Apple may rule the smartwatch roost, but in the world of fitness wearables, the competition is a lot more serious. Garmin is one of the top brands (if not the top brand) when it comes to the best smartwatches for athletes and lovers of the great outdoors, but it’s not exactly easy to find a cheap Garmin watch if you’re after one of these fantastic wearables and you’re on a budget — but we can help you find the right one for your needs at the right price with this up-to-date list of the best Garmin watch deals available right now.
Today’s best cheap Garmin watch deals
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Garmin Instinct Solar, Solar-Powered Rugged Outdoor Smartwatch
$335 $400
Smartwatches are great, but not when you’re outdoors without a charger. Garmin’s Instinct sidesteps that with built-in solar charging that keeps it going for longer. One for serious explorers.
Buy at Amazon
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Garmin fēnix 5 GPS Smartwatch, Slate Gray
$306 $500
The Garmin Fenix 5 is an older model that is still a great fitness partner for athletes with built-in activity profiles, performance metrics, and smart notifications.
Buy at Amazon
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Garmin Forerunner 935 Running GPS Unit (Black)
$300 $500
The Garmin Forerunner 935 is a great GPS multisport smartwatch with a perfect 5-star rating in our review. It provides advanced dynamics for running, cycling and swimming, and more.
Buy at Amazon
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Garmin Vivoactive 4 in Black
$250 $350
This smartwatch has GPS, plays your music, and has body energy monitoring, plus animated workouts to help you perfect your technique and Pulse Ox sensors.
Buy at Amazon
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Garmin Forerunner 735XT Multisport GPS Running Watch in Black/Gray
$219 $400
Designed for serious runners, this watch has wrist-based heart rate monitoring and built-in sensors for accurate tracking to help you beat your personal best, plus support for different sports.
Buy at Amazon
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Garmin Vivoactive 4S GPS Smartwatch (40mm)
$265 $350
This is the perfect watch for keeping track of your runs and workouts. It features GPS tracking, music, energy monitoring, and more than 20 preloaded GPS and indoor sports apps.
Buy at Amazon
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Garmin Instinct Smartwatch with GPS
$190 $300
A true outdoors-focused smartwatch, the Garmin Instinct sports a rugged profile and a durable build, with multiple global navigation satellite systems to keep you on the right track.
Buy at Amazon
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Garmin Vivoactive 4S GPS Smartwatch
$250 $350
Built to accomodate a smaller wrist, Garmin’s Vivoactive 4S features GPS tracking, music, energy monitoring and more.
Buy at Amazon
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Garmin Instinct Smartwatch
$190 $300
Looking for a quality smartwatch and GPS tracker? Designed to withstand the harshest of environments, Gramin’s wristwatch features a GPS tracker to help you explore uncharted lands.
Buy at Amazon
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Garmin Forerunner 945 Smartwatch with Music
$535 $600
Serious runners and fitness junkies looking to track their workouts and adventures will find love with this watch. It has built-in sensors for accurate tracking plus support for different sports.
Buy at Amazon
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Garmin Vivomove 3S Hybrid Smartwatch in Rose Gold/Navy Blue
$193 $250
Dress to impress with this hybrid smartwatch which combines analog good looks with advanced smart features and up to five days’ battery life in smart mode.
Buy at Amazon
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Garmin Instinct Outdoor GPS Watch
$170 $300
Garmin’s GPS watch ensures that you will not get lost traversing the great outdoors. It also has a Trackback feature to help you return to your starting point.
Buy at Amazon
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Garmin Fenix 5 Plus Sapphire Edition GPS Smartwatch
$350 $750
The Garmin Fenix 5 Plus Sapphire Edition GPS Smartwatch is a flagship model that boasts a rugged design for any adventure seeker. It also features health tracking to help you achieve your fitness goal
Buy at Adorama
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Garmin Forerunner 645, GPS Running Watch
$310 $400
The Garmin Forerunner 645 is designed primarily for runners, although it is capable of doing so much more. Easily download up to 500 songs right to your watch for enjoyment with wireless headphones.
Buy at Amazon
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Garmin Venu GPS Smartwatch
$278 $350
Get up and at ’em with this smartwatch, which features all-day health monitoring and sleep tracking plus lets you listen to your favorite tracks from Spotify, Amazon Music, and more from your wrist.
Buy at Amazon
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Garmin Fenix 5X Sapphire Smartwatch (GPS, 51mm) – Slate Gray with Black Band
$355 $600
The Garmin Fenix 5X may be an older model but it’s still a great sports watch, with Glonass tracking for challenging hikes, plus preloaded run profiles, full color Topo mapping, and long battery life.
