At a Glance: The Verdict
| Garmin Forerunner 570 | Coros Pace 4 |
|---|---|
|
Best For: Runners who want full smartwatch perks Pay it $549.99 and you get contactless payments, an ECG sensor, a bigger 1.4-inch AMOLED screen, and the deep Garmin Connect ecosystem. The catch is shorter battery and a much heavier wrist. |
Best For: Runners who want max battery for half the money At $249 it weighs just 32g, runs 41 hours on multi-band GPS, and lasts 19 days as a watch. You give up payments and ECG, but for pure training it punches way above its price. |
Quick Buy Path
Check today’s pricing before you go deeper.
If these are already your two finalists, compare current pricing now, then keep reading for the full verdict.
Both of these are legit running watches with multi-band GPS and AMOLED screens, but they are not playing the same game. The Forerunner 570 is a $549.99 do-everything Garmin. The Coros Pace 4 is a $249 training tool that quietly outlasts it. Here is where the money actually goes.
Key Differences
- Price: The Coros Pace 4 is $249. The Forerunner 570 is $549.99 (more than double).
- Battery: Coros runs 41 GPS hours and 19 days as a watch. Garmin does 18 GPS hours and 11 days. It is not close.
- Weight: The Pace 4 is 32g. The 570 is 50g. That gap is obvious on long runs.
- Payments & ECG: Garmin has NFC contactless pay and an ECG sensor. Coros has neither.
- Ecosystem: Garmin adds ANT+ and a larger 8GB storage; Coros keeps it lean at Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and 4GB.
Deep Dive Comparison
Design & Comfort
The Coros Pace 4 weighs 32g in a 43.4mm fiber-reinforced polymer case. The Garmin Forerunner 570 weighs 50g in a 47mm case with an aluminum bezel over the polymer body. That is an 18g difference (roughly the weight of three quarters) and you feel it past the two-hour mark. The Garmin’s metal bezel looks and feels more premium on the wrist, but the Coros disappears during a marathon. Both carry a 5 ATM water rating, so pool sessions and rain are no problem for either.
Battery Life
This is the headline. The Coros Pace 4 delivers 41 hours of multi-band GPS and 19 days in smartwatch mode. The Forerunner 570 manages 18 GPS hours and 11 days. So the cheaper watch lasts more than twice as long with GPS running: the difference between charging mid-ultra and not thinking about it at all.
Health & Fitness Features
Both watches use multi-band GPS, which is the accurate kind for city running and tree cover, so your pace and distance data will be tight on either. Both track heart rate, SpO2 (blood oxygen), elevation via a barometric altimeter, and have a compass. The separator is the Garmin’s ECG sensor, which the Coros does not have. If on-wrist heart-rhythm readings matter to you, that is a Garmin-only feature here. For everything else a runner actually uses day to day, the two are evenly matched.
Smart Features
The Forerunner 570 is the real smartwatch of the pair. It has NFC for Garmin Pay, Wi-Fi, ANT+, a built-in mic and speaker, and 8GB of storage for music. The Coros Pace 4 also has a mic and speaker and 4GB of storage, but it skips contactless payments entirely. If tapping your wrist to buy coffee after a run matters, only the Garmin does it.
Price & Value
The Coros Pace 4 lands at $249. The Garmin Forerunner 570 sits at $549.99. You are paying roughly $300 extra for payments, ECG, ANT+, a bigger brighter screen, and the Garmin ecosystem, while accepting worse battery and more weight. For a lot of runners, that math favors Coros hard.
Technical Specs
| Spec | Garmin Forerunner 570 | Coros Pace 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | 50g | 32g |
| Display | 1.4-inch AMOLED, 454 x 454 | 1.2-inch AMOLED, 390 x 390 |
| Water Rating | 5 ATM | 5 ATM |
| Battery (Smartwatch) | 264 hours (11 days) | 456 hours (19 days) |
| Battery (GPS) | 18 hours | 41 hours |
| GPS | Multi-band | Multi-band |
| Sensors | HR, SpO2, ECG, Altimeter, Compass, Gyroscope, Accelerometer, Thermometer, Ambient Light | HR, SpO2, Altimeter, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, 3D Compass, Thermometer |
| Contactless Pay | Yes (NFC) | No |
| Storage | 8GB | 4GB |
| Price | $549.99 | $249 |
The Verdict
For most runners, the Coros Pace 4 is the smarter buy. It costs $249, weighs 32g, runs 41 hours on multi-band GPS, and lasts 19 days as a watch, and the GPS data is just as accurate as the Garmin’s. You are getting the core of a great running watch for less than half the price.
Buy the Coros Pace 4 if you mainly train and race, want the longest battery, hate watch weight, and do not care about wrist payments. Buy the Garmin Forerunner 570 if you want a true do-it-all smartwatch (Garmin Pay, an ECG sensor, a bigger brighter 1.4-inch screen, and the Garmin Connect ecosystem) and you are willing to pay $300 more and accept shorter battery for it. If your decision comes down to value per dollar, Coros wins this one cleanly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which watch is better for most runners?
The Coros Pace 4, for the money. It matches the Garmin’s multi-band GPS accuracy, more than doubles its GPS battery life, and weighs 18g less, all for $249 versus $549.99. The Garmin only pulls ahead if you specifically want its smartwatch extras.
Does the Coros Pace 4 have contactless payments or ECG like the Garmin?
No. The Pace 4 has no NFC payments and no ECG sensor, while the Forerunner 570 offers both Garmin Pay and on-wrist ECG. If tapping to pay or taking heart-rhythm readings matters to you, the Garmin is the only option of the two.
Is the Garmin Forerunner 570 worth more than double the price?
Only for specific buyers. The extra $300 buys contactless payments, an ECG sensor, ANT+, double the storage, and a larger 1.4-inch AMOLED display. For pure run training, you are paying a premium for features you may never use. The Coros covers the essentials for far less.
Which should I get if I’m an ultra or trail runner?
The Coros Pace 4. Its 41 hours of multi-band GPS easily outlasts the Garmin’s 18 hours, so you can run a long ultra without recharging. The lighter 32g build also wears better over many hours on the trail.
Do both watches work with iPhone and Android?
Yes, both pair with iPhone and Android over Bluetooth and sync through their companion apps (Garmin Connect and the Coros app). Neither locks you into one phone platform, so your choice should come down to features and battery, not your phone.
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