How many active Garmin Connect users are there in 2026?

A: Approximately 45 million active Garmin Connect users globally as of May 2026. Defensible range: 42 to 49 million.

Garmin has never published an official Garmin Connect user count. The figure that circulates online, “over 35 million,” is wrong and based on a corporate description from circa 2021 that has never been refreshed.

With the help of an AI model, I constructed a more realistic estimate built from segment revenue, device shipments, and Garmin’s own characterisation of its user base. If you want to know how the 42 to 49 million figure was arrived at or want to help refine the model, read on. Otherwise, the takeaway for you is “A: about 45 million people“.

The anchor of certainty in the data

Garmin’s only quoted public figure is “over 35 million Garmin Connect users.” It sits in the Garmin Cluj corporate description on LinkedIn, syndicated unchanged to Built In, LeadIQ, RocketReach and similar profile sites. Other AI tools cite this as current. It can’t be.

The upper bound of this figure must be 38 to 39 million. Were it 40 million or more, Garmin Cluj would have said so. Even the 35 million figure could be based on an older, lower internal estimate.

Two other figures in the same paragraph date it. The LinkedIn version reads “19,000 employees, 80 offices, over 200 million products sold to date.” Garmin’s 10-K reported 19,700 employees at the end of 2022. The 200 million cumulative shipment milestone was passed during 2021. Wikipedia cites 282 million by February 2023, and Garmin’s February 2026 Investor Overview reports 320 million. A later iteration of the same paragraph, syndicated to Built In and LeadIQ, updates the headcount to “21,000 employees, 87 offices” but leaves the user figure unchanged. The figure dates to 2021 or 2022 and has not been refreshed in subsequent syndicated versions.

The chart below clearly demonstrates the figure’s staleness. Three of four metrics have grown materially since publication. The Garmin Connect user figure has not.

Chart 1 shows that Garmin’s headcount, office count, and cumulative product shipments have grown by 21 to 60 per cent since the corporate description was written, while the Connect user figure has not changed.

What has happened since

Three independent data series allow growth to be modelled.

Fitness segment revenue. The Fitness segment grew from $1.53 billion in 2021 to $2.36 billion in 2025, a 54 per cent rise over four years and an 11.4 per cent CAGR. The starting point in 2021 was a low base. Garmin’s Q1 2021 earnings showed that fitness is still recovering from the pandemic, with results comparable to those in the prior quarter. By Q1 2024, the segment had stabilised but had not yet broken out. Outdoor revenue, which also drives Connect usage via Fenix, Instinct and Edge, rose from $1.70 billion to $2.05 billion. Combined Fitness and Outdoor revenue grew from $3.23 billion to $4.41 billion, an 8.1 per cent CAGR.

The pace then accelerated.

Q4 2025 Fitness revenue rose 42 per cent year-on-year, and Cliff Pemble attributed the result to volume rather than price, stating most new Fitness customers were new to Garmin. Q1 2026, published 29 April 2026, repeated the 42 per cent rise. The story is detailed in the5krunner’s Q1 2026 earnings analysis.

The chart below tracks both segments quarter by quarter, with the combined trend line on the right axis cutting through the Q1 seasonality to show the underlying growth path.

Chart 2 shows quarterly Fitness and Outdoor revenue with the combined trajectory tracking the underlying ecosystem growth, which is a closer proxy for Connect user expansion than either segment in isolation.

Unit shipments. Garmin shipped 16.6 million units in 2021 and over 20 million in 2025. Cumulative shipments rose from 282 million in February 2023 to 320 million in February 2026. Aviation, Marine and Auto contribute high revenue but low unit volume, leaving roughly 85 per cent of annual shipments in Fitness and Outdoor. Fitness and Outdoor device shipments from late 2021 to early 2026 are in the order of 65 to 70 million units. Volume has been the consistent driver, with Garmin’s price-rise strategy contributing far less than the headline revenue figures suggest.

Chart 5 anchors the 2025 record-shipment year against the cumulative install base, the pool from which active Connect users are drawn.

Engagement. The 2025 Garmin Connect Data Report disclosed 8 per cent more activities logged year-on-year. The 2024 report was similar. The figure blends per-user engagement with user-base growth, consistent with mid-single-digit annual user growth.

What Pemble has said about user registrations. The single most direct disclosure on Garmin Connect user growth came on the Q3 2025 earnings call. Pemble told analysts:

The convincing majority of people coming to our platform are new users, and we’re seeing strong double-digit growth in those registrations and new products year over year.

The quote is significant for two reasons. The phrase “new to our platform” implies registrations rather than upgrades. The phrase “strong double-digit growth” implies a year-on-year registration rate of 10 per cent or higher, well above the rate the corporate description’s stale 35 million figure would suggest. the5krunner covered the demographic implications in Garmin Fitness Growth is Driven by New Runners, Not Competitor-Switching, which traces the growth to first-time watch buyers in young and female segments.

The calculation

The three approaches converge on a similar answer.

Revenue-based, treated as an upper bound. Apply the 8.1 per cent combined Fitness and Outdoor CAGR to the 35 million 2021 anchor: 35 million multiplied by 1.36 equals 48 million. The method overstates user growth because revenue includes price increases, premium mix shift to the Fenix 8 family, MicroLED launches and accessory and subscription revenue. Treat it as an upper-bound indicator rather than a central estimate.

Shipment-based is the strongest argument. Approximately 65-70 million Fitness and Outdoor devices were shipped during the period. Assuming 1.3 to 1.5 devices per active user, typical for endurance users running watch plus Edge, and 10 to 15 per cent annual churn, net additions of 2 to 3 million accounts per year imply an eight- to twelve-million increase over four years. The 2025 to 2026 run rate likely exceeds 4 million net additions per year, given two consecutive quarters of 42 per cent Fitness revenue growth and Pemble’s “strong double-digit growth” disclosure on registrations. The base lifts from 35 million to 43 million to 49 million.

