Garmin vs TomTom GPS? Who wins this debate? Honestly, it has a lot to do with what segment of the car GPS marketplace you’re looking at. In this article, we’re going to talk about Garmin vs TomTom, in general, what each company has to offer in terms of models and prices. So, if you want to learn my opinion about who wins the Garmin vs TomTom GPS debate, read on!

To answer this question, let’s get an overview of the product lines of each of these companies. Garmin first.

I’m just talking car GPS, here. Not motorcycle, not trekking, etc. just car. Used to be that Garmin has two lines of after market car GPS’s, the StreetPilot and the newer nuvis. Garmin has essentially discontinued the StreetPilots, although you can still find them in some online retailers. The nuvi line is what you need to be looking at, and what we’ll be discussing.

As far as understanding the Garmin vs TomTom GPS discussion, you need to know that nuvis are priced from less than $100 to almost $400. You can get a basic Garmin nuvi, the 205, for less than $90 from many online retailers. You can get Garmin’s top of the line model, the 3790t for $450, or thereabouts. The 205 gives you a basic GPS system, but not much else. With the 3790t, you get an artificially intelligent state of the art GPS system in a sleek, newly designed case, which can remember the routes you take most often and even offer day to day alternatives. There’s not much the 3790 can’t do.

Right here, as far as our debate about Garmin vs TomTom GPS is where TomTom falls short. It’s in the innovative, higher end of the market place. I’m talking from a US point of view by the way. TomTom is an European company, and as far as European GPS’s TomTom has Garmin beat…at least for now.

TomTom does provide some heavy competition for Garmin in the lower half of the price range. Let’s say under $200. Their XL and XXL series are excellent, widescreen GPS systems, which have a lot of features that you’ve come to expect on a GPS. It could be that feature for feature TomTom might be slightly less expensive that Garmin. I’m not sure. Frankly, that varies all over the place. So, that’s not part of the Garmin vs TomTom GPS argument.

I do know that for entry level GPS systems, TomTom has some really great new devices. Take the TomTom EASE, for instance. That’s a scaled down GPS at a low price. But what the EASE has that the nuvi 205 doesn’t have is…well, it’s easier to use. TomTom has successfully simplified the user interface so that anyone can use the EASE right out of the box. It’s very intuitive.

So, who wins the Garmin vs TomTom debate. This is just my opinion, mind, but in the lower end of the market, I think they’re neck and neck. Above $200, it’s Garmin all the way!

To learn more about the Garmin vs TomTom issue, check out my new buyer’s guide… Garmin vs TomTom. It’s completely free. There’s no opt-in or anything!

Rick Cole is a true GPS enthusiast! Take a look at his website to find out more information about the best GPS navigation systems!