ecosystem. The only problem is… it comes at a very steep price.

In this article, I’ll give you one or two alternatives for the different Garmin running watches. I’d also compare them side by side to Garmin so you’ll get to see what you’re getting vs what you’re missing.

How I Found The Althernatives

I made a list of the prices of different Garmin running watches then I compared it to the running watches from other brands. Then, I looked at the features and specs of every watch and matched it with Garmin watches.

I gathered their specs and listed the important ones side by side. That way, we could compare the alternative and the Garmin side by side in terms of specs.

Best Garmin Forerunner 945 Alternative

Coros Apex Pro

Specs	Forerunner 945	Coros Apex Pro
Lens Material	Corning® Gorilla® Glass DX	Sapphire Glass
Bezel Material	fiber-reinforced polymer	Titanium Alloy
Strap Material	Silicone	Silicone/Nylon
Weight	50g	With silicone band: 59g With nylon band: 49g
Battery Life	Smartwatch Mode: Up to 2 weeks GPS mode with music: Up to 10 hours GPS mode without music: Up to 36 hours	Regular use: 30 days Full GPS mode: 40 hours UltraMax mode: 100 hours
Sensors	Garmin Elevate HR Monitor Barometric Altimeter Compass Gyroscope Accelerometer Thermometer Pulse Ox Blood Oxygen Saturation Monitor	Optical Heart Rate Monitor Barometric Altimeter Compass Gyroscope Accelerometer Thermometer Optical Pulse Oximeter
Navigation	GPS, GLONASS, Galileo	GPS/QZSS, GLONASS, BeiDou

The Coros Apex Pro is packed with all the features you’ll need to train at a very high level.

It tracks every data you need to improve your overall performance. What it doesn’t have are the extra features that the Forerunner 945 has like standalone music, Wi-Fi, and on-wrist payments.

The biggest difference between the two aside from extra features is navigation. The Forerunner 945 uses a full-colored map while the Coros Apex pro uses a breadcrumb map (just a route outline with an arrow). If you’re just following a route, it’s not going to matter that much, but if you’re checking for other places within the area, the full-colored map is a good tool to have.

If those extra features don’t matter that much to you, the Coros Apex Pro is a great alternative at a substantially lower price.

Polar Vantage V2

Specs	Forerunner 945	Polar Vantage V2
Lens Material	Corning® Gorilla® Glass DX	Corning Gorilla Glass 3
Bezel Material	fiber-reinforced polymer	Aerospace aluminum alloy with glass fiber reinforced polymer
Strap Material	Silicone	Silicone
Weight	50g	52g
Battery Life	Smartwatch Mode: Up to 2 weeks GPS mode with music: Up to 10 hours GPS mode without music: Up to 36 hours	Regular use: 7 days Full GPS mode: 40 hours
Sensors	Garmin Elevate HR Monitor Barometric Altimeter Compass Gyroscope Accelerometer Thermometer Pulse Ox Blood Oxygen Saturation Monitor	Heart Rate Monitor Barometric Altimeter Compass Accelerometer Thermometer Pulse Ox Blood Oxygen Saturation Monitor
Navigation	GPS, GLONASS, Galileo	GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS

If you’re more of a “just the basics” guy but you just want to have the music playback feature, the Polar Vantage V2 is for you.

Like the Forerunner, it has multi-GNSS navigation giving you accurate and reliable data. It has a slightly longer battery life when using the GPS but when on regular mode, the Forerunner can last twice as long as the Vantage V2.

Like the Garmin, Polar has a great ecosystem where you can analyze your data and plan your training. One thing to like about the Polar’s ecosystem though is that, unlike other ecosystems, it analyzes your data for you and tells you if you’re recovered or not in simple English.

One thing that makes the Vantage V2 hard to resist is the price. At $499, you’ll get all the things you need for performance plus the standalone music.

Between the Coros Apex Pro and the Polar Vantage V2, it’s really a matter of performance (Apex Pro) vs extra features (Vantage V2).

