{"id":22373,"date":"2017-04-15T17:11:53","date_gmt":"2017-04-16T00:11:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/averagejoecyclist.com\/?p=22373"},"modified":"2020-08-29T13:36:43","modified_gmt":"2020-08-29T20:36:43","slug":"garmin-edge-820-vs-520","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/averagejoecyclist.com\/garmin-edge-820-vs-520\/","title":{"rendered":"Garmin Edge 820 vs 520 GPS Bike Computers"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post compares the Garmin Edge 820 vs 520. I start with a chart comparing all features<\/strong> of the Garmin Edge 820 and 520, and then I compare these two premium GPS bike computers, highlighting the differences. Then I wrap it up with another chart that shows only the differences<\/strong> between the two bike computers, so you can see the key differences between the Garmin Edge 820 and 520 at a glance<\/strong>. I have also included videos that show you features of both of these bike computers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

https:\/\/averagejoecyclist.com\/garmin-edge-530-vs-830-vs-1030\/<\/p>\n

Note<\/strong>: All our income comes from affiliate links<\/strong>, so if you find this post helpful and decide to buy, please consider buying through our links. It costs you nothing at all. You can find a range of buying options here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Chart Comparing Key Features of the Garmin Edge 820 vs 520<\/h3>\n\n

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<\/td>\"Garmin<\/a><\/th>\"Garmin<\/a><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
<\/td><\/td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Big picture<\/td>Great for training AND navigation. Color touchscreen<\/td>Great for training but not for navigation. Buttons, not touchscreen. Color<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lowest Price on Amazon Right Now:<\/td><\/td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Unit Size<\/td>1.9\u201d x 2.9\u201d x 0.8\u201d
\n(49.0 x 73.0 x 21.0 mm)<\/td>		1.9\u201d x 2.9\u201d x 0.8\u201d
\n(49.0 x 73.0 x 21.0 mm)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Display resolution, W x H<\/td>200 x 265 pixels; color<\/td>200 x 265 pixels; color<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Screen size<\/td>2.3\" (58.4 mm) diagonal, high res<\/td>2.3\" (58.4 mm) diagonal, high res<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Touchscreen<\/td>Yes<\/td>No, buttons<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Water rating<\/td>IPX7 (able to withstand immersion in water up to 1 m - 3.2 feet - for up to 30 mins)<\/td>IPX7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Weight<\/td>2.4 oz (67.7 g)<\/td>2.1 oz (60 g)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Battery life<\/td>Up to 15 hours<\/td>Up to 15 hours<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Battery save mode available (powers down the screen but continues to record your ride)?<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
History that can be stored on unit<\/td>Up to 200 hours of history<\/td>Up to 180 hours of history<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Garmin Edge Remote Control support<\/td>Yes<\/td>yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Round-trip routing (input a starting point and distance, and the Edge will suggest up to 3 bike ride options)<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Out front mount (as well as original quarter turn)?<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Is the screen responsive to level of ambient light<\/td>Yes<\/td>No<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
CONNECTIVITY<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Incident alert? (to tell your spouse if you have an accident)<\/td>Yes. Can be switched off if you are uninjured<\/td>Yes. Can be switched off if you are uninjured<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Compatible with Garmin Varia Vision and Garmin Varia Rearview Radar Tail Light?<\/td>Yes <\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Unit-to-unit transfer (shares data wirelessly with similar units)<\/td>Yes<\/td>No<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Automatic sync (automatically transfers data to your computer)<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Relive and share your rides with Garmin Connect\u2122 (online community where you can analyze, categorize and share data)<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Smart phone Connected features (depends on having a Bluetooth enabled smartphone, and you may have to install the Garmin Connect mobile app on your phone)<\/td>Yes - Live Tracking, Group Tracking, send\/receive courses, workouts and training plans wirelessly, social media sharing, weather updates in real time, smart notifications (texts and calls)<\/td>Yes - Live Tracking, send\/receive courses, workouts and training plans wirelessly, social media sharing, weather updates in real time, smart notifications (texts and calls)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Automatically send your activity to Garmin Connect as soon as you finish recording<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Live tracking (allows others to follow your activities in real time, if you invite them)<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Group tracking (GroupTrack is an extension of Garmin\u2019s LiveTrack feature, where your friends or family can follow you on a computer. With GroupTrack, you can have this same visibility, but from your handlebars. The idea is that you can meet up or just keep digital track of your cycling companions)<\/td>Yes<\/td>No<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
BlueTooth to connect wirelessly to smartphone and upload data?<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Accepts data cards<\/td>No - there is no micro-SD card slot. However, it has 16 GB of internal memory, so you are unlikely to need a card<\/td>No<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Connect IQ\u2122 compatible?<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
