COROS Pace 4 vs Garmin Forerunner 165 - Best Budget GPS Watch?

The COROS Pace 4 and Garmin Forerunner 165 are the two best GPS running watches under $400. They target the same runner: someone who wants serious training features without paying $450+ for a Forerunner 265 or COROS Pace Pro.

But they make very different trade-offs to hit their price points. The COROS prioritizes battery life and weight. The Garmin prioritizes software maturity and ecosystem. Understanding which trade-offs matter to you determines the right choice.

I’ve worn both watches side-by-side for two months of training - same runs, same wrist (alternating days). Here’s an honest comparison from a runner who has no brand loyalty.

COROS Pace 4 vs Garmin FR165 - Full Comparison

Feature	COROS Pace 4	Garmin Forerunner 165
Price	$350	$300
Weight	33g	39g
Display	1.3” AMOLED	1.2” AMOLED
GPS Battery	41 hours	17 hours
Smartwatch Battery	17 days	11 days
GPS Type	Dual-frequency (all satellite)	Multi-band
Heart Rate Sensor	Optical	Optical (Elevate v5)
Music Storage	No	No
Offline Maps	No	No
Navigation	Breadcrumb + route import	Breadcrumb + route import
Training Plans	COROS app (free)	Garmin Coach (free)
Structured Workouts	Yes	Yes
Running Dynamics	With COROS POD 2	With HRM-Pro Plus
VO2max	Yes	Yes
Training Load	Yes (EvoLab)	Yes (Training Status)
Recovery Time	Yes	Yes
HRV Monitoring	Yes	Yes
Race Predictor	Yes	Yes
Touch Screen	Yes + digital dial	Yes + buttons
Water Resistance	5 ATM	5 ATM
Phone Compatibility	iOS + Android	iOS + Android
NFC Payments	No	Garmin Pay

Battery Life: COROS Wins Decisively

41 hours vs 17 hours of GPS tracking. That’s not a marginal difference - the COROS Pace 4 lasts 2.4x longer. In practical terms:

FR165: Running 1 hour daily, you’ll charge every 2-2.5 weeks
COROS Pace 4: Running 1 hour daily, you’ll charge every 5-6 weeks

For most daily runners, both watches go long enough between charges that it’s not a constant annoyance. But for ultrarunners, multi-day trail adventures, or people who genuinely hate plugging things in, the COROS advantage is massive.

The battery advantage also provides insurance. Forget to charge your COROS for a few days? No problem - it still has 60% left. Forget to charge your Garmin? You might find it dead on race morning.

In smartwatch mode (daily wear without GPS), the COROS lasts 17 days vs 11 days for the Garmin. Both are acceptable, but COROS requires less frequent attention to charging.

Weight: Featherlight COROS vs Slightly Heavier Garmin

At 33g, the COROS Pace 4 is among the lightest GPS watches ever made. The Garmin FR165 at 39g is also light, but the 6g difference is surprisingly noticeable - especially during speed work when you’re hyperaware of anything on your body.

The COROS achieves this by using a nylon fiber case (very tough but extremely light) and a slightly thinner profile. On the wrist, the Pace 4 genuinely disappears - you forget it’s there during runs. The FR165 is comfortable but has slightly more presence.

For most runners, 39g is plenty light and this isn’t a deciding factor. For runners who are highly weight-sensitive or who find watches distracting, the COROS wins this spec clearly.

GPS Accuracy: Both Excellent, Slight Edge to Garmin

Both watches use dual-frequency/multi-band satellite reception, which is the current best standard for GPS accuracy. In my testing across urban, suburban, and trail environments:

Open roads and paths: Both are essentially identical - within 1% of each other and true distance
Urban canyons: Garmin has a slight edge, likely due to more mature signal processing algorithms
Dense tree cover: Nearly identical, both handle forest well
Track running: Both are slightly off (typical for GPS watches on tracks), with the FR165 marginally closer to true distances

The differences are small enough that they wouldn’t change your training decisions. Both watches will accurately track your runs to within 1-2% in most conditions. If GPS accuracy is your absolute top priority, neither is wrong.

Training Features and Software

Both watches offer comprehensive training features, but they implement them differently:

Garmin’s strengths:

Training Status algorithm is more nuanced (productive, maintaining, overreaching, detraining, etc.)
Garmin Coach provides adaptive free training plans that adjust based on your performance
Morning Report consolidates daily readiness information clearly
Larger third-party integration ecosystem (Strava, TrainingPeaks, etc. all pull Garmin data seamlessly)
More mature and refined software with fewer bugs

COROS’s strengths:

EvoLab training metrics are clear and simple to understand
Free structured training plans from professional coaches
The COROS app is cleaner and less cluttered than Garmin Connect
Firmware updates frequently add major new features at no cost
AI Trainer feature provides workout suggestions based on your fitness and goals

For most runners, Garmin’s software ecosystem is more mature and has a larger community. If something goes wrong or you need help, there are ten Garmin forum threads for every COROS one. However, COROS is improving rapidly and their app experience is arguably simpler and less overwhelming for newer runners.

Display and Interface

Both have AMOLED displays that are bright, colorful, and easy to read outdoors. The COROS has a slightly larger screen (1.3” vs 1.2”) which gives a mild readability advantage.

