As a personal trainer who’s tested over 20 wearables, I can confirm Garmin is the real deal: Of the many trackers I’ve worn over the last two years, Garmin’s watches consistently stand out as some of the most premium, accurate and durable on the market. To find the best Garmin watches for women, I considered the half-dozen Garmin models I’ve previously tested and weighed them against factors that matter most to women, such as comfort, variety of health-tracking features and overall wearability and design. The Garmin Venu 3S is my top recommendation for women because of its sleek design, universal appeal and comprehensive health insights.
To find the best Garmin watches for women, I relied on my previous testing background, which includes testing six different Garmin watches.
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Size: 41 millimeters | Weight: 1.4 ounces | Battery life: Up to 10 days | Water rating: 5 ATM
Best for:
Detailed recovery and sleep insightsBuilt-in workoutsEveryday wellness and fitness
Skip if:
You’re looking for a more barebones tracker
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Why I Named It Best Overall
The Garmin Venu 3S combines advanced activity and health tracking with a sleek, stylish profile, making it the clear choice for most active women. I’ve tested its sister model, the Garmin Venu 3, which won the title of best overall in my series on the best fitness trackers; the Venu 3S is essentially the same watch but with a smaller, more streamlined design that’s better suited for women. I like that its comprehensive enough to appeal to a variety of needs while still being easy to use. Aesthetically, it’s also one of the more attractive watches Garmin offers, thanks to its silicone band and stainless steel bezel.
Standout Features
The Venu 3S is a capable watch with a robust selection of health and fitness features. It comes with standard features that nearly every other tracker offers, such as tracking steps taken and calories burned, but it blows the competition away in terms of data analysis. A few of my favorite features include: the ‘Body Battery’ score (similar to the ‘Daily Readiness’ score if you’re familiar with Oura); a personalized ‘Sleep Coach’; detailed heart rate variability tracking; and in-depth training metrics.
When I tested the Venu 3, I found the recovery time predictions accurate, which was useful for planning rest days—these typically fall in the middle of my week, after I expend energy on intense workouts for two or three days in a row. I also like how, for women specifically, you have the option to track your menstrual cycles through the ‘Women’s Health’ features in the Garmin Connect app. When you feed your Garmin this data, it then integrates the information with other health metrics to provide a more complete picture of your overall health and activity readiness.
How the Venu 3S Compares To The Venu 3
Functionally, the Venu 3S is basically identical to the Venu 3 with the same set of sophisticated health and fitness features; physically, the Venu 3S is three millimeters smaller than the Venu 3 with a slightly smaller display of 1.2 inches compared to the Venu 3’s 1.4-inch display. One of my favorite features about the Venu 3 was its larger screen, though I doubt the difference in display size between the two models is that noticeable given its pretty incremental.
The Venu 3S also has a slightly shorter battery life than the 3, given its smaller size. It can last for up to 10 days in smartwatch mode, while the Venu 3 offers up to 14 days of battery. Either way, this is a substantially longer battery life than competitor models: the Apple Watch Series 9 only lasts for up to 18 hours and the Fitbit Charge up to seven days. The above-average battery life is a signature feature of all Garmin watches, so you’ll get that with any watch on this list, at varying degrees.
Size: 41.7 millimeters | Weight: 1.4 ounces | Battery life: Up to 15 days | Water rating: 5 ATM
Best for:
Long-distance runners; two-week battery life works well for distance trainingTriathletes, thanks to multisport featuresThose with specific training goals; people who compete in marathons, ultras and so on
Skip if:
You’re just getting into running (the amount of data may be overwhelming and unnecessary)
Why I Named It Best For Female Runners
Garmin makes several watches for runners, but the Forerunner 265S works well for women in particular because of its sleeker, more aesthetic design. Similar to how the Venu 3S compares to Venu 3, the 265S is the slimmer version of the 265, but with all of the same features. These include: distance-specific pacing strategies, suggested workouts based on your performance and a ‘Training Readiness’ score. And similar to other Garmin watches, the 265 comes with advanced GPS technology, including a ‘Courses’ function which allows you to create or find existing running routes.
Standout Features
I tested the Forerunner 265, and while I’m not much of a runner myself, I did find the ‘Training Readiness’ score useful for planning workouts; this feature functions similarly to the Venu 3S’s ‘Body Battery’ score in terms of measuring your activity readiness, but focuses more on your readiness for intense training. Unlike the ‘Body Battery’ score, it takes into account the quantity and quality of your sleep. I found this measurement more useful than the ‘Body Battery’ score when it came to planning my workouts. On days when I had a lower ‘Training Readiness’ score, I stuck to lower-intensity workouts like incline walking and upper-body exercises.
My husband, who serves in the U.S. Army Special Forces, also appreciated the Running Power feature, which predicts how much force is applied to your run and maximizes workouts based on factors like the intensity of the wind. For marathon runners or anyone who competes in races, I could see this feature being especially useful.
Size: 35.4 millimeters | Weight: 0.86 ounces | Battery life: Up to 5 days | Water rating: 5 ATM
Best for:
Women with small wristsA more pared-down trackerThose new to regular exercise
Skip if:
You’re looking for a more comprehensive trackerYou want at least a week’s worth of battery life off a single charge
Why I Named It Best Small Watch
The Garmin Lily 2 is the smallest and lightest Garmin available, clocking in at five to six millimeters smaller than the other watches on this list. Its size made it the most comfortable watch for me to wear while sleeping. And in addition to its more slender design, it won me over because of its wealth of female-specific health features and stylish design.
