Best Heart Rate Monitor For Runners in 2023

Running is superb cardiovascular exercise, and if you do it properly, it can improve your health and fitness noticeably.

If you’re just beginning your running journey, a heart rate monitor may not be high on the list of priorities. But once you gain a little bit of experience, exercising with one could be of more help than you realize.

Our top choice is the Garmin Forerunner 645. It’s a stylish and accurate heart rate monitor that offers some seriously nice additional features. You can use it by itself for some great insights, or purchase a chest strap to get into some really in-depth metrics.

Let’s check out our picks for the best heart rate monitors for runners.

Top 4 Best and Favorites

Best Overall

1. Garmin Forerunner 645

As heart rate monitors go, this one is pretty great. Garmin is a big name in GPS technology, and this running watch offers premium features that will skyrocket your performance if used correctly.

Because it’s a watch, it calculates your heart rate using your wrist pulse. It’s not the most accurate method, but it’s both common and convenient. The 645’s music app lets you download up to 500 songs to your watch for easy listening on the go, while the HRM and GPS monitor your training. Your heart rate monitor will let you know if you’re peaking, overreaching, or training productively.

If you enjoy swimming or cycling in addition to running, Forerunner 645 tracks stroke count, pace, distance, and a variety of other numbers.

While these features are great for first-time HRM users, veterans wanting more detailed metrics will need to purchase a compatible chest strap or foot pod in order to make use of the most advanced metrics. These include stride length, vertical oscillation, balance, cadence, and ground contact time. You can buy the strap or Dynamic Pod in a bundle with the watch.

Between the helpful monitoring features, the ability to upgrade, and the sleek look of this HRM, it’s won our overall top spot for the best heart rate monitor for runners.

Best Runner-Up

2. Garmin Forerunner 255

The Forerunner 255 is built on the same great tech as the 645. It’s also newer, but doesn’t pack all of the most advanced features. You still get all the most useful data, including wrist-based heart rate, pace, cadence, stride length, training load, and more. For most runners, that’s plenty of data to fine-tune your performance.

If you go all-in with the foot pod bundle, you can get down to serious data collection. Analyze your vertical oscillation, vertical ratio, ground contact time, and other nitty-gritty data points in your stride.

Using these, you can evaluate your performance and assess where you need to improve and how to get the best out of your training.

This HRM offers plenty of great benefits. You’ll have access to free training plans from Garmin Coach, an online fitness community, and the ability to sync your watch and your music.

It’s also seriously light – you won’t even feel the 5 ounces on your wrist. The battery lasts up to a year and is replaceable, so your Garmin Forerunner 255 should last you ages.

Best Heart Rate Monitor For Triathletes

3. Garmin Forerunner 955

Triathletes will benefit the most from this HRM. While other Garmin options can handle multi-sport training and racing, this one is specifically designed for it. It’s a multi-sport watch with features for running, swimming, cycling, and it has some more hardcore features that others don’t.

You can customize this HRM watch to suit your needs, including setting custom metrics. The Elevate v3 heart rate monitor keeps an eye on how close you are to your max. Another great new feature, which if used in conjunction with the HRM should supercharge your running, is the pulse oximeter. This measures your blood O2 saturation.

The heart rate sensor is always on, tracking you even at rest. You may think this is useless for running performance, but it helps you understand your own body better and can give an indication of when you’re getting sick.

One of the best things about this watch for triathletes is that it is just as accurate in water as it is on land. It also features a triathlon mode, allowing you to track all three legs as well as your transition times.

Some may consider the lack of a touchscreen to be a downside, but it’s easy enough to do everything with the 5 side buttons. In GPS mode with music the battery can last up to 10 hours, and up to 2 weeks if used in the most energy-efficient mode.

Best Battery Life

4. COROS APEX

If you’re looking for a heart rate monitor that offers superior features, tracks your fitness, and does it all without needing to be charged every day, the COROS Apex will suit you just fine.

The biggest selling point of this watch is its incredible battery life. Really, it’s made with serious ultra-runners and adventure athletes in mind. Customers make frequent mention of it, so it’s not just the company selling themselves.

According to the specs, the battery can last up to 24 days if used like a regular watch, 80 hours in UltraMax GPS mode, and an astounding 25 hours in full-on GPS mode. Whether you’re just lazy about charging, or are heading out for a 100-miler in the mountains, you’ll never need to worry about your battery dying while out on a run.

It packs some awesome features too. Aside from the wrist-based heart rate sensor, it also has a barometer (great for predicting weather before runs), a compass, an altimeter, and our favorite, a nutrition alert for when you need some fuel or hydration on a long run.

It’s even waterproof up to 328 feet, so you don’t need to worry about it getting wet while you’re out. The design is suitable for both men and women, and it comes in 2 sizes to fit everyone.

The one thing it gets a thumbs-down for is the lack of music functionality. But if you can do without tunes in your ears on the road, it’s a small price to pay for the battery life and great features you’ll get with this HRM.

Top Fitness Tracker Heart Rate Monitor

5. Fitbit Inspire 2

Not all heart rate monitors need to be feature-rich GPS watches.

If you’re keen to track more than just your heart rate but don’t need the whistles and bells,, the Fitbit Inspire 2 could be the one for you. It’s a full-on fitness tracker, not just HR, and you’ll get a well-rounded idea of what your body is doing and how to improve your fitness.

The HR sensor runs 24/7 for accurate and long-term checking. The only time it halts is when you’re in the pool. Swimming with the Fitbit isn’t a problem, as it’s waterproof up to 164 feet. But you won’t get your heart rate out of it.

Tracking is easy and comprehensive on this device. Keep an eye on heart rate, sleep cycles, sleep quality, calories burned, and steps. With daily use you’ll find your battery lasting up to 5 days.