Interface philosophy differs significantly:

COROS: Digital dial (rotate to scroll) + one button + touchscreen. Elegant but requires learning the dial logic.
Garmin: Five physical buttons + touchscreen. More buttons but immediately intuitive - each button has a clear purpose.

During runs, the Garmin’s button-only interaction (touch is disabled during activities by default) means no accidental screen touches from sweat or rain. The COROS uses its dial and button during activities, which also works well but is a different mental model.

If you’ve never owned a running watch before, neither has a steep learning curve. If you’re coming from a previous Garmin, the FR165 will feel immediately familiar. Coming from nothing, the COROS interface is arguably slightly more modern-feeling.

Music: Neither Has It

Both the COROS Pace 4 and Garmin FR165 lack onboard music storage. You cannot store Spotify playlists or MP3s on either watch. If you want to run with music and no phone, you need to step up to the Garmin Forerunner 265 ($450) or COROS Pace Pro ($400).

For runners who always carry their phone, this doesn’t matter. For those wanting phone-free music runs, it’s a shared limitation at this price point.

Payments: Garmin Only

The FR165 has Garmin Pay (NFC contactless payments). The COROS Pace 4 has no payment capability. If you like to stop for coffee mid-run or want to run without wallet/phone and still be able to buy water, Garmin wins this niche feature.

Ecosystem and Community

This is where Garmin’s decades of running watch experience show:

Garmin Connect has millions of active users, which means robust course sharing, challenges, and community features
Third-party app support (Connect IQ) adds watch faces, data fields, and apps
Every running app and platform integrates with Garmin natively
Garmin’s customer service and warranty support are well-established

COROS is growing but smaller:

The COROS app community is active but less populated
Third-party integrations are good (Strava, TrainingPeaks work) but not universal
Fewer custom watch faces and add-on options
COROS customer service is responsive but has a smaller support infrastructure

If you use niche running platforms or want maximum compatibility, Garmin’s ecosystem is safer. If you use Strava and the native app, COROS covers your needs fine.

For more budget GPS watch options including newer Chinese brands, see my budget GPS watch roundup. For a broader comparison at all price points, check the full GPS running watch guide.

Who Should Buy the COROS Pace 4

Runners who prioritize battery life above all else
Weight-sensitive runners who want the lightest possible watch
Ultrarunners or trail runners needing 40+ hours of GPS
Runners who appreciate a clean, simple app experience
People who dislike frequent charging
Budget-conscious runners who don’t need Garmin Pay or music

For a comparison with the next step up in COROS’s lineup and how it compares to Garmin’s mid-range, see my FR265 vs COROS Pace 4 analysis.

Who Should Buy the Garmin Forerunner 165

Runners who value software maturity and ecosystem size
Garmin users upgrading from an older Forerunner
Runners who want Garmin Coach adaptive training plans
People who want NFC payments on their wrist
Runners in the Garmin ecosystem (other family members use it, etc.)
Those who prefer physical button interfaces during runs

For more on where the FR165 fits in Garmin’s lineup, see my best watches under $300.

My Verdict

The FR165 at $300 is the better value for most runners, simply because Garmin’s software ecosystem is more mature and the $50 savings adds up. The training features you interact with daily (training status, morning report, Garmin Coach) are more refined and helpful.

However, the COROS Pace 4 is the better hardware at its price point - lighter, longer battery, larger display. If battery life and weight are your top priorities, the $50 premium is justified. If you’re starting fresh with no ecosystem loyalty, the COROS offers impressive capability in an impossibly light package.

Both are excellent. You won’t regret either choice.

See how we compare products for our full research methodology.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the COROS Pace 4 worth $50 more than the Garmin FR165?

It depends on what you value. If battery life (41h vs 17h GPS) and weight (33g vs 39g) are your priorities, yes - the COROS delivers significantly better hardware specs. If software maturity, ecosystem size, and NFC payments matter more, the Garmin FR165 at $50 less is the better deal. Neither is overpriced for what it offers.

Which watch has better heart rate accuracy?

In my testing, both are within 2-3 BPM of a chest strap during steady-state running. The Garmin Elevate v5 sensor has a slight edge during high-intensity intervals (faster response to rapid HR changes). For easy and moderate runs, they’re essentially identical. Both struggle with the same wrist-based limitations - tight watch band placement improves accuracy on both.

Can I use either watch for triathlon?

Both support multisport modes including swimming, cycling, and transitions. The COROS Pace 4 has a slight advantage for triathlon due to its longer battery (important for Ironman distances) and lighter weight. The FR165 works perfectly for sprint and Olympic distance triathlons. Neither has open-water maps or advanced cycling metrics, so serious triathletes may want to step up to the COROS Pace Pro or Garmin FR265.

Do either of these watches have maps?

No. Neither the COROS Pace 4 nor the Garmin FR165 has offline maps. Both offer breadcrumb navigation - you can upload a route and follow a line on screen - but without underlying map context. For full maps, you need the Garmin Forerunner 965 ($600) or COROS Vertix 2S ($500+). For most road runners, breadcrumb navigation is sufficient.

Which watch gets better software updates?

COROS is known for aggressive free updates that add major features (they’ve added new training modes, new metrics, and UI overhauls through firmware updates). Garmin updates are more incremental and conservative, but also more stable - less risk of bugs introducing problems. Both watches will receive meaningful updates for 3-5 years after purchase.