The cheapest Forerunner in Garmin’s current line-up is a great option for runners thanks to its reliable tracking and extensive training analysis, but it lacks the smart features you get on pricier models.
The Coros Pace 4 is a full triathlon watch with long battery life for a small device with an AMOLED display. After using it for over six months, I’ve been very impressed with the Pace 4’s accuracy and usability.
When I first started testing the best running watches over a decade ago, the cheapest models on the market were pretty basic. They offered simple tracking with mixed levels of accuracy, and pretty much no training analysis or extra features.
These days, entry-level watches like the Garmin Forerunner 70 and Coros Pace 4 are absolutely packed with features and easily good enough to cover the essentials for runners of all levels, not just beginners.
I’ve been testing the Coros Pace 4 for over six months now, having used it for the London Marathon, and I’ve been comparing it directly to the Garmin Forerunner 70 since it launched recently, including using both for a 10K race.
Both are outstanding options for runners at a great price, but the Pace 4 offers more to triathletes and has some extras like multi-band GPS and a barometer; the Forerunner 70 offers better training analysis and a more polished design and user interface.
I’ve outlined what I consider the key differences between the two watches below, and there’s more detail on each in our full Coros Pace 4 review and Garmin Forerunner 70 review.
Garmin Forerunner 70 vs Coros Pace 4: Price and availability
The Coros Pace 4 launched in November 2025 and costs $249 / £229 for the standard version of the watch, and $279 / £249 for the aluminium model, which has a metal bezel.
Garmin launched the Forerunner 70 alongside the Garmin Forerunner 170 in May 2026. The Forerunner 70 costs $249 / £219 and sits below the Forerunner 170 (from $299 / £259) in the Garmin line-up, lacking some of the smart features and extra sensors that are on the Forerunner 170.
The Pace 4 and Forerunner 70 both sit at the bottom of their respective brand’s line-ups, but are still packed with useful sports tracking features and are among the best value sports watches you can get right now.
Garmin Forerunner 70 vs Coros Pace 4: Specs
Coros Pace 4 |
Garmin Forerunner 70 |
|
Price |
$249.99/£229.99; $279.99/£249.99 (Aluminium) |
$249.99/£219.99 |
Size |
43.4 x 11.8mm |
42.6 x 11.9mm |
Display |
1.2in 390 x 390 AMOLED |
1.2in 390 x 390 AMOLED |
Bezel |
Plastic or aluminium |
Plastic |
Screen |
Glass |
Glass |
Weight |
40-41g |
40g |
Water resistance |
5ATM |
5ATM |
Battery life (watch mode) |
Up to 19 days |
Up to 13 days |
Battery life (GPS) |
24 hours (multi-band GPS, always-on) |
16 hours (all-systems GPS, always-on) |
Storage |
4GB |
512MB |
Garmin Forerunner 70 vs Coros Pace 4: Design and display
The Coros Pace 4 and Garmin Forerunner 70 are both small, lightweight watches with plastic designs (aside from the aluminum bezel on the more expensive Pace 4 model). I found both very comfortable to wear for long periods, and they fit well on slim wrists.
Despite the small designs, the 1.2” AMOLED displays are clear and easy to read on both in all conditions, even during runs where I usually show five or six stats at a time.
The Pace 4 has three buttons, one of which is a digital dial, whereas the Garmin has five buttons. I prefer the five-button design myself, as I find it more reliable than the dial on the Coros, which I often set off accidentally.
Both watches have optical heart rate monitors, but the Pace 4 has more sensors than the Forerunner 70, with a barometer, altimeter and compass. It also offers multi-band GPS tracking, whereas the most accurate is all-systems on the Forerunner 70.
The Coros Pace 4 can also connect to more sensors than the Forerunner 70, like cycling power meters, whereas the Forerunner 70 is much more focused on running.
Garmin Forerunner 70 vs Coros Pace 4: Sports tracking and training analysis
The main difference with sports tracking is that the Pace 4 is a full multisport watch with a triathlon mode where you can transition between swimming, cycling and running.
This isn’t available on the Forerunner 70, and it also doesn’t have an open-water swimming mode, which the Pace 4 does.
You get a little more training analysis on the Forerunner 70, most notably Garmin’s Training Readiness stat, which gives a rating out of 100 based on factors like recent sleep, stress and workouts.
Both watches offer training load analysis along with race predictions and VO2 max estimates, with enough data to satisfy even very keen runners.
Garmin Forerunner 70 vs Coros Pace 4: GPS & heart rate accuracy
Both watches have proved reliably accurate for me with GPS throughout my testing, which has included races with both. The Coros Pace 4 even produced a pretty accurate track during the Canary Wharf section of the London Marathon, which is notably difficult for watches.
In theory, the multi-band GPS option on the Pace 4 should be more accurate than the all-systems mode on the Forerunner 70, but in practice, Garmin’s all-systems mode is so reliable I’ve not seen any differences between the two watches in my testing so far.
Both logged almost exactly 10.00km in the 10K race I did, and the GPS tracks were essentially identical, as they have been on other runs with both watches.
When it comes to heart rate accuracy, both have been good, but the Garmin has tended to be a little more reliable than the Coros, especially at the start of runs.
In the 10K race, along with other runs with both watches, the Forerunner 70 heart rate reading has been accurate throughout, whereas the Pace 4 often reads high for a few minutes before locking onto my heart rate correctly.
My main takeaway here, though, is that these are both very accurate watches overall and match up well with devices that cost twice their price or more.
Garmin Forerunner 70 vs Coros Pace 4: Battery life
Battery life is always a strong area for Coros watches, and that’s the case in this comparison as well. The Pace 4 lasts up to 19 days on a charge, or six days with the always-on display, and offers 24 hours of multi-band GPS tracking.
The Garmin Forerunner 70 lasts up to 13 days in watch mode or five days with the screen on always-on mode, and offers 16 hours of all-systems GPS tracking.
In practice, I found that with the watches set to always-on running every day, I tend to get around 4.5 days out of the Forerunner 70 and just over five from the Pace 4. It’s not a major difference, but the Coros certainly lasts longer with normal use and also outstrips the Garmin for one ultra-long individual activity.
Garmin Forerunner 70 vs Coros Pace 4: Smart features
Garmin kept its best smart features for the Forerunner 170, so the Forerunner 70 doesn’t offer NFC payments or music storage, though it does offer more customization than the Coros Pace 4 and has access to more apps and widgets through the Garmin Connect IQ app store.
The Coros Pace 4 doesn’t have NFC payments either, but does offer music storage for MP3 files, which you can drag and drop onto the watch. It doesn’t link with streaming services though, so if you really want smart features, the Forerunner 170 is worth considering.
Neither watch has offline maps, but both offer breadcrumb navigation with turn-by-turn directions and a back-to-start pointer, which I always find handy if I get myself lost.
Garmin Forerunner 70 vs Coros Pace 4: Verdict
Both of these watches are excellent and accurate options that have impressed me throughout testing, but the Coros Pace 4 has a few important extra features, especially if you’re a triathlete.
It has better battery life, more sensors and also music storage, though this feature isn’t useful unless you have a lot of MP3 files on hand.
The Garmin has a nicer design in my opinion, and the user interface is more customizable with more smart widgets, like sports scores and stocks. It also has better training analysis for me, including the handy Training Readiness.
I don’t think there’s a clear winner here if none of those features sound vital to you, but one factor that could swing it in the future is the fact that Garmin does usually reduce its watches in big sales periods, whereas Coros doesn’t, so the Forerunner 70 could end up being cheaper.
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