June 20, 2022 Spiro Alafassos

Best Running Watches | Garmin vs COROS vs Polar Comparison

We've Selected the Best Running Watches from 3 Top Brands

The Garmin Forerunner 955 vs COROS APEX Pro vs Polar Vantage V2

It's time to pick your new running partner. You're making strides, taking yourself to new extremes. Learning the importance of training analysis and recovery. When it comes to running watches—it really depends on what kind of runner you are and what features you demand. In this best running watches comparison for 2022, we've narrowed it down to the three most trusted brands in sport watches—Garmin, COROS, and Polar—to help make your choice easier.

Garmin watches are engineered to help everyone from amateurs to athletes pursue their passions and personal best.

The COROS brand focuses on training in the outdoors, mountain altitudes, and for sports performance.

Polar watches cater to a range of fitness levels from athletes to active types chasing after a healthier life to people recovering from injury. They are especially known for their heart monitoring technology.

So, slap on your running shoes and run through the features of the best running watch from each of these titans of sports smartwatch technology.

Short on time? Jump to our Best Running Watch Comparison Table below and see features side-by-side in our comparison chart!

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Features to Look For in the Best Running Watch

Training Features

The best running watches should have the special features that align with how you want to use it. For example, if you want to train for a triathlon, it should provide profiles and metrics for running, cycling, and swimming.

Health Monitoring

The best running watch should include basic health-monitoring, such as heart rate and oxygen saturation. Brands like Garmin, Polar, and COROS offer exciting advanced health features.

GPS and Navigation Tools

Polar, COROS, and Garmin GPS running watches provide even more navigational tools beyond GPS. They often include multiple satellite imagery navigation along with maps, compasses, and other real-time route-tracking features.

Smart Features

Get the convenience of your phone on your wrist. Garmin, Polar, and COROS GPS watches for running provide smart notifications when paired with a compatible phone.

Style

Because you shouldn't have to sacrifice style for even the most durable GPS wearable, loaded with advanced technology.

Battery Life

The GPS running smartwatch you choose should have the juice to power you through, mile after mile!

Run with Only the Best
Garmin, COROS, and Polar

The Best Garmin Watch for Running — Forerunner 955/955 Solar

The Garmin Forerunner 955 is an elite GPS running watch designed to help you train. It's loaded with performance metrics including Running Dynamics, which shows you cadence, stride, contact time, balance, and more, to offer insight on your form, allowing you to adjust and improve. But there's a whole lot more this best running watch has to offer!

Marathon-Ready Design

Even though it’s made with a high-performance silicone band and an ultra-durable Corning® Gorilla® Glass DX lens, this lightweight touchsreen multisport watch won’t bulk up your wrist.

Chase Down Your Next Victory with Features Like:

A new responsive touchscreen in addition to trusted button operation
Daily training readiness score to know how to workout that day
Customizable morning report for an outlook on your training, recovery, the weather, and more
Race widget for personalized infromation you need while you train for your next race
New HRV status for a deeper understanding of your overall wellbeing while training
Real-time stamina to track and manage exertion
Get superior accuracy, even in challenging environments, with new multi-band GPS
Garmin Coach for free adaptive training plans
Built-in sports apps, including cycling, pool swimming, track running, elliptical, stair-stepper and more
Wrist based heart rate
Running dynamics (with a compatible accessory) to measure crucial running metrics like cadence, stride length, ground contact time and balance and more
VO2 MAX can tell you how you might expect to perform with heat or altitude factors
The Pulse Ox sensor can help gauge how your body is absorbing oxygen — even while you sleep
Performance Condition lets you analyze real-time pace, heart rate and heart rate variability
Training Status let you know if you’re training productively, peaking, or overreaching
Get aerobic and anaerobic training effect feedback
Training Load compares your most recent stats to your optimal and historical fitness stats
Daily Workout Suggestions guides you with daily run and ride recommendations based on your current training load
Recovery Time advises you on how long to rest be for your next big run, factoring in stress, sleep, and activity outside your workouts
Body Battery Energy Monitor lets you know the best times to be active and rest
Women’s Health Tracking used with the Garmin Connect app lets you track your menstrual cycle or pregnancy
Music storage of up to 2,000 songs
Improved Garmin 955/955 Solar battery life:
- Smartwatch Mode: Up to 15 days / Up to 20 days with appropriate solar
- GPS Mode: Up to 42 hours / Up to 49 hours with appropriate solar
- All-Systems GNSS mode plus Multi-Band with music: Up to 8.5 hours
- All Systems GNSS mode plus Multi-Band without music: Up to 20 hours/22 hours with solar
- In Ultratrac Mode: Up to 80 hours / Up to 110 hours with approapriate solar

The Forerunner 955 Puts Maps on Your Wrist

Full-color mapping
ClimbPro ascent planner
Turn-by-turn navigation
Round-trip routing.

