# Polar Loop with Keely, or Garmin.

> https://meetkeely.com/compare/garmin · Updated 2026-10-05 · Keely, by Metrica Fit LLC

**Garmin’s CIRQA Smart Band is the closest thing to a Polar Loop with Keely: a screen-free band with no subscription, a readiness score, a VO₂ max and an age for your fitness.** Both cost $199.99 once. CIRQA vibrates, lasts longer by its maker’s figures and works alongside Garmin’s watches; Keely publishes every formula, scores stress live, sets a Load target each morning and keeps your raw heart data on your iPhone. Garmin’s Index Sleep Monitor, worn on the upper arm at night, is for sleep only.

## At a glance

| | Polar Loop with Keely | Garmin CIRQA Smart Band |
|---|---|---|
| Price (US) | $199.99 for the Loop, once. Keely is free | $199.99 |
| Subscription | None | None needed. Garmin Connect+, $6.99 a month or $69.99 a year, adds coaching plans, AI insights and more |
| Screen | None | None |
| Morning | Recovery, 0–100 %: HRV, resting heart rate, sleep, breathing rate and skin temperature | Training Readiness, poor to prime: sleep, recovery, training load, HRV status and recent stress. Body Battery, 5–100 |
| Effort | Load: points per minute by heart-rate zone, no ceiling, with a target range each morning | Training Status |
| VO₂ max | From your walks and runs: their pace in Apple Health against the Loop’s heart rate, with a likely range | From a timed 15-minute brisk walk or run, updated each time you do one |
| An age | Keely Age, from your VO₂ max alone, each Monday | Fitness Age: from your age, BMI (or body fat), resting heart rate and vigorous activity |
| Alarm | None: the Loop can’t vibrate | A smart wake alarm that vibrates |
| Battery, by the maker | Up to 8 days (Polar’s figure, with Polar Flow) | Up to 10 days |
| Worn | On the wrist | On the wrist or the upper arm |
| Phones | iPhone | iPhone and Android |
| Formulas | Every input, weight and constant is published | Inputs are described on Garmin’s pages |
| Your data | Raw heart data stays on your iPhone; your account backs up daily summaries | Stored in your Garmin Connect account, with a self-service export |

Facts about Garmin come from Garmin’s own pages and manuals, checked October 5, 2026. This page compares cost, scores and data; it doesn’t test sensor accuracy.

## And the Index Sleep Monitor

Garmin’s Index Sleep Monitor ($169.99) is a band for the upper arm, worn at night. It gives a sleep score from 0 to 100, HRV status, an overnight Body Battery, how stressful your sleep was, and a smart wake alarm that vibrates, for 7 nights a charge with blood oxygen on, by Garmin’s figure. It has no VO₂ max or Fitness Age of its own, and its Training Readiness needs a Garmin watch as well. The Loop with Keely is worn day and night, so it scores your training and your stress as well as your sleep.

## Where Garmin does more

- **It vibrates.** CIRQA and the Index Sleep Monitor both wake you with a smart alarm. The Loop has no vibration motor.
- **A VO₂ max test of its own.** CIRQA estimates it from a timed 15-minute brisk walk or run, with no other watch or app. Keely needs walks or runs that another app or watch saves to Apple Health.
- **One account for many devices.** Garmin’s watches, scales and bike computers share Training Readiness, Body Battery and HRV status, and CIRQA broadcasts heart rate over ANT+ and Bluetooth.
- **Blood oxygen**, during the day and asleep.
- **Android, and a longer battery.** Up to 10 days, by Garmin’s figure.
- **Your data, out.** A self-service export of your account. Keely doesn’t export yet.

## Where Keely is different

- **Every formula is public.** Recovery’s weights, Load’s points and every constant are on the [methodology page](https://meetkeely.com/methodology), so any number can be checked.
- **A Load target each morning.** Keely counts every minute by its heart-rate zone, with no ceiling, and sets a range for the day from your Recovery and your last four weeks. See [Load](https://meetkeely.com/load).
- **Stress as a number, live.** From 0 to 100 while Keely is open, and never scored while you move. See [Stress](https://meetkeely.com/stress).
- **VO₂ max from the walks and runs you already do.** No timed test: Keely reads the steady stretches of each one against the Loop’s heart rate, and shows the likely range. See [Fitness](https://meetkeely.com/fitness).
- **An age from fitness alone.** Keely Age comes from your VO₂ max, turned into years through the evidence on fitness and mortality, with its formula on its [page](https://meetkeely.com/keely-age).
- **Your raw heart data stays on your iPhone.** Only daily summaries are backed up to your account.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is the Polar Loop with Keely like Garmin CIRQA?

