Garmin Venu 2 vs Fitbit Versa 3 | Fitness Smartwatch Comparison

Track your activity and keep you motivated.

Help you train and analyze your effort.

Play the music that inspires you.

Help you tune into your body.

Look gorgeous on your wrist.

What do you want your fitness smartwatch to do? In this comparison, we're doing a deep dive into the features of two of the most popular fitness GPS smartwatches available: the Garmin Venu 2/2S and the Fitbit Versa 3.  

Although they share a price point ($399), there are some significant differences that we think you ought to know before you buy—and we're sharing them all with you below.

Short on time? Jump to the PlayBetter Bottom Line on these two products or click on a subject in the Table of Contents directly below.

The Garmin Venu 2 series comes in 2 size options: The Venu 2 offers a larger 1.3" display while the Venu 2S has a smaller 1.1" display. Other than a slight difference in battery life, these models are the same.

For more details about the Venu 2 series, watch the video above or check out our other PlayBetter Garmin Venu 2 blogs:

Garmin Venu 2/2S Upgrades Review

Venu 2/2S vs Venu vs Vivoactive vs Venu Sq

PlayBetter Pick: The Venu 2 Series Advanced Fitness Smartwatch

Yes, the Fitbit Versa 3 has a lot of features for a mid-range price and is versatile enough for just about anyone.

But what if we told you there was a fitness GPS watch that was designed for every wrist and every kind of active lifestyle that had advanced features for tuning into your training workouts and your mind and body 24/7—for the same cost? You'd definitely want to know more, right? Well, here you go!

Features That Make the Venu 2/2S Stand Out:

• Display Size Options — Want a larger, bright AMOLED display on your wrist? Opt for the 1.3" Venu 2. For a more classic look or for smaller wrists, the Venu 2S offers a 1.1" display.
  
  
• Advanced Health Monitoring Features — The new Health Snapshot widget allows you to log a 2-minute session to record key stats, including heart rate, heart rate variability, Pulse Ox, respiration, and stress. Generate a report with those stats via the Garmin Connect app to share with your doctor, trainer, or friends. You also get the latest update of the Garmin Elevate heart rate sensor, which has improved the sleep tracking function. While both the Venu 2 and Versa 3 offer women's health tracking features, the Garmin Venu 2 series allows you to track and log for pregnancy as well as your menstrual cycle.
  
  
• Advanced Training/Workout Features — Easy-to-follow, animated cardio, strength, yoga, Pilates, and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts come preloaded on the Venu 2/2S, and you can download more from the Garmin Connect app. This multisport GPS watch also has added sport modes and advanced strength training and workout profiles. Additionally, Garmin has included the new Fitness Age widget in the Venu 2 series, which reinterprets your VO2 Max score in terms of age to make it more relatable to how you are training.  
  
  
• Battery Life — The Venu 2 gets up to 11 days of battery life in smartwatch mode, up to 12 days in battery saver smartwatch mode, up to 8 hours in GPS mode with music, and up to 22 hours GPS mode without music. The Venu 2 has up to 10 days in smartwatch mode, up to 11 days in battery saver smartwatch mode, up to 7 hours in GPS mode with music, and up to 19 hours GPS mode without music.
  
  
• Safety Features — Get LiveTrack and built-in incident detection (with select outdoor activities), so your live location can be sent to your contacts manually or automatically for assistance.

Other Garmin Venu 2/2S Features:

• Body Battery™ energy monitoring
• Pulse Ox Sensor
• Stress Tracking
• Hydration Tracking
• Wrist-Based Heart Rate
• Respiration Tracking
• Sleep Score and Advanced Sleep Monitoring
• Mindful Breathing
• Built-in Sports Apps
• Create Workouts
• Garmin Coach
• Intensity Minutes
• Smart Notifications
• Music (store up to 650 songs)
• Garmin Pay
• Connect IQ™
• Sync with Garmin Connect

The Versa 3 Fitness Smartwatch Gets Props

The Fitbit Versa 3 is no slacker when it comes to fitness trackers. It's packed with the minimum core features for health and activity tracking that you would want in a GPS fitness watch. While it doesn't go above and beyond like the Garmin Venu 2/2S, we can't shake a stick at the features it does offer.

