The best free Garmin watch faces in 2026
Free is a crowded category in the Connect IQ Store, and not every listing lives up to the label: plenty of faces are marked free and behave like trials. These are the ones that are genuinely free in 2026 and worth installing. Umbra is ours and is included as a disclosure, not a review.
How these were picked
Three criteria, applied in order. The face has to be free in full, not free until a settings menu asks for a code. It has to stay readable when the display dims, which on AMOLED is where most faces fall apart. And it has to let you choose what it shows.
Glance: the safe choice
Glance is one of the most installed free faces in the store, and it earns that: every value is legible at a glance, including in always-on. The caveat: the design and the type look dated next to the bright AMOLED panels of today, and it shows fewer training metrics than newer faces. If you want the safe choice with the longest track record, this is it.
Segment34: the most configurable
Segment34 is free, runs on most Garmin watches, and is the face Tom's Guide installs on every watch they test. Almost every element can be set, and the numerals stay bright and large when the display dims, which is where many AMOLED faces fail. If you want maximum configurability at zero cost and do not mind the technical look, start here.
Crystal: open source, the successor is paid
Crystal is a long-running open-source face with configurable data fields, goal meters and a move bar; the source is public, so you can read what it does. Since March 2026 there is Crystal Reborn, rebuilt for AMOLED and always-on, but paid. The original stays free in the store. At heart it is a MIP-era design and looks more utilitarian than modern on a bright AMOLED.
Goals: free only to try
Goals brings Apple-style activity rings to Garmin and is genuinely popular. It is also the clearest example of the category problem: it is free to try and costs a couple of dollars for the full version. That is a fair model, not a scam, but it is not the same thing as free, and the store filter does not tell you the difference.
Umbra: our own
Umbra is free in full, with no unlock code and no account, built for 48 round AMOLED Garmins across four display sizes, with eight data fields from eighteen metrics, three designs and four typefaces, everything except the data fields switched right on the watch. What it is not: it does not run on MIP displays, it has no analog layout, and it does not have the install base of the faces above. If you want a data-rich digital face with an always-on view that stays large and readable, it is worth a look. If you want rings or an analog dial, one of the others fits better.
How to check a free face before you install it
Read the store description before the screenshots. A settings code, a separate app to buy or a website to visit means the free label is a trial. Check what the description says about the always-on view; if it says nothing, assume the face keeps its full layout and costs you battery. And check the device list rather than the family name — Garmin model names are not resolution classes, and a face that runs on a 265 may not run on a 265S.
The full checklist is in free or trialware, and if you have never changed a face before, installing and customizing one takes about a minute.