This post compares the entire Garmin Edge range, so that you can choose the best Garmin Edge bike computer for you. Our huge comparative chart, summaries and videos will save you tons of research time! We have covered all of the latest updated Garmin Edge bike computers; that is, the Edge 130 Plus, Edge Explore, Edge 530, Edge 830, and the new Edge 1030 Plus. We have left out the outdated models. We have included the Edge Explore because it is just such outstanding value for money. We hope this post will help you to quickly choose the best Garmin Edge bike computer for your own personal cycling needs.
Please note that as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. It costs you nothing, but it does provide the income we need to keep blogging – thank you!
Contents of Post
- Chart comparing the Garmin Edge 130 Plus, Garmin Edge Explore, Garmin Edge 530, Garmin Edge 830, and Garmin Edge 1030 Plus
- Garmin Edge 130 Plus
- Garmin Edge Explore
- Garmin Edge 530
- Garmin Edge 830
- Garmin Edge 1030 Plus
Chart comparing the Garmin Edge 130 Plus, Garmin Edge Explore, Garmin Edge 530, Garmin Edge 830, and Garmin Edge 1030 Plus
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| Best Price right now on Amazon | Best Price on Amazon Right Now: $199.99 | Best Price on Amazon: $249.99 | Best Price on Amazon Right Now: $290.64 | Best Price on Amazon Right Now: $399.99 | Best Price on Amazon Right Now: $599.99 |
| Best For? | Cyclists who want a premium bike computer in a budget, compact unit; and who don't need much navigation help; must be OK with black & white & with button control (not touch screen) | Cyclists who want a premium bike computer at a budget price; but who need navigation and turn by turn navigation. Great if you need a larger screen. Better for navigation than training. Not suitable if you want to use a power meter | Cyclists who want nothing but the best in premium training features; must be OK with pre-downloading routes when they need navigation help, and with button control (not touch screen) | Cyclists who want nothing but the best in premium training features and navigation | Cyclists who want nothing but the best in the very latest premium training features and navigation; and who need a bigger screen & free, high-quality worldwide maps |
| Size of Unit | 1.1" x 1.4" (27 x 36 mm); 1.8" diag (45 mm) | 2.2" x 4.1" x 0.9" (55 x 105 x 22 mm) | 1.9" x 3.2" x 0.8" (50 x 82 x 20 mm) | 1.9” x 3.2” x 0.8” (50 mm x 82 mm x 20 mm) | 2.28" x 4.5" x 0.8" (58 x 114 x 19 mm) |
| Display Resolution | 303 x 230 pixels | 240 x 400 pixels | 246 x 322 pixels | 246 x 322 pixels | 282 x 470 pixels |
| Weight | 1.2 oz (33 g) | 4.1 oz (116 g) | 2.7 oz (75.8 g) | 2.8 oz (79.1 g) | 4.4 oz (124 g) |
| Waterproof rating | IPX 7 (you can drop it in 3 ft of water for up to 30 mins, & it will still work) | IPX 7 | IPX 7 | IPX 7 | IPX 7 |
| Screen size | 1.8" (45 mm) diagonal, black and white | 3.0" (76 mm) diagonal color | 2.6" (66 mm) diagonal, color | 2.6" (66 mm) diagonal, color | 3.5" (89 mm) diagonal, color |
| Touchscreen or button control? | Button control | Touchscreen, works well | Button control | Touchscreen, works well | Touchscreen, works well |
| Battery Life | Up to 12 hours | Up to 12 hours in GPS training mode | Up to 20 hours in GPS training mode | Up to 20 hours in GPS training mode | Up to 36 hours in GPS training mode, up to 48 hours with minimal sensors and backlighting |
| Battery Save Mode (extends battery life by up to 50% while still tracking all ride data) | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Option to add Garmin Charge Power Pack (to double battery life)? | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bike alarm that connects with your phone? | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Find my bike computer? | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
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| Satellite Systems: | GPS/GLONASS/Galileo | GPS | GPS/GLONASS/Galileo | GPS/GLONASS/Galileo | GPS/GLONASS/Galileo |
| Elevation? | Yes | Yes, based on GPS as it has no barometric altimeter | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Accelerometer? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Ambient Light Sensor? | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Basemap | No | Pre-loaded Garmin Cycle Map | Pre-loaded Garmin Cycle Maps with Integrated TrailForks content | Pre-loaded Garmin Cycle Maps with Integrated TrailForks content | Pre-loaded Garmin Cycle Maps with Integrated TrailForks content |
| Ships pre-loaded with high-quality maps for two countries, plus can download any other countries for free? | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Can you add maps? | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Waypoints | 100 | 200 | 200 | 200 | 200 |
| How many routes can you save on the device? | 30 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| How much history can you store on the device? | Up to 100 hours | Up to 200 hours | Up to 200 hours | Up to 200 hours | Up to 200 hours |
| Address search (input address and it will plot a route)? AKA On-Device Course Creator | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Popularity routing (Trendline) - shows routes used most by cyclists? | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Turn-by-turn navigation? | Yes, but very basic, breadcrumb-style navigation only. And only for downloaded courses, e.g. from Garmin Route Creator | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Recalculate route on the device? | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| New re-routing options? | n/a | No | No, but will arrive in a future software updatea | No, but will arrive in a future software updatea | Yes. Choose from Rejoin where you left course; Skip ahead to course; or Cut across |
| Calculate route back to start? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Can you create a custom course on the unit (this is a sequence of waypoints or locations that leads you to your final destination)? | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Create a round-trip route on the device? | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Find nearby POI (points of interest)? | No | Yes | No, but you can use the included Yelp app to find them | Yes | Yes |
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| How does it communicate? | Bluetooth, ANT+ | Bluetooth, ANT+ | Bluetooth, ANT+, Wi-Fi | Bluetooth, ANT+, Wi-Fi | Bluetooth, ANT+, Wi-Fi |
