Coros Pace Pro Review
With a bright 1,500-nit display, impressive battery life, and twice the computing power compared to the iconic Coros PACE 3, the new AMOLED Coros PACE Pro represents a notable hardware bump by the company, but is it any good?
Buy Coros Pace Pro: USA – $349, UK – £349, EU – 399€
COROS again focuses runners’ minds with its latest PACE Pro—a lightweight performance watch. The new GPS sports watch features a 1,500-nit AMOLED screen for the first time. This makes for a remarkably bright and colourful screen, similar to the one found on recently updated Apple Watches.
The Pace Pro delivers an impressive 38-hour battery life when recording a GPS workout, which the reviewer considers best-in-class for a screen this bright.
Serious runners will be impressed by the 37g weight (with the optional lightweight nylon strap).
The PACE Pro boasts excellent accuracy in both urban and remote areas, thanks to its enhanced satellite chipset, which supports all systems (constellations) and dual-frequency mode.
Coros Pace Pro - Pros and cons The Coros Pace 2 and Pace 3 disrupted the running watch market with a fantastic mix of affordability and features, winning the hearts of runners who wanted solid performance at a competitive price. The Pace Pro tried to continue this with notable hardware upgrades, making it a good fit for those already invested in the Coros ecosystem. Still, the question of value and affordability becomes harder to justify at its new price point, as it edges closer to Garmin’s far more established offerings like the discounted Forerunner 265 and the heavily discounted Epix Gen 2. Coros has priced the Pace Pro based on improvements like a faster processor and a sharper AMOLED screen, but these enhancements don’t truly bridge the gap with its competitors. While Coros has undeniably retained the same high level of features, Garmin has had years to refine its tools, offering a richer experience at every turn. For example, Coros TOPO maps are visually appealing but lack functionality such as rerouting or creating routes on the fly, which Garmin Epix gen 2 ($419 on sale) provides. Even the Forerunner 265 ($349 on sale) has maps via dwMAPS. Adding routes to a Coros watch can also be frustrating due to unreliable Wi-Fi connections and the lack of seamless syncing features, such as those found in the Garmin ecosystem. The bright AMOLED display on the Pace Pro impresses at first glance, but it falls short in terms of long-term durability. Unlike Garmin, which offers scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass and Sapphire options, the Pace Pro’s screen is far more prone to damage, leaving it vulnerable during rigorous outdoor use. Garmin further distances itself with a robust app ecosystem, allowing users to customise and extend functionality in ways Coros will not match for several years. Data accuracy is another sticking point. Coros offers physiological metrics that sound promising on paper, but more knowledgeable reviewers have flagged limitations in the algorithms and underlying data quality, particularly with optical heart rate monitoring. By comparison, Garmin acquired Firstbeat Physiology in (2020), a company built on years of research, ensuring higher reliability and trust in its metrics. Don’t get me wrong. Coros Pace watches are solid sports watches. For $100/£100 less, I’d happily recommend Pace Pro to you. My concern is that Pace Pro is priced too highly for its true feature set. Coros ticks most feature boxes but fails to follow that simple tick with a rich set of feature details and options. Smoke and mirrors. Pros Nice touches Cons Not-so-nice touches
Coros Pace Pro Review Summary - impressive battery life, vibrant screen, user-friendly controls, but...
Key Facts
The Coros Pace Pro features impressive battery life and screen.
- Over 30 hours of battery life in full GPS recording mode (38 hours max).
- Weight: 37g with nylon strap, 49g with silicone strap.
- 1.3″ AMOLED screen with super-bright 1,500 nits.
- Up to 20 days of daily battery life in standard mode.
- Offline TOPO Maps (manually downloaded, not routable).
- Comes with a silicone strap as standard.
- Includes USB-C keychain charging adapter.
- Compatible with the COROS DURA and the COROS Heart Rate Monitor.
Buy Coros Pace Pro: USA – $349, UK – £349, EU – 399€
Coros Pace Pro vs Coros Pace 3 Comparison
The headline difference is that the Pro is bigger and brighter with offline maps. Almost every key hardware performance characteristic is improved to varying degrees.
| Feature | PACE PRO | PACE 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Case Size | 46x46x12.25 mm (larger, thicker) | 41.9×41.9×11.7 mm |
| Weight | Nylon: 37g / Silicone: 49g | Nylon: 30g / Silicone: 38g |
| Screen Size | 1.3″ | 1.2″ |
| Resolution | 416x416px | 240x240px |
| Screen Type | AMOLED Touch Screen | Memory in Pixel (MIP) Touch Screen |
| Performance | Claimed 2x better CPU performance | – |
| Bluetooth Storage | 32 GB Storage | 4 GB Storage |
| All Systems GPS Battery | 38 Hours (28 with AOD) | 25 Hours |
| Dual-Freq GPS Battery | 31 Hours (24 with AOD) | 15 Hours |
| Map Type | Offline Global Mapping | Breadcrumb Navigation, no map |
| Sensors | Includes ECG | No ECG |
| Price | 399€, $349, £349 | 249€ |
Coros Pace Pro Accuracy Tests
The Pace Pro scored 81% on the standard GPS test (detailed analysis here) – that’s good, but it’s a step down from the accuracy of market-leading Pace 3.
