10 Best Running Watches for Women | Garmin, COROS & Polar

Which Is the Best Watch for Runners?

When it comes to the best running watches for women—or anyone, really—several factors come into play and will have varying degrees of importance to individual runners. Because no two runners are exactly alike, no two GPS running watches will be the same either. This is, of course, a good thing, but finding out which GPS smartwatches offer and even excel at the features you want can be time-consuming and, sometimes, downright daunting.

So, we’ve tried to make it easy for you. As you shop for the running watch that is right for you, you'll want to know about:

• Size & wearability
• Performance & training features
• GPS accuracy & on-watch navigation tools
• Health-monitoring
• Ease-of-use
• Price 

Style and bonus smart features like on-watch music may also be must-haves for your sport watch.

Whether you’re a bad*ss in running shoes or on your way to becoming one, get ready! Because we're dishing up all the details on the top 10 running watches in our PlayBetter collection. We only offer trusted brands like Garmin, COROS, and Polar, so you know you'll be selecting your new running partner from the best smartwatches the industry has to offer.

Best Overall Running GPS Watch — Garmin Forerunner 965 

Train brilliantly with Forerunner 965, the premium GPS running and triathlon smartwatch with a stunning AMOLED touchscreen display and lightweight titanium bezel.

And enjoy your favorite training tunes by loading them from services like Spotify®, Deezer, and Amazon Music, and listen through headphones with BLUETOOTH® technology. No phone needed!

Wake up to your morning report with HRV status. You’ll get health insights with an overview of sleep, recovery, and training outlook. 

The training readiness feature tells you when you’re primed for a productive session — while daily suggested workouts adapt to performance and recovery alongside the race widget, which provides training tips, course details, and completion time predictions.

Navigate any route confidently with multi-band GPS and full-color, built-in maps. With traditional buttons and a touchscreen display, it’s easy to tap into your training status and know whether you’re training productively, peaking, or strained.

If you’re pushing to outshine the competition, the Forerunner 965 running watch is there to light up every run with up to 23 days of battery life in smartwatch mode.

Garmin Forerunner 965 Price: $599.99

Lightest Running Watch for Women — COROS PACE 3

Keep it super light and ultra fast with the easy-to-use COROS PACE 3 premium GPS running watch for women. There's no fat on this featherlight wearable that weighs just 30 g with the COROS nylon band.

Here are some of the new features and upgrades you can expect on the latest COROS watch for runners:

• New touchscreen!
• New extended battery life (GPS only: 38 hours; Smartwatch mode: 24 days)
• New internal music storage
• New dual-frequency all satellite GNSS chipset
• New in-app route builder
• New SpO2 sensor
• New supported workouts (Trail Running, Ski, Snowboarding, XC Ski)
• Louder vibrations and beeps
• Brighter memory-in-pixel (MIP) display
• More rugged build materials—hello, trail runners!
• More accurate heart rate sensor
• 1.2” touchscreen display
• COROS PACE 3 is water resistant for swimming and showers
• Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity
• Barometric altimeter for elevation
• Downloadable training plans and workouts
• Free coaching support
• Free training hub

This wearable that won't weigh you down and will raise you up to your personal best for an attractive price, is a sassy, spirited running watch for women. Choose between silicone or nylon (lighter) watch bands and 2 colors: White and Black

COROS PACE 3 (Super-Affordable) Price: $229.00

Best Running Watch with Music for Women — Garmin Forerunner 265S 

Garmin hit the mark with the Forerunner 255S running watch with music—and then put an AMOLED display on it to create the Forerunner 265!  For ladies who want both beats and performance metrics on watch without dropping $500 or more—the Forerunner 265S is on point.

The "S" in 265S stands for a smaller wrist size with a 1.1" diameter display with a 41.7 x 41.7 x 12.9 mm case size. If you prefer a larger vibrant screen, the Garmin Forerunner 265 is a 1.3" display with a 46.1 x 46.1 x 12.9 mm case.

Load this Garmin watch up with your favorite training tunes and playlists. Simply download your must-have workout jams from your Spotify, Deezer, or Amazon account and go!

