Choosing between the best entry-level AMOLED running watches? This is the comparison for you.
The battle for the best affordable running watch has shifted. For years, this was a choice between the Garmin Forerunner 55’s basic specs and the Coros Pace series’s alternative charm.
In the last couple of years, though, with the launch of the Coros Pace 4 and Garmin Forerunner 165, things have evolved. Both brands have embraced vibrant AMOLED displays in their entry-level watches, which gives them a much more premium feel.
Indeed, they’re not the absolute cheapest running watches you can buy—you can look at much older generations for that—but these are the two best options in late 2025 (and until either brand releases a follow-up) to consider if you want a current-gen, well-balanced option at the lowest conceivable price.
Here at Wareable, we’ve completed in-depth reviews of both the Pace 4 and the Forerunner 165, living with them through marathon training blocks and daily wear. Below, then, we’ve broken down the key differences between these two standout devices to help you decide which one deserves a spot on your wrist.
Price and competition
The Coros Pace 4 arrived in November 2025 as a significant update to a cult classic, adding a punchy screen to its renowned battery life and lightweight build. Its MSRP is a little higher than the previous-gen Coros Pace 3, at $249/£229. However, this remains a very aggressive price for a watch offering dual-frequency GPS and an AMOLED screen.
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The Garmin Forerunner 165, meanwhile, was launched back in March 2024. It debuted at a relatively high price point for an entry-level watch—$249/£249 for the standard non-music version, and $299/£289 for the ‘Music’ edition. However, as the device has matured, we frequently see all SKUs for the running watch discounted to around $200-$250/£200-£250.
This price erosion means the two watches often sit at virtual price parity—and, if you don’t care about music, the standard 165 is actually often cheaper.
Design and display
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Both brands have converged on a similar philosophy here: keep things light, comfortable, and plastic. Both watches weigh around 40g and are encased in polymer shells. While neither feels particularly luxurious compared to a metal-bezel Fenix or Apple Watch, they disappear on the wrist, which is exactly what you want during a long run (or while sleeping).
The displays are also remarkably similar on paper. Both feature 1.2-inch AMOLED panels with 390 x 390 resolution. In use, we found them both to be sharp and vibrant.
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Garmin’s interface tends to be punchier out of the box, whereas Coros defaults to a more conservative brightness setting to preserve battery life. You have to manually boost the Pace 4’s brightness to get that true pop. Once you do, though, these are very similar panels—and both are perfectly readable even in sunlight.
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The major physical difference lies in the controls. The 165 hosts Garmin’s classic five-button layout combined with a touchscreen—and, for our money, this remains the gold standard for sports watches, allowing for easy laps, pauses, and menu navigation without covering the screen.
The Pace 4 relies on a single digital crown (scroll wheel), a back button, and the touchscreen. The crown is excellent for scrolling through data fields, but we find buttons superior for stopping and starting runs with sweaty hands or gloves.
Sports tracking and accuracy
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On the spec sheet, the Coros Pace 4 takes a clear lead with its dual-frequency GPS as standard. This technology allows the watch to communicate with two satellite frequencies, theoretically improving accuracy near tall buildings or under dense tree cover. The 165, instead, only features single-band GPS.
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However, our real-world testing suggests this gap is smaller than the specs imply. Garmin’s modern single-band GPS is still exceptionally reliable. In 95% of running scenarios—suburbs, open roads, and parks—we found the Forerunner 165’s tracks virtually indistinguishable from the Pace 4’s.
You will likely only notice the Coros’s advantage if you regularly run in the jagged canyons of a financial district or plan on racing in plenty of double-sided city streets, but, otherwise, it’s probably not worth worrying about too much.
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Heart rate accuracy is a similar consideration. The Forerunner 165 uses Garmin’s older Gen 4 sensor—and, while certainly not as robust as the Gen 5 equivalent found on higher-priced models, it’s certainly good enough for most beginner trackers.
In our testing, it handled steady runs and intervals with aplomb, rarely deviating from our chest strap control.
The Pace 4, on the other hand, was also solid but remains a bit prone to hiccups during high-intensity intervals and gym work, occasionally lagging behind spikes in heart rate. For pure biometric reliability, the Garmin is the safer bet. But, as ever, we recommend pairing a chest strap if you’re experiencing inconsistencies in specific sessions or under certain weather conditions.
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Music, smart, and health features
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This is the most decisive area between the two devices. If you want to run without your phone but still listen to audio, the experience is vastly different.
The pricier ‘Music’ version of the 165 functions like all the best running watches with music do. It supports offline syncing with Spotify, Amazon Music, and Deezer. Provided you have a premium subscription to these services, you can sync playlists and podcasts directly to the watch over Wi-Fi. It is seamless, easy to update, and works exactly as you expect a modern device to.
The Coros Pace 4 technically supports music, but its implementation feels stuck in the past because it doesn’t support any streaming services. To get audio onto the watch, you have to own the digital MP3 files, plug the watch into a computer, and manually drag and drop them into the folder.
With only 4GB of storage, as well, it’s a clunky solution that feels archaic in 2025. Unless you curate a personal MP3 library, the music feature on the Pace 4 is largely redundant.
A limited package
Elsewhere, the smart experience—if you can call it that—is pretty identical. You get notification mirroring when your phone is in range, and a handful of watch faces to play around with, but this isn’t a patch on what you get with a ‘proper’ smartwatch like the Apple Watch.
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That’s also true of health features. You’ll get insights into some basic training-focused biomarkers, such as heart rate variability and overall training load, and how they fit alongside your sleep tracing performance. Yet, advanced features like ECG, sleep apnea, hypertension alerts, and others are only found on smartwatches or higher-priced sports watches.
Battery life
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Despite the shift to a power-hungry AMOLED screen, Coros has managed to retain its crown as the king of battery efficiency. The brand has a history of squeezing every drop of power out of its cells, and the Pace 4 is no exception.
Coros rates the Pace 4 for approximately 24 hours of continuous GPS tracking. In our testing, we found it comfortably outlasted the Garmin in daily mixed use. With the always-on display disabled and regular running, the Pace 4 can get to around 6 days—and obviously into the double-digit figures if you disable it.
The Forerunner 165 is respectable—and definitely enough for virtually any running workouts you’re likely to throw at it—but can’t quite match that endurance. It’s rated for 19 hours of GPS tracking, and our review testing showed that this estimation is about right.
In smartwatch mode with the always-on display active, you’ll need to charge it every 4 to 5 days, so it’s not quite as efficient as the Coros. But, ultimately, both are very comparable in this area—and, as ever, this is very variable based on how you plan to use your watch.
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Verdict: Which should you choose?
These are two very evenly matched watch generations—especially when you compare the Coros Pace 4 to the standard 165.
However, the Forerunner 165 Music is the more rounded, polished product. The inclusion of proper offline music support is a transformational feature, and its user interface, coaching features, and heart rate reliability make it a friendlier companion for new runners. But that’s caveated with the fact that it’s also the most expensive option available here.
So, although the Pace 4 lacks some of the polish and ecosystem partnerships of the Garmin, it punches above its weight in raw specifications. If you need dual-frequency GPS accuracy and want to charge your watch as infrequently as possible, it offers incredible value. It’s the better choice for the city runner and those who don’t care about music or other features. If there are no deals on the 165, it’s also the cheapest pick here.
