Compare all Garmin lifestyle models
Garmin Venu 3 vs Garmin Vivoactive 5 vs Garmin Vivosmart 5
Venu 3 | Vivoactive 5 | Vivosmart 5 | |
---|---|---|---|
Screen | AMOLED color screen | AMOLED color screen | OLED black-white screen |
Size | 41mm (S) | 45mm (L) | 42mm (M) | 22mm (S) |
Built-in GPS | Yes | Yes | No |
Track the number of steps climbed | Yes | No | No |
Sports readings quality | Good | Decent | Decent |
Health readings quality | Good | Good | Good |
Store music on watch | Yes | Yes | No |
Contactless payment | Yes | Yes | No |
Emergency notification | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Smart functions
Venu: many smart functions
The Garmin Venu is a complete lifestyle smartwatch. You can read and answer your smartphone notifications and messages. You can also call the smartwatch and control it with your voice using the voice assistant. You can also store music and podcasts on your Venu. That way, you can listen to them more easily while you work out. You can pay contactlessly via Garmin Pay.
Vivoactive: no microphone
The biggest differences between the Vivoactive 5 and Venu 3 are the voice assistant and call function. The Vivoactive 5 doesn't have these. It does have all other functions, like storing music and contactless payment. You can read and answer all your smartphone notifications, of course.
Vivosmart: receive notifications
The Garmin Vivosmart is less extensive than the other smartwatches. You can view text messages, calls, and smartphone notifications, but you can't answer them. Because the screen is quite small, everything is a bit harder to read. You can't make contactless payments or store music on the watch with a Vivosmart.
Sports and health
Venu: extensive readings
The Venu has the most extensive sports functions and readings of these 3. You can accurately track your GPS and height during your workout, and have many sports profiles. You also have sleep tracking and nap detection. The heart rate monitor is the same as the more expensive Garmin, like the Fenix 7.
Vivoactive: sufficient readings
The Vivoactive is very different from the Venu 3 in 2 ways. The first difference is the older heart rate monitor. This way, you measure your heart rate less accurately than with the Venu 3. The Vivoactive 5 also doesn't track stair steps and height differences during your workout. That means you can't track how you perform on hills or bridges while you're running or biking.
Vivosmart: basic readings
Just like with the Venu and Vivoactive, you can track your steps, heart rate, energy levels, sleep quality, and stress level with the Vivosmart. But less accurately and extensively. The Vivosmart also doesn't have a built-in GPS. This means that you'll always have to take your smartphone with you when you want to track your route.
Conclusion
Do you want a smartwatch with many smart functions and sports functions? Go for the Garmin Venu 3. If you don't mind the sports readings being less accurate and don't call with your smartwatch, the Vivoactive 5 suits you. The Garmin Vivosmart is for you if you mostly want to track your steps and heart rate.