# Steady Pace vs a running watch

> A GPS watch shows your pace on your wrist, so you have to look. Steady Pace holds your pace with a tone on the phone you already carry. How they compare and when a watch is worth it.

A GPS watch shows your pace on your wrist. Steady Pace plays your pace as a tone on your phone. Here is how they compare and when you need each.

**The short answer:** A running watch shows your pace on your wrist, so you have to look at it to read it. Steady Pace plays your pace as a tone, so you hear it and keep your eyes on the road. A watch also does much more than pacing, such as heart rate and workouts. If pacing is the main thing you want help with, the phone in your pocket and a tone can do it without a watch.

## How they differ

On a watch, your pace is a number on a small screen. To use it you glance at your wrist, read the number, and adjust. The number is often jumpy, especially early in a run, so you check it again to be sure. A watch also does far more than pacing, which is most of what you pay for.

With Steady Pace, your pace is a tone. It rises when you slow down and falls when you speed up, so you hear when you drift and correct without looking. It runs on the phone you already carry, so there is no second device to buy or charge.

## Steady Pace and a GPS watch compared

|  | Steady Pace | A running watch |
| --- | --- | --- |
| How you read your pace | By listening | By glancing at your wrist |
| Cost | A one-time app purchase | Roughly $150 to $500 of hardware |
| Heart rate, maps, workouts | No | Yes |
| Extra device to charge and carry | No, it uses your phone | Yes |
| Subscription | None | Some brands now add one for advanced data |

## What a watch is for

A watch does more than pacing. It measures heart rate, runs interval workouts on your wrist, shows maps on the trail, and lets you run without a phone. That is what the hardware is for, and it costs a few hundred dollars. It does not help you hold a pace any better than a number you have to read.

## What Steady Pace is for

Steady Pace suits runners whose main problem is pacing, such as going out too fast or drifting on easy runs. The tone lets you feel your pace without looking at your wrist. If you already own a watch, you can use both: let the watch record your run while the tone keeps you on pace.

A watch does many things, and pacing is one of them. If pacing is the thing you want help with, a tone on your phone does it without a watch.

- [Steady Pace vs the Apple Watch](https://steadypace.ca/blog/steady-pace-vs-apple-watch): A tone against a pace-range buzz.
- [Stop going out too fast](https://steadypace.ca/guides/stop-going-out-too-fast): The most common pacing mistake.
- [Hold pace without looking](https://steadypace.ca/blog/hold-your-pace-without-looking-at-your-watch): Running with your eyes up.

**Do I need a Garmin or Apple Watch to hold a running pace?**

No. A watch shows your pace, but you have to look at it. Steady Pace plays your pace as a tone, so you can hold a pace on the phone you already carry, without buying a watch.

**Is a running watch better than a pace app?**

For pacing on its own, a tone you can hear without looking is often easier than a number you glance at. For heart rate, maps, on-wrist workouts, and running without a phone, a watch does more. It depends on what you want.

**Can I use Steady Pace with a watch I already own?**

Yes. Let the watch record heart rate and distance while Steady Pace holds your pace by ear.

**Why is my watch's pace number so jumpy?**

Instant pace from GPS is noisy, especially early in a run or near buildings and trees, so the number jumps around. A tone follows your smoothed pace instead, so you have a steadier signal to correct to.


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Source: https://steadypace.ca/blog/steady-pace-vs-running-watch
App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/steady-pace/id6773682525