Best Running Watches

Updated October 2021

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BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing, and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers. We buy all products with our own funds, and we never accept free products from manufacturers.Read more

Bottom line

Pros

Cons

Best of the Best

Fitbit

Charge 4 Fitness and Activity Tracker

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Trim Design

Bottom Line

If you’re a fan of Fitbit and appreciate a sleek design, this feature-packed device is exactly what you’re after.

Pros

Tracks calories burned, heart rate, sleep, and exercise. Built-in GPS also tracks workout pace and distance. Comes with over 20 exercise modes. Water-resistant up to 50 meters. Battery life of up to 7 days.

Cons

May experience a bit of a learning curve with the setup process.

Best Bang for the Buck

Amazfit

Band 5 Fitness Tracker

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Customer Favorite

Bottom Line

With a long-lasting battery, sleek design, and an array of tracking capabilities, this watch does it all and sports an affordable price tag, too.

Pros

Alexa is built right into this watch so you can ask questions, set alarms and timers, and do more with ease. A heart rate monitor in the watch allows you to track changes and steps while you run, and the battery lasts up to 2 weeks on one charge. Featuring a way to track women’s health, sleep and stress levels, this fitness watch keeps track of all life's activities for you.

Cons

Some shoppers found the battery life didn’t hold up with heavy use of all available features.

With the ability to track heart rate, steps, route, and distance, this watch is a good choice for beginner runners.

Pros

This watch has a classic watch style but with a color touchscreen display to give it a modern feel. Featuring a calorie counter, sleep and stress tracker, this watch personalizes workout plans for you based on your body's analytics and is waterproof so you can run in the rain without damaging the watch's integrity.

Cons

Some buyers found they had a challenging time syncing it to other devices.

Casio

Runner Quartz Running Watch

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Simple Yet Solid

Bottom Line

This watch won’t overwhelm newer wearers with fancy features; with a basic style, this is ideal for new runners looking to track their progress.

Pros

With a simple style, this running watch offers a 200-lap memory and counts every step you take. This watch is water-resistant so you can run in rainy weather with confidence and make use of the stopwatch and countdown features if you’re training for a race. With a built-in alarm system, you can schedule up to 5 daily alarms so you’ll never miss a run.

Cons

Some shoppers found the step counter may not be as accurate as some higher-end running watches.

Garmin is at it again with a great running watch, featuring everything you need in a fitness-tracking watch.

Pros

With a heart rate monitor, GPS to track distance, speed, and steps, and a calorie counter, runners get access to the features they need to track their next run. This running watch connects to most phones and devices via Bluetooth so you can view your health and fitness analytics when you want to.

Cons

While this is a great choice for novice runners, more experienced runners may want to upgrade to a watch with more features.

HOW WE TESTED

We recommend these products based on an intensive research process that's designed to cut through the noise and find the top products in this space. Guided by experts, we spend hours looking into the factors that matter, to bring you these selections.

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