| Time & date display? | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Smart notifications? | Yes (calls and texts only) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Can you respond to a phone call with text on your Android device? | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Rider to Rider messaging? | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Does it display the weather? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Garmin Connect compatible? (this is an online community where you can share data, plys analyze - like Strava) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Automatically syncs your rides to the Garmin Connect™ Mobile app on your phone? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ANT+ (to connect your devices? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bluetooth Smart (aka BLE or Bluetooth Low Energy)? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Unit to unit transfer (share your data with friends with similar units)? | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| LiveTrack? | Yes | Yes, new enhanced version | Yes | Yes | Yes, new enhanced version |
| Group Tracking?? | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Incident detection (so someone is automatically notified if you have an accident)? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| LEV/ebike compatibility via ANT+? | Yes | No, but coming soon | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Compatible with heart rate monitors, plus power, speed and cadence sensors? | Yes | Supports heart rate monitors, plus power, speed and cadence sensors, but does NOT support power meters | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ANT+ shifting? | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Shimano Di2 electronic shifting integration? (“Digital Integrated Intelligence” enables instant electronic shifting) | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Can it download free apps and widgets from the Connect IQ™ store? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Compatible with Garmin VIRB video camera? | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Compatible with Garmin inReach 2-way satellite communicator (to send your location if you need assistance and your cell phone cannot connect)? | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Garmin Varia Compatible? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Can you control it with a Garmin Edge remote control? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Does it have Extended Display (so you can use your bike computer as an extended display to view data screens from a compatible Garmin mulitsport watch)? | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
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| Autostart (so your timer will start automatically once you are cycling at a custom speed)? | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Can You Customize Your Data Pages? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Interval training (so you can set up exercise and rest intervals)? | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Advanced workouts? (so you can create customized, goal-directed workouts) | Yes | No | Yes (much improved over 520 Plus) | Yes (much improved over 820) | Yes |
| Daily Workout Suggestions? | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Can You Download Training Plans to It? | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Virtual Partner (so you can compete against a digital cyclist)? | Yes, within a course | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| VO2 Max estimate? (the maximum amount of oxygen a person can utilize during intense exercise) | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| FTP tracking? (Functional Threshold Power is the average power that a rider can produce over the course of an hour) | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Will it Advise You on Recovery Time? | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Time in heart rate training zone? | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| TrainingPeaks iLevels (WKO4) | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ClimpPro (new feature that shows you graphically the grades ahead)? | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Power Meter Compatible? | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Performance Power Curve? (tracks your power output over periods of time) | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Advanced Power Analysis? | No (not on device, but you can do it on your computer later) | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Does it have Physio TrueUP (a Garmin Connect feature that keeps physiological data in sync between multiple devices)? | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Does it compute calories based on heart rate? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Strava Live Segments on the unit? | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Aerobic training effect? | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Heat acclimation (how well are you adjusting to heat)? | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Altitude acclimation (how well are you adjusting to changes in altitude)? | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Water and calorie requirements (reminders based on course)? | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Auto Pause (so it stops recording when you stop your bike)? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Smart Trainer Control? | No | Not yet, but coming soon | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Courses (so you can compete against your previous rides)? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Alerts (to alert you when you reach goals such as heart rate, calories, time, or distance)? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Activity Profiles (that's where you have different profiles for activities such as road or mountain biking)? | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
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| Best Price on Amazon Right Now: $199.99 | Best Price on Amazon: $249.99 | Best Price on Amazon Right Now: $290.64 | Best Price on Amazon Right Now: $399.99 | Best Price on Amazon Right Now: $599.99 | |
| Grit rating (how tough is the route)? | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Flow rating (how well did you ride the route)? | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Hang time (how long were you in the air when jumping, how far did you go)? | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Integrated Trailforks? (130,000 trails preloaded on unit) | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Buying Options
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Garmin Edge 130 Plus
Overview
This is a brand new, premium bike computer with awesome new training features, at a very reasonable price relative to other premium bike computers. It is small, compact, and intuitively easy-to-use. The range of training options and available data on this bike computer is pretty much unbeatable at this price.
