The 8 Best Cheap Running Watches Under $100

Some of the same technology found on advanced running watches is now available on inexpensive models, which means there’s a lot of variety in the features and functionality you can get on a sub-$100 watch. If you don’t want to pay more for a simple or advanced GPS watch, plenty of these options have built-in GPS or will connect to your devices’ GPS. Meanwhile, other fitness trackers without GPS can still monitor your activities and basic metrics. Because cheap running watches can range from simple stopwatches to advanced trackers, you’ll want to carefully consider all of the features you want and need on your wrist.

Simple vs. Advanced Running Watches

You might be old enough to remember the time when everyone ran without GPS built into their watches. As Runner’s World deputy editor, Jeff Dengate, points out, “A modern GPS watch is a technological miracle, able to give us nearly every detail about a workout. But it also presents a dangerous trap: Runners become fixated on those numbers.” If you don’t want your watch to cause you to obsess over data points that you track and share on Strava, then we recommend going with a more basic running watch like the Casio or Timex stopwatches. A simple fitness tracker without any GPS functionality might also be all you need by measuring time and distance with an accelerometer instead, though you’ll have to take these metrics with a grain of salt since they tend to be less accurate.

If you’re the kind of runner who loves data—and wants accuracy and reliability—then you’ll do best with a watch that either has GPS or can connect to your phone’s GPS. Though built-in GPS functionality typically costs more, you’ll find this feature on plenty of sub-$100 watches. Some other features to look for on more advanced trackers include wrist-based heart rate monitoring, pulse ox monitors, sleep and menstrual cycle tracking, and multi-sport activity recognition.

How We Evaluated

We selected these running watches based on recommendations from our team of test editors and Runner’s World deputy editor, Jeff Dengate, as well as our previous reporting on basic GPS watches for runners and the best fitness trackers for runners. We made sure to select watches with a variety of features, functionality, and prices, from the most basic stop watches to watches with GPS, heart rate monitoring, and more. Though our most basic requirement was that these watches cost under $100, we also ensured from reviews and our testing that their data tracking features are fairly accurate and reliable despite their price.