Suunto Race 3S and COROS Pace 4 Pro are mid-size running watches with bright AMOLED screens, titanium, sapphire and free offline maps. The Pace 4 Pro costs less at £389 / $449 versus £435 / $599 and adds a larger, brighter screen, a speaker, and three weeks of battery life. Race 3S answers with Climb Guidance, the SuuntoPlus app store, a full titanium case, double the storage, and longer dual-band GPS recording time with the always-on display on.
Hardware figures are on the Race 3S specifications and Pace 4 Pro specifications pages, and COROS lists its own figures on the Pace 4 Pro product page. The Race 3S launch report and my Pace 4 Pro first-thoughts review cover price and availability. The last section covers the older Pace Pro, which is still on sale.
What each watch does
| Feature | Suunto Race 3S | COROS Pace 4 Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Offline maps | Free worldwide, with contour lines and place names | Free worldwide, with street and trail names, points of interest and topographic maps |
| Climb and pacing tools | Climb Guidance. Race Planner arrives in a later update | Hill Alerts and Pace Strategy |
| Spoken directions and alerts | None listed | Yes, through the speaker |
| Calls and voice | None listed | Calls through a nearby phone, Voice Pins and Voice Control |
| Training platform | Training load, recovery and zones, with ZoneSense through a chest strap | EvoLab: training load, recovery, VO2 max, thresholds and race prediction |
| Coaching | Suunto AI Coach, paid after three free months | Training plans, included |
| Sport apps | SuuntoPlus store | None |
| Sport modes | More than 100 | 29 activity profiles, including triathlon and Hybrid Fitness |
| Music | Offline music | Offline music |
| Contactless payment | China only | None |
| Sensors | Bluetooth | Bluetooth |
| Dual-frequency GPS battery | Up to 38 hours, always-on display on | Up to 40 hours, or 30 with always-on display on |
| Daily use | Up to 12 days | Up to 21 days |
| Screen | 1.32-inch AMOLED, 2,000 nits | 1.47-inch AMOLED, 3,500 nits |
| Build | Titanium bezel and case, sapphire | Titanium bezel, polymer case, sapphire |
| Storage | 64GB | 32GB |
| Weight, silicone strap | 56g | 51g |
| Price | £435 / €499 / $599 | £389 / €449 / $449 |
Navigation and maps
The new Race 3S maps show contour lines and place names, and its Climb Guidance shows the next climb or descent as the route unfolds. Suunto has also announced Race Planner, which builds a pacing plan from the route, weather, and a goal time, and shows whether you are ahead or behind during the race (coming after launch).
Pace 4 Pro already does both jobs. Hill Alerts shows where each climb starts and how much is left, and Pace Strategy builds a race plan from current fitness and the course profile, including time lost at aid stations. Its maps carry street and trail names and 20 kinds of points of interest; its speaker reads turn prompts aloud, and its larger screen shows more of the map. Like Suunto, it won’t calculate a new route on the watch if you miss a turn, so routes come from the COROS app, Strava, Komoot or AllTrails.
The Race 3S holds twice as much map data, 64GB vs 32GB, though 32GB already covers a continent.
Training and coaching
COROS includes its free EvoLab platform: training load, base fitness, training status, recovery, VO2 max, threshold pace, race prediction and Effort Pace, which corrects pace for gradients. COROS calculates recovery from training load and recent sessions, without sleep or stress. Its training plans are personalised when you create them but don’t adapt afterwards.
Race 3S covers training load, recovery and zones by heart rate, pace and power. It adds ZoneSense, which reads intensity from heart rate variability through a chest strap, and EnergySense for live effort tracking.
The two brands take opposite routes on AI. Suunto AI Coach is a conversational coach in the Suunto app that builds workouts, plans, and routes; it’s initially free but costs money after three months. COROS has let owners connect their training data to Claude or ChatGPT for free since May 2026.
Apps, audio and payments
SuuntoPlus offers more than 40 community-built sport apps, including Garmin Varia radar, FTMS treadmills, and climb pacing. Race 3S also offers more than 100 sport modes, compared with Pace 4 Pro’s 29 activity profiles.
