Garmin Instinct 3 vs. Coros Pace Pro: Which sports watch should you get?

Garmin Forerunner 965 $400 at REI.com $449.99 at Crutchfield $449.99 at Garmin The Instinct 3 comes in two sizes and there are AMOLED and solar-charging models in the range, all of which have the line’s distinctive design. It’s great for long adventures thanks to its hardy design and battery life, though missing out on maps is a big loss. For Different size and screen options
Long battery life
Durable design with built-in flashlight Against More expensive than Pace Pro
No offline maps Coros Pace Pro $349 at Amazon $349 at DICK’S Sporting Goods $349 at Backcountry.com The Pace Pro is the first AMOLED sports watch from Coros and offers accurate tracking and great battery life in a lightweight, sleek design that’s great for runners and triathletes. It’s not as durable as the Instinct 3 but does offer offline maps and is cheaper. For Thin, lightweight design
Offline maps
Cheaper than Instinct 3 Against Less durable than Instinct 3
Only one size
Shorter battery life than Instinct 3
The Coros Pace Pro and Garmin Instinct 3 are both among the best sports watches I’ve tested, offering reliably accurate tracking for a range of sports in attractive designs. Both are also good value, and have impressive battery life.
They do differ in their target audience though, with the Pace Pro being aimed at keen athletes, especially runners and triathletes, while the Instinct 3 has more of a taste for adventure thanks to its epic battery life and more durable design.
You can get more info on each watch in our Coros Pace Pro review and my colleague Dan Bracaglia’s early take on the Garmin Instinct 3, but here’s my view on how they compare after wearing one on each wrist for 10 days.
Garmin Instinct 3 vs. Coros Pace Pro: Specs
Swipe to scroll horizontally Row 0 – Cell 0 Garmin Instinct 3 Coros Pace Pro Price From $399 / £349 (Solar); $449 / £389 (AMOLED) $349 / £349 Size 45mm and 50mm 46mm Weight 52 – 53 g (45mm); 58 – 59 g (50mm) 49g Display 1.2 – 1.3in AMOLED or MIP 1.3in AMOLED Case material Plastic case with aluminium ring Fiber reinforced polymer Screen material Chemically strengthened glass Mineral glass Water resistance 10ATM 5ATM Battery life (watch mode) 18 days (45mm AMOLED); 24 days (45mm Solar); 24 days (50mm AMOLED); 40 days (50mm Solar) 20 days Storage 4GB 32GB
Garmin Instinct 3 vs. Coros Pace Pro: Price
(Image credit: Future)
The Coros Pace Pro is the cheaper of the two watches, costing $349 / £349, and it comes in one size with three colors available. The Garmin Instinct 3 comes in two sizes — 45mm and 50mm — and there are two screen options — AMOLED or memory-in-pixel (MIP), with the latter having solar panels around its display. The price starts at $399 for the Instinct 3 Solar 45mm, and $449 for the Instinct 3 AMOLED 45mm.
Winner: Coros Pace Pro
Garmin Instinct 3 vs. Coros Pace Pro: Design
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder with these watches, because some will prefer the simple, slim design of the Coros Pace Pro, which is also the lighter of the pair, while others will prefer the more eye-catching design of the Instinct 3, especially in the Neo Tropic color I tested.
I tested the 45mm Instinct 3 AMOLED and found its screen to be bright and clear, but I found the AMOLED display on the Pace Pro a little more vivid, perhaps helped by the fact it’s a slightly larger screen (the Instinct 3 50mm has the same size screen as the Pace Pro).
There are more design options in the Instinct 3 range, not least the fact you can get a MIP screen with solar charging instead of an AMOLED display, which some will prefer for longer battery life, and it also has a metal band running around the bezel.
The Instinct 3 is also more durable with 100m of water resistance compared to the 50m you get on the Pace Pro, and the design is hardier all round. I also prefer the five button design on the Instinct to the two buttons you get on the Pace Pro, one of which is a dial, though both sets of controls work well.
