Garmin Connect is an app developed by Garmin to gather your health and sport activity data. It is a popular app and is generally among the top apps to review your activity metrics as well as create routes. But if you have just heard about this app, it might not be clear to you if this app is free or not; if it requires a subscription, and most of all if you can use it without owning a Garmin watch (or any Garmin device).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I will cover all these topics below to give you all the information you need about Garmin Connect. I will especially focus on what you can do without owning a Garmin device within the app.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Garmin Connect doesn’t cost money. It is free to use, both on the app and on the website. You are required to create a user account, but this is free. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Garmin has a separate app called Garmin Connect IQ store, which is a store where you can buy third-party developed apps and additional faces for your Garmin watches and bike computers. Some are free some aren’t. But these apps are not required to use a Garmin device, nor Garmin Connect. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So whether you own a Garmin wearable or not, Garmin Connect is free to use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No subscription is needed to use Garmin Connect. It is entirely free, even if you don’t own a Garmin device. Only Garmin Connect IQ store has some paid third-party apps developed for Garmin devices. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The only subscription that Garmin offers is for their kids’ line of products such as the Garmin Bounce or their satellite communicators such as the InReach. It makes sense since these products can send messages, but it has nothing to do with Garmin Connect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can use Garmin Connect without owning a Garmin watch (or device). However, you will have to manually upload all your activities and the health data is very limited (no steps, no stress level, no sleep tracking). On the contrary, you can benefit from the route creator and export the .GPX files.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can upload your activities manually within the app: you either manually use the “add activity” button in the app to log in your last activity. But this is not very precise as you will only log sport type, distance, and duration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you have recorded your activity with another non-Garmin device, then export the associated .FIT file from the native app of your device. And then manually load it onto Garmin Connect website<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For more explanation on how to upload manually your activities, I have made a detailed explanation for Coros, Polar, Suunto and Apple watch in this dedicated article<\/a>. Please note you can also import .GPX activities into Garmin Connect. But it can be trickier to do since .GPX files aren’t necessarily activities (contrary to .FIT files). For more information, please have a look at this dedicated article: How to import .GPX files to Garmin.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Upload your activities (auto-sync)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It is not possible to auto-sync your data even using a third-party app, except on iOS<\/mark><\/strong>. It used to be possible on Healthsync app and on Tapiriik web app but apparently Garmin has modified its API and it is no longer possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Please find below a quote from the Tapiriik web app:<\/p>\n\n\n
If you are interested by the Apple watch only, you can go directly here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n