The Best GPS Running Watches of 2025

Whether you're a new runner or a seasoned veteran, a GPS watch is a valuable tool in any runner's toolbox. While most running watches can track your basic stats like distance, pace, and heart rate, others provide more advanced features such as a barometric altimeter, training assistance, or seamless triathlon activity transitions. These wearables allow for convenient running data displayed in real-time right on your wrist, so you can quickly glance at your current performance and compare it to your recent fitness or historical training.

Regardless of your skill level, there is a GPS watch that can add value to any runner's arsenal. Check out our hand-selected best GPS watches for each type of runner below. Insure what GPS watch is best for your needs? Learn how to choose the best GPS watch here.

The Best GPS Running Watches of the Year

• Best Entry Level GPS Watch Garmin Forerunner 55 GPS Watch

• Best Mid-Level GPS Watch COROS PACE 3 GPS Sport Watch

• Best Budget-Friendly GPS Watch Garmin Forerunner 165/165 Music GPS Watch

• Best GPS Watch for Multiple Sports Garmin Forerunner 265/265S GPS Watch

• Best Battery Life GPS Watch Coros APEX 2 Multisport GPS Watch

• Best Premium GPS Watch Garmin Forerunner 965 GPS Watch

The Garmin Forerunner 55 GPS Watch is an easy-to-use training tool for the straightforward runner. The highly accurate GPS tracks your location, pace, and distance, and built-in sensors record steps, heart rate, sleep, and more. The watch comes loaded with features like 20 hours of battery life, PacePro for staying on pace during a race, Track Mode for accurate pacing and distance around the track, suggested daily workouts, and predictive race times based on your recent training and recovery.

The Forerunner 55 includes a full-color display, Garmin Coach with free training plans and adaptive guidance for the 5k, 10k, and half marathon events, as well as beneficial wellness features like Body Battery™ that provide personal training advice based on your daily energy levels. As an added benefit, the Garmin Forerunner 55 includes a safety feature, Incident Detection, which can notify and send your location to emergency contacts in case of an accident. Overall, this watch is a must-have for the no-frills runner, track athlete, and developing racer who wants to accurately monitor their running stats and daily energy levels.

The COROS Pace 3 GPS Sport Watch remains a top choice for runners and triathletes seeking advanced workout recording capabilities at a more affordable price point. Boasting an extended battery life and equipped with cutting-edge sensors like the Next-Gen optical heart rate sensor and Dual Frequency GPS, the PACE 3 delivers unparalleled accuracy in tracking metrics such as pace, distance, GPS, and heart rate. Additionally, its comprehensive sleep tracking features, including the ability to detect four distinct sleep stages and calculate resting heart rate, make it a valuable tool for monitoring overall wellness and recovery.

The PACE 3 offers seamless integration with popular health and fitness apps, ensuring a connected experience for users. With added functionalities like text and call notifications, the Find My Phone feature, and diverse training plans for distances ranging from 5k to ultra distances, the PACE 3 empowers individuals to stay on track of their daily lives while achieving their fitness goals. Enhanced health-tracking capabilities such as HRV monitoring and SpO2 monitoring, along with music support, make the PACE 3 a comprehensive solution for modern athletes and fitness enthusiasts alike.

The Garmin Forerunner 165 presents a budget-friendly option for outdoor enthusiasts, blending affordability with advanced features. Sporting an AMOLED touchscreen display complemented by traditional button controls, it offers a user-friendly interface and precise GPS tracking powered by multi-band GNSS and SatIQ™ technology. Boasting a battery life of up to 11 days in smartwatch mode and 19 hours in GPS mode, it ensures uninterrupted activity tracking and training progress monitoring across various workout profiles, including HIIT, running, and cycling.

Start your day with the comprehensive morning report feature, which provides insights into your health, weather updates, and HRV status. Track your sleep, recovery, and training effectiveness, utilizing features like training effects and labels to gauge workout impact and optimize rest periods. For the music enthusiast, the 165 Music allows athletes to download music, including playlists from popular platforms like Spotify and Amazon Music, and connect wirelessly to headphones for phone-free listening. Additionally, seamless smartphone connectivity delivers notifications to your wrist, while safety features like incident detection and assistance offer peace of mind during outdoor activities. With Garmin Pay™ for contactless payments and a range of features at a competitive price point, the Garmin Forerunner 165 is the ideal fitness companion that won't break the bank.

Get comprehensive health and wellness insights and enhance your running experience with the new Garmin Forerunner 265 GPS Watch. Part of the latest generation of the beloved Forerunner series, the Garmin Forerunner 265 is an essential companion for dedicated runners, cyclists, and triathletes. Featuring innovative functions like morning reports, race widgets, and personalized training plans, these watches are crafted to optimize running performance and overall well-being. With real-time tracking, performance metrics, and sleep monitoring, mastering your training and recovery is simpler than ever.

Notable enhancements include extended battery life, up to 13 days in smartwatch mode for the Forerunner 265. With its AMOLED touchscreen and traditional button controls, the Forerunner 265 offers intuitive navigation. Both models, 255 and 265, provide precise positioning through multi-band GNSS and SatIQ™ technology. Additionally, Garmin Pay enables hassle-free contactless payments, freeing runners from carrying their wallets or phones during workouts.

The COROS APEX 2 and APEX 2 Pro continue to impress all levels of runners by providing an advanced training solution with a luxurious design. Thanks to its extensive battery life, the standard APEX 2 lasts 40 hours in full GPS mode while the APEX 2 Pro lasts up to 66 hours in full GPS mode, making it a must-have for your next ultramarathon or a long week of training. One of the most unique features of this watch is the COROS Trainer, which acts as an intelligent coach, helping you to train and recover at your absolute best.

The Trainer will guide you through a warm-up, training, and cool-down, accounting for your current fitness level and stamina, and then recommend a recovery time based on your efforts. Additionally, this watch can quickly connect on your outdoor runs thanks to GPS, GLONASS, and BDS satellites, while the movement sensors accurately monitor your indoor training. With its durable design, barometric altimeter, highly accurate GPS tracking, and advanced navigation features, the APEX is the perfect partner for rugged outdoor adventures.

If you are looking for maximum performance from a watch, the Garmin Forerunner 965 will work as hard as you do. With a battery life of 23 days on smartwatch mode and 31 hours in GPS mode, along with a bright AMOLED touchscreen display, its thin, sleek body is packed full of features designed to help endurance runners and triathletes get the most out of their workouts. Using an optical heart rate monitor and blood oximeter, Garmin can provide the best training metrics to predict your performance, analyze training, estimate VO2 max, improve running form, recommend recovery time, and much more.

To minimize what you carry on a run, the Forerunner 965 includes Garmin Pay for contactless payments and music storage, so you can get into the rhythm as you go. Easily download your favorite tunes through Spotify, Amazon Music, or Deezer apps, and the watch's Bluetooth connectivity simply links to your favorite wireless headphones. Thankfully, the battery can last up to 10.5 hours while using music in GPS mode, so you don't have to sacrifice your tunes during a long run or race.