Here’s what else you’re going to love about this brilliant Garmin running watch:

• New touchscreen like the higher-end Garmin Forerunner 965 and other high-end Garmin watches. Don’t worry, you still have the traditional 5-button operation as well. And you can disable the touchscreen if you’re running in the rain, swimming, or wearing gloves.
• Originally offered only on Garmin’s more expensive multisport watches, the Training Readiness feature gives you a score and a short message that helps you determine how ready you are for training each day. The score is continuously calculated and updated throughout the day using these factors:
• Sleep score (last night)
• Recovery time
• HRV status
• Acute load
• Sleep history (last 3 nights)
• Stress history (last 3 days)
• More battery life than an Apple Watch and is highly competitive with other top brands like Polar and COROS. Plus, you can manage your settings to control and save battery life.

Colors include: 

FR 265:

• Black Bezel and Case with Black/Powder Gray Silicone Band
• Black Bezel with Whitestone Case and Whitestone/Tidal Blue Silicone Band
• Black Bezel with Aqua Case and Aqua/Black Silicone Band

FR 265S: 

• Black Bezel and Case with Black/Amp Yellow Silicone Band
• Black Bezel with Whitestone Case and Whitestone/Neo Tropic Silicone Band
• Black Bezel with Light Pink Case and Light Pink/Powder Gray

Get even more motivated over on our Forerunner 265/265S page!

Garmin Forerunner 265/265S Price: $449.99

Best Running Watch for Training — Polar Vantage V2

Train like a pro, recover like a pro. The Polar Vantage V2 Premium running watch for women helps you track how hard you've pushed, how your body adapts, and how well you recover. Knowledge is the key to progress, and the Polar Vantage V2 is the tool!

The Running Performance Test lets you track your progress and personalize your heart rate, speed, and power zones. See how your training sessions strain the different parts of your body with Training Load Pro™. It also shows you how much you’ve been training, so you can determine if you’re on the right track.

For triathletes, personalize your power zones and understand your personal functional threshold power (compatible power meter required) with the Cycling Performance Test. Also, the Vantage V2 premium GPS watch supports over 130 different sports. Add your favorite sports to your watch in the Polar Flow app and customize what you see on your watch during each sport.

Find out if your body is ready for marathon or triathlon training with recovery feedback right on your watch from Recovery Pro™(Polar heart rate sensor required). The Leg Recovery Test tells you whether your legs are ready for high intensity training in just a couple of minutes without any special equipment—just your watch! Find out how well you recover from the demands of your day during the night with Nightly Recharge™ recovery measurement.

Plan your route on Komoot and let the turn-by-turn guidance do the navigating for you. Refuel and maintain adequate energy levels during long sessions with FuelWise™. Use the FitSpark™ training guide for ready-made daily workouts that match your recovery, fitness level, and training history.

With a lightweight, slim design, comfortable silicone band, and color touchscreen—the Vantage V2 looks and feels great on your wrist. Get weather, control music from your wrists, and conveniently receive smart notifications right on your watch face. Plus, get a lot more out of this watch, including 40-100 hours of continuous training battery life.

Polar Vantage V2 Price: $499.95

Best GPS Trail Running Watch for Women — Garmin fēnix 7S Pro Sapphire Solar

The NEW 2023 fēnix 7S Pro Sapphire Solar is a beast offering solar-charging technology, which puts this rugged yet sophisticated GPS wearable over-the-top and makes it the best ultra running watch for women.

Here's what your fēnix 7S Pro Sapphire Solar battery life looks like when you feed it the sun:

• Smartwatch: Up to 11 days/14 days with solar
• Battery Saver Watch Mode: Up to 38 days/87 days with solar
• GPS Only: Up to 37 hours/46 hours with solar
• All Satellite Systems: Up to 26 hours/30 hours with solar
• All Satellite Systems + Multi-band: Up to 15 hours/16 hours with solar
• All Satellite Systems + Music: Up to 7 hours
• Max Battery GPS: Up to 90 hours/162 hours with solar
• Expedition GPS: Up to 26 days/43 days with solar

Additionally, the Garmin fēnix 7S Pro Sapphire Solar is more durable with a scratch-resistant Power Sapphire lens and titanium bezel and rear cover. Topo maps come preloaded out of box on this model.

