Coros Pace 2 vs Garmin Forerunner 255 Compared: Selection Guide [2023]

We compared the Coros Pace 2 vs Garmin Forerunner 255 and would like to share the key differences between them. First of all, the Coros Pace 2 is affordable, but the Garmin Forerunner 255 is feature-rich and which is closer to the premium smartwatches on the market place.

Here is the table we have put together to help you better understand Coros Pace 2 vs Garmin Forerunner 255 comparison:

Similar Article: Coros Pace 2 vs Garmin Forerunner 55

Key Differences Between the Coros Pace 2 and Forerunner 255:

We have listed the main differences between the Coros Pace 2 and Forerunner 255 based on:

• Design, Size and Display
• Battery-life
• Smart Features: Health & Fitness & Tracking

Let’s take a look at them one by one:

Design, Size and Display

• To begin with, the Forerunner 255 model has two different size options. The standard edition has 46-mm case size, whereas Forerunner 255S has 41-mm case size. Based on the case size you prefer; the battery-life and screen resolution will be different as well as the price tag. On the other hand, the Coros Pace 2 is available in only one case size which measures 42-mm.
• The Forerunner 255 has 5-buttons and easy to navigate in its menu in comparison to the 2-buttons of the Pace 2. Apart from that, both Coros Pace 2 and Garmin Forerunner 255 lack touchscreen. This is on purpose, since it is hard to use touchscreen while running. Anyway, if you are seeking a smartwatch with touch screen, you can consider the Forerunner 955 ( check out our Forerunner 945 vs 955 article to know more about this watch)
• Both the Pace 2 and Forerunner 255 is incorporated with the Corning Gorilla Glasses which are known as the scratch resistant glasses up to a point. However, the Forerunner 255 is equipped with the Corning Gorilla Glass 3 which is a newer and better technology in comparison to the standard Corning Gorilla Glass of Pace 2.
• When it comes to the display, the Pace 2 has 240 x 240 pixels always-on memory LCD screen. On the other hand, the Forerunner 255 has 260 x 260 pixels transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP) screen which provides excellent readability in any environment, especially if there is direct sunlight. So that Garmin Forerunner 255 does better than the Coros Pace 2.

Battery-life Compared for Pace 2 vs Forerunner 255

• When we compared the battery-life of Pace 2 vs Forerunner 255, it looks like the Pace 2 does a better job.
• In smartwatch mode, the battery-life of Forerunner can last up to 14-days. On the other hand, the Pace 2 can last up to 20 days.
• On the GPS mode, both the Forerunner 255 and Pace 2 can last up to 30 hours. It is good to note that, if you are going to use your Forerunner 255 on GPS mode with the music playback feature, then you will get 10-hours of battery-life. However, this cannot be a deal breaker since the Pace 2 lacks music play feature.

Smart Features: Health & Fitness & Tracking

• The Garmin Forerunner 255 comes with SpO2 sensor and HRV feature which gives more holistic look at your health status. Basically, the SpO2 measures the saturation of blood oxygen. As you know that the blood oxygen saturation changes with the elevation as it does due to any other health problem. So, this feature is very nice to have it in a smartwatch.
• If you have your phone with you and connected to the Forerunner 255, your family members can follow your workout in real time via LiveTrack. Also, with the help of Incident Detection feature in the Forerunner 255, if there is an anormal activity in your health status, it can send a message to your emergency contacts via your smartphone (must be connected to watch). To sum up, these two features lack in the Coros Pace 2.
• HRV stands for Heart Rate Variability and it is not included in the Coros Pace 2. On the other hand, the HRV feature in Forerunner 255 is being used to understand the VO2 max, stress score, performance condition.
• To begin with, both Coros Pace 2 and Garmin Forerunner 255 offer the same GPS services. However, the Forerunner 255 comes with multi-frequency positioning sensors whereas the Coros Pace 2 has single-frequency chip set. So, the Forerunner 255 provides the more accurate positioning data in comparison to the Coros Pace 2.
• When it comes to the smart feature comparison for these two watches, the Forerunner 255 can play smartphone music when your phone is with you. On the other hand, the Coros Pace 2 lacks this feature. Moreover, if you can pay some more and get the Forerunner 255 Music version, you can store up to 500 songs in the Forerunner 255 Music and can play off-line (don’t need your phone with you). 
• Both watches can show the notification on your smart phone. However, they don’t have mic or speaker for calls.
• The Forerunner 255 offers more sport modes such as yoga, Pilates and cross-country skiing which are not included in the Pace 2.
• Both watches come with Bluetooth and ANT+ connectivity. They are also water resistant up to 5-ATM (50-meters).
• Considering data recording, the Forerunner 255 has 4-GB memory whereas the Pace 2 has only 64-MB.

Our Verdict for Coros Pace 2 vs Garmin Forerunner 255 Comparison

Our personal choice is to go with the Forerunner 255 since it is closer to the premium smart watches such as Forerunner 745 or 955.

When we think about the extras that comes with only the Forerunner 255, it is the winner by far in comparison to the Pace 2.

However, to ease your decision, you can consider the followings:

• You can go with the Garmin Forerunner 255 to have: better resolution and screen display, more scratch resistant screen glass, playing smart phone music, blood oxygen saturation measurement, better positioning, extra sport modes, and 4-GB memory for data recording.
• You can go with the Coros Pace 2 since it offers slightly more battery-life and more budged in comparison to the Forerunner 255.

You may also want to check out our similar article: Coros Vertix 2 vs Fenix 7

Here is a useful video about Garmin Forerunner 255

Here is a useful video about the Coros Pace 2: