Best GPS running watches (December 2018)

There are plenty of great fitness trackers on the market right now, each of which cater to different users with different needs. Just need to keep an eye on your daily activity levels? Maybe the Fitbit Charge 3 or Garmin vivosport will suit your needs. Looking for something even cheaper than that? Xiaomi’s Mi Band 3 or Garmin’s vivofit 4 might do the trick. But if you’re a more serious athlete that needs something a bit more powerful — something that can track your long runs and not skimp on the handy watch features — what are your options? Today, we’re going to walk you through our list of the best GPS running watches on the market. Related: The best fitness trackers | Which Fitbit is right for you? If you’re a serious runner and need something that will accurately track your routes, has a big, easy-to-read screen, a built-in heart rate monitor, and of course, a GPS, this list is for you. Some of the options on here are a bit pricey, but that’s par for the course in this segment of wearables. Best GPS running watches:DecemberThis month we removed the Garmin Fenix 5 from our list to make room for the Suunto 9 and Suunto Spartan Sport. Best GPS running watch Garmin Forerunner 645 Music If you’re looking for the best GPS running watch on the market, the Garmin Forerunner 645 Music is it. Although it has a clunky name, there’s nothing clunky about this watch — it’s packed with features, comfortable to wear, and is actually Garmin’s first wearable that supports onboard music storage. Also read related article What’s the best Garmin watch? (August 2018)Hands-on: Garmin’s Forerunner 645 Music can hold up to 500 songs The big news here is the ability to story music directly on the watch, which means you don’t need to take your phone with you on a run if you want to listen to music. Garmin says the watch can hold approximately 500 songs at one time, and you can also download offline playlists from select music services like iHeart Radio. Once your watch is loaded up with music, just pair it with some Bluetooth earbuds and you’ll be on your way. This is also a great option if you need a training watch. The Forerunner 645 Music comes with training features powered by Firstbeat, which will help you better prepare for a race by letting you know if you’re training productively, peaking, or overreaching. Buy now from Amazon Runner-up Garmin Forerunner 935 The Garmin Forerunner 935 is another great option for hardcore runners, swimmers, bikers, and triathletes. It provides advanced dynamics to help you improve your runs, such as contact time balance, stride length, and more. It also comes with a two-week battery life in smartwatch mode, up to a full day in GPS mode, and up to 60 hours in UltraTrac mode. UltraTrac mode is a GPS setting that makes the watch track sensor data less frequently, allowing you to squeeze out some extra battery life if you don’t need all of your data recorded. It’s a bit pricey, but we really think the high price tag is worth it. Buy now from Amazon Honorable mentions Suunto 9 and Suunto Spartan Sport Suunto makes some of the best GPS running watches out there, so it’s not surprising two of its watches made our list. Both watches will track over 80 different sport modes, and both feature 100M water resistance ratings. If you’re looking for the best Suunto has to offer, the Suunto 9 is the watch for you. It has three battery modes which Suunto says will get you anywhere between 25 to 120 hours of GPS tracking, making this a great fit for ultra runners. The Suunto Spartan Sport is a great multisport GPS watch for those looking to save a few hundred bucks. Suunto 9 on Amazon Suunto Spartan Sport on Amazon Best cheap GPS running watch Polar M200 best gps running watches If you’re on a budget, you can’t go wrong with the Polar M200. This is a waterproof running watch with a built-in heart rate sensor and GPS that will track your speed, distance and route during a run, and will also keep tabs on your daily activity, steps, calories burned, sleep time and quality. This is also a sleek-looking device. In our opinion, it’s much better looking than its predecessor, the Polar M400. Read next: Best hybrid smartwatches: Analog watches with smartwatch smarts Plus, this device also comes with Polar’s Running Index, which will show you how your running performance is improving overtime. In the Polar Flow app, you’ll get a Running Index score that’s automatically calculated after every run, based on your heart rate and speed data. Buy now from Amazon Runner-up Polar M430 best gps running watches The Polar M430 is a relatively cheap GPS running watch that doesn’t skimp on the features. It has a built-in GPS, 6-LED heart rate monitor, and a battery that will last up to 30 hours on a single charge. It’ll also display your smartphone notifications. See also: Best Fitbit alternatives: Garmin, Misfit, Samsung, and more Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the watch is its compatibility with the Polar Running Program, which will help guide your daily training and help you achieve your performance goals. You can upload daily training programs to your M430, access strength and core training videos, and even monitor your running progress via the Running Index feature. Buy now from Amazon Best smartwatch for running Garmin vivoactive 3 Music best fitness trackers garmin vivoactive 3 music The standard Garmin vivoactive 3 is one of our favorite multisport fitness watches. Naturally, the vivoactive 3 Music made its way to our list right when it was announced. Everything you loved about the vivoactive 3 is here, along with support for music storage of up to 500 songs. You can load up your favorite songs, or download playlists from iHeartRadio. Deezer support will be added in the future, too. Don’t miss: Garmin vivoactive 3 review | Hands-on with the Garmin vivoactive 3 Music Aside from a slightly redesigned bezel on the new watch (and music support, of course), the vivoactive 3 and Music version are basically the same. That means you get a fantastic running watch with a built-in GPS, heart rate monitor, 5ATM water resistance rating, Garmin Pay support, and seven-day battery life. You can check out our full vivoactive 3 review right here to learn more. Buy now from Garmin Runner-up Fitbit Ionic This is the best Fitbit you can buy if you need something with a GPS. It’s an incredible fitness and sleep tracker, comes with a built-in GPS, allows you to pay for things from your wrist, and it’s water resistant. If you don’t care about smartwatch features and are looking for a high-end Fitbit device, buy the Ionic. More: Fitbit Ionic review | Fitbit Versa vs Ionic Just like the Fitbit Versa, the Ionic now has support for quick replies for notifications and female health tracking features. Software issues aside, the Ionic is one heck of a fitness watch. It’s available now on Amazon and Fitbit.com for $269.95, and comes in three different color options. Buy now from Amazon Buy now from Fitbit So there you have it — our list of the best GPS running watches on the market! Did we miss anything? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Next: Fitbit vs Garmin: Which ecosystem is right for you?