Versa 3 Health Features

• Heart Rate Tracking
• Oxygen Saturation (SpO2) Monitoring
• High and Low Heart Rate Notification
• Skin Temperature Variation
• Sleep Stages and Sleep Score
• Stress Management Score
• Guided Breathing Sessions
• Breathing Rate
• Heart Rate Variability
• Menstrual Health Tracking

Fitness Features

• Built-In GPS for Activity Tracking
• Workout Intensity Map (in-app only)
• Active Zone Minutes
• All-Day Activity Tracking
• 20 Goal-Based Exercise Modes + SmartTrack™
• Cardio Fitness Level

Other Versa 3 Features

• Music
• Smart Notifications
• Voice Assistant
• Fitbit Pay 

PlayBetter Pick: The Venu 2/2S Has More for Your Workouts!

Garmin is constantly striving to perfect their edge on fitness and training technology. Here's why we think the Venu 2/2S beats the Versa 3 hands down for best sport watch:

• Track your steps, calories, floors, heart rate, stress, blood oxygen levels, respiration rate, and more throughout the day with spot-on accuracy.
• Get over 25 built-in indoor and GPS sports apps with favorites that include walking, running, cycling, pool swimming, golf, Pilates and yoga.
• Get an adaptive training plan with Garmin Coach.
• Includes new activity profiles for HIIT, indoor climbing, bouldering, and hiking.
• Offers several HIIT workouts with on-screen animations.
• Create your own workouts.
• The new advanced strength training profile and workouts put weight scaling and strength PRs right on the device and includes graphics showing which muscle groups were worked.
• Take it on the golf course. Includes great Garmin golfing features like yardages to the front, back, and middle of the green, yardages to doglegs/hazards, digital scorecard, stat tracking, Garmin Autoshot™, Green View with manual pin position, and more!
• Know you cadence for running.
• Pairs with Garmin cycling gear.

The Fitbit Versa 3 Workout Features

• Activity tracking allows you to see your pace and distance in outdoor runs, hikes, and rides, then see a map of your route in the Fitbit app.  
• Workout Intensity Map (in-app only) allows you to check your workout intensity in the Fitbit app after outdoor exercise.
• The Active Zone Minutes feature buzzes your wrist when you are in your targeted heart rate zone.
• All-Day Activity Tracking lets you tracking steps, distances, floors climbed, active minutes, and calories burned.
• Goal-Based Exercise Modes include up to 20 exercise modes with real-time stats or let SmartTrack™ recognize and record your workout.
• With Cardio Fitness Level you can understand your fitness level and improvement over time.

Get the undeniable vibrance and beauty of the AMOLED display on the Venu 2/2S or the Fitbit Versa 3. AMOLED displays allow for more control over each pixel, resulting in richer blacks, power economy, and better viewing angles.

The Venu 2 Series for Most Stylish Multisport Watch

The Garmin Venu 2 collection offers some of the best sports smartwatches for men and women. Not only do they cater to your active lifestyle, but Venu 2 collection was designed to enrich your personal style, as well!

2 Venu 2 Sizes

Your Venu 2 option offers a bright 1.3" AMOLED display — larger than the previous Venu. The Venu 2S is for those who prefer the smaller, classic 1.1" display.

6 Color Palettes to Choose From!

The larger-screened Venu 2 offers 2 sleek color palettes: a silver bezel with granite blue case and silicone band or a slate bezel with a black case and silicone band.

The Venu 2S is a bit more adventurous with 4 fashionable color combos: a silver bezel with a mist gray case and silicone band, a slate bezel with a graphite case and silicone band, a light gold and tan case and silicone band, and a rose gold and white case and silicone band.

Not only are these smartwatches right for your wrist while you're working out, but they make a statement whatever mode you're in — work or play!

The Fitbit Versa 3

Although the Fitbit Versa 3 GPS smartwatch only offers one size, a square display that is 1.5" x 1.5", it does have 5 color schemes to choose from: black with black aluminum case, midnight with soft golf aluminum case, pink clay with soft gold aluminum, thistle with soft gold aluminum, and olive with soft gold aluminum.

While an aluminum case can make your smartwatch lighter, it does not quite have the premium look of a stainless steel bezel. This leads us to believe that when it comes to style, the Versa 3 was designed more with practicality in mind, than for its appeal on your wrist.

We love the Garmin Venu 2/2S premium GPS multisport watch because it manages it all!