10 Best Garmin Heart Rate Monitor Watches 2025 in the United States

The Garmin Forerunner 265S is a strong choice for runners and active individuals looking for a reliable heart rate monitor watch. Its standout feature is the bright, colorful AMOLED touchscreen paired with traditional buttons, making it easy to navigate even during workouts. Designed with a smaller 42mm case, it fits comfortably on smaller wrists while remaining lightweight. Battery life is impressive, offering up to 15 days in regular smartwatch mode and around 24 hours with GPS running, so you won’t need to charge it often during your training cycles.

It includes advanced heart rate monitoring and offers detailed training insights like recovery status, HRV (heart rate variability), and personalized suggested workouts that adapt to your performance and recovery, helping you train smarter. The watch supports over 30 activity profiles including running, cycling, and swimming, and includes safety features like incident detection that can alert emergency contacts when paired with your phone. GPS accuracy is enhanced with multi-band GNSS and SatIQ technology, ensuring better location tracking even in tricky environments. Smart notifications keep you connected without pulling out your phone.

The Forerunner 265S combines vibrant visuals, strong battery life, and useful training and safety features in a compact design, making it an excellent option for runners and fitness enthusiasts seeking a versatile, easy-to-use heart rate monitor watch.

The Garmin Venu 3S is a versatile smartwatch featuring a bright 1.2-inch AMOLED touchscreen display. This device excels in heart rate monitoring, providing wrist-based heart rate tracking along with stress tracking and Body Battery energy monitoring. This makes it highly suitable for users interested in comprehensive health insights. With built-in GPS and over 30 sports apps, including walking, running, swimming, and golf, it is perfect for fitness enthusiasts. The watch offers up to 10 days of battery life in smartwatch mode, reducing the need for frequent recharges.

Water-resistant and equipped with a 41mm case, it's designed to withstand various activities, including swimming. The convenience of making and taking phone calls from the wrist, voice assistant integration, and the ability to respond to texts directly from the watch are significant smart features that enhance everyday usability. The sleek design with a soft gold stainless steel bezel and silicone band ensures comfort and style, appealing to casual users.

However, the battery capacity of 4 milliamp hours might appear low, potentially affecting battery longevity under heavy usage. Additionally, while the 1.2-inch screen is clear and vibrant, it may be small for users who prefer larger displays. The Garmin Venu 3S is a well-rounded smartwatch catering to a wide range of users, particularly those focused on health and fitness, without compromising on style and smart features.

The Garmin fēnix 7 Pro Sapphire Solar is a robust multisport GPS smartwatch designed for athletes and outdoor enthusiasts who want detailed performance tracking and long battery life. Its standout feature is the solar charging lens, which extends battery life significantly by using sunlight, allowing for weeks of use in smartwatch mode without frequent recharging. The 1.3-inch round display is clear and responsive, combining touchscreen and button controls, making it easy to operate in various conditions.

It offers advanced heart rate monitoring along with additional health metrics like HRV and Pulse Ox, giving a good overview of your fitness and recovery, with readings that provide valuable insights though they are estimates and not medical-grade. GPS tracking is enhanced with multi-band GPS and SatIQ technology, improving location accuracy and battery efficiency, which is great for hiking, running, or skiing. The built-in LED flashlight is a useful addition for low-light training or outdoor adventures. Activity tracking covers a wide range of sports with specialized features like running power and new endurance scores, helping athletes better understand their training effects. Water resistance is designed to meet outdoor activity demands, making the watch suitable for swimming or rain exposure.

Smart features include Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, preloaded topographic and golf maps, and advanced navigation prompts, making it versatile for daily use and exploration. Although the watch is a bit on the heavier side at 73 grams, its sturdy titanium build supports durability. The combination of price and feature set makes it an excellent choice for serious multisport users who want in-depth data and long-lasting performance, while casual users might find it more complex than needed.