Standout Features
Although it’s the smallest Garmin watch I’ve tested to date, it’s just as capable as the more advanced Garmins: While most Garmin watches can keep tabs on your menstrual cycle, the Garmin Lily 2 also tracks ovulation, peak fertility days and pregnancy.
Similar to the other Garmins on this list, the Lily 2 can detect specific muscle groups you’ve targeted during exercise. In my post-workout summaries, the Lily listed the types of exercises I performed during a strength-training session. Compared to non-Garmin trackers, this is an especially rare feature: Most watches I’ve tested can’t even accurately measure strength-training workouts to begin with.
How The Lily 2 Compares To Other Garmin Watches
While the Lily 2 certainly packs many features into a small design, it has to compromise somewhere, whic is why the battery life is considerably shorter than other Garmin watches—it lasts just five days i smartwatch mode on a single charge. Compared to the non-Garmin watches I’ve tested, this is still considered above-average battery life, but if the long battery life is what drew you to Garmin specifically, it’s something to consider.
It also lacks some of the more advanced features found in other Garmin watches on this list, including: advanced HRV (heart rate variability) tracking, accurate GPS tracking and suggested recovery time. But for women who are just getting into regular exercise or those completely new to tracking, I see this more pared-down design as a pro rather than a con.
Size: 43 millimeters | Weight: 2.32 ounces | Battery life: Up to 10 days, up to 29 days in smartwatch mode | Water rating: 10 ATM
Best for:
Weekend warriors, adventurers and extreme athletesA rugged, durable designHybrid athletesAvid campers, thanks to its best-in-class GPS and built-in flashlightExtra-long battery life
Skip if:
You prefer a more lightweight watch (the Fenix is the heaviest watch on this list)You want the simplest user experience possible
Why I Named It Best Outdoor
The Garmin Fenix 8’s extensive set of training metrics, durable design and top-notch GPS easily make it the best-in-class option for adventurers and outdoor athletes. Between its tech, ruggedness and style, you’ve got a do-it-all watch that can take you from remote hikes to a night on the town.
Standout Features
As someone more interested in everyday fitness than weekend warrior-ing, I did find the interface a bit overwhelming; however, once I got the hang of it, the Fenix’s advanced training metrics were useful even for my gym-based workouts. It provides a ‘Training Readiness’ score similar to the Forerunner 265S, but unlike the Forerunner, the Fenix also tracks real-time stamina which can help prevent you from overexerting yourself too early in a workout. This, combined with the ‘Endurance Score’ the Fenix provides, makes it an excellent choice for endurance athletes, including swimmers, long-distance runners and triathletes.
In addition to its advanced training features, the Fenix contains more cutting-edge technology than any other Garmin watch I’ve tested—and any non-Garmin watch I’ve tested, in fact. The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is the only comparable wearable I can think of, but even that watch falls short in nearly every category: The Fenix’s battery life is considerably longer, the design is more durable—built to U.S. military standards—and the GPS and plethora of training data are more in-depth and sophisticated. For ultra-endurance athletes, women who regularly engage in outdoor sports and data-driven exercisers, the Fenix is one of the most accurate, in-depth and sophisticated training tools on the market.
How I Chose The Best Garmin Watches For Women
To find the best Garmin watches for women, I drew on previous testing experience, which includes testing over 20 different fitness trackers and wearables over a two-year period.
My initial pool of contenders included the six Garmin watches I’ve tested and have personal experience with. I narrowed options down from there by comparing each watch against factors that matter most for women, including overall design, wearability, comfort, size and fit, and the availability of women-specific health features, like menstrual and fertility tracking.
I ensured my recommendations address various needs and lifestyles for women of all activity levels.
What To Consider In A Garmin Watch For Women
Type of activity: When deciding on the best Garmin watch for you, consider the type of exercise you most frequently engage in. If you’re more of a casual fitness enthusiast or everyday gym-goer, the Venu series from Garmin should cover all your bases (and then some). The Forerunner and Enduro lines appeal to runners and triathletes, while any watch from the Fenix and Instinct lines are worth the investment for outdoor athletes and serious adventurers.
Size and fit: Consider your own preferences when it comes to wearables. While all Garmin watches, regardless of size, are outfitted with some level of advanced features and above-average battery life, you will have to compromise in some areas should you opt for a smaller watch, like the Lily 2.
Overall design: Garmin watches come in a variety of styles, though some are considerably sleeker than others. If you prefer a more polished, stylish look, I recommend opting for the ‘S’ versions of the Venu and Forerunner 265 series, which are sleeker, smaller versions of the original watches.
Why Trust Forbes Vetted
Forbes Vetted’s gear team has deep experience testing and reviewing a variety of wearables. Our experiences and specific recommendations are compiled in an extensive library of tool and tech guides, which contain guidance on everything from the best fitness trackers to the best Garmin running watches.
Author and senior strategy editor Katie Simpson has been an ACE-certified personal trainer for over two years. Throughout her own training and workouts with clients, she’s used over 20 fitness trackers, including six Garmin watches. She also has a background in endurance training, including as a competitive swimmer for 13 years.
Gear editor Cam Vigliotta reviewed and edited this guide. He holds a degree in kinesiology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. As an avid outdoorsman and distance runner, Vigliotta has also tested a variety of Garmin watches over the years, including models from the Forerunner, Instinct and Fenix lines.
All of the watches recommended in this guide were extensively tested. We didn’t rely on unknown reviews, marketing emails or no-name sources when evaluating Garmin watches and and forming our opinions.