Your loved ones will worry less about your outdoor adventures, because all the fēnix 7S Pro GPS smartwatches have safety and tracking along with that ultra long battery life! And now, you'll also have a super-handy and powerful LED flashlight on your wrist.

All fēnix 7 Pro watches are tough, tested to U.S. military standards for thermal, shock, and water resistance, making it the perfect running watch for women who frequent trails, multi-day ultra runs, or long journeys into the backcountry.

If you want a larger size, 47 mm (1.3" display) and 51 mm (1.4" display) are available in this family of premium Garmin watches.

Garmin fēnix 7S/7/7X Price: $799.99 – $999.99

Best Ultra Running Watch for Women — Garmin Enduro 2

In this category, the Garmin Enduro 2 is unbeatable! The best ultra running watch needs to excel in several specific areas, including:

• Battery life
• GPS tracking & navigation features
• Durability
• Performance metrics
• For some ultra runners, size will definitely be a factor

While the Enduro 2 does have a larger 1.4” display—great for seeing your data on the run—its nylon strap allows for lighter weight and less bulk for a watch this size—70 grams compared to the fēnix 7X Pro Sapphire Solar at 89 grams.

And here are the features that make this multisport watch a real winner for ultra runners:

• Solar-charging technology with up to an insane 150 hours in GPS mode (Assumes continuous use for entire period in 50,000 lux conditions) 
• Multi-frequency positioning for the most accurate tracking
• AutoSelect mode uses SatIQ™ technology to dynamically determine the GPS mode necessary to maximize battery life without compromising positional accuracy.
• The Enduro 2 offers on-watch music storage—up to 2,000 songs + controls phone music.
• This model has a superbright LED flashlight with various intensities, plus a safety mode for running at night.
• Real-time Stamina
• Preloaded full-color topoactive and ski maps
• The NextFork™ map guide shows the distance to the next trail intersection.
• Grade-adjusted pace helps you understand how to adjust your pace over varying terrain.
• An automatic rest timer logs your breaks.
• An Adventure Racing World Series-approved adventure racing app

This premium Garmin GPS multisport watch was purpose-built for ultra-runners, endurance athletes, and ladies who run trails, backcountry, triathlons, and the most grueling races.

Garmin Enduro 2 Price: $999.99

Best Running Watch for Beginners — Garmin Forerunner 165

If you’re interested in the best, most affordable starter running watch, the Forerunner 165 should be your first stop. And when we say starter watch, we mean it’s a Garmin starter watch.

For starters (pun intended), this watch features—like all the rest of the Garmin Forerunner watches—a stunning AMOLED display.

After you set your wrist beautifully ablaze with this lovely display, get ready to set your training and on fire with:

• Race Adaptive Training Plans: Receive training tips, personalized daily suggested workouts, and completion time predictions based on race details entered into the Garmin Connect™ app.
• Wrist-Based Running Power and Dynamics: View real-time power and measure crucial running metrics, like cadence, stride length, and ground contact time—all from the wrist—to help improve running form.
• Training Effect: See how workouts are affecting fitness and understand benefits from training runs and workouts.
• Courses: Create or find existing courses in the Garmin Connect app and from third-party platforms, then sync them directly to the watch.
• Additional Activity Profiles and Workouts: Stay active with more than 25 activity profiles, including trail running, open water swimming, pickleball, tennis, and more. Plus get new workouts for strength, HIIT, cardio, yoga, and Pilates.
• Morning Report: Start the day off right with a customizable report that provides an overview of last night’s sleep and the day’s training outlook, alongside HRV (heart rate variability) status, and weather.

Check out this article to see even more upgraded health and smart features, including an on-watch music option and contactless payments. And read our Garmin Forerunner 165 review here! See all the available models and colors here.

Garmin Forerunner 165 Price: $249.99

Garmin Forerunner 165 Music Price: $299.99

Best Battery Running Watch for Women — COROS APEX 2 Pro

With the COROS APEX 2 Pro premium running watch for women, you get all the features, quality construction materials like titanium alloy, and the hyper battery life you'd expect from a more expensive GPS watch. It's the perfect training partner for any kind of runner who also wants a designer watch with a simple user interface and a sleek, lightweight fit.

