The best fitness tracker with GPS in 2024

As one of the best Garmin watches, the Forerunner 265 earns its place at the top of the tree thanks to a blend of great health and fitness tracking features, and – crucially - top notch GPS. With multi-band support for GPS, GLONASS and Galileo GNSS systems, the Forerunner 265 also uses Garmin’s SatIQ technology to decide the best GPS mode to use depending on your environment. This means the watch can switch between different GPS modes to maximise battery life, without compromising accuracy. 

As well as excellent GPS, the Forerunner 265 also has a brilliant AMOLED display, super battery life of up to 13 days, and access to a host of Garmin’s insights to help you get fitter and healthier. Body Battery, Morning Report, suggested workouts and training plans, plus training readiness and training status scores. Add in all the usual metrics – heart rate and heart rate variability, blood oxygen, sleep, steps and calories burn tracking, and you’ve got an all-round superstar. 

It doesn’t offer the map support that you find on more expensive Garmin watches. And with an RRP of £429.99, it certainly isn’t the cheapest device on our shortlist. But it is not the most expensive either. And, its impressive package of features, coupled with the superb GPS it offers, make this tough to beat.

If you’re interested in tracking your runs, walks and bike rides, but you want to keep your costs down, our top budget pick is the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Pro. Released in early 2024, it offers an awful lot for a seriously impressive price – its RRP is just £59.99, and honestly? You’ll struggle to find many devices with built-in GPS for under £100.  

It’s a comprehensive set of GNSS systems – BeiDou, GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and QZSS – helping to make this as accurate as possible. And while this is undoubtedly a fitness tracker, rather than a smartwatch, a large AMOLED screen makes it easy to track your progress as you go. You’ll also get heart rate, blood oxygen, stress and sleep tracking, alongside step counting and calorie burn estimates. It even claims to track over 150 different sports, including (for some reason) eSports. We’re slightly sceptical of how well it can do this, but at this price, it isn’t a deal breaker. 

Now, while we’ve extolled the virtues of this device and its price, there are some compromises. The companion app – Mi Fitness – is pretty basic. You won’t get much in the way of actionable insights and support. There are also some question marks over how well it tracks many of those common health metrics, such as sleep and heart rate. But that’s probably to be expected when it’s so inexpensive.

Even someone who is just dipping their toe into fitness tracking will have heard of Garmin. As the de-facto leader when it comes to advanced sensor and GPS technologies, the company have consistently delivered on their promises. The Venu Sq Music Edition is a rather special little gadget, as the list of tracked metrics is super-impressive. Here we have respiration, steps and calories, distance, intensity minutes; stress, menstruation cycle, hydration, and sleep. If there's a tracker here that is suitable for most activities - even golfing - this is it.

It also comes with TrueUp - a feature that allows you to wear and sync data collected from multiple activity trackers if you have them. Move IQ is another cutting-edge feature, as it can intelligently detect what exercise you're doing based on your movements. Once you're done working out, the Garmin Connect app can use that data to identify familiar exercising patterns - even as selective as using an elliptical machine - and tag them. The training, planning and analysis features here are quite impressive. Garmin Coach will join you on your wrist to keep you on track too. Added smartwatch goodies include Garmin P for contactless payments, and customisations and apps via the Connect IQ store.

Last but certainly not least is the fact that this is the Music Edition of the Garmin Venu Sq. There's enough internal storage space to leave your phone at home. Download your favourite music and playlists right onto your watch. Genius.

Fitbit's newest version in the Charge range, the Charge 6 is the best fitness tracker from the brand so far. It offers lots of features you’d usually expect to find in more expensive devices, such as built-in GPS and ECG (electrocardiogram) functions. And it still manages to put all this in a package that shouldn’t cost you more than £140 (and we have seen it on offer for less than £120).  

The Charge 6 uses GPS and GLONASS systems, giving you a good chance of being able to accurately track any outdoor activities you do. There’s also integration with Google Maps which can give you directions on your wrist – particularly handy if you are somewhere new and aren’t sure where you’re going. It’s also one of the smallest devices on our shortlist, so if you prefer a lozenge-shaped fitness tracker to a more traditional watch design, this could be a good choice for you. 

