These days, a smartwatch comes with lots of features that help us track our daily activities, receive phone notifications on the wrist, play music, make cardless payments, and much more.
However, a feature that most people desperately look out for in a smartwatch is a heart rate monitor. With this feature, one can track their heartbeats and be aware of their overall heart health.
However, wrist-based heart rate trackers are not always super accurate, especially when compared to chest-based heart rate monitors. Despite that, people still prefer wrist-based heart monitors because they are more convenient to use and can be used to monitor heartbeats 24/7.
If you too prefer smartwatches with heart rate trackers over chest straps for monitoring your heart’s performance, then this article is for you.
Here, we bring to you the best Garmin watches with a built-in heart rate monitor because when it comes to fitness trackers, what could be better than the fitness trackers from Garmin?
Quick links to read the specific section of the article:
- Garmin Watch With Heart Rate Monitor Comparison Table
- Best Garmin Watches With Heart Rate Monitor
- FAQs
Top Garmin Watch With Heart Rate Monitor Comparison Table
IMAGE | PRODUCT | SPECIFICATIONS | VIEW ON AMAZON |
Best Overall  | Fenix 5X |
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Best For Music Lovers  | Garmin Forerunner 245 Music |
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Best For Golfers  | Garmin Approach S62 |
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Best Watch For Runners  | Garmin Forerunner 735XT |
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Best Garmin Watches With Heart Rate Monitor
1. Garmin Fenix 5X
Fenix 5X is a premium multisport smartwatch with lots of built-in features like GPS, compass, gyroscope, and barometric altimeter. These features and rugged design make Garmin Fenix 5X a tremendous outdoor smartwatch that you can take on adventures like hiking, camping, etc.
Apart from that, this watch also features a high-quality heart rate monitor, which tracks your heart rate 24/7, be it at rest or on an adventure. It shows you how your heart is performing in either condition.
Also, unlike other smartwatches criticized for their inaccurate readings, this watch’s heart rate tracking is super accurate. And if you are serious about monitoring your heart’s health, this smartwatch is what you should be looking at if you don’t want to go with chest straps.
Moreover, this smartwatch uses your heartbeats to monitor your sleep, calories consumed, and the intensity of your workouts. So you get a detailed insight into all your heart functions on your watch screen.
For reading all sorts of data, you need a brilliant screen, and that’s what you get on this smartwatch. It comes with a full-color Chroma Display with LED backlighting that makes it readable in all sorts of lighting conditions, be it under sunlight or darkroom.
And an additional feature of this watch that makes it a must-have for outdoor adventures is that it comes with GLONASS. For those who don’t know what GLONASS is, it is a satellite navigation system much like GPS. In this watch, you get two navigation systems for helping you track more challenging locations and environments that are not possible with GPS alone.
Since this watch is meant for outdoor usage, it is built in a rugged design. You will find stainless steel bezel, back cover, and buttons on it that gives this watch immense durability making it suitable for construction workers as well. However, that also makes this watch bulky and more oversized, which may not fit on smaller wrists.
Verdict:
Overall this smartwatch is a good buy for people looking for a perfect outdoor watch for hiking, camping, and rock climbing. However, this watch is also suitable for tracking your heart’s health with its accurate heart rate monitor.
2. Garmin Forerunner 245 Music
For runners who also love music, you should be thankful to Garmin for bringing a smartwatch that tracks your runs while allowing you to play music right from your wrist.
It comes with integrated GPS that helps you track your running stats more closely, such as distance covered, speed, and routes. On the other hand, it allows easy sync to music streaming platforms like Spotify to seamlessly play your favorite music tracks from your wrist.
It also features an optical heart rate sensor to track your heartbeats during a run and while you are at rest. It also evaluates how you are training to tell whether you are underperforming or overdoing it, which can drastically improve your training and prevent you from injuries if you are overtraining.
Forerunner 245 also gives you more advanced running stats and dynamics when coupled with HRM straps. The HRM (heart rate monitor) straps are wirelessly synced with the smartwatch and then worn on the chest while running.
The strap then collects accurate heart rate, and the smartwatch uses it to show more advanced stats like time balance, ground contact, vertical ratio, stride length, etc.
Apart from all this, you also get free training plans from Garmin Coach, which help you train for runs and marathons even better.
You can even create your personalized workouts if you don’t like the preloaded training plans on it.