CYCLING AND TRAINING FEATURES<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Advanced training features<\/td>Advanced performance and power analysis (if you are using a heart rate monitor and a power meter), including VO2 max, Recovery Time Advisor, FTP (Functional Threshold Power) tracking, Time in Zone, and recovery (Recovery Time advisor)<\/td>Advanced performance and power analysis (if you are using a heart rate monitor and a power meter), including VO2 max, Recovery Time Advisor, FTP (Functional Threshold Power) tracking, Time in Zone, and recovery (Recovery Time advisor)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Training calendar (The calendar on your device is an extension of the training calendar or schedule you set up in Garmin Connect. After you have added a few workouts or courses to the Garmin Connect calendar, you can send them to your device)<\/td>Yes<\/td>No<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Stress score (requires HR monitor)<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Courses (compete against previous activities)<\/td>Yes (compete against your previous time by entering the % you want to improve by, then race your virtual partner; or enter a shorter time that you want to achieve)<\/td>Yes (compete against your previous time by entering the % you want to improve by, then race your virtual partner; or enter a shorter time that you want to achieve)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Virtual Partner\u00ae (train against a digital person)<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Advanced workouts (create custom, goal-oriented workouts)<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Time\/distance alert (triggers alarm when you reach goal)<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Interval training (set up exercise and rest intervals)<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Garmin Connect Real-Time segments<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Download Strava Real-Time segments?<\/td>Yes, if you have Strava premium<\/td>Yes, if you have Strava premium<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Auto upload your rides to Strava?<\/td>Yes, once you sync your Garmin Connect account with Strava<\/td>Yes, once you sync your Garmin Connect account with Strava<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Heart rate-based calorie computation<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Optional heart rate, speed\/cadence and power meter?<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Can you use it for indoor training?<\/td>Yes. And you can recreate outdoor rides for the indoors, using apps such as TrainerRoad synced with your Garmin Connect account<\/td>Yes. And you can recreate outdoor rides for the indoors, using apps such as TrainerRoad synced with your Garmin Connect account<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
CONNECTIVITY<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Can add a third-party compatible ANT+ sensor as a power meter?<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Can be paired with wireless ANT+ Heart Rate monitor?<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bike speed\/cadence sensor<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Shimano Di2 gearing information<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Activity profiles - store preferences for different cycling activities (For example, you can create a separate activity profile for training, for racing, and for mountain biking. The activity profile includes customized data pages, activity totals, alerts, training zones (such as heart rate and speed), training settings (such as Auto Pause\u00ae and Auto Lap\u00ae), and navigation settings)<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Auto Scroll (cycles through data pages during workout)<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
MAPS AND NAVIGATION<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
GPS enabled? (this is the Global Positioning System, the US satellite navigation system)<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
GLONASS enabled? (this is the GLObal NAVigation Satellite System, the Russian satellite navigation system)<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Distance, speed, ascent\/descent and GPS position<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Navigation?<\/td>Yes - once you pick a location, it will guide you to that location<\/td>No, but you can upload a breadcrumbs course and then follow that. When doing that, you do get turn notifications, plus an alert if you go off course<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Turn-by-turn guidance?<\/td>Yes - much like a car GPS, it will warn you a turn is coming, and tell you when to turn (with text and a beep)<\/td>Yes, for courses you have downloaded from your computer<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Preloaded basemap?<\/td>Yes, preloaded Garmin Cycle Map with bike-specific navigation so it can give you turn-by-turn navigation instructions<\/td>Yes, but very basic. It's just to give you a rough idea of where you are<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ability to add maps, such as optional City Navigator\u00ae maps or Open Street maps or topographical maps?<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Live tracking<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Points of Interest (POIs) specifically for cyclists<\/td>Requires optional City Navigator\u00ae maps to access general points of interest<\/td>No<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Plan and download new routes to follow (a route is a sequence of waypoints that leads you to your final destination)<\/td>You can upload routes you create elsewhere, and follow them; plus you can also enter in an address on the computer itself and it will create a route<\/td>Yes. The Edge 520 lets you upload routes you create elsewhere, and follow them, using pretty basic breadcrumb directions<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Barometric altimeter (to tell you your elevation)<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Temperature (displays and records temperature while you ride)<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

As you can see, both of these Garmin Edge bike computers have tons of features, and are in fact very similar. Both are optimized for bike training, <\/strong>and both are premium, rugged bike computers. Both can be paired with an impressive range of sensors. They are identical in size, and both have color screens.<\/p>\n

Differences between the Garmin Edge 820<\/a> vs 520<\/a><\/h2>\n
\"Garmin