It’s also great if mountain biking is your first love, because it comes with Garmin’s cool new mountain bike metrics pre-loaded. It is also a good buy if you have tons of useful sensor information, user profiles, etc., on an older Garmin unit. If you are anything like me, the auto syncing will put a big smile on your face!
Also amazing at this price, it comes with the very cool ClimbPro feature pre-loaded. Many cyclists find this a must for planning hilly bike rides.
The Edge 130 Plus offers only the most basic navigation, based on breadcrumbs. There are no maps, so don’t expect to see street names on the unit.
Best For:
You are looking for premium training and data features in a budget priced bike computer! And you don’t mind black and white; you like button control; you like low-profile gadgets; and you don’t need much help finding your way around.
Video Review of the Garmin Edge 130 Plus
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Garmin Edge Explore
Overview
This budget-priced bike computer is only a little smaller than the 1030 Plus. And it has a color screen. So, it is very easy to see. Couple that with full-color maps and true turn-by-turn navigation, and you have a unit that is optimized for navigation. You get full color, detailed maps for the country where you buy it. And you can buy more maps from Garmin, or get them for free from third parties. Plus, the maps work really well and very quickly. You can download courses from Garmin Connect, create round trip routes, and find Points of Interest.
This bike computer used to costs a whole lot more money – close to $500. At the current price, it is close to incredible value.
However, it does not offer the high-end training features found in the more expensive models, or even in the cheaper 130 Plus. It is not optimized from those who want high end training metrics, because:
- It does not support power meters.
- It does not support Strava live segments.
- You cannot download structured workouts.
- It does not support interval training right on the unit.
So, if training is your primary goal, and you plan on racing, this one is not for you.
Best For:
Those who are focus on long rides, often in new places. This is because it is optimized for navigation. It is not optimized for training. That said, it will nonetheless collect tons of data for you to analyze your progress online!
Video Review of the Garmin Edge Explore
Garmin Edge 530
Overview
In a nutshell, the Garmin Edge 530 is a premium bike computer with tons of features that will be more than enough for most cyclists. And the cherry on the top is that it is at an attractive price point, relative to the 1030 Plus and 830 ($299). This one is for you if you want absolutely premium bike training features in a small, light, affordable package, and you like the convenience of turn-by-turn directions, but you do not need your bike computer to calculate routes on the fly for you. It cannot find addresses. In practice, you are mainly limited to courses you download in advance.
The Edge 530 is suitable if you are more into button control than touchscreen control.
And if you do extremely long rides, then the Edge 530 is ideal, thanks to excellent battery life (20 hours vs 15 hours on the Edge 520). Plus, you have the option to plug in the extra Garmin Charge power pack to extend to more than 40 hours.
Best For:
Buy the Edge 530 if you want a premium bike computer with awesome new training features, at a very reasonable price relative to other premium bike computers. But only if you are content with only having navigation and turn-by-turn directions if you download routes beforehand. And you prefer button control to touchscreen control.
This video sums up the upgrades to the Garmin Edge 530
Garmin Edge 830
Overview
The Garmin Edge 830 pretty much has it all in terms of premium navigation and premium training features. You control it with a touchscreen controls. Importantly, its touch screen is much improved over the Edge 820. There are not many complaints heard about Garmin’s touchscreens any more, since they introduced an upgrade that started with this model, and has now been extended throughout.
The Garmin Edge 830 will support any external sensor you choose to add to your bike or your body. Plus, it has true turn-by-turn navigation built into it. So, you can use it much like a car GPS – simply input an address and the unit will calculate a route to get there. It will give you audible and visual directions and alerts, and re-calculate if you get off-course.
