Ready to take you’re swimming to the next level?  Here's an expert look at the best waterproof watches and smartwatches for swimming.

 Swimming is one of the best activities to get and stay in shape.  Cardio, meditation, muscle building, stronger lungs—you name it, and swimming will help you do it. For those who like to take the power of traditional fitness trackers and use that supercomputing power on their wrists to measure and monitor their activity levels, whether its heart rate, distance, or even time spent in different energy zones, there are a variety of swim watches available for the aquatic athlete. Fortunately for you, over my 30+ years as a competitive swimmer, 2x Olympic Trials qualifier, and now 6x a week semi-competitive lap swimmer, I've tried them all.

 Apple makes exceptional gear, and while they aren't known specifically for being swim or multiport tech makers, the Apple Watch Series 8 does everything that those watches do and more. The Apple Watch (now into its Series 8) is water-resistant to 50 meters and has a built-in swim app that covers everything from splits, volumes, what stroke you are doing pace and stroke count.  For the open water and triathlete swimmer, when GPS-enabled, the app can also paint your swim out on a map. Apple's add-on app called Water Lock allows you to lock the screen when you are in the water to prevent accidental touches and clean out the watch's speakers when you are finished in the water.

 Yup, another swim watch by the folks over at Garmin!

 Unlike the Garmin Swim 2–which we will cover shortly–this bad boy brings the noise for athletes who spice up their swimming with other outdoor activities, including running, cycling, snowboarding, rowing, and just about every other sport and activity you can think up. With Garmin's industry-leading GPS, and a native swim app that can be easily uploaded to popular tracking platforms like Starve, the Forerunner 945 is an exceptional piece of wrist-based hardware that will help you thoroughly dominate the water. The Forerunner 945 produces a real-time breadcrumb trail that pinpoints your exact journey during open water swims.  While training in the lap pool, detailed SWOLF and lap times are meticulously recorded. The swim watch's slim profile means that you won't even notice it on your wrist as you race around the black line and set new personal best times. The best swimming watches will give you work out tracking, notifications, and more on your wrist, whether you're in the pool or out in open water.

 As you might expect, key features include a degree of waterproofing, as well as great fitness tracking for swimming disciplines, triathlons, and watersports.

 They'll also come with GPS for measuring your speed and route, while the very best options will have SWOLF measurements for swimming efficiency, heart rate tracking, and more.

 As a result, the best smartwatches overall tend to be the best swimming watches because they have the best waterproofing and the most extensive workout tracking. That's why you'll find top picks from Garmin and Apple from the majority of our list.

 At TechReady, we have been evaluating smartwatches for several years, and each of our choices has been rigorously evaluated by industry professionals. We rate them all on performance, design, features, and value, scoring them out of five for each.

 We compile our top picks using that data, and you won't find any options that we haven't tried. So whether you want a companion for your next pool swim, an open water option, or a do-it-all tracker for triathlons, here are the best swimming watches in 2025.

 Our top pick for the best swimming watch overall is the Garmin Fenix 8. From pool swims and snorkeling to open-water adventures and deep-sea dives, this is a watch that can handle all of it, and then some.

 Its bright watch face can be seen in the murky depths underwater, it packs a multi-sport triathlon mode for athletes, and safety tools like Trackback to stop you from getting lost.  In case you need to draw some attention while swimming, it even has an LED light. It's also got better battery life than the Apple Watch Ultra 2, which is next on our list.

 There was an issue with the Garmin Fenix 8 and its resistance to cold water: on the first release, watches would brick when exposed to cold water under around 7 degrees.  However, a software update has since fixed that, and we now have a watch that is suitable for even the most ardent athletes and adventurers. What is the best waterproof smartwatch right now?

 Due to its 10 ATM rating, diving certification, long battery life, storage capacity, high-quality titanium materials, sleep-tracking capabilities, women's wellness features, and advanced workout metric feature suite, we named the Apple Watch Ultra 2 the best waterproof smartwatch overall. If you're not an Apple user, read on to see how watches from Samsung, Garmin, Polar, Coors, and Sagunto compare, to find the best waterproof smartwatch for your needs and your wrist.

 The Difference between Water-Resistant and Waterproof

 Water-resistant watches offer minimal protection against splashes or brief exposure to water but fail during sustained immersion.  At certain depths, true waterproof watches can withstand continuous underwater use and pressure. Many manufacturers avoid the term "waterproof" entirely, preferring "water-resistant to X meters" to set clear expectations.  For swim tracking, ignore watches marketed as merely "water-resistant"—they won't survive your training sessions and could be damaged beyond repair after just one swim.