Today, you have a choice of console, or wrist-mount or wristwatch-style computers. Our 2018 scuba diving Gear Buyers Guide will help you find the best scuba diving computer that fits your diving style.

For the budget-conscious diver, the new i100 is a low-cost, wrist-mounted computer with functionality commonly found in more expensive models. Features include four operating modes (including freedive), a user-changeable battery with data retention, one-button navigation and safety features such as audible and LED alarms. To make logging dives more convenient, it offers a robust history mode.

The computer that earned Best Buy honors in 2016 is updated with even better features. Bluetooth connectivity allows you to wirelessly interact with your computer through the DiverLog app including calibrating settings, planning and logging dives, and sharing dives with your buddies. The compact i300C offers four operating modes, plus it allows for switching between three gases underwater.

Designed with simplicity and ease of use in mind, the Cartesio’s strength lies in its user-friendly menu, accessed by two control buttons, and its large, highly legible screen with extra-large numbers, all built into a very compact wrist-mount casing. The computer can accommodate two nitrox mixes — Gas 1: 21 to 50 percent, and Gas 2: 21 to 99 percent — and offers four operating modes.

Compact but capable, the watch-sized Goa has a case less than 2 inches in diameter but presents info clearly with sharp characters sized to draw attention to critical data. Two stainless-steel buttons make menu navigation simple, whether swapping between air and nitrox or adjusting PPO2 settings. The Goa has an apnea as well as scuba mode, and sensors can be switched off for swimming or snorkeling.

Your dive doesn’t need to end just because you reached the surface — Deepblu’s online platform displays your dive logs with an interactive timeline that tracks along with any images and video you upload, allowing you to share your underwater experiences with divers around the world. Showcase your dives, certifications and media while engaging with like-minded divers in discussions and groups and expanding your scuba knowledge on a wide variety of underwater topics. You can keep in touch with dive buddies by tagging them in your dive logs and by liking, sharing and commenting on each other’s posts and dive activities.

Deepblu COSMIQ+

This dive computer features a 2.2-inch LCD screen and a rechargeable lithium-ion battery. It can connect to a smartphone via Bluetooth to wirelessly upload and share your dive logs on the Deeblu app. The computer has modes for recreational scuba, freediving and an advanced bottom timer designed with technical divers in mind. It’s very user-friendly and easy to operate. The majority of settings are adjusted through the app, except for your nitrox blend.

Planet Deepblu

Planet Deepblu is an interactive map that helps divers find dive operators, destinations and professionals all over the world. The continually growing database with thousands of dive spots allows you to see where other people are diving. You can read reviews of each site and check out the images, videos and dive logs of people who have already visited so you can learn what it’s like to dive at sites around the world from the comfort of your computer.

Garmin’s flagship dive computer, outfitted with a sapphire crystal lens and titanium band, offers smart watch functionality and legitimate dive computing power. The hybrid outdoor/diving instrument supports single- and multi-gas profiles, along with freediving, nitrox and trimix. In addition, it provides fitness tracking with Elevate heart-rate monitoring and other performance metrics. Additional advanced features include surface GPS to track entry and exit points, a three-axis compass, 10,000-dive log capacity and a rechargeable battery.

The first dive computer from Garmin — the respected outdoors instrument brand — is a multi-gas and apnea watch-style model with innovative features. There’s a full color smart-watch display, and surface GPS tracks and maps where you start and end your dives. A three-axis compass is available in dive and activates by the press of a button or a double tap on the screen. Underwater alerts can be customized with audible alarms and vibrations, and the Descent Mk1 runs for 40 hours in dive mode on a single charge.

The innovative Quad Air dive computer offers a large segmented display screen with data laid out in three neat rows and an intuitive menu accessed by four control buttons. As its name implies, it is also able to provide hoseless tank pressure data for up to three transmitters. Multi-gas capable, the computer provides a 100-hour memory capacity and two customizable fields for ancillary information.

A ScubaLab’s Testers Choice for 2017, the new ProPlus X is a full-color, air-integrated console that employs a Thin-Film Transistor display to limit the battery drain that plagues some color computers. Four buttons take you through logical menu paths guided by on-screen prompts. Other features include a rechargeable battery, 3D digital compass and Bluetooth connectivity.

The G2 Console incorporates the same menu structure, simple three-button controls and diver-friendly functions that helped earn Scubapro’s Galileo its reputation as one of the most advanced and easiest-to-use dive computers available – now in a full color console computer. Features include an intuitive menu, Bluetooth capability, and a highly praised full-tilt digital compass.

The latest iteration of the Galileo is simple to use thanks to a three-button operation and intuitive menus. The 2.2-inch full-color LCD screen makes it easy to read at a glance. Suitable for beginners and tec divers alike, this computer features modes for scuba, freediving, gauge, closed-circuit rebreather and sidemount. Air integration and heart-rate monitor included.

New for 2017, the Guru offers four diving modes, including nitrox and freedive, with six user-selectable levels of conservatism in a compact package built for durability from high-strength technopolymer with a mineral glass lens and stainless-steel bezel. It can monitor two gases on its dot-matrix graphic LCD display, recharge via USB cable and monitor air supply with optional wireless transmitter.

Designed for freedivers and spearfishing enthusiasts, the new Jack employs a special algorithm that monitors physiological impacts of repetitive breath-hold diving to minimize the risks of Taravana and hemoptysis. The watch-style instrument, which displays data on an adjustable LCD screen accessed with four-button navigation, also tracks fitness and atmospheric data to maximize performance.

Suunto’s new EON Core takes the impressive DNA of big brother EON Steel and compresses it into a compact, full-color computer with a customizable display showing data for rec, tec and rebreather divers. Performance features include wireless air integration for up to 10 transmitters, gas switching up to 10 mixes, digital compass with 45-degree tilt, Bluetooth connectivity and a rechargeable battery.

You never have to deal with dead batteries again when you dive with TUSA’s DC Solar Link solar-powered computer. Rechargeable by sunlight or indoor fluorescent light, the DC Solar Link offers full nitrox capability, can program up to four gas mixes, provides both gauge and freedive modes, and uses Bluetooth Smart Technology for transferring dive log data to a smart phone.

The NERD 2 ends the need to look away for dive data. Short for “near eye remote display,” the NERD 2 has a micro LCD color display and magnifying lens and mounts to an open-circuit reg or rebreather just below eye level. Always visible, without obstructing your view, it’s like reading a 25-inch screen from 12 feet away. Just 1.3 by 3.4 by 1.7 inches, the NERD 2 has multiple diving modes including open-circuit rec, open-circuit tec, closed circuit and semi-closed circuit. Features include five–gas capability, wireless air integration, Bluetooth connectivity, and a three-axis, tilt-compensated digital compass. The rechargeable li-ion battery lasts 18 hours at medium brightness.

This handy accessory does double-duty, protecting Cressi watch computers from scratch and impact damage while also magnifying the screen for easier, at-a-glance reading. It protects the case and screen from shock and abrasion, and it magnifies the screen image by 15 percent. It works with Cressi’s Goa, Newton and Drake wristwatch-style computers.