10 Best Heart Rate Monitors for Runners UK 2024

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The best HR-tracking chest and arm straps for staying in the zone

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Training smart means mixing up the intensity of your runs – not just going out all-guns blazing on every effort. But distance, time and pace are all blunt tools for measuring effort, which is where heart rate monitors come in.

Tracking your beats per minute (BPM) unlocks extra insights, from real time effort to training effect. Luckily, the best GPS running watches now have optical heart rate sensors built-in. However, even the latest Garmin watches aren’t as accurate as strapping on a reliable HRM. To help you unlock the power of BPM, here’s our pick of the best chest and arm straps you can buy right now.

In a hurry? Here are the best heart rate monitors for runners at a glance. Keep scrolling for the full list and our thoughts below.

Heart rate monitors break down into two main types: Electrocardiogram (EGC) and Photoplethysmography (PPG).

ECG chest straps measure close to source by picking up the electrical signals from your heart. PPG optical sensor arm straps use the same blood-flow reading tech you find in your watch.

There are also a few trackers – like the MyZone Switch – that now combine an ECG chest strap and optical arm strap in one, for maximum versatility. Some headphones like the Sennheiser Momentum also use PPG sensors to track heart rate from your ears.

This is critical. Tools like training effect, recovery time recommendations and fitness estimations all work off heart rate. They’re highly dependent on the quality of the data you feed them. If the accuracy is poor, all your insights largely become useless Numberwang.

While optical heart-rate sensors might be convenient, and arm straps worn closer to the heart often prove more reliable than watch optical trackers, they don’t offer the same precision as ECG straps.

When it comes to accuracy, a dedicated ECG-based chest strap like the Polar H10 is still the gold standard.

Not everyone loves a chest strap. They can restrict breathing, introduce extra chafe risk and get a bit smelly. You can combat some of that by looking for soft washable straps and compact sensors to boost comfort.

But there are times when an arm strap might be more convenient. Unlike chest straps, arm strap HRMs like the Polar Verity Sense can be moved around the body – from bicep to forearm or even the temples – for improved convenience during different activities.

Some heart rate monitors use coin cell batteries, while others charge via USB. Coin cell HRMs can last months (as much as 500 training hours) without needing a new battery. Rechargeable trackers need charging more frequently – after anywhere up to 30 hours’ training.

Some of the best chest straps can monitor more than just heart rate, with extra motion sensors to track things like cadence and other running form metrics.

All Bluetooth heart rate monitors will link to your running watch, regardless of brand. But if you’re considering hooking your HRM to more than one device – a running watch, treadmill and Zwift or Peloton – make sure it has enough simultaneous Bluetooth connections.

This guide builds on the knowledge of expert gear tester Kieran Alger, who has put in hours and hours of run time, testing dozens of chest strap and arm strap heart rate monitors from all the main players, including Garmin, Polar, Coros and Wahoo. He’s often spotted wearing at least three HRMs at once (we're not joking) and has ran over 50 marathons and countless ultramarathons.

If you’re serious about heart-rate training then beat-to-beat accuracy is paramount and the Polar H10 sits at the top of the pile. The ECG strap offers super-fast responses to changes in intensity. It’s also a chest strap you’ll find being used in sports science labs everywhere, thanks to its reliability. (This is also the chest strap we use to benchmark our heart rate tests for our GPS running watch reviews.)

Comfort is generally good. The Polar H10 weighs just 50g and sports a compact sensor pod, with a quick release clip – no fiddling with hooks and clasps. The soft, hand-washable strap and tracking pads sit happily against the skin, moving with your body to minimise chafe risk and there are silicone studs to help secure it in place.

In our tests, the Polar H10 played nice with various watches from all brands, including reliable connectivity with Polar, Garmin and Coros watches, as well as iPhone apps and the Polar Beat training app.

Onboard storage is limited to one workout so, unlike some heart rate monitors that store multiple workouts between syncs with a watch or app, the H10 doesn’t work as well as a standalone device. There’s also no added tracking extras here. If you want running form metrics, you might want to consider the Garmin HRM Pro+.

The Polar H10 isn’t rechargeable either, but you get 400 hours of training on a single coin cell battery. That’s right up there with the longest-lasting chest straps and it’s dead easy to swap the battery. Oh and you can change the strap, too.