Language-based. The 2025 Garmin Connect Data Report describes the data source as “tens of millions of Garmin watches worn all over the world.” Continued use of “tens of millions” suggests the figure remains well below 100 million and likely below 60 million, since corporations rarely use the phrase past the 50 million threshold. The defensible window is 42 to 49 million.

Chart 6 shows three independent estimation methods landing in overlapping territory, with the central convergence point at 45 million.

Caveats

The 35 million anchor is corporate marketing copy, likely rounded down from a true figure of 36 to 39 million at the time of writing. If the late 2021 figure was closer to 38 million, the current base sits near 49 to 50 million.

The definition of “active” is not standardised. Garmin’s usage implies devices that sync within a 30- to 90-day window. The active share of the installed base is unusually high for Garmin because Connect is a prerequisite for InReach messaging, ECG recording, Garmin Pay, and sleep tracking. The active count, therefore, tracks total hardware in circulation more closely than it would in a pure social fitness app such as Strava. Total registered Connect accounts, including dormant ones, are likely a multiple of the number of active accounts.

Q1 2026 Fitness growth of 42 per cent suggests accelerating device demand, which likely translates into faster user growth. A May 2026 figure rounding up to 47 or 48 million is more probable than one rounding down to 42 or 43 million.

Why does Garmin not disclose the numbers?

Garmin has no commercial incentive to publish a Connect user count. The company is valued primarily as a hardware business, with revenue, operating margin and segment growth driving the share price rather than platform metrics. Strava, Whoop, and Fitbit’s parent, Google, all release monthly active user figures because their valuations depend on them. Garmin’s Q1 2026 results showed consolidated revenue of $1.75 billion and an operating margin of 24.6 per cent, and that is the data the market trades on. The closest the company has come to a deliberate user disclosure is the “tens of millions” phrasing in the Connect Data Report and Pemble’s “strong double-digit growth” line on the Q3 2025 call. Both are vague by design. The growing strategic importance of Garmin Connect+, the company’s subscription tier, may eventually change that calculus.

The answer

This estimate is materially above the widely cited but outdated figure of 35 million. It aligns with sustained growth in the Fitness and Outdoor segments, cumulative device-shipment trends, and Garmin’s continued characterisation of its user base as “tens of millions.”

Chart 3 places the central estimate against the dated Cluj anchor and the lower range cited by other AI tools, showing the popular AI-tool figures sit below the defensible floor.

Frequently asked questions

How many Garmin Connect users are there in 2026?

Approximately 45 million active Garmin Connect users globally as of May 2026, with a defensible range of 42 to 49 million. Garmin has never published an official user count. The estimate is derived from segment revenue growth, Fitness and Outdoor device shipments, and the company’s own description of its user base as “tens of millions.”

How many activities are recorded on Garmin Connect each year?

Garmin Connect users logged 8 per cent more activities in 2025 than in 2024, according to Garmin’s 2025 Connect Data Report published 3 December 2025. The report does not disclose a total activity count, but with tens of millions of users averaging multiple sessions per week, the platform processes billions of activities per year. Running, walking, cycling, strength training, and indoor cardio are the top five activity categories.

How many Garmin devices have been sold in total?

Garmin has shipped approximately 320 million products worldwide since 1989, according to the company’s February 2026 Investor Overview. Annual shipments reached a record of more than 20 million units in 2025. Roughly 85 per cent of annual unit volume sits in the Fitness and Outdoor segments, the two product families tied to Garmin Connect.

How fast is Garmin Connect growing?

Garmin Connect is growing at an estimated 5-10 per cent per year, accelerating in 2025 and 2026. The Fitness segment grew 33 per cent in full-year 2025 and 42 per cent in both Q4 2025 and Q1 2026, driven by volume rather than price. The 2025 Garmin Connect Data Report disclosed 8 per cent more activities logged year-on-year. Pemble disclosed “strong double-digit growth” in new user registrations on the Q3 2025 earnings call.

Do all Garmin device users use Garmin Connect?

Most Garmin device owners use Garmin Connect, since the app is a prerequisite for headline features including InReach satellite messaging, ECG recording, Garmin Pay, sleep tracking and software updates. Aviation, Marine and Auto customers use separate platforms such as Garmin Pilot, ActiveCaptain and Garmin Drive. Connect is the platform for Fitness and Outdoor product owners.

How does Garmin compare to Apple Watch, Samsung, Huawei, Coros and Suunto by sales?

Garmin sits in the second tier of the global wearables market by annual unit shipments, well behind Huawei, Apple and Samsung in volume but significantly ahead of specialist endurance brands Coros and Suunto. Garmin’s leadership position is in revenue and ecosystem depth rather than in units, since its average selling price is materially higher than that of its Chinese and Korean competitors. The chart below shows the 2024 picture.

Chart 4 places Garmin in the wider wearables landscape against the brands the5krunner readers care about, with the caveat that annual unit shipments do not capture Garmin’s larger active ecosystem of approximately 45 million Connect users.

Why is Garmin growing so fast in 2025 and 2026?

Share gains in premium wearables drive Garmin’s growth in 2025 and 2026, sustained demand for Fenix and Forerunner watches, and category expansion into nutrition tracking and AI-driven insights through Garmin Connect+. Cliff Pemble has confirmed that most new Fitness customers in recent quarters are new to Garmin, indicating genuine market expansion rather than upgrade revenue. The trajectory is consistent across Q1 2025, Q2 2025, Q3 2025, Q4 2025 and Q1 2026.

Last Updated on 1 May 2026 by the5krunner

the5krunner

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. ID