Garmin’s Most Basic GPS Running Watch Is Now $70 Off.
Ever since I ditched my expensive G-Shock watch ten years ago, I’ve relied on fitness trackers, and surprisingly, they’ve all been Garmin—and for good reason: Garmin makes excellent fitness trackers . If you’ve never owned a Garmin watch and want to give it a try, now’s the perfect time: Garmin’s best budget watch for runners, the Garmin Forerunner 55 , is on sale at its lowest price ever, according to price tracking services : $129 (original price: $199.99).
Lifehacker’s Senior Health Editor, Beth Skwaretsky, conducted extensive research to determine the best fitness watches for runners and named the Garmin Forerunner 55 the best budget option—especially thanks to its record-low price. The watch offers features historically only available in premium models, such as respiration rate tracking. The battery life is up to two weeks in standby mode and 20 hours with GPS tracking.
You can use the “Daily Training Guidance” feature to find the optimal mode for achieving your running goals. If you prefer running on a treadmill, in “Track” mode you can select a treadmill that provides precise pace for greater accuracy, recording your time in 100-meter intervals. Based on this data, you can also view a race prediction that will show how you’ll perform in a marathon and other distances, using your VO2 max and other metrics.
Although the Forerunner 55 was released in 2021 , it remains a great budget option in 2026, as Garmin is known for supporting its devices with updates for several years. For this price, you can get a great running companion that will track your miles, and still be able to pay next month’s rent.