Garmin Forerunner 255 vs Garmin Forerunner 245: Should You Upgrade?

By Linus T.
Updated May 2023

Garmin updated its Forerunner 200 Series with the launch of the new Garmin Forerunner 255 in June 2022, as an upgrade to the Forerunner 245 model that was released 3 years ago in 2019.

Both smartwatches are classified as mid-range GPS, running smartwatches with a complete suite of health and fitness tracking tools. If you’re looking for an entry GPS, running smartwatch, you can consider the Garmin Forerunner 55 instead. Or if you’re looking for a more full-featured option, take a look at the Garmin Forerunner 955.

In our review, we put the Garmin Forerunner 255 vs Garmin Forerunner 245 to the test to see if it’s worth a timely upgrade for you.

Garmin Forerunner 255

All-new sensors and specs

Equipped with multi-band GNSS and Garmin's new V4 Elevate Heart Rate Sensor

Buy on Amazon

Garmin Forerunner 245

Make your runs count

GPS running smartwatch that tracks and evaluates your running performance. 

Buy on Amazon

#1 Price

Garmin Forerunner 255

The launch price of the Garmin Forerunner 255 is slightly higher than the Garmin Forerunner 245.

Also, since the Garmin Forerunner 245 is now 3 years in the making, the price has come down a little and you can get it at slightly more than a hundred dollars cheaper than the Garmin Forerunner 255.

#2 Design & Display

Garmin Forerunner 255

The Garmin Forerunner 255 is available in two sizes — 42mm and 46mm, while the Garmin Forerunner 245 only comes in a 42mm size. If you have a bigger wrist, the larger-sized option will give you a better fit.

Both smartwatches have a round face with 5 buttons around the watch to control all features and settings on the watch. They both do not have a touchscreen function and both also use a memory-in-pixel (MIP) display.

One small difference between the two models is that the Garmin Forerunner 255 has a slightly higher resolution at 260 x 260 pixels versus the 240 x 240 pixels in the Garmin Forerunner 245.

#3 Health & Fitness Features

Garmin Forerunner 245

The Garmin Forerunner 255 and Forerunner 245 track most of the basic health and wellness metrics like heart rate, blood oxygen saturation and body battery energy monitoring. They both also include a huge library of sports modes that cover activities like running, swimming, biking and more.

Here's where the Forerunner Series stand out from the other Garmin smartwatches. Both smartwatches have a feature known as PacePro, that provides tailor-made pace guidance for selected courses or distances on race day. They also have features to understand your training performance and development.

Garmin Forerunner 245

Make your runs count

GPS running smartwatch that tracks and evaluates your running performance. 

Buy on Amazon

When it comes to the newer Garmin Forerunner 255, it has a couple of standout differences from its predecessor. It now has Triathlon and multisport activity profiles that let you switch between sports modes with one simple click.

The new Garmin Forerunner 255 comes upgraded with multi-band GNSS SatIQ technology to give you the best location tracking accuracy possible. It also comes built with Garmin’s new Elevate V4 Heart Rate Sensor, which has a little more light sensor to give greater accuracy for heart rate and blood oxygen measurements. This lets the smartwatch deliver Heart Rate Variability (HRV) data.

On the health and wellness tracking side, you also get the new Morning Report feature. This sends you a detailed overview of your sleep, recovery and training outlook when you wake up, along with your HRV status and weather information. This comes in handy to understand your body’s readiness and performance for the day to come.

Garmin Forerunner 255

All-new sensors and specs

Equipped with multi-band GNSS and Garmin's new V4 Elevate Heart Rate Sensor

Buy on Amazon

#4 Smartwatch Functions

Garmin Forerunner 245

The Garmin Forerunner 255 and Forerunner 245 cover all the basic smartwatch functions you need like smart notifications, safety tracking, and everyday utility tools.

The main difference between the two models is that the Garmin Forerunner 255 comes built-in with NFC and hence has Garmin Pay. With it, you can easily make payments with your watch while on the go.

#5 Battery & Power

Garmin Forerunner 255

The Garmin Forerunner 255 has a much better battery life compared to the Garmin Forerunner 245. In the normal smartwatch mode, you can see the Garmin Forerunner 255 lasts up to 14 days on a full charge while the Forerunner 245 will only last you 7 days. But when it comes to GPS mode, they roughly have the same battery life of up to 25 hours.

The Garmin Forerunner 255 definitely comes on top when it comes to battery life, almost lasting twice as long as the Garmin Forerunner 245 in smartwatch mode. However, this may not be such a huge dealbreaker as both smartwatches can last you up to a week without charging.

Compare Garmin Forerunner 255 vs Garmin Forerunner 245

Final Thoughts

We feel you will not regret upgrading to the Garmin Forerunner 255. With better sensors, new health and fitness tracking and improved battery life, it makes the new watch a worthy upgrade.

That said if budget is a concern, the Garmin Forerunner 245 is still a great watch to own as it already does a lot more than you would use on a daily basis. And as an older model, it might make it a great steal to buy during promotions.

If you like to read more on Garmin smartwatches, check out our other relevant guides here:

Garmin Forerunner 255 vs Garmin Forerunner 745

Garmin Forerunner 255 vs Garmin Venu 2

Garmin Forerunner 955 vs Garmin Forerunner 945

Garmin Forerunner 955 vs Garmin Fenix 7

Garmin Forerunner 955 vs Garmin Epix 2

Garmin Venu Sq 2 vs Garmin Venu 2

Garmin Venu 2 vs Garmin Venu Sq

Garmin Venu 2 vs Garmin Vivoactive 4

Garmin Vivoactive 4 vs Garmin Venu

Explore the full collection for Garmin on Amazon.com or visit the Official Garmin Singapore Store.