Also, the battery backup on this watch is good enough to last a few training sessions. On one charge, it can give you seven days of backup if used in smartwatch mode or 6 hours if you use GPS and Music continuously on it.
Verdict:
This watch is for runners who crave more data and insights that can help them train better. Its ability to store and play music makes it a must-have for runners who love to listen to music while they train.
3. Garmin Approach S62
Garmin Approach S62 is a smartwatch for golfers with a heart rate monitor. Not all golf watches features heart rate tracking, but you get one on this smartwatch. It is probably one of the most advanced golf watches that you can buy right now.
Talking of the heart rate monitor, you can track your heartbeats with this smartwatch while playing your favorite sport, i.e., golf, and see how your heart performs during an activity or while at rest.
It also gives you access to 41000 courses worldwide, so you can play anywhere in the world if you have this watch on your wrist. However, it won’t fit you if you have a smaller wrist cause it’s bigger than most golf smartwatches out there.
S62 also works as a virtual caddie and helps golfers determine factors like distance, wind speed, and directions to indicate where they should aim in the map to score a hole in fewer strokes. It also has an important feature called PlaysLike Distance, which accounts for uphill, flat, and downhill shots.
This watch’s PinPointer feature helps you play blind shots of pins on the map that are not visible, by telling you the direction of that pin on the screen. It also allows you to position pins manually using the Green View feature.
The watch also offers a hazard view that shows you the difficult obstacles on the map like rivers, bunkers, etc. So you can safely and quickly doze them and play the game more efficiently.
Verdict
S62 approach is a high-end golf smartwatch that comes with a heart rate monitor, so if you want a smartwatch that can track your heartbeat while you play, you can get this watch blindfolded.
4. Garmin Forerunner 45S
Forerunner 45S is a budget-oriented running watch from Garmin that comes with an integrated GPS and heart rate monitor. You can purchase this smartwatch at half the price of what you pay for other premium smartwatches from Garmin.
It is also easy to use and an ideal smartwatch for beginners or those who have no experience with a smartwatch. Moreover, unlike other smartwatches that are huge and bulky, this watch is smaller in size and can fit on everyone’s wrist, be it a man or woman.
The heart rate tracker on this smartwatch also seems accurate for the price, and you won’t have any complaints about it. Along with heart rate, it also tracks your sleep and stress to offer you deep insights into your overall health. The amount of health tracking it provides at such a reasonable price is fantastic.
Also, being a runner’s watch it features a built-in GPS to monitor the running dynamics like distance, speed, intervals, etc. With integrated GPS, you don’t have to depend on your smartphone’s GPS to track your runs, and you can leave your phone at home.
This smartwatch is also compatible with Garmin Coach so that you can get guidance from expert coaches with free training plans. Whether you are a professional runner or a newbie, a bit of advice always helps you reach your goals earlier.
With this smartwatch, you always stay connected to the world as it shows you all the notifications from your phone on its screen, be it call alerts, text messages, emails, and social media notifications. You are always aware of everything without even touching your phone.
Also, it has a safety and tracking feature that is there for unwanted scenarios and emergencies. Using this feature, the smartwatch sends an emergency signal to your favorite contacts using your synced smartphone, which we think is a great feature to have in a fitness tracker for the elderly and ladies.
The battery is also good and will last for a week if you’re not training. And up to 14 hours if you’re training with GPS always on.
Verdict
Garmin 45S is an excellent running smartwatch for women and the elderly looking for a budget fitness tracker with heart monitoring features.
5. Garmin Vivomove HR
Garmin Vivomove HR is a special kind of watch that possesses every quality of a smartwatch except its looks.
These are called hybrid watches, created for people who like the design of classic wristwatches with analog dial but don’t want to miss the smartwatch features.
Garmin Vivomove HR is one such cheap hybrid smartwatch with a heart rate monitor that gives you the feeling of wearing a regular wristwatch but with all the basic smart features.
The first feature you get on this watch is evident from the product’s name itself. HR in Vivomove HR stands for heart rate, so you will surely get an integrated heart rate tracker for monitoring heartbeats.
Besides tracking your heart’s performance, it also monitors your stress levels 24/7 and helps you manage your stress efficiently. Also, it can track your sleep as well to help you understand your sleep patterns better.
It also shows other vital information like calories, steps, distance, etc, to help you track your health better. But when it has an analog watch face, where does it show all this information? You may ask.
This smartwatch features a hidden screen that only shows up when it has some information to show or share. The rest of the time, the touchscreen stays hidden, and all you see is a regular watch dial like on any normal watch.