It also features an upgraded PPG sensor, to provide the most accurate heart rate and blood oxygen tracking of any Fitbit. You can also monitor body temperature variations, stress, sleep, and plenty of different types of exercise – over 40, in fact. You can get extra insights into your fitness thanks to the Cardio Fitness and Daily Readiness scores, although you will need a Fitbit Premium subscription to access all your data. Paying extra for this is a big negative, and for some, won’t be worth it. But you do get six months free to try it out.

There's no doubt that Polar is one of the top brands when it comes to fitness trackers and tracking sensors. The Vantage V3 is a significant step up from earlier versions. Naturally, this will monitor your heart rate, step count, sleep and so on, but it also offers a seriously impressive array of features, with a laser-focus on training and recovery support.

The sizable AMOLED touch screen will help you to track your calories, distance, steps and more. Thankfully, that gorgeous colour screen has toughened Gorilla glass – so it'll look just as great as you'll feel after training.

Senior Writer and Reviewer Steven Shaw recently spent time with the Polar Vantage V3. Here's what he had to say: "Polar has worked hard to make sure the Vantage V3 keeps up with the competition. As a result, there is an abundance of training and recovery features that make this watch suitable for almost any athlete.

"I was really impressed by how well the Vantage V3 performed. Polar has introduced a new 'Elixir' biosensor, and it appears to have made a big impact, compared to the slightly underwhelming performance of the Polar Vantage V2. I felt it performed brilliantly.

"If you're a serious athlete, or a dedicated fitness enthusiast, you'll get plenty from the Polar Vantage V3. The suite of training and recovery metrics is comprehensive and offers far more insight than many more basic fitness trackers. The display is superb, battery life is very respectable, and the app is comprehensive. Simply, it's one of the best devices I've tested, and one of the best fitness watches currently available." 

Read the full review.

Pound for pound, the Coros Pace 3 is one of the best value devices on our shortlist, offering outstanding GPS tracking and in-depth training features that committed athletes will love. It’s also got an eye-catching price tag of just £219, making it one of the most affordable devices on our shortlist. 

The Pace 3 supports multiband GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou and QZSS satellite systems, and can connect to all five of these systems at the same time. This allows users to get a solid system in almost any environment and promises to be among the most accurate out there. You can send routes from apps such as Strava to the Coros app, and the watch will then provide turn-by-turn navigation as you go.  

Alongside the superb GPS, the Pace 3 has an improved PPG sensor to provide better heart rate, sleep and blood oxygen tracking, while a barometric altimeter can detect your elevation as well. Battery life is also impressive, with 38 hours of continuous use in GPS mode, and 17 days of normal use promised by Coros. Coros also offers plenty of training plans to help support your running. 

Design-wise, it’s also incredibly light, which is ideal for long runs. The memory-in-pixel display isn’t as clear or bright as the best AMOLED displays on other devices, but it does help extend that impressive battery life, and is still easy to read. It may not have as many features as some more expensive watches, but this is an excellent running watch at an affordable price.

If you’re an iPhone user and want the most integrated smartwatch experience, then an Apple Watch is ideal for you. Of the three current models, our pick is the Apple Watch SE, which offers plenty of features for the most affordable price. 

The Apple Watch SE supports GPS, GNSS, QZSS and Galileo systems, giving you a good chance of picking up at least one satellite system when you’re out and about. Unlike many of the devices on this list, it doesn’t support multi-band or dual-frequency GPS. This means that it may not be as accurate in built-up, densely forested, or mountainous areas, for example. But, for most people, it will be good enough to track daily walks, runs and the like. And crucially, its RRP from £219 makes it far cheaper than the Apple Watch Ultra 2 (RRP from £799) - the only current Apple watch that does support dual-frequency GPS.  

Aside from the GPS, the Apple Watch SE offers loads of health and fitness tracking features, including heart rate, sleep, and activity metrics. It’s one of the most user-friendly smartwatches around and integrates seamlessly into the rest of the Apple ecosystem. Yes, there are compromises in performance. But the balance between features and cost makes this the best Apple Watch with GPS for most people.

If you love the great outdoors, then a watch that can cope with all your adventurers is important. The Coros Vertix 2S is the brand's flagship adventure watch, with a rugged design built to cope with almost anything you might throw at it. With a titanium bezel, scratch resistant sapphire glass display, and incredible battery life of up to 40 days, it really is built to go a long way off the beaten track.

