The best cheap smartwatch can provide you with a wealth of health and fitness tracking, communication, notifications, navigation, and more, all at a fraction of the price of hefty top-of-the-range models like the Apple Watch Ultra 2.
Even the cheapest smartwatches out there offer health and heart rate monitoring, calorie and sleep tracking, and communication features.
They're often a lot simpler and unobtrusive than more expensive and capable models, making them ideal gifts or purchases for first-time users and beginners. You'll get a lot of nifty features like contactless payments, smartphone notifications, and more for a fraction of the price.
There are a ton of great options out there, but that can make picking one difficult. We've rounded up our favorite cheap smartwatches to make the choice as easy as possible.
Here you'll find options for Apple and Android, as well as offerings from Garmin and even more dedicated running watches, all at a price that won't break the bank.
The quick list
The best cheap smartwatch designed by Apple
The Apple Watch SE 2 isn't the cheapest option in this guide but it is the best for iPhone users. The screen is fantastic, watchOS is amazing, and it's the most feature-rich experience going.
The best cheap smartwatch for general fitness
The Versa 4 is one of the best cheap Fitbits that still retains great smartwatch functionality, with good battery life and a price tag to match.
The best cheap smartwatch for Android
While the CMF works with both Android and iPhone, this is our top Android pick thanks to incredible price tag, great display, excellent battery life, and brilliant features.
Load the next two products...
The best cheap smartwatch from Garmin
The best cheap Garmin for running is the 165, with 13 days of battery life, an AMOLED touchscreen, and loads of great training features.
The best cheap smartwatch for runners
A feature-rich smartwatch with everything a runner could need. By tracking stride length, cadence, heart rate zones, and elevation, the Coros Pace 3 delivers the metrics to boost performance.
The best cheap smartwatches you can buy in 2025
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The best cheap Apple Watch
Even though it's more expensive than most of the cheap entries on this list, as the cheapest watch in Apple's stable, this is the best option for iPhone users looking for a future-proof fitness watch that doesn't cost a bomb. It's 'nylon-infused' at the back, ensuring it's partially made of fabric to cut down on weight ( the new 40mm Apple Watch SE is about 13% lighter than the previous version, and 18% lighter than the 41mm Series 8) .and cost.
The screen is still as tough as ever though, and it's got the same excellent watch OS 9 as it's more premium contemporaries, so on-wrist running power, vertical oscillation and other key metrics for runners (which even Garmin can't do without a HRM yet) make this one of the best cheap smartwatches for runners. Other fitness stuff includes stroke counts for keen swimmers and the ability to close your rings with movement, whether that's in the great outdoors or using Apple Fitness+, which you also get access to.
You get additional health benefits including crash detection, which can register impacts and automatically notify emergency services in case of an accident. It comes in two sizes in both GPs and GPS+Cellular, depending on your needs.
Read our in-depth Apple Watch SE2 review
The best cheap Fitbit
The Fitbit Versa 3 has reached the affordable price range and brings with it some of the best health and sports tracking from one of the brands that started it all. There is a Versa 4, but this model is both cheaper and better-reviewed.
One big feature here is the ability to log activities, up to 20 minutes, even if you forget, after the fact – ideal if you've done an impromptu big walk and didn't record at the start. This will also track sports, offers accurate GPS, heart rate data and, of course, gives deep sleep metrics. Plus, the screen is upgraded here with a larger and clearer 1.6-inch AMOLED.
With a great battery life to go for days at time, lightweight build that's comfortable day or night, lots of useful fitness statistics and even an SpO2 sensor – this really is one of the best wearables out there, especially at this price.
Read our in-depth Fitbit Versa 3 review
The best cheap smartwatch for Android
The CMF Watch Pro has a rich feature-set that defies its bargain price. Both hardware and software feel premium, and while it's not perfect, it's more value for money than any smartwatch on the market.
The design of both hardware and software is stylish, and battery life is excellent at 13 days. The stylish squircle design has shades of the Apple Watch, but it still looks unique and clean on the wrist.
Under the hood, there's all the health and fitness tracking features you'd expect including support for 110 sports. You also get heart rate monitoring, Bluetooth phone calls, a companion app, as well as metrics for sleep, stress, and SpO2. In our review, he hailed its "astonishingly cheap" price given the level of quality, the bright OLED display, and the comprehensive health tracking features.
The only alternative is the equally cheap CMF Watch Pro 2, which will be reviewing soon on TechRadar.
Read our in-depth CMF Watch Pro review
The best cheap Garmin watch
The Garming Forerunner 165 is definitely the best affordable Garmin in 2025. The older 55 might be cheaper, but it's getting on for four years old and lacks the touchscreen most users would expect from a smartwatch.
We loved the 165's array of premium training features, as well as its AMOLED touchscreen and 11-day battery life (19 hours in GPS mode). The chassis is similar to the 265 and the overall package is light and attractive. Other features include a Morning Report, Garmin Coach, and running power metrics, but no Training Readiness score.
You won't get some of the more premium Garmin running features, but that's reflected in the cheaper price. It's a lot better than the Forerunner 55, but decidedly more expensive as a result. However, it's still plenty affordable enough to land in our best cheap smartwatch guide.
Read our in-depth Garmin Forerunner 165 review
The best cheap smartwatch for runners
The Coros Pace 3 is one of the best running watches if you're on a budget. For under $250 / £219 / AU$399, it’s a wonderful running watch, especially if you're new to the hobby or just want to see whether a device like this could enhance your performance.
Considering the price, you'd think the smartwatch would be stripped of all its best features but, in reality, it's surprisingly feature-rich. Everything centers around collating running data, including stride length, cadence, heart rate zones, and elevation.
Along with running metrics, users will also get music storage, a redesigned rear sensor array, a toggle on-off touchscreen functionality and improved satellite navigation tech. The Coros Pace 3 is the complete package for runners who want a great watch at an even better price.
How to choose the best cheap smartwatch for you
Besides the price, it's important to check its compatibility with your phone, as some smartwatches aren't compatible with an iPhone, for example. There's also the battery life and the features.
If you're a runner, it's important to get the best cheap smartwatch for running as it'll have running-specific features that others might not have. If you need to track your sleep, a longer battery life certainly important as you don't want to be charging twice a day.
Don't expect the latest Apple or Samsung flagships to be on the list, as those tend to sit at a much higher price point and out of people's reach if they're looking for a cheaper option. However, as we mentioned earlier, 'cheap' can be relative. A cheap regular smartwatch is going to be considerably more affordable than a budget smartwatch for divers. Keep that in mind when looking at your options.
How we test the best cheap smartwatches
Although not every smartwatch on this list has been fully tested by us, our smartwatch experts have more than enough experience to know exactly what makes them tick and what makes an excellent choice.
Those we have reviewed, however, we have put through their paces. To ensure that every cheap smartwatch gets fully tested in the real world, we use it as our own personal wearable for a week or so. We also perform a comprehensive sweep of its features – at least the most important ones, and varied usage over multiple days to give us a clear idea of how battery life performs.
Once we have all the information we need, we compare it with its price tag to see if it's a great value and worth recommending to readers.