The top-tier HRM-Pro Plus is Garmin’s Polar H10 rival. Accuracy is excellent. In our tests, there wasn’t much difference between this and the Polar H10. However, it is smarter.

As well as ECG heart-rate monitoring, it tracks your torso movement unlocking running form insights including cadence, stride length, vertical oscillation, ground contact, ground contact balance and vertical ratio (although your Garmin watch already covers many of these insights.)

You get tons of insight from the heart rate data, too, including zone training with audio updates, calorie burn, fitness age, recovery times and training load. In addition, it has a treadmill setting that aims to improve your indoor distance and pace metrics.

At 52g, it’s a shade lighter than the Polar H10, with a small, lightweight sensor module and a soft, comfortable strap. It’s one of the least intrusive chest straps even on longer runs. It’s hand washable, but you can’t swap the strap.

Staying power is shorter than the Polar H10 at 400 hours. However, if you’re training for an hour a day, the coin cell battery lasts 12 months – that’s still substantial.

Connectivity is comprehensive with three concurrent Bluetooth connections plus unlimited ANT+ connections with a three metre range. This means you can pair multiple devices like a GPS watch, fitness app, treadmill and training services like Peloton or Zwift.

Beyond running, it also captures steps, calories burned and intensity minutes independently from your watch, so you can workout, store the data and then share it directly with the Garmin Connect app.

It might lack the running form tracking smarts of its predecessors and the pricier Garmin HRMs but the Wahoo TRACKR hits plenty of the right beats for a competent heart rate monitor.

The sensor is light, compact and doesn't overhang the soft and pliable strap – that’s great for comfort and chafe-free runs. There’s good reliable connectivity with three simultaneous Bluetooth pairings so you can pair to your phone, watch and a treadmill at the same time, along with handy LED lights on the sensor to indicate when you’re paired and tracking.

But the real USP here is the TRACKR’s 100-hour rechargeable battery: we finally have a rechargeable chest strap with staying power that gets closer to the year-long life of the regular coin cell batteries you find on the Polar H10 and Garmin HRM Pro Plus.

In testing, we clocked around 10 hours training and the battery life was barely touched — it dropped just 3%.

The all-important accuracy was up there, too. Up against the Polar H10 on easy, steady efforts, track intervals and some sauna heat training, the Wahoo TRACKR matched the Polar H10 performance very closely. There wasn’t much to choose between in terms of accuracy, though there were some fleeting instances where the TRACKR served up lower readings by four or five BPM.

If we’re being picky, we wish the TRACKR had a clasp like the Polar H10 instead of a hook, but that’s a minor thing. And if you misplace the unique magnetic charging cable, you’re in trouble. But overall, for the price and the performance, the Wahoo TRACKR is a good addition to anyone’s run-tracking set-up.

The Polar Verity Sense is a versatile optical heart rate tracker. Unlike the Coros HRM which is bicep only, it can be worn on your forearm, bicep and even swim-goggle straps to track your BPM from your temples in the water. If you’re after an arm strap, this is our top recommendation.

Comfort is good. The 19g Polar Verity Sense’s wide strap and sensor casing helps it stay in place better than the Polar OH1+. Lights on the sensor also make it easier to see when you’re switching between modes and starting workouts, though we still found it somewhat fiddly to use, particularly if you’re wearing long sleeve tops in winter.

The Verity Sense doesn’t match the best chest straps for nailed-on accuracy. Like many opticals, when you shift gears during intervals, it struggles at times with lag and lurch. But in our tests, the six LED sensor was among the most reliable optical heart rate trackers and performs as well, if not better, than the built-in optical you find on most GPS watches.

It packs 30-hours’ training time on a single charge, 16mb memory – that equates to around 600 hours of workout storage – and 150m broadcast range. It supports two simultaneous Bluetooth connections and connects reliably to heart rate apps including the Polar Beat app, all GPS watches and compatible gym equipment.

It's water resistant up to 50m and the strap is machine washable. However, we’re not fans of the small – and easy-to-lose – charging cradle.