Pace 4 Pro has a speaker and microphone for calls, plus niche but useful features during exercise, such as GPS-located Voice Pins and basic voice controls that can start activities or timers when the phone is connected.
Both watches play offline music (MP3) to Bluetooth headphones, and neither supports services like Spotify. The Pace 4 Pro has no NFC, and the Race 3S offers contactless payment in China and is rumoured to add it in Europe in 2027.
Battery
The headline figures favour COROS, but they are measured differently.
- Suunto rates Race 3S at 38 hours of dual-band GPS with AOD.
- COROS rates Pace 4 Pro at 40 hours in its dual-frequency Max mode with the display off, and 30 hours with it on.
In all-systems mode without dual frequency, Pace 4 Pro reaches 60 hours with the display off and 45 with it on, compared with Race 3S’s 45 hours with the display on. Both cover a mountain 100-miler on one charge.
Both have excellent in-sport battery performance, but COROS pulls ahead in daily use, lasting 21 days between charges versus 12 for Race 3S. With the always-on display, both fall to about a week.
Hardware in brief
Pace 4 Pro has a 1.47-inch AMOLED rated at 3,500 nits, which I have found readable in midday sun, against a 1.32-inch, 2,000-nit panel on Race 3S. Both run at 466 x 466 pixels.
Race 3S has a titanium case and bezel, while Pace 4 Pro pairs a titanium bezel with a polymer case and buttons. That keeps the Pace 4 Pro 5g lighter on a silicone strap (51g vs 56g) and 43g on its nylon band. The Race 3S is smaller, at 46mm and 11.4mm thick, versus 47.6mm and 11.8mm. Its strap fits wrists from 125 to 175mm, while the Pace 4 Pro’s silicone strap fits 140 to 220mm.
I still need to test the accuracy properly on these. Race 3S uses the same GPS hardware as Run 2, which scored a superb 90% in my standard GPS test, yet its heart rate module has the same sensor array as Race 2, whose sensor underreported during hard efforts. My Pace 4 Pro GPS testing looks generally good so far, with some issues with the new heart rate sensor, and full results are due in early November.
Two other comparisons cover the alternatives: Race 3S vs COROS Apex 4 for the COROS mountain watch, and Race 3S vs Forerunner 570 and 970 for the closest Garmin.
The companies behind the watches
A watch comes with a company, and for a buyer choosing between brands for the first time, these differences could determine their relationship with the brand over several watches and many years. They apply to every watch each brand sells, and the brand comparison lays them out in full.
| Ownership | Suunto | COROS |
|---|---|---|
| Phone app | Suunto app, with maps, route planning, training analysis and AI Coach in one place | COROS app, with the web-based Training Hub for calendar planning and structured workouts |
| Third-party apps on the watch | SuuntoPlus store, open to all developers, with many sport apps | No app store |
| Third-party services | Strava, TrainingPeaks, Komoot and others | Strava, TrainingPeaks, Komoot, AllTrails, Runna, Stryd and others, plus Claude and ChatGPT access to your data |
| Warranty | 2 years worldwide | 2 years from activation |
| Battery and repair | Suunto runs a battery replacement service | Published prices: battery $59 to $89, screen $79 to $119, or a refurbished swap |
| Subscriptions | None for the watch, maps or apps. AI Coach is a paid extra | None |
| Updates for older watches | July 2026 features went only to the newest models | Roughly quarterly updates reach watches several years old, until their storage fills |
| Range | Run 2, Race 3S, Race 2 and Vertical 2, from £265 to £639 | Pace 4, Pace Pro, Pace 4 Pro, Apex 4, Vertix 2 and NOMAD, from £229 |
| Company | Finnish, founded in 1936, owned by Liesheng. Publishes accounts and returned to profit in 2025 | Founded 2014, private Chinese owners, with no public financials |
COROS has the clearest repair deal of any brand, and it stocks, sells, and updates its models for longer than Suunto or Garmin. A buyer who keeps a watch for five years gets more new features from COROS, and the company connects to many outside services, including AI assistants, at no charge.