The Ultimate in Safety and Connectivity

Get notifications from your smartphone, along with assistance and incident detection features that send your location to your contacts. Also included with the Forerunner 955 is the LiveTrack feature, which allows friends and family to track your real-time location and see your preplanned course. What else? Control your Tacx® Smart trainer courses or workouts from your watch.

Garmin Forerunner 955 triathlon smartwatch in black

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Coros Apex Pro Premium Running Watch with silver bezel

The Garmin Forerunner 955 premium running GPS watch showing solar-charging

White Garmin Forerunner 955 Solar advanced marathon smartwatch

The Best COROS Running Watch — APEX Pro

Coros Apex Pro Premium Multisport GPS Watch

What lands the COROS APEX Pro premium running watch in our PlayBetter best running watch category? The fact that it has the endurance and durability to go wherever you do. With 40 hours of FULL GPS battery life, you can run that 100 miler through the mountains—no sweat! (At least for the battery!)

Built for the Extreme. Like You.

Run those mountain trails. The COROS APEX Pro GPS running watch has Altitude Mode, with hourly acclimatization evaluations.
The Apex Pro sports a titanium frame, sapphire glass for scratch resistance, and is waterproof to 100m.

Controls, Your Way

Get a touchscreen and digital dial with the COROS APEX Pro running watch, for options in how you control your GPS smartwatch features on your run. Enjoy the ease of use when adjusting your navigation track up/down or zooming in/out.

Tested and Approved by Pros

COROS watches are tested and approved by athletes and coaches. In training mode you can download their workouts, as well as create and share your own. Paired with the COROS app, you'll find you can build limitless workouts for running, cycling, swimming, and more!

Train Everywhere!

This premium running watch has also fined-tuned GPS tracking on a standard track and has a night mode for a backlight your eyes can adjust to. The COROS APEX Pro is the GPS watch for the athlete who runs and trains in all environment and conditions.

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Polar Vantage V2 running watch green and silver

Black Forerunner 955 with training readiness showing on the watch face

Black and green Polar Vantage V2 GPS running watch

Green COROS APEX Pro premium running watch

The Best Polar GPS Running Watch — Vantage V2

Train like a pro, recover like a pro. The Polar Vantage V2 is the premium running watch that lets you keep tabs on how hard you've pushed, how your body is adapting, and how well you recover. Knowledge is the road to progress, and the Polar Vantage V2 is the GPS running smartwatch that can take you there.

Dial into Your Training

The Running Performance Test helps you track your progress and personalize your heart rate, speed, and power zones.
The Cycling Performance Test lets you personalize your power zones and tells you your personal functional threshold power (compatible power meter required).
See how your training sessions strain the different parts of your body with Training Load Pro™. It also shows you how much you’ve been training, so you can determine if you’re on the right track.
The Vantage V2 premium sports watch supports over 130 different sports. Add your favorite sports to your watch in the Polar Flow app and customize what you see on your watch during each sport.

Run. Recover. Repeat.

Recovery Pro™ (Polar heart rate sensor required) tells you if your body is ready for training with recovery feedback right on your watch.
The Leg Recovery Test tells you whether your legs are ready for high intensity training in just a couple of minutes without any special equipment—just your watch!
The Nightly Recharge™ recovery measurement shows you how well you recover from the demands of your day during the night.

Workout Tools

Plan your route on Komoot, import it to your Vantage V2 sport watch, and let the turn-by-turn guidance do the navigating for you.
Refuel and maintain adequate energy levels during long sessions with FuelWise™.
Use the FitSpark™ training guide for ready-made daily workouts that match your recovery, fitness level, and training history.
Make your runs more exciting with Strava Live Segments. Get alerts about nearby segments, see real-time performance data during and check your results.

Sleek Outside, Smart Inside

Lightweight, slim design
Comfortable silicone band
Color touch screen
Weather updates from your wrist
Music control right on your watch
Smart notifications right on your watch face

The Polar Vantage V2 premium running watch

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SHOP GARMIN FORERUNNER 955 ON PLAYBETTER