If all you want is your BPM beamed to your watch, training platform or fitness app, the rechargeable COOSPO Realzone H9Z is a good budget tracker that takes a no-frills approach to monitoring your BPM.

The slimmed-down, lighter, more compact sensor is a shade more comfortable than its cheaper sibling, the COOSPO H808S, and while the strap isn’t as soft as some chest straps, it’s still perfectly comfortable. Our tester wore it for three-hour runs without any troublesome rubbing, chafing or cutting.

The H9Z clocks heart rate, heart rate variability, calories and offers zone training alerts via the partner app. However, there’s no additional smarts like running form tracking, step counting or the extra insights you find on pricier straps like the Garmin HRM-Pro.

There are some really helpful details, though, like how when you connect the sensor, it beeps to let you know it’s working and there’s a 5-colour LEDs on the sensor so you can see what zone you’re working in (albeit only useful if you’re training with your shirt off).

For a budget tracker, accuracy was impressive . In tests, the COOSPO H9Z matched the £400 Frontier X2 and the Polar Verity Sense almost beat for beat. The highs, lows and averages were a close match.

Battery life is competitive, too, with approximately 32 hours training time on a single charge. After a 2-hour run, the battery life was barely touched. You get good, reliable connectivity with ANT+ and Bluetooth 5.0 and support for two simultaneous connections to your favourite fitness machines, apps and fitness trackers.

The COOSPO H9Z handles sweat and rain – and being dunked in a metre of water. Unfortunately, there’s no onboard memory, so no tracking workouts independently.

The uniquely versatile Myzone MZ-Switch is an ECG-style chest strap and optical arm strap in one, making it perfect for everything from vigorous HIIT sessions and lifting, to running, cycling and open water swims. If you want total flexibility, this is the one to get.

The soft chest strap is relatively comfortable and fastens with a hook, while the arm strap adjusts and tightens using velcro and sits happily on your forearm or bicep without rolling up or cutting in. Swapping the sensor from chest to arm strap is simple with metal poppers like you'll find on a jacket.

The chest strap accuracy performed well in tests but while the optical sensor is reasonably reliable for activities like running, it’s still not as accurate as a chest strap.

There’s built-in memory of up to 36 hours and the Switch plays nice with watches from Garmin, Polar and Coros. Connectivity is solid – though not as good as the Coros HRM – with two simultaneous Bluetooth connections.

The rechargeable chest strap staying power stretches to 140 hours’. That battery life drops to 35 hours using the optical arm strap.

The Myzone partner app adds some extra competitive game play to workouts by quantifying your maximum heart rate capacity and converting the intensity of your sessions into points. These ‘Effort Points’ propel you up or down a range of leaderboards and competitions with friends, family and total strangers.

Handy lighting indicators on the sensor also tell you what zone you're training in but that’s only really useful if you’re wearing it on your forearm. It’s also waterproof up to 10 metres.

The optical arm-strap Coros Heart Rate Monitor goes up against the Polar Vertiy Sense and although it only tracks your BPM from your bicep, it packs plenty of value.

Accuracy is generally excellent. In testing, it clocked max and average HR within a beat against the Garmin Enduro 2’s optical sensor and the Polar Verity Sense. However, there were occasions where it surged high at the start of a workout.

At just 18g, it’s a teeny bit lighter than the Polar Verity Sense with a neat and compact sensor that’s easy to put on. Plus, it's got a lovely, wide, soft and adjustable strap that’s great for finding a comfortable fit. The slim sensor is slightly lower profile than rival arm straps, so it snags less on clothes.

Clever built-in wear detection kicks the HRM into action on skin contact, although it also keeps tracking and burning battery until you take it off. On paper, the USB-rechargeable device boasts 38 hours training time — that’s slightly longer than the Polar Verity Sense (30 hours), the Scosche Rhythm 2.0 (24 hours) and the Wahoo Tickr Fit (30 hours). In our tests, we easily got a month of workouts on a single charge.

You don’t get any additional run tracking like form metrics or step counting and it doesn’t currently store workouts. However, with three simultaneous connections and auto pairing with previously paired devices, Bluetooth connectivity is as good as you’ll get in an arm strap. It’s water resistant up to 30 metres and it’s hand-wash friendly.

