I’ve tested the Garmin Forerunner 570 vs Coros Pace 4 Pro — which should you buy?

The Coros Pace 4 Pro is one of the best sports watches to come out this year, and I’ve kept it on since testing it for my review to use as my main running watch during marathon training.

It’s a key competitor to Garmin’s Forerunner line-up, and the Garmin Forerunner 570 in particular, which lacks a key feature the Pace 4 Pro has in the shape of offline maps.

However, the Forerunner 570 does outshine the cheaper Coros in some areas, most notably smart features and training analysis, and it comes in two sizes.

I’ve run hundreds of miles with both watches individually in testing, and also wore them both for a run to test them head-to-head.

I’ve outlined the key differences to consider below, and for more details on either, check our Coros Pace 4 Pro review and Garmin Forerunner 570 review.

Garmin Forerunner 570 vs Coros Pace 4 Pro: price

The Coros Pace 4 Pro is the cheaper watch, costing $449/£389 compared to $549.99/£459.99 for the Forerunner 570. That’s at full price, but it’s worth noting the Forerunner 570 is reduced quite regularly to $449, the same price as the Coros.

Right now, the Pace 4 Pro only comes in one size with two colors: black and white. The Forerunner 570 comes in two sizes — 42mm and 47mm — with three colors available in each size.

Garmin Forerunner 570 vs Coros Pace 4 Pro: design and display

The Forerunner 570 has some design advantages purely in terms of the choice on offer — there are brighter colors available and having the smaller size option is great for those with smaller wrists.

I also slightly prefer the five-button design on the Garmin to the three buttons on the Coros, one of which is a digital dial, just because I sometimes set off the dial accidentally and find it less precise than buttons.

Both are attractive watches with bright AMOLED displays, but the Coros has a larger screen at 1.47 in to 1.4 in on the 47mm Forerunner 570 I tested (1.2 in on the 42mm watch), and it also uses more durable materials.

The Pace 4 Pro has a titanium bezel and sapphire crystal screen, whereas the Forerunner 570 has a Gorilla Glass screen and aluminum bezel. The sapphire crystal display in particular is a bonus for me as someone who has scratched glass screens in the past on runs.

Both 47mm watches feel light on the wrist, with the Coros being a little thinner, but the Garmin a little lighter. I found both comfortable to wear 24/7.

You get more storage on the Pace 4 Pro, which has 32GB of space compared with 8GB on the Garmin, which makes room for the maps you can download to the Coros.

Neither watch has a built-in flashlight, which is surprising for the Forerunner 570 since it’s a feature that is found on many Garmins, including the Venu 4 at the same price.

Garmin Forerunner 570 vs Coros Pace 4 Pro: sports tracking and training analysis

Both watches offer a wide array of sports modes, including track run, triathlon and open water swimming, with lots of stats available for the main sports of running, cycling and swimming in particular.

Though it doesn’t have all the training analysis features found on pricier Garmins, the Forerunner 570 does offer more features in this area than the Coros Pace 4 Pro.

One notable extra is Garmin’s Training Readiness rating, which condenses a lot of the data it tracks into one score you can use to guide your approach to training on any given day.

I also think Garmin does a better job of showing its training analysis in an engaging and easy-to-understand way.

The Coros does offer a good level of insight into your training, though, including info on your overall training load, VO2 max estimates, race predictions, and a recovery advisor. I don’t think the Pace 4 Pro is lacking in this area, but the Garmin does offer more.

Garmin Forerunner 570 vs Coros Pace 4 Pro: GPS and heart rate accuracy

Throughout testing, I kept constant tabs on the GPS accuracy of the watches by checking their tracks and looking at the pacing and distance stats in comparison to other top watches.

I also raced with both to see if they lined up with the official race distances, and both have been excellent for me with regard to GPS accuracy. I used the most accurate multi-band mode in both watches and haven’t experienced any noticeable errors with either.

To check their heart rate accuracy, I compared them with the readings from a chest strap sensor for a variety of workouts.

Both impressed again, but the odd error did creep in, I’d say more noticeably with the Coros Pace 4 Pro, which would show the occasional incorrect spike in heart rate and lag behind the chest strap more noticeably during interval sessions.

I’d call it a draw on GPS accuracy and give the Garmin an edge on heart rate accuracy, but both are very strong in both areas based on my testing.

Garmin Forerunner 570 vs Coros Pace 4 Pro: smart features

One area where the Forerunner 570 easily beats the Coros Pace 4 Pro is smart features.

The best Garmin watches in general are way ahead of their sporty rivals on this front, offering NFC payments, music storage including being able to link with streaming services like Spotify, and the Connect IQ app store, which does contain useful extras for the watch.

You also get more smart widgets on the Forerunner 570, like a calendar app and sports scores, and you can customize the watch face a lot more than on the Coros.

While the Pace 4 Pro does offer music storage, it can’t link with streaming apps, so you have to drag and drop MP3 files onto the watch, and it doesn’t offer NFC payments or an app store, beyond being able to send new watch faces from the app.

Garmin Forerunner 570 vs Coros Pace 4 Pro: maps and navigation

Garmin has the best maps and navigation tools available for sports watches, but only on its top-end devices, and the Forerunner 570 only offers breadcrumb navigation.

The Coros Pace 4 Pro has full offline maps, making navigation easier, especially when following routes on the watch, and it also delivers alerts when notable climbs and descents are coming up on your route.

Breadcrumb navigation is fine most of the time, but the maps on the Pace 4 Pro are a clear advantage over the Forerunner 570.

Garmin Forerunner 570 vs Coros Pace 4 Pro: battery life

Battery life is an area where Coros always shines, and the Pace 4 Pro easily outlasts the Forerunner 570 in both watch and GPS modes.

The 47mm Forerunner 570 lasts up to 11 days in watch mode and offers 14 hours of multi-band GPS tracking, whereas the Pace 4 Pro can last up to 21 days in watch mode and has 30 hours of multi-band GPS.

In my testing, I had the screen always on with both watches, which reduces battery life, and ran every day using the GPS, and the Forerunner 570 needed charging every three to four days, whereas the Coros lasted me seven days on a charge.

Garmin Forerunner 570 vs Coros Pace 4 Pro: specs compared

Garmin Forerunner 570 vs Coros Pace 4 Pro: verdict

The Garmin Forerunner 570 is a great sports watch, but given its high price, it’s definitely a shame Garmin left out some key features, including maps and a flashlight.

Unless you really need the smart features on the watch, or love its design and smaller size option, the Coros Pace 4 Pro is the better buy in my opinion.

It’s cheaper, lasts longer on a charge, has maps and a bigger display, and has proved to be reliably accurate and enjoyable to wear 24/7 in my experience.

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