Buy at Amazon
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Garmin Vivoactive 4
$270 $410
Pick up this silver smartwatch with a grey band and you can enjoy animated workouts to help you hone your technique, plus GPS, Pulse Ox sensors, and body energy monitoring.
Buy at Walmart
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Garmin Vivomove HR Hybrid Smartwatch
$160 $350
When is a smartwatch not a smartwatch? When it’s a stylish hybrid, like the Vivomove HR, which features wellness monitoring tools including sleep tracking and heart rate monitoring.
Buy at Amazon
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Garmin Vivofit Jr. Kids Activity Tracker
$39 $80
Get a great discount on this fitness tracker and get your little one moving and away from the TV, computer, or mobile. With a one-year battery life, it never needs recharging, and it’s swim-friendly.
Buy at Amazon
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Garmin Fenix 5 Sapphire – Black with Black Band
$300 $600
The Garmin Fenix 5 Sapphire is a flagship model that lives up to its name as a sterling multi-sport GPS watch. Amazon makes it less expensive by slashing a huge amount off its price tag.
Buy at Amazon
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Garmin vívoactive 3, GPS Smartwatch
$180 $280
The Garmin Vivoactive 3 comes with more than 15 preloaded GPS indoor and outdoor sports apps, including swimming with water resistance rated at 5ATM.
Buy at Amazon
How to choose a Garmin watch
Before jumping on the first cheap Garmin watch you find, establish what specific activity or activities you need a smartwatch for and how much you’re willing to spend. Once your budget is set and you’ve got a clear idea of what you’re going to use your watch for, it’s time to dive into specifics regarding which particular features you absolutely need, which ones you want but can live without, and which ones you don’t really care about. It’s not a bad idea to grab a pen and write this down so you’ve got a clear list you can refer to when you start shopping around for Garmin watch deals.
Even relatively cheap Garmin watches now feature things like GPS navigation and heart rate monitors today — things that were relegated to more expensive models when these wearables first hit the market a while ago — so don’t think you need to shell out a fortune for a nice suite of fitness tracking and health-monitoring functions. What you’ll get with the more expensive models are things like improved build quality for less forgiving outdoor conditions, increased water resistance, longer battery life, better daylight-bright displays, advanced tracking features, and conveniences like onboard music storage and pre-loaded navigational maps.
The Garmin wearable line features an impressive array of smartwatches, so you’ve got plenty of options that cover a nice range of activity-tracking features and price points. If you’re after a relatively cheap Garmin watch, then entry-level wearables like the Garmin Forerunner 35 running watch or the last-gen Garmin Vivoactive 3 are great choices if you don’t need all the latest bells and whistles but just want a solid, affordable smartwatch. These can easily be had for $150 or considerably less (the Forerunner 35 frequently dips below $100) when shopping around for Garmin watch deals, even outside of big seasonal sales.
Moving up in price from the cheap Garmin watches brings us to more full-featured models built for serious outdoor adventures and for those with more advanced health and fitness tracking needs. The Garmin Vivomove HR Sport, Garmin Forerunner 465, Garmin Vivoactive 4, Garmin Venu, and Garmin Instinct are a handful of examples that you can usually find in the $200-$400 range (or sometimes for less than that depending on what Garmin watch deals are available at the time). These wearables will be more ruggedly built, feature higher-resolution displays, and offer a more advanced suite of fitness, health, and wellness tracking functions and/or one tailored to specific activities like hiking, biking, or swimming.
Moving up to the serious enthusiast-grade Garmin wearables brings us to models like the Garmin Quatix 6, Garmin Forerunner 945, Garmin Fenix 6S Pro. They are the priciest of the bunch at around $500-$750 and therefore offer the biggest savings potential, so keep your radar tuned for these when you’re on the hunt for Garmin watch deals (seasonal sales are easily the best chance to save big here). The high-end enthusiast smartwatches will naturally boast the most rugged housings, highest waterproof ratings, largest set of fitness- and health-tracking functions, and the best and most vibrant color OLED displays.
We strive to help our readers find the best deals on quality products and services, and we choose what we cover carefully and independently. The prices, details, and availability of the products and deals in this post may be subject to change at anytime. Be sure to check that they are still in effect before making a purchase.Digital Trends may earn commission on products purchased through our links, which supports the work we do for our readers.