The Suunto app is among the best from any sports watch brand, with maps, route planning and training analysis in one place, and SuuntoPlus is a significant third-party app store alternative to Garmin’s Connect IQ. The Suunto watch interface is easy to pick up, whereas COROS’s dial-driven menus are perhaps a tad easier to use. The Race series has the cleaner overall design in my opinion.
Suunto also has a longer history and a stronger brand image, which matters to some buyers but not others. Both brands give a 2-year warranty and charge nothing for maps or training features.
What about the original Pace Pro?
Pace 4 Pro replaced the Pace Pro in September 2026, and the older watch is still on sale at around £299 / $299 (launch: £349 / $349). It has the same free maps and 32GB of storage as Pace 4 Pro.
| Feature | Suunto Race 3S | COROS Pace 4 Pro | COROS Pace Pro |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screen | 1.32 inch, 2,000 nits | 1.47 inch, 3,500 nits | 1.3 inch, 1,500 nits |
| Bezel and lens | Titanium, sapphire | Titanium, sapphire | Polymer, mineral glass |
| Dual-frequency GPS, always-on display on | 38 hours | 30 hours | 24 hours |
| Daily use | 12 days | 21 days | 20 days |
| Speaker and microphone | No | Yes | No |
| Price | £435 / $599 | £389 / $449 | About £299 / $299 |
Pace Pro scored 81% in my GNSS accuracy test, behind the Pace 3, and its optical heart rate was poor across most of my runs and rides. It suits a runner who wants maps for the least money and uses a chest strap. Against Race 3S it gives up the sapphire, the titanium, the brighter screen and 14 hours of dual-frequency GPS with the screen on. The Pace upgrade guide covers every older Pace.
Which to buy
Choose Race 3S if
- You want Climb Guidance and, later, Race Planner for trail racing.
- You want third-party sport apps or support for an unusual sensor.
- You keep the screen on all the time and want the longest dual-band GPS.
- You want a fully titanium case, 64GB of storage or a smaller watch for a smaller wrist.
Suunto Race 3S
Titanium bezel, sapphire glass, 1.32" AMOLED (2,000 nits), 38h dual-band GPS.
Choose Pace 4 Pro if
- You want the brightest and largest screen for maps.
- You want spoken directions, calls on the wrist and voice control.
- You want three weeks of daily use between charges.
- You want the full training platform and AI data access without a subscription, and to save £46 / $150.
My choice
Pace 4 Pro wins this comparison on price, screen, daily battery and audio, but I weigh the things a spec sheet leaves out: the quality of the app, the third-party apps on SuuntoPlus, the design of the watch, how easy its interface is to use and the image of the company behind it. Suunto is ahead on all of those for me.
Price and a larger display size are the only two things that could tempt me the other way, and the former probably won’t last long. Suunto discounts often and COROS rarely does, so the Race 3S will likely sell at the Pace 4 Pro’s price in the sales, and at that point I wouldn’t think twice.
Quick answers
Is Suunto Race 3S better than COROS Pace 4 Pro?
Race 3S has Climb Guidance, the SuuntoPlus app store, a fully titanium case, 64GB of storage and 38 hours of dual-band GPS with the always-on display on. The Pace 4 Pro has a larger 3,500-nit screen, a speaker for calls and spoken alerts, 21 days of daily battery life, and a lower price.
Which has better battery life, Suunto Race 3S or COROS Pace 4 Pro?
With the always-on display on, Race 3S lasts longer in dual-frequency GPS, at 38 hours against 30. With the display off, Pace 4 Pro is rated at 40 hours. Pace 4 Pro lasts 21 days in daily use, compared with 12 days for Race 3S.
Which is cheaper, Suunto Race 3S or COROS Pace 4 Pro?
Pace 4 Pro costs £389 / $449 and Race 3S costs £435 / $599. The gap is £46 in the UK and $150 in the United States.
Do Suunto Race 3S and COROS Pace 4 Pro both have offline maps?
Yes. Both download free global maps with no subscription and follow a loaded route with turn-by-turn prompts. Race 3S adds contour lines and Climb Guidance. Pace 4 Pro adds points of interest and reads directions aloud through its speaker.