The chunkiest of the arm straps, the Scosche Rhythm 24 weighs in at 30g – almost twice the weight of the Verity Sense but its wider strap actually adds to the comfort, with less cutting in.

The Rhythm 24 packs an impressive 24 hours runtime battery life, with 13 hours of built-in workout storage, so you can run phone or watch-free and sync to the partner app later. However, the app offers little more than the ability to customise your heart rate zones — this HRM is really designed to be used with third party services.

The Rhythm 24 pairs easily with most watches, apps and devices and the connectivity in our tests was great with support for simultaneous Bluetooth and ANT+ connections.

The sensor features are helpful coloured lights on the front to show you which heart rate zone you’re training in as you run. They also indicate when the memory is getting full of your running efforts.

In terms of accuracy, the Scosche uses green and yellow optical sensors to improve accuracy on all skin tones and in tests, it matched the Polar H10 chest strap relatively closely. However, it wasn’t infallible and had a tendency to read top HR spikes a little higher. But it’s up there with fellow arms straps for reliability, plus it’s waterproof up to 1.5 metres so you can swim with it.

The older Garmin HRM Dual is a more budget-friendly, basic, no-frills heart rate monitor that offers simple BPM tracking with an impressive battery life, but not much beyond.

The sensor is a little bulkier than the newer HRM Pro and HRM Pro Plus, but overall the HRM Dual comfort is great thanks to the wide, soft and easily adjusted strap (you almost forget you're wearing it). There's also a handy tab to stop the fastening rubbing or digging in.

In tests, the accuracy was good but what really stands out here is the long-lasting Coin Cell battery that serves up more than 1,000 hours of training. That’s perhaps because the HRM Dual doesn’t track any extra metrics beyond BPM and heart rate variability, but if all you want is that simple data, you won’t find a longer lasting chest strap.

It’s compatible with a number of devices and smartwatches thanks to its ability to transmit via both ANT+ and Bluetooth. With two simultaneous Bluetooth connections, it’s got you covered if you like to plug into various apps or gym machines. Overall, it’s not the most capable chest strap, but it's a solid option that’s competitively priced.

There's little the OURA Ring can't do, which isn't to say it's a jack of all trades, master of none product — the sleep tracking is excellent, for one, but it's certainly not the most accurate heart rate monitor out there. So why have we included it here? Simply because if you want an overall picture of your health, which includes heart rate variability, resting heart rate and cardiovascular age, then it's a solid option.

It measures heart rate every five minutes throughout the day, rather than the more accurate monitors which tend to hover around every 15 seconds, but this increases when you record a workout, during which you can expect super accurate tracking. It's best to wear the ring on your index finger (no, not the most stylish), as this is the digit with the most consistent blood flow, thanks to the radial artery.

It's also easy to slip the OURA into your life with minimal fuss — after a couple of days you forget you're wearing it, and it only intermittently needs charging. The app is intuitive and offers up a wealth of nerdy health graphs if you're into that, as well as digestible data that help give a clearer picture of your wellbeing.

Most heart rate monitors beam data to a running watch where you can view it, although you can use running apps, too.

What you’ll see is a simple real-time BPM figure, e.g. from 145BPM. However, most watches offer colour-coded heart rate training zones (often with five zones) that show the intensity range you’re running in.

Different devices use different labels and percentages of your Max HR to create these zones, but an example might be: warm-up zone (very light), fat-burning zone (light) , aerobic zone (moderate), anaerobic zone (hard) and red line zone (maximum).

You can also set audio or vibration alerts to help you stay in the right zone, or to warn you if your BPM busts a threshold.

Post-run, you’ll be able to see how long you spent in each zone, as well as your minimum, maximum and average heart rate and your average BPM for each of your splits.

To take your heart rate data one step further, setting up accurate zones ensures that you can gauge your effort and performance for both a single activity and across entire training blocks, says Darian Allberry, head of user engagement at Coros.

On many devices, your zones will automatically update based on your runs. 'But if you're looking for even further refinement of your HR zones, you can manually adjust based on testing protocols done in a lab or in the field.

'You also have the option to take a Running Fitness test, which is a progressive run session that allows us to accurately establish threshold heart rate values for you and update all of your zones to be even more accurate.'

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