Best cheap running watch 2018: run trackers to make you fitter on a budget

Once upon a jog the wonder of running watches, with their new-fangled GPS smarts, was reserved for the rich. Now advances in tech mean running watches are smaller, more advanced and - crucially - more affordable than ever before.

Setting running goals and monitoring your progress has never been easier thanks to data analysis offered by even the most basic and cheap running watches. With metrics like heart rate and GPS location anyone can train like a pro.

Even on smaller budgets, there’s still plenty of running watches choice, including offerings for beginners just starting out, regulars looking to push themselves and athletes aiming to smash their running bests, with the following the best of the affordable bunch.

If your budget stretches a little further you might also want to check out our guide to the best running watches for any budget too.

Note: we've ranked these from cheapest to most expensive according to prices at time of writing.

TomTom is exiting the wearable tech game, but it’s certainly going out on a high with the Spark 3. The highlight is the new, compass-powered Route Exploration mode, which will keep your runs fresh and eliminate the fear of losing your way on the trails. 

The TomTom Spark 3 also crams in a heart-rate monitor, a Bluetooth enabled-built-in music player, with room for 500 songs, and 24/7 multi-sport activity tracking. It’s also packing a battery that’ll get you through the most challenging of runs even with GPS, HR, Bluetooth running concurrently

Fitbit has come a long way from its activity tracking routes and now offers GPS-level tracking accuracy (in this case using the connected phone’s GPS) and heart rate monitoring.

The Fitbit Charge 2 is a slim, attractive and simplistic wearable that can be worn daily for activity and sleep tracking, but will also measure runs with data like pace, distance and heart rate zones all displayed on its OLED screen.

The Charge 2 automatically tracks runs, sleep and more as it recognizes the variation between activities. Since it can be connected to a smartphone it will also offers notifications for calls, messages and more with vibrating alerts.

Plus, that smart sleep tracking can offer a subtle vibrating alarm to wake you at peak sleep cycle for a more refreshed start - ideal for those early runs.

The Polar M200 is a super affordable option, especially when you consider everything that’s crammed into this running watch.

You get - deep breath - wrist-based heart rate tracking, built-in GPS, smartphone notifications, all day activity tracking, personalized training programs via the app, varying color options and battery life for a week of use with an hour's run per day - and breathe.

The round face is designed to be attractive enough for daily wear, while the water-resistant build should mean you don’t need to take it off much. The Polar Flow app plays nice with other fitness services, so you should be able to transition across painlessly – well, apart from the pain of running, of course.

The Garmin Forerunner 30 is a simple and affordable running watch that squeezes in round-the-clock heart rate tracking, GPS tracking, automatic activity detection and up to 8-hours of battery life in activity mode (5 days in total). 

It delivers smartphone notifications if you desire and, if you wish to leave your phone at home, automatically upload workouts whenever you reconnect via Bluetooth. 

Like the Forerunner 35, it’s not really a looker, but the multi-sport tracker offers some serious value for money.

While this comes in the guise of a slim and attractive activity tracker, the Garmin Vivosmart HR+ is actually a full-on GPS-toting running wearable. As the name suggests, you get wrist-based heart rate tracking plus all that Vivosmart connectivity for smartphone notifications.

The screen is always-on and offers clear readouts even in daylight. That includes heart rate, distance and pace, as well as full on smartphone messages you can read plus call notifications and more.

The Vivosmart HR+ works with Garmin Connect for auto syncing of data to various fitness services and should last for a good five days of activity tracking with eight hours of continuous GPS running. Plus, it’s waterproof to five meters deep, so you only need to remove it for charging.

The affordable Garmin Forerunner 35 packs in plenty of the high-end features you’d find on Garmin’s elite running watches but at a more wallet-friendly price.  

In addition to a large array of running metrics, the GPS-based wearable includes an optical heart-rate monitor, smart notifications (calls and messages) and activity tracking, meaning you’ll get a full picture of your daily motion, not just running.

It may lack some of the advance running dynamics tools you get on watches like the Garmin Forerunner 635 (stride length, for example) and seasoned runners may need a more powerful HR sensor, but it’s perfect for new runners or those dipping their toes into the world of wearable tech. 

The Fitbit Charge line of products have been popular ever since the original generation back in 2014, and now the latest generation is the Fitbit Charge 3. It's a touch more expensive than the Charge 2 you can see above, but it can do more.

New upgrades for the Charge 3 include a waterproof design so you can take this in a pool with you. But you're here for a running watch, so how does this perform out there when you're jogging?

It may not be the cheapest device on this list, but it's one of the easiest to use and while you'll have to take your phone out to be able to track your location on a run you'll get the benefits of onboard music storage and quick exercises directly from your wrist.

All of your key stats appear on the larger display that Fitbit has included on this generation, and the design is far nicer than it has been on other products in the past. This isn't the most high-end running device on this list, but the Fitbit Charge 3 offers a lot of what you may be looking for.

If you’re a dogged trail runner rather than a city slicker, the Suunto Ambit3 Run, with a rugged, off-road design and a sporty finish and plenty of fun features, could be the GPS running watch for you.  

The cool ‘Run a POI’ and ‘Run a Route’ features let you scan online repositories for good routes to run, making this watch ideal for discovery and running off the beaten track. 

Unfortunately, there’s no built-in heart rate monitor, so you’ll need a separate chest strap, but runners will benefit from fast GPS pick up.  

A significant upgrade on the best-selling M400, the newer Polar M430 adds improved heart-rate tracking, pin-point accurate GPS and the addition of sleep tracking. 

The mid-range watch sits enticingly at under £200 ($230, AU$330) and delivers enough to cater for Couch-to-5Kers and serious marathon runners alike. The M430 boast all the usual run-tracking but also offers additional features such as sleep tracking, a simple Fitness Test to chart your progress and recommended recovery times. A recent update added a find-your-way-home feature, giving you the freedom to run off the beaten track.

The design is a little retro, the screen is basic and you won't get all of the elite features you get with the Polar V800 or a top-end Forerunner. Still, at this price, there’s more than enough to satisfy most runners.

• More into all-round fitness? These are the best trackers.