Coros Pace Pro Detailed Heart Rate Accuracy test Results
- The results across various run and ride types mostly show fairly poor accuracy.
- Accuracy was particularly poor when riding on the road.
- Recommendation: Use a quality heart rate monitor, as the default Coros optical HR data is often incorrect.
Coros Pace Pro Detailed Elevation Accuracy Test Results
- The Pace Pro sometimes matched other devices but significantly underrecorded the elevation.
- Tip: Manually calibrate the elevation at the start of each workout for accurate data.
Coros Pace Pro Detailed GPS GNSS Accuracy Test Results
Pace Pro scored well by historical standards, but it is not quite as accurate as the best current watches from Garmin and Suunto. It is not quite as accurate as its predecessor, the Pace 3 (Pace 3).
The results look good for overall workout distances. However, accurate distance, instant running pace in built-up areas, and difficult mountainous trail conditions will throw up glitches. Consider an excellent footpod like Stryd.
Other Coros Pace Pro Review Thoughts from across the web
Rob, the Quantified Scientist, notes that heart rate tracking was mediocre and sleep stage tracking was bad, but GPS was really good. Whereas dcrainmaker found “GPS & heart rate is probably the best we’ve seen on a COROS watch,” the exception being “one of the worst optical HR performances I’ve seen this year in outdoor cycling.”
Buy Coros Pace Pro: USA – $349, UK – £349, EU – 399€
Take Out
With a few reservations, Pace Pro is a decent upgrade for a Pace 2/3 owner but over-priced for a challenger brand looking to attract new customers away from the established brands.
The move to update Pace 3 with an AMOLED screen was inevitable. I’m pleasantly surprised that the company has moved so quickly; I expected to receive this watch from them in 2025. So, Kudos to their development and production teams.
Pricing and Competition
At 400€, this superficially appears priced sensibly against the superior Garmin Forerunner 265 at its retail price of 500€. Still, you have to wonder if someone can afford 400€, why not go for the 100€ bump and benefit from Garmin’s superior ecosystem and on-watch features? If you check out the prices today, you will find that Garmin has already discounted the FR265 to the same price as the Pace Pro globally. You will also find the vastly superior Garmin Epix Gen 2 available for a bit extra at 485€ – it is a bit heavier, though.
Even the cheaper Forerunner 165 Music has an AMOLED screen at 330€, and you also get support for music streaming (including Spotify) and tap-and-go NFC payments. No map? No worries, you can easily add maps to Garmin with the dwMAP app.
Turning further afield, if you prefer to avoid Garmin:
Suunto Race S (349€) and Race are superbly crafted alternatives to Garmin and Coros. Suunto Race S is cheaper and better than the Pace Pro, IMHO. Suunto has a burgeoning 3rd party app store that Coros lack and a great smartphone app that it shares with the beautiful and excellent Hammerhead Karoo 3 – a vastly superior bike computer to the buggy Coros DURA.
Apple Watch SE (249€) is a superior 24×7 smartwatch to Coros for those with an iPhone, but it lacks the sports and physiology apps of Coros and simply can’t compete with the awesome Coros battery life. Athlytic or Workoutdoors are great one-stop Apple apps for more committed runners. Pace Pro is a better runners watch.
The older Coros Pace 3 came in at a respectable 249€. The Pro’s 400€ price tag implies, once again, that a company thinks a product is better than it is. This might prove a costly mistake for Coros, but only time will tell.
I can’t see myself using a Coros as my daily driver as I could in different respects for the Apple Watch 10 (not SE), Forerunner 265 or Suunto Race S. However, many people love Coros, which can be an excellent choice for some. If you’re happy in the ecosystem, this watch is worth considering when upgrading.
Buy Coros Pace Pro: USA – $349, UK – £349, EU – 399€
Last Updated on 28 January 2026 by the5krunner
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tfk is the founder and author of the5krunner, an independent endurance sports technology publication. With 20 years of hands-on testing of GPS watches and wearables, and competing in triathlons at an international age-group level, tfk provides in-depth expert analysis of fitness technology for serious athletes and endurance sport competitors.
I don’t think it will come with sapphire glass, what do you think?
no there is not sapphire glass
Is the HRM monitor the same as the current one?
HRM adds ECG.
So it is different to pace 3
Seems to be similarry specced at first glance as Suunto’s Race S, which is priced lower at €349.
