How Garmin Vivoactive 6 stacks up vs the Venu 3 range

If you’re comparing the Garmin Vivoactive 6 vs Venu 3, you’re basically choosing between smart extras and training perks. The Venu 3 showed up first in August 2023 with features like phone calls, ECG, and voice assistant support. The Vivoactive 6 landed later in March 2024, skipped all of that, but threw a few more things into the mix aimed at runners.

They’ve got a lot in common under the hood with the same UI and core tracking, but the focus is different. The Venu 3 feels more like a lifestyle watch with fitness baked in, while the Vivoactive 6 leans into training and keeps things simple and affordable.

Let’s dive into the nuances.

View Vivoactive 6 on Amazon; view Venu 3 on Amazon. Both devices are also available on Garmin.

The Venu range offers different size options

Now, you wouldn’t think the big difference comes down to the case, but that’s where it starts.

The Vivoactive 6 only comes in one size, 42.2mm, and uses an anodized aluminum bezel. It’s light and deliberately understated. The Venu 3 series offers more flexibility here, with the full-size 45mm Venu 3 and the smaller 41mm Venu 3S, both of which have a stainless steel bezel for a slightly more premium look. Plus you get three physical buttons on the right versus the two on the Vivoactive.

As far as display, all there of these have AMOLED with support for always-on mode and strong visibility in sunlight. However the Venu 3 has the largest display of the bunch at 1.4 inches, with a crisp 454 x 454 resolution. The Venu 3S and Vivoactive 6 both use 1.2-inch display with 390 x 390 resolution.

You’ll also notice small changes in band compatibility. The Vivoactive 6 sticks to 20mm quick-release straps, while the Venu 3 and 3S use 22mm and 18mm bands respectively.

In terms of weight, the Venu 3 and 3S are slightly heavier overall, especially once you add the default band. The difference is minor, but for smaller wrists or those sensitive to bulk, the Vivoactive 6 may actually wear better despite the steel-less build.

The real feature split starts with sound

The biggest standout for smart functionality is the Venu 3’s speaker and microphone. Both the Venu 3 and 3S let you take Bluetooth calls from the wrist and interact with your phone’s voice assistant. That’s completely missing on the Vivoactive 6, which keeps things simple. No calls, no voice control, and no mic-driven replies.

Essential reading: Top fitness trackers and health gadgets

All three watches offer notifications, music storage, Garmin Pay, and calendar integration. But if you’re someone who likes to leave your phone in a pocket or bag and still stay connected, the Venu models clearly offer more on the smartwatch front.

Venu also brings more to health tracking

All three watches include Garmin’s standard health tracking smarts. These are the usual suspects such as heart rate monitoring, sleep tracking, SpO2, stress, and body battery. But once you go beyond the basics, their capabilities begin to diverge.

The Venu 3 and 3S focus more on wellness and recovery. With the latest Elevate 5 heart rate sensor, they are the only models that offer ECG functionality, skin temperature tracking, a smart wake alarm, and a jet lag adviser. The barometric altimeter and floors climbed tracking are also only found on the Venu 3 and 3S. Plus, these two include passcode protection and smart trainer control. The Vivoactive 6 does not support any of those features.

Where the Vivoactive 6 pushes ahead is in training and workout planning. It’s the only watch of the three to include PacePro pacing strategies, Garmin Running Coach, Garmin Coach strength plans, Training Effect, Race Predictor, and daily suggested workouts for walking. But it lacks Running Power which can be found on the Venus.

There are also some slight differences when it comes to activity profiles that are supported.

Battery life is solid across the board

Let’s round this comparison off with battery life – something that has never been a problem when it comes to Garmin watches. And these timepieces are no different.

The Venu 3 pulls ahead with up to 14 days in smartwatch mode, or 26 in battery saver. The 3S drops that to 10 days, while the Vivoactive 6 lands in between at 11 days. If you use always-on display, all of them drop to around five days.

For GPS workouts, the numbers are closer. The Venu 3 hits 26 hours in GPS-only mode, while the 3S manages 21. The Vivoactive 6 sits right between the two with 21 hours as well, but gets up to 17 hours in All-Systems GNSS. Music playback reduces all of them, with a shared ceiling around 8 to 11 hours depending on model.

Unless you’re doing multi-day adventures or very long runs with music, you won’t notice much of a difference.

Which one is the smarter pick?

The Venu 3 is the better pick if you want a watch that blends smart features with in-depth health tracking. It supports wrist-based calls, voice assistant access, ECG, skin temperature, jet lag advice, and more. You also get two size options, a larger display if you want it, and a few extras like a barometric altimeter and passcode protection. At around $449, it’s not cheap, but it delivers a polished mix of lifestyle and wellness features.

The Vivoactive 6 takes a simpler approach. It leaves out the voice features and wellness extras, but focuses on solid training tools and keeps things streamlined. At $299, it’s the more affordable option, and it delivers the kind of performance features that matter if your priority is structured workouts over smartwatch bells and whistles.

View Vivoactive 6 on Amazon; view Venu 3 on Amazon. Both devices are also available on Garmin.

Garmin Vivoactive 6 vs Venu 3 vs 3s: Tech specs comparison

Here are all the differences listed.

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