Performance metrics and running features include COROS Trainer for advanced training and analysis and Intelligent Stride model that learns your running form. With COROS Training mode, you can create, share, and even download workouts from professional athletes and coaches. Build your own workout in the COROS App for Running, Cycling, Swimming or Strength Training with virtually no limitations. Select from more than 200+ preloaded exercises to create your ideal strength training session.

Run where you want with GPS route tracking and built-in barometer, altimeter, and compass, and pre-loaded breadcrumb trail maps.

Wrist-based heart monitor, VO2 Max, and step counter help you understand how you're pushing during your run and daily life.

But it's battery life where COROS watches naturally shine. In UltraMax setting, the APEX 2 Pro lasts up to 75 hours using GPS. While using normal mode it provides up to 45 hours, and regular usage up to 30 days.

The digital dial for ease of use, smart notifications, fully customizable home screen, and ultra-comfortable silicone bands top off this smart running watch for women.

COROS APEX 2/2 Pro Price: $349.00 – $449.00

Best Heart Rate Monitor Running Smartwatch — Polar Pacer Pro 

Meet the Polar Pacer Pro — the essential GPS running watch that's loaded with training tools and surprisingly lightweight.

Polar’s heart rate sensors are widely recognized as the Gold Standard of heart rate tracking and trusted by users and researchers around the world. (They even make horse HR sensors!)

Serious runners will love this Polar watch. It's got everything the Pacer has:

• Pace
• Time
• Distance
• Stopwatch
• Lap Timer
• Interval Timer
• Training Target
• Training Load Pro
• Running Program

PLUS: 

• VO2 Max
• Running Performance Test
• Running Index
• Race Time Predictor
• Running Power

It also adds navigation, an altimeter, and Strava Live Segments that you won't find on the Pacer base model.

This Polar watch charges faster, processes faster, and has new backlight management—so it's ready to run when you are!

See your Polar Pacer Pro options here.

Polar Pacer Pro Price: $299.95

Best Style Smartwatch for Runners — Garmin epix Pro (Gen 2)

The epix Pro running watch for women is Garmin's latest AMOLED display wonder wearable, that provides a sleek formfactor coupled with an eye-catching screen—and it's loaded with all of this tech titan's amazing training tools, health & wellness monitoring, and smart features.

And it now comes in three sizes, so you can find the right balance of stunning screen and watch feel on your wrist! Choose from a 42 mm (1.2" display), 47 mm (1.3" display), or 51 mm (1.4" display).

Get on-watch activity-specific profiles for the gym, running, cycling, swimming, golf, and outdoor recreation. Level-up with training features, such as heat and altitude acclimation, VO2 Max for run and trail run, Training Status, Training Load, Training Effect, finish time, a virtual partner, course guidance, Garmin and Strava live segments, and much, MUCH more.

Get a whole lot of health monitoring, including wrist-based heart rate, Pulse Ox, Body Battery™ energy monitor, Fitness Age, women's health, and sleep score and insights.

Track in the most challenging environments with access to multi-frequency satellite imagery systems (GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo). Plus, navigate smarter with ABC sensors: altimeter for elevation data, barometer to monitor weather, and three-axis electronic compass. You can download TopoActive maps and use built-in Wi-Fi to do it—no computer necessary. BONUS: The Sapphire models come preloaded with maps!

The built-in LED flashlight on your epix Pro offers variable intensities and strobe modes to give you greater awareness while you train at night.

Get the convenience of smart notifications, Garmin Pay™, and phone-free music.

Battery life is more than enough to get you through. However, if you want to go weeks without charging, you can forego the AMOLED display and get extra-long battery life with the fēnix 7/7S/7X Pro Solar series.

Garmin epix Pro Price: $899.99 – $1,099.99

No Wrong Choices of Running Watches for Women on This List!

Hopefully this list of our favorite running watches from the best brands out there has helped you narrow it down.

There’s something for every budget, style, and type of runner—whether you’re just beginning, are a total hardcore ultra runner, or fall somewhere in between.

They’re all savvy smartwatches with training features, health and wellness monitoring, and many have the best navigation and GPS technology that you can get on your wrist.

Any one of these watches has a lot to offer to help you never stop reaching for your best!