The Fitbit is also a bit of a slimmer design than others, which some may prefer to the chunky ones.

Best Value

6. Garmin Forerunner 35

The Garmin Forerunner 35 is our Best Value choice. It’s a perfectly adequate, constantly-running heart rate counter, with a few extra features that take it from being just another watch to a decent tracker.

If you want to measure your heart rate as a tool to improve your performance, this watch will do that. It will also measure your distance, speed, calories, and steps.

There’s no fancy additional metrics with this watch. It’s a heart rate monitor with some extra features, so it may not be quite enough for those advanced runners who want to take their training up a notch.

Something we really like is the ability to set intervals, although it’s limited in its customization. Runners looking to utilize interval training as a weight loss technique will find this useful.

You can’t beat the Garmin Forerunner 35 for its nice price and sturdy features.

Top Basic Heart Rate Monitor

7. Polar FT4

The best heart rate monitors for runners don’t necessarily have to be fancy. This offering from Polar is a straightforward, to-the-point HRM that also measures calories and can connect to some gym equipment.

It comes with a chest strap, which you’ll need to wear if you want to record your heartbeat. The strap is soft and comfortable, and doesn’t chafe or cause overheating. But forget your chest strap and you’ll lose a day of data!

The FT4 is designed to be simple. There are no fancy metrics, so it’s best for runners who only want to keep an eye on heart rate, or beginners wanting to use their heart rate to maximize training.

A nice touch is the ability to keep measuring heart rate while in water (up to 98 feet). The battery should last up to a year on 30 minutes of exercise a day. It’s a little pricey for a basic device, but it will do the job well.

Best Heart Rate Monitor for Women

8. Fitbit Versa 3

This stylish, feminine watch is packed with high-end features. It’s much more than just an HRM. Keep track of your HR all day, as well as calories burned, steps, distance, and hourly activity.

A feature we particularly like is Sleep Score. It makes note of the time you fall asleep, how long you’re in each sleep stage, your heart rate during the night, and restless periods throughout the night. This is useful for planning training runs or preparing for competitions.

The display is larger than the above Fitbit, which is great for at-a-glance use. All-day, everyday use should allow for a 6-day battery life, give or take.

There are some really useful additional features available, but most of these require paying subscriptions to work. They include Amazon Alexa, Spotify/Pandora/Deezer integration, and Fitbit Premium.

Some watches offer a free 90-day trial of Fitbit Premium. You’ll need to cancel this before the 90 days to avoid it being taken off your account if you don’t want to continue!

The Fitbit Versa comes in 5 pretty colors, and each purchase comes with a small and large strap so it should fit any woman.

Best Suunto Heart Rate Monitor

9. Suunto 9

Suunto is renowned for manufacturing high-quality sports watches and devices. The Suunto 9 is a comprehensive device that not only looks stylish, but will cover all your fitness monitoring needs.

It’s less sporty-looking than most, and some may find it to be a little big for their wrist. But if you’re more interested in features than size, it offers plenty of good stuff for runners of all levels.

Up to 80 sports modes are built-in, so whatever your preference, there’ll be something for you. The watch also connects to a wide variety of third-party apps, so you can keep track of your stats no matter what you use.

Experienced runners may like the route planning, barometric altitude information, sunrise and sunset times, and storm warnings. Even with all these features, the battery should give you over 100 hours of use before needing a charge.

It’s a comprehensive, full-function heart rate monitor with a variety of extra features, so although the price tag is high, it’s worth a buy if it’s what you’re looking for.

Best Standalone Arm Strap

10. Scosche Rhythm+ Heart Rate Monitor Armband

If you don’t like wearing a watch, this monitor could work for you. Strap it around your upper forearm and it should pick up quite nicely on your heart rate.

The bonus with this product is that it connects to most fitness apps, so if you’re already using and enjoying one, you won’t have to learn a new one from scratch. As long as your device is Bluetooth Smart or ANT+ enabled, this will link up to it easily.

The neoprene armband is comfortable and breathable. When you buy, you’ll get two extra armbands – one small and one large. It’s sweat proof and waterproof, making it suitable for use in the heat and wet conditions.

It is important to note, though, that it’s not OrangeTheory compatible – customers have been caught out with this before, so if that’s your workout of choice, this may not be for you!

Best Rechargeable Standalone Arm Strap

11. Polar OH1+

This sleek little arm strap is hardly even noticeable when wearing it. Pair it with your device of choice – a smartphone, tablet, or watch. You don’t need to have your phone or watch on you while you’re exercising, either. The 200-hour memory means you can train without your device and save all your data.

The real beauty of this little HRM is its versatility. It comes on an armband, but it’s easy to take it off and utilize it in a variety of other ways. The purchase includes a goggle clip, so you can measure your heart rate while in the pool using the pulse in your temple.

This is also a great indication of its water resistance, which suggests that it’s sweat-proof too.

For such a small device, this HRM is unique and accurate, as well as being USB rechargeable for convenience.

Best Standalone Chest Strap

12. Polar H10

Most of the heart rate monitors we’ve focused on have been in the form of a watch, but for those runners who may prefer a chest strap, this is our choice. It’s also well-priced, so if you do enjoy wearing your watch, it may still be worth having one of these for occasions where greater accuracy is desired – chest straps are considered more accurate than other types of HRMs.

This one is compatible with most devices, including a GoPro Hero 5 camera. No matter what device you have, this chest strap will pair with it.

The 1-session memory may not be enough for some runners, especially if you’re one who forgets to transfer data! Next time you exercise, your existing data will be overwritten.

This chest strap HRM is single-function, which is to measure your heart rate. There’s nothing fancy about it, but it’s accurate, and it’s what you do with that info that counts. As Polar says, make every beat count.