The best cheap running watches incorporate many features found in high-end fitness trackers, offering them in a more affordable package. These watches allow you to accurately track and plan your runs, helping you improve your performance. While they may not have all the features of the best smartwatches, they remain a great option for most runners.
Running watches use dedicated sensors, gyroscopes, and software to provide information about your runs, including speed, stride, and health metrics. Alternatively, if you're looking for a more all-purpose budget solution to exercise tracking, then you'll want one of the best cheap fitness trackers.
Top Picks for the Best Cheap Running Watch
- Best Overall: Coros Pace 3
- Best Garmin: Garmin Forerunner 165
- Best Value: Amazfit Active 2
- Best Fitness Band: Fitbit Charge 6
The Quick List
- The best overall cheap running watch is the Coros Pace 3.
- The best cheap Garmin is the Garmin Forerunner 165.
- The best fitness band is the Fitbit Charge 6.
Coros Pace 3: A Price-Defying Top-Tier Running Watch
You wouldn’t expect to find a wearable worn by one of the greatest distance runners of all time, Eliud Kipchoge, in a cheap running watches roundup. But that’s exactly what’s happened with the Coros Pace 3, which delivers a lot for a relatively low price point.
The lightweight device competes with heavyweight rivals from Garmin and Apple by offering in-depth running metrics such as cadence, elevation, heart rate zones, stride length and much more. Better yet, it presents this information in a clear, digestible way, making it a good fit for recreational runners and race day heroes alike.
Owners will also enjoy impressive battery life of up to 20 days, full GPS and route generation options. Despite this impressive portfolio, it still only retails for $229 / £219 / AU$399, undercutting premium competitors to provide an enticing option to passionate athletes on a budget.
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Admittedly, the tighter budget means there are some noticeable differences in quality between the Coros Pace 3 and the likes of the best Garmin watches and best Apple Watches. The plastic build doesn’t feel as resilient, and it doesn’t have the same offering of lifestyle features. For example, Apple and Garmin both offer third-party app interfaces, on-wrist payments and far more user-friendly notifications.
Specifications:
- GPS: Yes, GPS, Beidou, Glonass, Galileo, QZSS
- Connectivity: Bluetooth
- Battery: 24 days, up to 38 hours GPS
- Waterproof: 5ATM
Reasons to buy:
- Outstanding value
- In-depth running metrics
- Excellent battery life
Reasons to avoid:
- Feels plasticky
- Poor refresh rate
- Limited lifestyle features
Amazfit Active 2: Thoughtfully Designed, Outrageously Cheap
The Amazfit Active 2 takes TechRadar's award for the best budget running watch thanks to its smart design, thoughtful training features and (crucially) shockingly low price. It's a powerhouse activity watch costing $99 in the US and £99 in the UK.
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Two buttons for power, triggering workouts and navigation are complemented by a touchscreen, with a stainless steel bezel rounding things off for a premium look. GPS is accurate to the Apple Watch Ultra 2 - a watch costing over seven times as much - and during our tests, was just 1 BPM out in terms of heart rate accuracy. That's a terrific achievement. It even manages to squeeze in full-color maps on-wrist, which you normally get in premium Garmin watches. How Amazfit has done this is a mystery, but it certainly helps with navigation during complex routes.
Our reviewer gave it 5/5 stars for sheer value alone: if you're looking for bang for your buck, the Amazfit Active 2 is tough to beat.
Specifications:
- GPS: Yes
- Connectivity: Bluetooth, ANT+
- Battery: Up to 10 days
- Waterproof: Yes, 5ATM
Reasons to buy:
- Classic design
- Comprehensive workouts
- Value for money
Reasons to avoid:
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- No on-watch sleep widget
- NFC costs extra
КАКИЕ ЧАСЫ ДЛЯ БЕГА КУПИТЬ НОВИЧКУ | 3 ВАРИАНТА ПУЛЬСОМЕТРОВ ДЛЯ ТРЕНИРОВОК
Garmin Forerunner 165: The Best Garmin You Can Buy on a Tighter Budget
In our guide to the best running watches, Garmin occupies half of the top 10, a clear indication Garmin makes great running watches, and the Forerunner 165 is no exception. The only difference is that it’s a bit more affordable ($249.99/£249.99/AU$489.99) than most of its Garmin compatriots.
