Garmin Forerunner 245 For $200 Or Garmin Forerunner 255 For $300? I’ve Tested Both Running Watches So Which Black Friday Deal Is Best?

Two of the best Garmin Black Friday deals this year are the discounts on the Garmin Forerunner 255 and Forerunner 245. The music versions of both watches are substantially reduced, so you can get the Forerunner 245 for $199.99 on Amazon and Forerunner 255 for $299.99 on Garmin.

Both watches are older devices, the Garmin Forerunner 265 being the newer of the two, but both the Forerunner 245 and 255 are still excellent options at their reduced prices. 

The Forerunner 245 hasn’t received new features via software updates from Garmin in a while, but it still offers accurate and detailed sports tracking and some training analysis. It also has breadcrumb navigation and music storage, and lasted me a week on a charge quite reliably even when running every day.

Naturally the Garmin Forerunner 255 is an upgrade on the older watch, with notable new features including a multisport mode for triathletes and multi-band GPS, which is more accurate than the tracking available on the 245.

Other new features include more detailed training analysis, a race calendar widget, a morning report and heart rate variability tracking, which can help you judge how ready your body is to train each day (though the Forerunner 255 does not get Garmin’s training readiness measurement, which is on the 265).

There are also two sizes of the Forerunner 255. The smaller Forerunner 255S is a great option for those with smaller wrists, even if the smaller case means less battery life. The 255S still lasted me five or six days when running most days using the multi-band GPS, which uses more battery than standard GPS.

If you don’t need music features, you can actually get the Forerunner 255 for $249.99 at Amazon in the Black Friday sale, so if you carry your phone with you when training or just don’t need any audio encouragement during workouts, that’s the better deal for sure.

As a keen runner who doesn’t do triathlons, I’d say the Forerunner 245 Music would be the better watch for me to grab in the sales. I’d miss the multi-band GPS on the 255 for sure, but the 245 is a simple and reliable watch that I’ve happily trained with in the past, and it does everything I need for $100 less.

If you want a more detailed comparison, read my Garmin Forerunner vs Garmin Forerunner 255 article, and my Garmin Forerunner 265 vs Garmin Forerunner 255 article. You can also read more about my experience with each watch in my Garmin Forerunner 255 review and my Garmin Forerunner 245 review.