My vertex 1 is still doing well, but feel it’s nearing its end of life soon. Overall I am happy with the Coros ECO system, after moving away from Garmin several years ago. So this is likely a potential upgrade candidate for me as I prefer a smaller model over the Vertix and don’t fancy changing ECO systems again.
Race is a beautiful watch, one of the very best.
Suunto has its own 3rd party app store, like Garmin.
changing ecosystems is a PITA for sure
This will appeal to existing Coros supporters but unlikely to pull lots of people away from Garmin.
In the UK you can buy the FR265 for £390 or the Epix 2 for £325.
yep.
FR265 has no offline maps. It’s an important feature for me and many others.
The you can save even more money and get the Epix 2 for £325
you can simply use the Dynamic Watch (dwMAP) ciq tool to bypass Garmin’s artificial restriction => https://dynamic.watch/
Same price as the new polar vantage m3, more expensive than suunto race s. As a previous coros apex user who had his watch die right after 2 years warranty period was up (couldn’t charge, otherwise still worked until battery ran out) and finding out there is no service centre to actually get it fixed, I’m keen on the specs but not the brand itself.
that is one good thing about Garmin, they often can offer something extra after the two year period.
Apple?…forget it.
I’ve not heard the resolutions of any similar stories to yours with Coros, so can’t really comment.
Why 399€ instead of 349€? Suunto Race S is a sharp knife and I think that those 50€ difference will make it a killer vs Pace Pro 3
Why 399€ instead of 299€ ! 🙂
agreed, i think the pricing makes it a more complex sell to newcomers to the Coros ecosystem. If you are already a Coros owner…fill your boots, this will be a great upgrade.
Is it confirmed that it will in fact be thicker? That’s such a dealbreaker. The pace was about having the most lightweight running watch on your arm, not about being a Fenix wannabe.
important edit: less than 1mm thicker
Yes, it is a bit thicker.
Whilst I had reservations about some aspects of the older Pace 3 experience, one of those reservations was NOT the thickness nor the weight. Pace 3 is/was a great almost-no-frill running watch for proper runners.
What about the quality? Is it made out of plastic too?
yes, unchanged case and lens quality
Everyone’s still wondering what the Vantage V3 and especially the brand new M3 mean for the Pacer (Pro) line while Coros goes:
Pacer Pro? How about a Pace Pro instead!
Dunno if that’s just a coincidence or clever timing by Coros.
Also pretty clever to offer their best selling watch with AMOLED right away not running a test with the Vertix first.
yes the polar/coros pace/pacer branding is confusing.
i think timing is a coincidence
mass market watches will all go the way of AMOLED – like it or not. (actually Coros is probably the last to do this)
Vertix is different and in respects like Fenix where a notable part of the customer base really want/need the extended life from a MIP screen. Thus AMOLED is perfect for apex and pace but not Vertix. this watch effectiely is an Apex AMOLED and it’s possible Coros won’t make another Apex…we’ll see. (actually they’ll probably make a variant of Pace Pro in better materials that’s exactly the same and call it Apex)
Hi,
is the Coros Pace Pro able to Store R-R Data for example to store hrv data during a run?
Thx
Silly price. But then again I also think it’s silly the pay £400 for a 265 when the 255 can be found for half that with a superior MIP screen 🙂
agreed
It sort of vaguely stacks up against garmin (Coros vs Garmin pricing) but coros just have tickbox features. For each feature, Garmin has a rich boxful of sub-features. Whether or not anyone needs them is a different matter entirely!
naturally I’m very silly buying the 965 🙂 (rather than 265)
Something that is not often talked about (I guess) is reliability.
I’ve heard and experienced both of the – originally – Finnish brands crashing. Just before the end of a long ultra race it is not fun at all. At the start of a half marathon it’s not funny either….
I’ve you search on that; also Garmins crash. And can lead to complete loss of the workout
My search on Coros seemed very positive. That combined with a very good battery; makes it worth their pricing choice (for me)
Yes reliability is perhaps as important as usability.
Garmin has perhaps got better at not losing rides and that certainly was an historic issue.
Other than odd comments I’ve not heard about systemic problems with the modern finnish brands, nor with Coros for that matter.
Without super longerm usage, I’m unsure how I can incorporate reliability into reviews.
Jeez, Man !
I your own reviews you comment of the Garmins, including the to 8 Pro, that the maps are unacceptably laggy. This is not complicated since the processor Garmin uses is just half as good as the one on the Coros. Yet, in this review you pretend as if any Garmin starting from th 265 could have the same maps experience. Wow, that is so weird. Obviously, the maps on Coros are just a world apart from anything the Garmins offer right now, even for 1200 bucks.
Knut
I’m not sure what you mean, can you explain please? obvisouly the garmin display render lag is (in several circumstances) bad. maybe I miss wrote or I don’t know if y ou read a translated version.
happy to correct.