In shape, yes: both are screen-free bands with no subscription, at $199.99. CIRQA lives in Garmin Connect, alongside Garmin’s watches, and can vibrate. The Loop with Keely gives you a Recovery score with a published formula, a Load target each morning and live stress.

### Is Keely Age like Garmin’s Fitness Age?

Both describe your fitness in years, but they’re built differently. On CIRQA, Fitness Age weighs your age, BMI, resting heart rate and vigorous activity. Keely Age comes from your VO₂ max alone, against the evidence on fitness and mortality: about half a year for each point.

### Can I use my Garmin watch with Keely?

For Fitness, yes: if your watch saves your walks and runs to Apple Health, Keely reads their distance and pairs it with your Loop’s heart rate. Keely doesn’t connect to Garmin Connect itself.

### Can I use a Garmin band with Keely?

No. Keely works with the Polar Loop.

## Sources

- CIRQA Smart Band: [Garmin’s announcement](https://www.garmin.com/en-US/newsroom/press-release/wearables-health/meet-cirqa-smart-band-the-screen-free-health-and-fitness-tracker-from-garmin/) (July 21, 2026), [product page](https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/1989182/) and [owner’s manual](https://www8.garmin.com/manuals/webhelp/GUID-D3BE589F-1A6C-4B6F-9ABC-07DB9AA6C739/EN-US/CIRQA_Smart_Band_OM_EN-US.pdf) (July 2026).
- Index Sleep Monitor: [product page](https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/1650098) and [Garmin’s announcement](https://www.garmin.com/en-US/newsroom/press-release/wearables-health/rest-easy-with-the-index-sleep-monitor-smart-sleep-band-from-garmin/) (June 18, 2025).
- How Garmin describes its metrics: [Fitness Age](https://www.garmin.com/en-US/garmin-technology/health-science/fitness-age/), [Training Readiness](https://www.garmin.com/en-US/garmin-technology/running-science/physiological-measurements/training-readiness/) and [VO₂ max](https://www.garmin.com/en-US/garmin-technology/running-science/physiological-measurements/vo2-max/).
- Garmin Connect+: [Garmin’s store](https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/1565777) and [announcement](https://www.garmin.com/en-US/newsroom/press-release/wearables-health/elevate-your-health-and-fitness-goals-with-garmin-connect/) (March 27, 2025). Export: [Garmin Connect privacy policy](https://www.garmin.com/en-US/privacy/connect/policy/) (January 9, 2026).
- Polar Loop price: [Polar’s US store](https://www.polar.com/us-en/loop). Specifications: [Polar Loop user manual](https://support.polar.com/e_manuals/polar-loop/polar-loop-user-manual-english/technical-specifications.htm).

All checked October 5, 2026. Prices and features change, so check Garmin’s before you buy. Garmin, CIRQA and Index are trademarks of Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries; Keely isn’t affiliated with or endorsed by Garmin or Polar.

## Keep reading

- [WHOOP](https://meetkeely.com/compare/whoop): The Polar Loop with the free Keely app, compared with WHOOP: cost, Recovery, Strain and Load, stress, sleep, VO₂ max, WHOOP Age and your data.
- [Apple Watch](https://meetkeely.com/compare/apple-watch): The Polar Loop with the free Keely app, compared with Apple Watch’s new Readiness and with Athlytic and Bevel: cost, recovery, sleep, VO₂ max, ages and battery.
- [Fitness](https://meetkeely.com/fitness): Keely estimates your VO₂ max from the Loop’s heart rate on the steady stretches of the walks and runs your watch or apps save to Apple Health.

Keely is coming to the App Store for iPhone (iOS 26 or later). Need a Polar Loop? https://meetkeely.com/loop (an affiliate link: as an Amazon Associate, Metrica Fit earns from qualifying purchases).