Should I buy COROS Pace Pro instead of Race 3S or Pace 4 Pro?
Only to save money. Pace Pro sells for about £299 / $299 and has the same maps and storage as Pace 4 Pro, but a dimmer screen, a polymer bezel, mineral glass, no speaker and a less dual-frequency battery. It scored 81% in my GNSS accuracy test.
Does COROS Pace 4 Pro have contactless payment?
No. Pace 4 Pro has no NFC. Race 3S has NFC, but contactless payment works only in China.
Last Updated on 20 October 2026 by tfk the5krunner
Small things I always use
- Garmin 90-degree charging adapter: Charges your Garmin from any USB-C cable. Essential when travelling. I use one.
- Body Glide: The blue anti-chafe stick swimmers and runners carry. I use it.
- Speedo earplugs: Fewer ear infections and no cold-water dizziness. I use them.
- Dryrobe Advance: My winter changing robe for open-water swims. I use one. A cheaper option is the AONYIYI changing robe.
- Maurten: Race fuel that stays easy on the stomach. I use them.
- Beet It Sport nitrate shots: Beetroot shots I take in the days before a race. I use them.
- Garmin charging puck: The quickest way to top up before a session. I use one.
- Injinji: Toe socks that stop rubbing, so you run more. I use them.
- Ultimate toe protectors: Stop black toenails on long runs. They work. I use them.
- Compressport R2 v2 calf sleeves: My calf sleeves of choice. I use them.
- Cellucor C4: My pre-workout before hard sessions.
- TPU tubes: Schwalbe Aerothan, Tubolito and Pirelli SmarTube. Light, tiny spares. I use all three.
- G8 insoles: Adjustable insoles that are good. I use them.
- Cycplus Cube: A 97g electric pump that gets a road tyre rideable in two minutes. I carry one. 5% off with code THE5KRUNNER.
Watches and sensors
- Polar H10: My daily driver for waking HRV.
- Polar Verity Sense: My backup arm-worn HR sensor.
- Nomad bedside charger: Charges my iPhone and Apple Watch overnight. I use it, and many of their bands.
- Train.Red: The best muscle oxygen sensor I’ve used.
- Tymewear: Accurate heart rate and reliable ventilatory zones. I use it to pace endurance rides over an hour.
- Garmin Forerunner 970: A pro-grade triathlon watch. I use this.
- Apple Watch Ultra 4: My daily smartwatch. No phone needed on rides.
- Garmin Fenix 9 Pro: I’ve just bought one.
On the bike
- Continental GP5000 for everyday riding, and Aero 111 on the front for special occasions.
- Helmets: Specialized S-Works Evade 3 for road riding, and Rudy Project Wing for TT-style races. I use both.
- Ravemen FR300: A front light that mounts under your Garmin or Wahoo. I use one.
- Wahoo TRACKR Radar: I use it on one bike and Varia on the other. They perform the same.
- Garmin Varia RTL515: Radar that warns you of cars from behind. I use this model.
- Wahoo ELEMNT Roam 3: The bike computer that’s easy to use. I use mine on most rides.
- Favero Assioma Pro RS2: Accurate power pedals that swap easily between bikes. I use this model.
Home and indoor training
- NPE Runn: Makes my basic treadmill smart, sending more accurate speed and distance to my watch and Zwift. I use it.
- Google Wifi: Keeps Zwift connected in my pain cave. I use it.
- Apple TV 4K: Zwift on the big screen. I use two.
- Google Nest Doorbell (wired, 2nd gen): My video doorbell, running in both Google Home and Apple Home. I use it.
Health, recovery and sleep
- FreeStyle Libre 3 Plus: Shows how my blood sugar responds to diet.
- hDrop: Measures my sweat loss in summer and indoors.
- Fourth Frontier Zone: Checks my heart under load in hard sessions.
- Oura Ring 5: My partner’s recovery tracker of choice.
- Eight Sleep: A cooling mattress cover my partner and I use nightly.
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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. See the gear tfk uses. ID
