08.09.2019
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As a long-time reviewer of GPS devices, one of the tougher questions I'm often asked is whether Garmin or TomTom makes the better products. The good news is that both are tops in the class. Garmin still holds the lead in sales, but the two are so close in feature sets, pricing, and routing accuracy, that you generally can't go wrong with either one. In this article I'll try to break it down further, so you can see where the specific differences between the two lie.
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As a general rule, standalone personal navigation devices (PNDs) have fallen far in price. Most basic devices hover around the $100 to $200 range, at least on the street if not at retail. Every decent Garmin and TomTom PND manufactured in the past several years has text-to-speech conversion to speak street names, 3D map views, comprehensive points of interest (POI) databases, and automatic rerouting. Some lower-end models lack multipoint routing and Bluetooth cell phone connectivity features for hands-free, in-car calls. MP3 playback has largely disappeared, now that car stereos and phones easily handle that task.
Higher-end GPS devices can still command $350 and up, and usually offer luxurious features like glass capacitive touch screens, high-resolution displays, faster frame rates, and terrain mapping—things that are nice to have but aren't necessary for most consumers. For example, both TomTom and Garmin offer models with glass capacitive touch screens, which are more responsive than the older, plastic resistive screens found on nearly all PNDs to date. But Garmin and TomTom have been designing touch interfaces for many years, with large buttons that are easy to hit even on plastic resistive screens.
Interface Differences
With that, let's get into some specifics about Garmin and TomTom devices. Based on our years of testing, Garmin's user interface is still unparalleled. It offers clear, easy to read icons and colorful map graphics. TomTom has been improving with font readability, but Garmin always makes everything large and easy to glance at quickly while behind the wheel.
On the other hand, TomTom devices tend to display more information simultaneously, thanks to the two-line status bar at the bottom of the screen. But where TomTom pulls ahead is with its real-time HD traffic service. First, it's more accurate than Garmin's, at least in our anecdotal testing across several reviews. But while HD traffic costs extra, TomTom often throws in a year for free, and the regular real-time service also does a good job.
Another bonus: TomTom devices also don't display ads as a rule, unlike Garmin's. Finally, TomTom is making up ground on the phone app side as well, as TomTom's iOS GPS app is far ahead of Garmin StreetPilot in features and overall operation. It's not clear why this is the case, but Garmin got started on iOS really late, which is probably the best explanation.
With Garmin devices, points of interest are categorized down to several levels, making it easier to find specific kinds of stores and restaurants. Garmin avoids bundling everything under, say, 'Shopping,' leaving you to sort through dozens of entries all within a few miles away for everyday errands. Garmin's POI search updates in real-time as you're driving, complete with compass directions. You can run a search for, say, the nearest Starbucks; it will display them all in a list, and then as you drive, show you which ones are getting closer and which ones are further away, and in which direction. That means you can aim for the one that's straight ahead, instead of trying to get to the 'closest' one only to find out you have to get off the highway and turn around.
Conclusions
If you already have a PND and want to upgrade, there's no reason to jump from one company to the other unless you find a blow-out sale on a particular model, which are actually easier to find these days. And that's the primary obstacle Garmin and TomTom are facing now: a declining overall market for standalone devices since many smartphones and tablets will give you free turn-by-turn navigation.
I still think they're more convenient than using a phone, because you can leave the PND in the car, and not drain your phone's juice while on the road—GPS radios in phones are notorious battery hogs. In fact, Garmin and TomTom have seen the writing on the wall, and are branching out into other markets, such as GPS devices for fitness, hiking, and golf, as well as swim training watches and in-car infotainment systems.
That's all the better for us, because portable navigation devices now cost a fraction of what they did just a few years ago. As we've said in the past, one other problem with shopping for a GPS device is that older units tend to stick around in retail channels. That muddies the waters, because they all have similar sounding names. At a glance, it's very difficult to know if a model is six months old or three years old. So at this point, it's best to go with whatever deal looks the best at that time, but to also get one with lifetime maps and traffic if possible. This way, you'll always be up to date, and you won't have to worry if a particular unit has been on the shelf for two years.
For more, check out How to Buy a GPS and The 10 Best GPS Devices.
Garmin Traffic Update
Top-Rated Garmin and TomTom GPS Devices:
Garmin nüvi 3590LMT
$379 current street price
The high-end Garmin nüvi 3590LMT is the best standalone GPS on the market right now. It has a beautiful, high-resolution 5-inch glass screen with 3D terrain mapping and a very fast frame rate. It can also show a useful split-screen view for 3D lane assistance while keeping the regular map view visible with all current trip information.Read the full review ››
Garmin nüvi 3790T
$240 current street price
The Garmin nüvi 3790T is a solid navigator that raises the bar for the standalone GPS category, with its slim build, ultra-high-resolution screen, flexible routing and traffic, and gorgeous terrain mapping.Read the full review ››
TomTom VIA 1605TM
$196 current street price
The TomTom VIA 1605TM, new for 2012 and our current Editors' Choice for midrange GPS devices, offers an oversized 6-inch screen with a sharp 800-by-480-pixel resolution. It also delivers a beautiful 3D lane assistance review, and you get lifetime map updates and real-time traffic with no ads.Read the full review ››
Garmin Nuvi Driver Download
TomTom Go 2535 M LIVE
$218 current street price
TomTom's best-value, high-end connected device, the GO 2535 M LIVE has a 5-inch glass capacitive touch screen, faster real-time HD traffic updates, and clear audio prompts. It also doesn't display ads. But the screen is of the older, 480-by-272-pixel variety, as this model is more than a year old now.Read the full review ››