Best Garmin Forerunner 745 Alternative

Coros Apex

Specs	Forerunner 745	Coros Apex
Lens Material	Corning® Gorilla® Glass DX	Sapphire Glass
Bezel Material	fiber-reinforced polymer	46mm: Titanium Alloy 42mm: Stainless Steel
Strap Material	Silicone	Silicone
Weight	47 g	46mm: 45g 42mm: 38g
Battery Life	Regular Use: Up to 7 days GPS mode with music: Up to 6 hours GPS mode without music: Up to 16 hours UltraTrac™ mode: Up to 21 hours	Regular Use: 30/24 Days Full GPS Mode: 35/25 hours Ultra Max GPS Mode: 100/80 hours
Sensors	Garmin Elevate HR Monitor Barometric Altimeter Compass Gyroscope Accelerometer Thermometer Pulse Ox Blood Oxygen Saturation Monitor	Optical Heart Rate Monitor Barometric Altimeter Accelerometer Gyroscope Compass
Navigation	GPS, GLONASS, Galileo	GPS/QZSS, GLONASS, BeiDou

II had a hard time looking for a Garmin Forerunner 745 alternative because I believe its price is just right for its performance and features. That’s if, you just want a companion for your day-to-day run

But if you’re someone who’d prefer longer battery life and a slightly more durable watch over the extra features, then a Coros Apex is a good alternative at a way cheaper price.

Both watches excel in tracking dynamic data for runners to analyze their run so if you’re serious about your training, these two watches will serve you well.

Currently, the Coros Apex Pro is priced around $350 vs the Garmin Forerunner at $500 but you’ll have to check the price on Amazon because it’s always changing.

Best Garmin Forerunner 245 Alternative

Coros Pace 2

Specs	Forerunner 245	Coros Pace 2
Lens Material	Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3	Corning® Glass
Bezel Material	fiber-reinforced polymer	Fiber-reinforced Polymer
Strap Material	Silicone	Silicone/Nylon
Weight	38.5 g	With silicone band: 35g-36g With nylon band: 29g-30g
Battery Life	Smartwatch Mode: Up to 7 days GPS mode with music: Up to 6 hours GPS mode without music: Up to 24 hours	Regular use: 20 days Full GPS mode: 30 hours UltraMax mode: 60 hours
Sensors	Garmin Elevate HR Monitor Compass Accelerometer Pulse Ox Blood Oxygen Saturation Monitor	Optical Heart Rate Monitor Barometric Altimeter Accelerometer Compass Gyroscope Thermometer
Navigation	GPS, GLONASS, Galileo	GPS/QZSS, GLONASS, BeiDou

I believe the Coros Pace 2 is the Garmin Forerunner 245’s best alternative. The Coros Pace 2 may not have all the features that the Garmin Forerunner 245 has like the stand-alone music and safety features, but it packs some features that are hard to ignore like the Muscle Heat Map and longer battery life.

Both watches have free access to programs, have smart notifications, and receives updates all the time.

A lot of Coros Pace 2 users seem to be satisfied with the watch’s performance. So much so that some of them claimed to have switched to the Coros Pace 2 from the Forerunner.

That may be because of the fact that the Coros Pace 2 has a barometric altimeter (measures altitude) and gyroscope (used by watch for swimming and rep counting) while the Forerunner 245 doesn’t.

Really, the buying decision here is whether or not you can let go with the standalone music of the Forerunner 245 (Music version) for the extra sensors of the Coros Pace 2.

If so, you’re getting the Coros Pace 2 for approximately $100 less than what you’ll pay for the Forerunner 245.

I just want to add. If you’re thinking about buying the Forerunner 55, it is on the same price point as the Coros Pace 2 but it lags in features. I would suggest you just get the Coros Pace 2 instead.

Do You Really Need A Garmin Watch?

A lot of elite athletes rely on Garmin for their day-to-day training. Garmin watches are an excellent tool to help you gather data and analyze your training session and your overall performance, but that’s not the only choice. Because it’s expensive, a lot of runners are forced to find alternatives.

In general, you don’t need a Garmin watch to get the most data out of your training. There are other watches that are just as good and reliable as Garmin when it comes to gathering performance data.

Just note that by choosing other brands, you’ll be sacrificing some extra features that only Garmin has like a full-colored map, NFC, and Wi-Fi support.

Final Thoughts

These watches have their own advantages and disadvantages when compared to the Garmin watches. May it be performance, weight, extra features, or battery life. But these alternatives are also a lot cheaper than their Garmin counterpart.

In choosing among these alternatives, you really have to look at what you value most in a running watch. If the extra features seem important for you, then Garmin is the best choice. But if all that matters to you is data, all these other watches are great alternatives.