When testing it, I found the watch was a really solid middle-ground option, cutting the cost slightly while keeping many of the premium features that make the Forerunner series a force to be reckoned with. The AMOLED touchscreen, Nap Detection, and course creation via the Garmin Connect app, for example, as well as in-depth training metrics.
The cost cuts had to come from somewhere, and with the Forerunner 165 it’s evident in small sacrifices such as using chemically strengthened glass for the screen rather than the Forerunner 265’s stronger Gorilla Glass, and plastic for the case instead of the heavier, harder polymers used in other Garmin watches. The battery is good, not great, and the wearable has less storage (4 GB) than pricier rivals.
I found the Body Battery feature was a solid way to monitor my recovery and readiness to tackle various exercise sessions, although it didn’t provide the same levels of insight as Garmin’s useful (and absent) Training Readiness and Hill and Endurance scores.
However, I still think what is on offer for a reasonable RRP still represents a very appealing package for runners.
Specifications:
- GPS: Yes, GPS, Glonass, Galileo
- Connectivity: Bluetooth, ANT+
- Battery: 11 days
- Waterproof: 5ATM
Reasons to buy:
- Premium training and fitness tracking features
- Easy-to-read AMOLED touchscreen
- 11-day battery life
Reasons to avoid:
- Mid, not low, price point
- Lower storage
- Less robust than other Garmins
Apple Watch SE (3rd gen): Excellent Lifestyle Features to Complement Impressive Fitness Tracking
This wouldn’t be a roundup of the best wearables without an Apple Watch, and the SE 3 slips into the list with its low starting price hiding a lot of power. As the cheapest watch in Apple’s current lineup (by quite some way) it's got the same chipset as all the other modern Apple Watches (yes, that includes the Ultra 3) and the same excellent watchOS 26 suite of software.
It boasts a huge array of sports, a slick design, and loads of lifestyle features via third-party apps. Apple Intelligence features are possible if you have a compatible iPhone, and gesture controls allow you to operate it hands-free.
As for running, you get full GPS functionality as well as live updates on your pace, heart rate, heart rate zones, and elevation. You can also follow race routes from your wrist and create custom workouts - ideal for otherwise finicky interval sessions.
Specifications:
- GPS: Yes
- Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi, LTE
- Battery: 18 hours, or eight hours with GPS
- Waterproof: WR50
Reasons to buy:
- Slick design and responsive touchscreen
- Balance of fitness and lifestyle features
- Same chipset as other Apple Watches
Reasons to avoid:
- No built-in ECG
- No increased 24-hour battery life
Fitbit Charge 6: A Discreet Fitness Band with Much of the Functionality of a Running Watch
Is it a running watch, or is it a fitness band? The Fitbit Charge 6 definitely treads a fine line between the two, but it’s earned its spot in this roundup thanks to its touchscreen and impressive range of features, the most notable inclusions being the on-wrist ECG, EDA stress sensor and full GPS. The last one in particular tends to distinguish “tracker” from “running watch”.
However, during our tests, we found the GPS encountered some issues when the strap was done up too tightly, but when they loosened it the heart rate readings were sent awry. The band performed far better when tracking workouts in the gym, but if you only want to run recreationally as part of a varied exercise routine, it should do the job just fine. Crucially, it’s well-priced at $159 / £139 / AU$229, with Fitbits historically subject to frequent discounts.
