Best Cheap Running Watches (Complete Reviews with Comparisons)

If you are really serious about running and the achievement of your fitness goals, a good running watch is always a helpful tool. That said, finding a good running watch can be difficult, especially for a decent price, but that is what we are here to discuss. Let’s get to it and help you find the best cheap running watches of 2019 right now.

Read Related Article: Best Budget Smartwatch

IMAGE PRODUCT
EDITOR’S CHOICE 1. Fitbit Charge 2
  • Great display
  • Heart rate, distance, steps, and more
  • Connected GPS
  • Text, email, call alerts
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RUNNER UP 2. Garmin Vivosmart
  • Decent durability
  • Low price
  • Various functions and tracking abilities
  • Connect to smart phone
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3. Garmin Forerunner 35
  • Awesome for running
  • Great satellite GPS abilities
  • Tracks various running metrics
  • 24/7 HR monitoring
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4. Fitbit Charge 3 Fitness Activity Tracker
  • Connected GPS feature
  • Measures various running vectors
  • Can be used for running, swimming, cycling, and more
  • Great battery life
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5. Polar M430 GPS Running Watch
  • Dedicated running watch
  • Very durable
  • Rechargeable
  • Has integrated GPS
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Best Cheap Running Watches: Reviews

1. Fitbit Charge 2

Here we have a nice activity tracker and fitness monitor that comes in at a reasonable price and works just fine for running.
Review
The Fitbit Charge 2 is actually a cool little smartwatch, as it can connect to your phone, which then allows you to receive text, email, calls, and calendar alerts through it. Moreover, when connected to your smartphone, you can use the connected GPS function. This then allows you to monitor various fitness vectors including distance, pace, steps, calories burned, and heart rate too.
Now, this is not exactly a dedicated running watch, but it is a fitness monitor, and it can be used for running. What’s nice is that the Fitbit Charge 2 is also a sleep tracker, plus it comes with multiple sport modes. This particular model is quite durable, and water-resistant, although swimming with it is a bit risky. You get a nice OLED display, but on the other hand, the battery life is not the best.
PROS
  • Great display
  • Heart rate, distance, steps, and more
  • Connected GPS
  • Text, email, call alerts
  • Sleep tracker

CONS

  • Limited battery life
  • Probably best not to swim with it

2. Garmin Vivosmart

This is an even more affordable option than the one we just looked at. It’s not super fancy, but it’s durable, accurate, and versatile enough, especially for its low price.
Review
This Garmin Vivosmart is a good option to go with because it can measure steps, distance, calories, floors climbed, activity intensity, and heart rate, which should be more than enough for basic needs. It’s not a running watch in the sense that it doesn’t measure laps and lap pace, but for general running and jogging, it should work just fine. It might not be 100% accurate, but it gets pretty close.
You can connect the Garmin Vivosmart to your smartphone to use the app for data tracking, and when connected to your phone, you can use the GPS function as well, not to mention that it allows you to receive calls and text alerts, plus more as well. It doesn’t have great battery life, but for the low price, we aren’t going to complain.
PROS
  • Decent durability
  • Low price
  • Various functions and tracking abilities
  • Connect to smartphone
  • Call and text alerts, plus more

CONS

  • Limited battery life
  • Wrist band could be more comfortable

3. Garmin Forerunner 35

This is the first item on the list today intended to be a specialized running watch. It doesn’t cost too much, has great features, and pretty good durability too.
Review
What is really nice about the Garmin Forerunner 35 is that it comes with built-in GPS and can quickly acquire satellites, even under tree cover, and it does a great job at measuring your route, distance, pace, calories, steps taken, and more. It’s one of the better runnings watches out there at this time, especially considering its low price.
Moreover, the Garmin Forerunner 35 features 24/7 heart rate monitoring, which you can then keep track of and view on the Garmin fitness app. What’s also nice is that it is quite lightweight, comfortable, and ergonomically designed, so it won’t get in your way while running. All of that said, the battery life on this thing is definitely not stellar.
PROS
  • Awesome for running
  • Great satellite GPS abilities
  • Tracks various running metrics
  • 24/7 HR monitoring
  • Quite comfortable

CONS

  • Battery life is lackluster
  • Don’t get it wet

4. Fitbit Charge 3 Fitness Activity Tracker

Alright, so the Fitbit Charge 3 Fitness Activity Tracker is not really cheap and is the most expensive option on the list today. That said, it’s probably the highest quality one.
Review
The Fitbit Charge 3 Fitness Activity Tracker is a full-blown fitness tracker that can handle 15 different exercises, and it comes with all modes included, and yes, running is one of them. This item can track heart rate, distance, steps, calories, and more. What we like about the Fitbit Charge 3 Fitness Activity Tracker is that it is swim-proof.
If you connect this item to your smartphone, you can also use the GPS features to track pace and other running vectors too. The Fitbit Charge 3 Fitness Activity Tracker is also a sleep tracker. All in all, we have to say that this item is very durable, it has excellent battery life, and is very accurate in terms of monitoring.
PROS
  • Connected GPS feature
  • Measures various running vectors
  • Can be used for running, swimming, cycling, and more
  • Great battery life
  • Awesome durability

CONS

  • Definitely not cheap

5. Polar M430 GPS Running Watch

There are much more expensive running watches out there than this one, but that said, we still wouldn’t say that this is the cheapest one around, not by far, although it is a high-quality model.
Review
The Polar M430 GPS Running Watch measures various running vectors, it can track your route, distance, time running, pace, calories burned, steps, and heart rate too, and it comes with integrated GPS, and a rechargeable battery, although when using the GPS, the battery does not last very long.
Moreover, the Polar M430 GPS Running Watch is one of the more durable options out there right now, and when connected to your phone, can receive smartphone notifications too, such as call, text, email, and calendar alerts too.
PROS
  • Dedicated running watch
  • Very durable
  • Rechargeable
  • Has integrated GPS
  • Quite comfortable

CONS

  • Quite expensive
  • Limited battery life

Conclusion

What it comes down to is if you would rather have a cheap running watch, a decent running watch, or a full blown activity tracker. Of course, you do get what you pay for, so the choice is yours. Personally, we would recommend investing a bit more cash to get a quality item.

Andrew Wyatt

Andrew Wyatt

Andrew Wyatt has been a tech geek for as long as he can remember. Whether it's laptops, cameras, or projects, he's obsessed with it all. When he's not researching the latest tech products, he likes to go on long hikes with his dogs.

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