Garmin Forerunner 165 vs Polar Vantage V3: which lets you own your data?

Garmin Forerunner 165 scores higher for data ownership (78 vs 55). They differ on official api, data export, gadgetbridge / open firmware, home assistant.

Garmin Forerunner 165Polar Vantage V3
Score78/100 (Great)55/100 (Good)
Official API ⚡Partner/business only (10/25)Open API (25/25)
Data export ⚡Local raw files (25/25)Full account export (15/25)
Gadgetbridge / open firmware ⚡Supported (20/20)Not supported (0/20)
Home Assistant ⚡Community (HACS) (8/15)None (0/15)
SubscriptionNot needed (15/15)Not needed (15/15)
SubscriptionNoneNone

⚡ = where they differ.

Garmin Forerunner 165

Same data story as other Garmins: FIT files, Gadgetbridge support, community HA integration, business-only official API.

API · Export · Home Assistant

Polar Vantage V3

Polar AccessLink is a public API you can register for. Data is exportable from Polar Flow. No subscription. Gadgetbridge supports only Polar's HR straps.

API · Export · Home Assistant

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Open in the interactive compare tool

Scores come from each device's cited sources, last verified 2026-10-20. See how we score.

📬 The Data Ownership Digest

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