Specifications:
- GPS: Yes
- Connectivity: Bluetooth
- Battery: Up to seven days
- Waterproof: Yes, 5ATM
Reasons to buy:
- Feature-packed for a fitness band
- Discreet design
- On-wrist ECG
Reasons to avoid:
- Unreliable GPS
- No altimeter for runners
- Heart rate accuracy is questionable
How to Choose the Best Cheap Running Watch for You
Choosing the best cheap running watch will often come down to a few factors. Thankfully, everything on this list is designed to fit as many budgets as possible, taking that consideration out of the equation.
You’ll want to consider where you’re at with your training, working out how long you’ll be running for, and how regularly you’ll be training. For newcomers that want to be contactable and are taking their phone with them for a brisk 30-minute jog, GPS is likely to be less important because the running watch can piggyback off of your phone’s location.
If you want to step up your running regimen, you’ll want plenty of battery life so you’re not constantly charging and draining the battery again. Thankfully, many of them offer a few days of battery at least, but it remains a consideration.
Finally, the size of the watch is important, not just for comfort (and style), but for having a screen that’s big enough to be read in all conditions.
What's the Best Running Watch for Women / Men?
Largely, there's not much difference in choosing the best running watch for women compared to the best running watch for men. Some differences to bear in mind are screen sizes better suited to smaller or larger wrists, and we've detailed the dimensions of each watch in our full reviews.
Many watches, like the Fitbit Charge 6 or Garmin Forerunner 165 offer "women's health tracking", showing the user information about their menstrual cycle based on heart health and skin temperature.
However, there are potential privacy concerns here for users (check out our list of ways to protect your period tracking data for more information), and it's worth bearing in mind watches with these features aren't exclusively aimed at women: they're just extra features users can turn on or off depending on their needs.
Strava Integration
The good news is that Strava integration is ubiquitous among all watches from major brands. You can connect Garmin and Strava from within Garmin Connect, meaning any activity you track on your watch can be synced automatically to Strava.
Strava does a lot of good analysis of your sessions based on heart rate - but there are data points it doesn’t track, such as vertical oscillation and running cadence, which you’ll find in the upper reaches of Garmin’s range.
Despite its recent facelift, Garmin Connect isn’t nearly as fun, informative, and motivating as Strava. But some Garmin smartwatches offer deeper Strava integrations. Live Segments enable you to mark segments that you want to focus on. When you arrive at said place, your Garmin watch will show you your live performance against your PB so you can shoot for records in key areas.
That list just so happens to include the most expensive Garmin devices. Apple has a standalone Strava app that’s compatible with the Apple Watch, so you can seamlessly transfer your data to the fitness service.
The app, however, is minimal in terms of customization of the data screens, and you can’t view workout history from the watch itself. Like Garmin, all of Polar’s sports watches offer integration with Strava.
Like Garmin, you can also take advantage of Strava Live Segments. Your Grit X2 Pro can have 100 favorites at a time. Regarding Samsung smartwatches, the new Galaxy Watch Ultra is the pick of the bunch, thanks to solid heart rate performance from our latest reviews.
From the Strava Wear OS app, you can record a run, ride, walk, or hike. It even offers Nordic ski and e-bike modes. If you subscribe to Strava, you can access the Beacon safety feature.
Coros might be one of the lesser-known brands on this list, but all of its watches offer the ability to upload data to Strava. Along with sending workout data, including runs and rides, to the app, it’s also added new Strava Routes syncing.
This lets you create routes on Strava and send them to the Coros app, which you can then fire over to the watch. For standard data syncing, you need to connect the two services together in the same manner as Garmin and Polar devices. All are packed with GPS (and are accurate) and a bunch of sports modes, including running, cycling, and swimming.
They’re health and fitness smartwatches that deliver, with good sleep tracking and a weekly rating of your activity and fitness using the PAI score. The newly revamped Zepp app is also a great place to view workouts, but it can’t compare to Strava for analysis, motivation, and social interactions.
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