Fitbit Charge 6 vs Garmin Forerunner 165: Tracker or Runner?

Both watches sit in the same “first real fitness device” zone, but they are built for different people. The Charge 6 is a slim health tracker with a few smart-watch tricks. The Forerunner 165 is an actual GPS running watch with proper training tools.

If you run more than once a week, this is not a close fight. If you mostly walk, lift, and want better heart-health data, the math flips.

Key Differences at a Glance

• Form factor: The Charge 6 is a 30g band with a 1.04-inch screen. The Forerunner 165 is a 39g round watch with a 1.2-inch display.
• Battery: 7 days on the Charge 6 vs 11 days on the Forerunner 165 — and 5 hours of GPS vs 19 hours.
• GPS quality: The Charge 6 uses GPS + GLONASS. The Forerunner 165 uses single-band GPS but pairs it with Garmin’s training algorithms.
• Heart-health sensors: The Charge 6 has ECG and EDA stress sensors. The Forerunner 165 does not.
• Music and storage: The Forerunner 165 has 4GB of onboard storage for offline music. The Charge 6 has none.
• Connectivity: The Forerunner 165 adds ANT+ for chest straps, foot pods, and bike sensors. The Charge 6 is Bluetooth only.
• Price: $159.95 vs $249.99 at launch — a $90 gap.

Deep Dive Comparison

Design & Comfort

The Charge 6 is a narrow aluminum, glass, and resin band that almost disappears on your wrist at 30g. It is the better pick for sleeping, smaller wrists, and anyone who hates a chunky watch. The downside is a tiny 1.04-inch screen with a 184 x 276 panel — fine for stats, cramped for anything else.

The Forerunner 165 is a fiber-reinforced polymer round watch, 43mm across and 39g. It looks and feels like a watch, not a band. The 1.2-inch AMOLED at 390 x 390 is genuinely sharp and easy to read mid-run. It is still light by GPS-watch standards, but it is noticeably more wrist presence than the Charge 6.

Battery Life

This is where the gap gets ugly. The Charge 6 claims 7 days in normal use and 5 hours with GPS. The Forerunner 165 claims 11 days in smartwatch mode and 19 hours of GPS — almost four times the GPS endurance.

If you do a 90-minute long run on Saturday, the Charge 6 burns about a third of its GPS reserve in a single workout. The Forerunner 165 barely notices it. For marathon training or any half-day event, the Charge 6 simply is not the right tool.

Health & Fitness Features

The Charge 6 punches above its price on health sensors: optical heart rate, SpO2, ECG for atrial fibrillation checks, EDA for stress response, and a device temperature sensor. For someone who wants daily wellness data and the occasional walk or bike ride tracked, that is a strong package.

The Forerunner 165 is leaner on health tricks — heart rate, SpO2, barometric altimeter, compass, thermometer, and ambient light — but it leans into training. You get structured workouts, recovery time, training effect, race predictor, and PacePro pacing strategies. ANT+ support means you can pair a chest strap when wrist HR is not enough, which serious runners eventually want.

For raw running data and coaching, the Forerunner 165 is in a different league. For sit-still health metrics, the Charge 6 is the smarter pick.

Smart Features

Both watches handle NFC payments and phone notifications. Neither has a built-in microphone or speaker, so you cannot take calls from your wrist on either one.

The decisive split is music. The Forerunner 165’s 4GB of storage lets you leave your phone behind on a run with offline tracks. The Charge 6 has no usable music storage and ties you to your phone for audio. If you run with earbuds and no phone, that alone tips the scale.

Price & Value

The Charge 6 launched at $159.95 and frequently dips below $130 on sale. The Forerunner 165 launched at $249.99 and rarely drops more than $20–$30 below that. The $90+ gap is real money.

The honest read: if you are not running often, the extra spend on the Forerunner 165 is wasted. If you are training for a 5K, 10K, half, or full marathon, the Charge 6 is too compromised on battery and training features to be worth saving the money.

Technical Specs

Spec	Fitbit Charge 6	Garmin Forerunner 165
Launch Price	$159.95	$249.99
Release Date	September 2023	February 2024
Weight	30g	39g
Case Material	Aluminum, glass, and resin	Fiber-reinforced polymer
Display	1.04-inch AMOLED, 184 x 276	1.2-inch AMOLED, 390 x 390
Water Rating	5 ATM	5 ATM
Battery (Smartwatch)	168 hours (7 days)	264 hours (11 days)
Battery (GPS)	5 hours	19 hours
GPS	Built-in GPS + GLONASS	Single-band GPS
Connectivity	Bluetooth, NFC	Bluetooth, ANT+
NFC Payments	Yes	Yes
Sensors	HR, SpO2, ECG, EDA, temperature, accelerometer, ambient light	HR, SpO2, accelerometer, barometric altimeter, compass, thermometer, ambient light
Onboard Music Storage	None	4GB

The Verdict

For runners, the Garmin Forerunner 165 wins, and it is not close. The 19-hour GPS battery, sharper 390 x 390 AMOLED, ANT+ chest-strap support, onboard music, and Garmin’s actual training platform are exactly what someone training for a 5K to a marathon needs. The $90 premium is justified the first time you go on a long run without your phone.

Buy the Fitbit Charge 6 if you mostly walk, lift, or do casual fitness, you want ECG and stress tracking, and you want a band that disappears on your wrist for sleep tracking. It is the best $160 health tracker on the market, and it should not pretend to be a running watch.

Buy the Garmin Forerunner 165 if you run more than once a week, you care about pace, recovery, and structured training, or you want to leave your phone at home with offline music. Almost every serious runner will outgrow the Charge 6 within a season.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which watch is better for running, the Fitbit Charge 6 or the Garmin Forerunner 165?

The Forerunner 165 is the better running watch by a wide margin. It offers 19 hours of GPS battery, structured training tools, race predictors, and 4GB of music storage, while the Charge 6 only delivers 5 hours of GPS and no real training platform.

Does the Fitbit Charge 6 have ECG, and is that the main reason to choose it over the Forerunner 165?

Yes, the Charge 6 has both ECG and EDA stress sensors, and the Forerunner 165 has neither. If your priority is heart-rhythm checks and daily wellness data rather than running performance, the Charge 6 is the smarter pick at the lower price.

Is the $90 price gap between the Charge 6 and Forerunner 165 worth it?

For active runners, yes — the longer GPS battery, larger display, music storage, and Garmin training metrics easily justify the extra $90. For casual users who track steps, sleep, and the occasional walk, the Forerunner 165 is overkill and the Charge 6 is the better value.

Do both watches work equally well with iPhone and Android?

Both watches pair with iPhone and Android over Bluetooth and handle notifications and NFC payments on either platform. Performance and feature parity are essentially identical regardless of which phone you carry.

Can I track strength training and non-running workouts on the Forerunner 165?

Yes, the Forerunner 165 has dedicated profiles for strength, cycling, swimming, and other activities, plus accelerometer-based rep counting for weights. It is more capable than the Charge 6 across nearly every workout type, not just running.