Overdue for a refresh — no successor announced yet. Prices should be at their lowest
Best for: Serious runners on a budget who want multi-band GPS accuracy, long battery life, and a training-focused analytics platform (EvoLab) without paying Garmin flagship prices. Also a strong choice for anyone who wants a lightweight race watch with full-featured training data.
Full details →Late in cycle — a new model is likely coming
Best for: Serious endurance athletes — particularly runners and triathletes — who want Polar's unmatched training load science and recovery guidance, combined with ECG health monitoring and running power in a premium package.
Full details →| COROS Pace | Polar Vantage V | |
|---|---|---|
| Tier | Sports GPS | Sports GPS |
| Platform | iOS & Android | iOS & Android |
| Battery | 38 days | 8 days |
| Always-on display | ❌ | ✅ |
| GPS | ✅ | ✅ |
| Cellular | ❌ | ❌ |
| Health sensors | hr, spo2, hrv, training load | ecg, hr, spo2, hrv, running power, skin temp |
| Released | Sep 1, 2023 | Oct 4, 2023 |
| Cycle length | 700 days | 1063 days |
| Cycle advice | bad | bad |
| Deals advice | good | good |
| Next model | — | Polar Vantage V4 (2026) |
At 30 grams, the Pace 3 is among the lightest GPS watches available — yet delivers 38 days typical use and 17 hours continuous GPS.
Dual-frequency L1+L5 GPS typically found on $400+ watches — available on the Pace 3 at $229.
Running power, training load, base fitness, threshold metrics, and race predictor — a serious analytics suite that rivals Garmin at a lower cost.
Polar Vantage V3 is one of the few sports GPS watches with on-demand ECG — usually only found on lifestyle smartwatches.
Running power measurement without a foot pod or chest strap — a significant training metric for pacing effort on hills and varied terrain.
The most detailed training load analysis in any sports watch: muscle groups targeted per session, recovery status per muscle, and long-term load trends.