Besides monitoring stats, you also get to see phone notifications on the hidden screen when you sync your phone with this watch. Yes, you can connect your smartphone wirelessly through the built-in Bluetooth connectivity on this smartwatch.
You can even control your music straight from this watches’ screen when your phone is paired with it, which is an excellent feature for music lovers. However, with all these benefits, the only let down of this watch is the absence of GPS. Yes, you don’t get GPS on it, so if you were looking to get it for sports training, it’s not for you.
Verdict
It’s a great-looking hybrid smartwatch for men and women with all basic smart features, including heart rate tracking.
6. Garmin Forerunner 735XT
If you are looking for an affordable multisport smartwatch that can help you train for multiple sports like running, cycling, swimming, etc., then the Forerunner 735XT is what you should be looking at.
Since it is a multisport smartwatch, it features a built-in GPS that helps you track your sports activity very closely and shows you all dynamics like your speed, distance, and more so that you can analyze your current performance and improve it for the race day.
It also features a wrist-based heart tracker that keeps an eye on your heartbeats during sports activity to help you measure the intensity of your workouts to motivate you to keep getting better.
The built-in heart rate monitor is not entirely accurate on this watch or any smartwatch for that matter, and therefore to get advanced reports, you’ll have to match it with an external chest strap that sends accurate data to the smartwatch for further calculations.
Once the smartwatch gets the accurate heartbeat readings from the chest strap, it will show you a detailed dynamics report, including stride length, ground contact time balance, vertical ratio, and much more for sports like running, swimming, and cycling.
Also, when this smartwatch is paired with an external HRM chest strap, it shows lactate threshold and VO2 max reports, which tells whether or not you have reached your maximum potential. By knowing this, you can save yourself from injuries that can occur due to overtraining.
Also, you get a fantastic battery life on this watch that helps you train for 14 hours straight(with GPS on). And will last up to 11 days on one full charge if used in the smartwatch mode.
This smartwatch is also well built and is shock and waterproof(to some extent), so you can train with it in any condition. However, the screen is not super durable and is prone to scratches if not handled carefully.
Verdict
Forerunner 735XT is one of the best multisport Garmin watches compatible with heart rate straps that can help athletes train better for sports like running, cycling, and swimming.
7. Forerunner 35
Forerunner 35 is the cheapest Garmin watch with a heart rate monitor. So if your budget is tight and you still want to get a Garmin GPS watch with a heart rate monitor, then the Forerunner 35 is the best option for you.
This budget smartwatch uses the Garmin elevate wrist heart rate technology with optical heart rate sensors to track your heart rate 24/7.
Also, it can track your daily fitness activities like calories, steps, and workout intensity, which is overwhelming for a watch that costs you under 100 bucks.
Not to forget about the GPS on this smartwatch that lets you track your running dynamics like speed, distance, and routes, which overall helps you train better.
Moreover, it’s easy to use a smartwatch that features a non-touch display. For operating the functions, you have buttons on the side of the screen that makes it easier for beginners to handle the smartwatch.
You can also sync this smartwatch with your smartphone to get social media, call and text notifications on your wrist. So you can always stay alert of what’s happening on your phone without even looking at it.
Also, when this smartwatch is synced with your phone, it automatically uploads your recorded activity to Garmin Connect so that you don’t lose any of your critical data. Garmin Connect is a free fitness community where you can share your progress with others as you meet your goals and can also join challenges and receive insights.
Although it’s a budget smartwatch from Garmin, the build quality is not compromised and you get a decently built device that is lightweight and comfortable to wear all day around.
Verdict
Forerunner 35 is a cheap smartwatch for runners, especially beginners who want a Garmin GPS watch with a heart rate monitor but under budget.
FAQs
Which Garmin Smartwatch Has The Best Heart Rate Monitor?
Garmin Forerunner and Fenix watches have the most accurate heart monitoring like the Fenix 5x and Forerunner 245 Music, and 735XT.
How Accurate Are Garmin Watches Heart Rate?
Talking of Garmin watches, they have decent heart rate monitors that offer almost exact readings.
What To Do If My Garmin Is Not Picking Up My Heart Rate?
If your Garmin smartwatch is not picking up your heart rate monitor, then you can try hard resetting the heart monitor and then re-enable it.. If it still doesn't pick up your pulse rate then it could be due to loose-fitting of the watch.