A big part of this is the improved GPS antenna. The watch supports dual-frequency multi-band GNSS, so wherever you are in the world, it stands a good chance of being able to quickly and accurately pinpoint your location. The watch can link up with all five major satellite networks – GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, and BeiDou. The large display is great for navigation, and you can also create routes and download them onto the watch.

Steven Shaw tested this watch for What's The Best. In his review, he wrote: "This is the best watch Coros currently offers. It covers all the essentials I'd expect to see in a good sports watch. It's highly accurate, consistent, and comfortable.

"While the Vertix 2S isn't the cheapest among its peers, I still consider it fair value. You get an excellent watch that's built for the outdoors, with lots of metrics for tracking your health and fitness.

"I really enjoyed wearing this watch, although I personally prefer something a little smaller on my wrist. The Vertix 2S won't appeal to everyone. But for adventurous types, there really is a lot to like."

Google's Pixel Watch 2 is a beautiful combination of glass and aluminium, which looks and feels incredibly premium. It’s incredibly light, and the AMOLED display is stunning. If you want a watch that looks great, this is right up there. As well as being easy on the eye, it’s also got plenty of impressive specs to back it up, as we found when we reviewed the product.

GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS and BeiDou are all supported by the Pixel Watch 2, and the watch connects to GPS incredibly quickly when preparing to use it. Even in built up areas such as a city, you can expect to accurately track whatever route you take. It isn’t, however, the multi-band support you get on some other devices. 

As you'd probably expect, the Pixel watch 2 also tracks heart rate, stress, sleep and blood oxygen metrics, while Pace and Heart Zone Training tools support you in trying to smash a PB. There's also an ECG app to let you check for signs of atrial fibrillation, a common form of irregular heart rhythm. 

Overall, you're getting a smartwatch that offers a brilliant combination of style and substance, and the RRP from £349 isn't overpriced either (we've even seen it for under £300). It won't work with an iPhone though, so this one is solely for Android phone users.

With an RRP from £139.99, the Huawei watch Fit 3 is one of the cheapest devices on our shortlist, but still offers plenty of health and fitness tracking features, as well as built-in GPS. This watch supports single-band, five-system GNSS – which means it can connect to GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou and QZSS, but only one at a time. This means it will be less precise than the best devices, but for many, it will be correct enough to track walks, runs and bike rides. 

It's compatible with both Android (although due to Huawei’s ban from the Play Store, you’ll need to sideload the app) and iOS devices, and it offers lots of smartwatch features, including on-wrist phone calls, standalone music playback, and a remote shutter function to let you use your phone camera from your wrist. Battery life is also very respectable compared with many smartwatches, with up to 10 days between charges promised by Huawei. 

As the name suggests, it's very much designed to support your health and fitness goals. Huawei claims the Watch Fit 3 can track over 100 different activity types, while heart rate, blood oxygen, sleep and menstrual cycle tracking are all available. There are also guided animations, a race pace setter, calorie tracking and nutritional analysis, and – if you’re a fan of the activity rings on an Apple Watch – Huawei has introduced something eerily similar.  

The RRP of £139.99 makes this a more affordable alternative than many other smartwatches, and while the GPS isn't the absolute best out there, it will do the job for any casual exerciser.

Last, but by no means least on our list, is the Garmin Forerunner 255. If you're looking for an affordable Garmin device that still packs plenty of the excellent features Garmin is known for, this is the device we'd recommend. It’s almost identical to the Forerunner 265 which tops our list, although it lacks the beautiful AMOLED display of the newer device. Instead, it has a memory-in-pixel display that's good, but just not as good as AMOLED. 

If that doesn't bother you, then you're getting an excellent watch at a much more affordable price – the RRP is £299.99, but we've regularly seen it on offer for much less than this. And it still offers the same superb GPS tracking as most other Garmin devices. Multi-band GNSS support is available for GPS, GLONASS and Galileo, while SatIQ helps keep the signal as strong as possible.  

You'll also get all the usual health and fitness tracking features you’d expect, including heart rate, sleep, blood oxygen and stress tracking, as well as Garmin's excellent Body Battery Fitness Age, and VO2 Max measurements. It’s a great package, and if you don’t necessarily need the newest watch in the range, it will still do a fantastic job at tracking your whereabouts.