But unlike a car GPS, the Edge 830 has an invisible but important layer – Garmin heat maps. Basically, this is data derived from recorded rides by real cyclists, which tells Garmin which routes are most popular with cyclists. This enables the unit to calculate a route for you that is more cyclist-friendly.
Of course, it is also totally connected to the world, be it weather, incident detection, smart notifications, training alerts – you name it!
Best For:
Buy the Edge 830 if awesome training features and full-feature navigation are important to you.
Video Review of the Garmin Edge 830
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Garmin Edge 1030 Plus
Overview
The Garmin Edge 1030 Plus was an upgrade that just had to happen. This is because all the upgrades in the 530 and the 830 meant that there was no longer any reason to buy the 1030. This was a problem as it was the flagship of the series for a long time. With the upgrade to the 1030 Plus, the flagship is once again a very competitive option to consider.
As before, the Edge 1030 Plus has the largest screen of any bike computer. This makes it great for seeing maps with ageing eyes. A bigger screen is not only easier to read (especially when viewing maps), but also a bigger screen makes it that much easier to work the touch screen controls (something I find quite important when riding a bike in the rain).
Naturally, the Edge 1030 Plus has true turn-by-turn navigation built into it, right out of the box. And full-feature navigation (that is, you can input addresses into the unit while you are riding, and then navigate to them with turn-by-turn directions). And it ships with detailed maps for two countries pre-installed. Plus, you can download maps for the rest of the world free. This is a big and welcome change.
- If you buy your Garmin Edge 1030 Plus in North America, you will get a full set of high-quality maps for North America and Europe.
- If you buy your Garmin Edge 1030 Plus in Europe, you will get a full set of high-quality maps for Europe + North America.
- If you buy in Australia or New Zealand, you get Australia and New Zealand and Africa.
Also, crucially: the map performance is now more like a smart phone than a bike computer.
It also has awesome training features, of course. And a bunch of attractive new features, such as increased storage, longer battery life, improved Live Tracking, Daily Workout guidance, etc.
Best For:
The truly dedicated cyclist who wants it all – premium training and premium navigation. With a big screen to make it easy to see the maps. And free pre-loaded maps for two countries. And of course, pretty deep pockets!
Video Highlighting Changes to the Garmin Edge 1030 Plus vs Garmin Edge 1030
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Related Posts:
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Garmin Edge 1030 vs. 1030 Plus
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How to Use a Garmin Vivoactive to Record a Bike Ride
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Thanks for the info Joe. It took me a while to read the whole thing but well worth the effort. At the end of the day its the 530 for me. But nice to know that one day when I retire their are products like the 130 Plus around. I have bookmarked this post for the next time I go Garmin shopping.
Hey Dave! Thanks; you have no idea how rare it is to hear back from readers. More importantly, we just LOVE when we get positive feedback. Blogging is weird, because you have an audience, and you cannot see or hear them. So it often feels like I am talking to myself. Of course, I know that is not true, because my stats tell me that thousands of valued readers are dropping by every day, and that they come back regularly too 🙂 This makes me a happy man, and makes Maggie a happy woman. Anyway, good luck with the 530. That would be my pick nowadays. Used to be the 830, because of the navigation. However, these days, we can’t even imagine ever again being able to go on a cycling tour anywhere. A bike tour of either Florida or the Netherlands was top of my bucket list, but with the COVID situation, we will have to settle for our own neighborhood for cycling for the foreseeable future. No need for navigation here – I now know it like the back of my hand! Re bookmarking it – thanks for reminding me, I meant to say in the post that I wanted to make it a permanent internet resource for comparing the Garmin Edge bike computer range – and then I forgot 🙁 I will go ahead and make the update to the post right now.
This was helpful enough that I wanted to comment. To be honest I was trying to justify spending such big bucks on a bike computer. As a kid I was just fine with a CatEye that probably cost me around $20, can’t remember now exactly. But now Im in my 40s and I need a lot. more than that. Anyway, I ended up ordering a 1030 Plus. Hope I don’t live to regret it, but I think for me the slam-dunk is the big screen. I have a lot of welding damage to my eyes, and those little screens just don’t work for me any more.
Glad to hear it James. I don’t think you can go wrong. I am older than you, and I have issues with my eyes too. Not from welding, just from living a long time 🙂 Anyway, screen size is a big deal to me too. Hope you end up loving your 1030 Plus. Come on back and write a comment about how it works out, if you have the time!