(Image credit: Dan Bracaglia/Tom’s Guide)
One thing the Instinct 3 has that really sets it apart on design, however, is the built-in flashlight, which gives it an edge both for the adventurous out after dark and people who have to navigate their way downstairs to tend to crying toddlers at night — I’m in the latter camp.
Winner: Garmin Instinct 3
Garmin Instinct 3 vs. Coros Pace Pro: Sports tracking
(Image credit: Future)
Both watches impressed me with their GPS accuracy, producing reliably accurate tracks when using the multi-band GPS mode. Both also has a track run mode for extra accuracy when running in circles.
The heart rate accuracy was a little better for me on the Coros Pace Pro when running, with the Instinct 3 regularly reading too high when compared with a chest strap’s readings. I’d still pair both to a chest strap for the best results when running, especially in cold weather, but for lower intensity activities both watches were accurate for heart rate.
All of the most common sports modes are available on both watches such has indoor and outdoor cycling, running and swimming, Both also have outdoors activities like climbing and a variety of watersports, but the Instinct 3 offers more in this area, including options like horseback riding, backcountry snowboarding as well as regular snowboarding), snowshoeing, whitewater rafting and more.
Both offer useful training analysis including race predictions and a breakdown of your acute vs chronic training load, but the Instinct 3 goes a little further than the Pace Pro by giving a Training Readiness Score based on factors like recent training, your sleep and heart rate variability.
Winner: Draw
Garmin Instinct 3 vs. Coros Pace Pro: Battery life
Coros watches are known for their staying power and the Pace Pro delivers impressive battery life for a small watch with an AMOLED screen. It lasts me six days on a charge even with the screen set to always-on and running every day, and you can extend this battery life to 20 days with the screen set to raise to wake.
However, the Instinct 3 is even longer-lasting. The AMOLED 45mm watch lasted me seven days on a charge with the same use as the Pace Pro, and if you opt for a solar model of the Instinct 3 it can last up to 40 days in watch mode. In fact, if you’re in sunny conditions, the larger Instinct 3 watch can last indefinitely in watch mode thanks to its solar panels.
Winner: Garmin Instinct 3
Garmin Instinct 3 vs. Coros Pace Pro: Smart features
The smart features on both watches are limited, since both are more sports focused. The Pace Pro does allow you to store music on the watch, but this is limited to drag-and-drop MP3 files; you can’t link it to a streaming service and you can’t control music playback on your phone.
You can’t store music at all on the Instinct 3, but you can control playback on your phone and it does offer NFC payments through Garmin Pay and a small app store through the Connect IQ app.
Winner: Draw
Garmin Instinct 3 vs. Coros Pace Pro: Safety and navigation
(Image credit: Future)
Maps are a big miss on the Instinct 3 and it’s an odd decision from Garmin to not have them on such an outdoors-focused watch. You can still follow breadcrumb routes on the watch, and it will direct you back to the start of an activity with a pointer, but the offline maps you can get on the Coros Pace Pro are much more useful for navigation.
With regards to safety features, the Instinct 3 has automatic fall detection and a live tracking mode that allows contacts to track your location in real-time. The Coros Pace Pro also has a live tracking mode, and you can send emergency alerts from both watches.
Winner: Coros Pace Pro
Garmin Instinct 3 vs. Coros Pace Pro: Verdict
I rate both the Garmin Instinct 3 and Coros Pace Pro highly as sports watches and both will cover off the essentials of tracking your training and general activity well. Which is better for you will depend on what your primary activity and priorities are, as well as which design you prefer.
As a marathoner who prefers smaller watches, who is not at all adventurous, the Pace Pro suits me better than the Instinct 3, and it’s cheaper too. The maps you get on the Pace Pro are a distinct advantage too, and its battery life is good enough for my needs.
If you are someone who spends a lot of time in the great outdoors, the Instinct 3’s more durable design and longer battery life might well make it worth the extra outlay. Then your choice might be more which Instinct 3 to go for, with the AMOLED screen bring brighter but more battery intensive than the MIP display on the solar model.