If you prefer doing your cardio in the pool rather than on the road or in the gym, then one of the best swimming watch entries might be just what you need to take your training to the next level. Just like a running watch which can help you with pace and timings to improve your run, a swimming watch can help track performance, heart rate, even the number of strokes per length.
When you’re a swimmer unfortunately you can’t just use any fitness tracker. While most are water-resistant up to 50 meters, not all of them have dedicated swimming workout modes or separate modes for open water and pool swimming. Some, like the Fitbit Inspire 3, are a good start for the price, but if you want to keep an eye on these metrics, you’ll need to invest in either a specific swimming watch or a good outdoors watch with swimming modes, like the Garmin Forerunner 945.
The basics you’ll need are a watch that can withstand the water depth you require (50 meters will cover everyone apart from serious divers) while other features such as GPS tracking will measure your distance, strokes and laps. Some watches have adjoining apps, which can start to give you an overall picture of your performance - helping you to train smart.
We’ve tested the best swimming watches for every budget, need and swimming discipline. Already got a swimming watch and looking for other swimming accessories? Check out our selection of the best waterproof headphones.
The best swimming watch for 2023
Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.
The Garmin Forerunner 945 is our top pick for the best swimming watch, and is even available in a bundle with two chest-strap heart rate monitors: one for running and cycling, and another specifically designed for the pool.
Those are great additions for serious heart rate training, as they can pick up changes more quickly than a sensor on your wrist, but they're not essential, as the Forerunner 945 is one of the few watches that can measure heart rate accurately underwater by itself.
It also has a built-in music player, so you can use it together with a pair of waterproof headphones to enjoy your favorite tracks in the water, and there's a huge range of features tailored to swimming. Open-water swimming metrics include distance (with GPS tracking), pace, stroke count/rate, stroke distance and efficiency, plus calories burned.
There are even more options for pool sessions, such as stroke type detection, pacing alerts, auto rest, specialized pool workouts (which can be downloaded to the watch via Wi-Fi), and drill logging.
Add on the huge array of other fitness tracking tools, plus smartwatch features like contactless payments, and this is an exceptional watch in and out of the water.
For more advice on Garmin watches for swimming, see our guide: are Garmin devices waterproof?
Read our full Garmin Forerunner 945 review
Amazfit (owned by Zepp Health) has made a name for itself in smart, affordable fitness trackers, and the Amazfit Stratos is no exception. It's a solid all-round fitness tracker that makes a great swimming watch if you prefer to stick to the pool.
In addition to its swim-tracking mode, there's a built-in music player so you can hook up your waterproof headphones and enjoy music or podcasts are you train. You also get a dedicated triathlon mode that makes it easy to switch between cycling, swimming and running without wasting a second.
The lack of an open water swimming mode is a shame, but this is a great mid-range fitness tracker that will serve you well for indoor training.
Note that we're expecting the Amazfit T-Rex Pro to launch soon, which may well displace the Stratos in this guide, depending on its price. It's expected to be a particularly tough watch, and may boast open water swimming capability.
Read our full Amazfit Stratos review
The Coros Vertix 2 is a super-tough multi-sports watch that's a great choice for swimming watch, particularly if you're going on vacation and won't be able to charge it up frequently. The Vertix 2 can keep tracking for up to 140 hours with GPS enabled, or 240 in Ultramax mode, whether you're on foot, on your bike, or in the pool (or all three, with the multi-sport triathlon mode)
The 1.48in always-on display is bold and crisp, with a high resolution, making it easy to see your training stats at a glance, and it's mostly operated using physical buttons rather than its touchscreen (essential for wet hands). Unlike many sports watches, the Vertix 2 can also track your heart rate accurately while you swim, cutting out the need for a separate chest-strap heart rate monitor.
It's a very impressive swimming watch, though if you enjoy high-speed watersports or high diving then you'll be better off with the original Coros Vertix, which has a higher water resistance rating of 15ATM.
Read our full Coros Vertix 2 review
More than just a swimming watch, the Garmin Descent Mk2i is a fully fledged dive computer specially for managing and logging your dives, and helping keep you safe. Subwave sonar allows you to transmit data to other divers within a range of 10 meters, satellite positioning automatically plots entry and exit points, and the dive log stores data for up to 200 dives (with or without gas).
There are also thoughtful touches like an always-on display that's easy to read in all conditions (and can be double-tapped to switch screens while wearing gloves), a strap extender for wearing over a dry suit, and Apnea Hunt mode, which is built for free diving, but without the usual warning tones so it doesn't disturb wildlife.
The Descent Mk2i also supports pressure monitoring on up to five tanks, but only when paired with the Descent D1 Transmitter, which costs as much as a mid-range fitness tracker by itself. The price of the watch alone is extremely steep, so it's well worth checking out the original Garmin Descent Mk1 if you don't need all the more advanced tools.
There are pool and open water swimming modes too, and when you're out of the water, profiles for running, cycling, rowing and skiing will help track your other hobbies, and animated on-screen workouts will guide you through training plans while helping make sure you're using proper form.
For smaller wrists, Garmin has now released the 43mm Garmin Descent Mk2S, which is its smallest dive computer to date.
If you're in the market for a mid-range swimming watch for regular workouts, the Suunto 7 is a great all-rounder.
There are profiles for pool and open water swimming, with pace and distance measurements for both. The heart rate sensor provides accurate measurements underwater, and the watch tracks swimming stroke length, type, and count for you. Recovery tools help you plan your training effectively so you get the most out of each workout, and there's a logbook available for tracking.
In our tests, out workout stats synced quickly, and the app made it easy to dig through them afterwards to spot trends. Voice controls (via Google Assistant) allow you to use the watch hands-free, which is always a welcome touch.
You'll need to keep both the Suunto app and Google Fit installed on your phone, which is a little more hassle than we'd like, but not too much of an inconvenience. The higher-end Suunto 9 is a more sophisticated device, but the 7 is tough to beat at this price point.
Read our full Suunto 7 review
The new Apple Watch Ultra, launched in September has a large bright screen and a new customizable action button on the side. This means you no longer have to fiddle about with the touch screen when you want to stop and start an activity - so great for swimming too. With a longer battery life than other Apple Watches, at 36 hours, it’s one of the best smartwatches on the market, however, its swimming metrics could be improved.
The Ultra has added extra features for tracking swimming, including a SWOLF score - which counts your strokes against the time it takes you to swim one length of the pool. Waterproof to 100m, which is around 50m less than its competitors, we did find that it wasn't completely accurate when we swam lengths of the pool. Unfortunately, it wasn't sensitive enough to track that we'd changed directions - it did accurately track the distance, just not the number of lengths we'd completed. Its new Oceanic+ app is also an excellent option for divers.
An expensive option, the Apple Watch Ultra is a great smartwatch with superb GPS and brilliant fitness tracking.
Read our full Apple Watch Ultra review.
How to choose the right swimming watch for you
First and foremost, you need to know what kind of swimming you're intending on doing. Looking for a watch to take with you when snorkeling or deep-sea diving? You'll need one which is water-resistant enough at your desired depths, and one which can show you relevant depth data. Essentially, you need a wrist-mounted dive computer, and the Garmin Descent Mk2i and the Apple Watch Ultra are both useful here.
Just need a watch to track your movements in the pool? You can spend a little less if you're just after an estimation of calories, heart rate, and stroke count. The AmazFit and Suunto options on this list are excellent choices for anyone not wanting to pay through the nose for good water-based tracking, and most general fitness trackers like Fitbits and Garmins will do you fine if you're just looking for estimations of exertion made while surfing, for example.
How we test
Each time we test a swimming watch, we look at specific metrics such as stroke count, power, and direction changes in addition to more generic health information. All smartwatches can track calorie burn, heart rate and serve you notifications these days, but we test with another trusted smartwatch and sometimes a heart rate monitor to ensure accurate readings.
We've also put their different training tools to the test, making sure they're actually useful additions rather than cheap gimmicks.
Each watch starts testing fully charged, and we record how quickly power is drained in typical use and compare it to the information shown to us on the box, or in press releases, to ensure all consumer promises are being fulfilled. Visit TechRadar's How We Test page for more.
- Don't have much to spend? Read our guide to the best cheap fitness trackers
- Are Fitbit devices waterproof?
