How Much Is Garmin Bounce Subscription? | Price And Plan Details

The LTE plan costs $9.99 per month, or $99.99 per year when billed yearly, plus any tax your area applies.

If you’re eyeing a Garmin Bounce for your kid, the watch price is only the first line on the receipt. The real day-to-day cost is the LTE plan that powers calling, texting, and location sharing. That’s the piece most parents want nailed down before they buy.

This article breaks down the plan prices, what you get for that money, what can raise the total, and how to decide if monthly or yearly billing makes more sense for your household.

How Much Is Garmin Bounce Subscription? Monthly Vs Yearly Billing

Garmin’s kids smartwatch LTE plan is priced at $9.99 per month. If you pay yearly, the plan is $99.99 per year (paid as one charge). Garmin shared the monthly price publicly in its Bounce 2 announcement. The yearly option is widely listed by major reviewers and retailers that reference Garmin’s plan choices during setup.

Taxes can apply, depending on where you live and how Garmin is required to collect them. That means two families paying “the same plan” can still see slightly different totals at checkout.

One more thing: the LTE plan is tied to the watch experience. If the plan is inactive, features that rely on the watch’s cellular connection won’t work the same way. That’s a deal-breaker for some parents and totally fine for others who only want the watch as a step counter and basic timepiece.

What The Subscription Pays For

Bounce is built around kid-safe communication and parent controls. The LTE plan is what keeps the watch connected when your child is away from your phone.

Calling And Messaging With Guardrails

With an active plan, kids can call and message approved contacts. You control who can reach your child. That “approved list” setup is a big reason parents pick a kids watch instead of a full phone.

Live Location Sharing And Alerts

Location sharing is part of what most buyers are paying for. The watch can send location updates through the parent app, and many families use zones (like school and home) to get alerts tied to those places.

Parent Controls In The Garmin Jr App

Setup and control run through Garmin Jr on the parent’s phone. The plan and the app work together: you manage contacts, view location, and set the rules from your phone.

Costs People Miss Before Checkout

Plan pricing sounds simple until you hit the real-world stuff: taxes, plan timing, and how many watches you’re paying for.

Sales Tax And Other Local Charges

Depending on your region, digital services can be taxed. If Garmin is required to collect that tax where you live, your plan total goes up. That’s normal for subscriptions, but it’s easy to miss when you’re comparing “$9.99 vs $9.99” across brands.

One Plan Per Watch

If you have two kids with two watches, plan cost doubles. Some parents buy one watch first, run it for a month, then decide if a second watch makes sense. That trial-style approach can keep you from locking into a setup you don’t enjoy managing.

Yearly Billing Can Reduce The Effective Monthly Cost

Yearly billing is $99.99 in one charge. If you spread that over 12 months, it comes out lower per month than paying monthly. The trade-off is cash flow: you pay more today to pay less over time.

Device Price Is Separate

The subscription is not the device price. Garmin has sold different Bounce generations at different device prices, and retailers can discount hardware. The plan price is the recurring piece you’ll keep paying as long as your child uses the LTE features.

When Monthly Billing Makes Sense

Monthly billing is a good fit when you want flexibility. Parents often pick monthly when:

• You’re not sure your child will wear the watch daily.
• You want to test battery habits and charging routines first.
• You only need LTE during certain parts of the year, like summer outings.
• You’re buying the watch as a “training wheels” step before a phone and want an easy exit.

Monthly billing also helps when grandparents or a co-parent is sharing costs month to month. It’s simpler to split a recurring charge than a single yearly purchase.

When Yearly Billing Makes Sense

Yearly billing is a good fit when your plan is straightforward: your kid will wear it daily, you’ll use location sharing often, and you’re fine paying a larger charge upfront.

Yearly billing can also feel less annoying. One payment, then you stop thinking about it for a while. If you already know this is your family’s “after school and weekends” safety setup, that simplicity can be worth it.

Also, the yearly option can be a cleaner way to budget if you track household expenses by school year. One annual charge at the start of the year, then you’re done until renewal season.

What You Can Do If Setup Or Billing Gets Confusing

Garmin provides a subscription portal for Bounce devices where you can manage the LTE plan tied to the watch. If you run into login mix-ups or need to change plan details, Garmin’s own instructions walk through the process.

If you want to read Garmin’s steps straight from the source, use this page: Garmin: Managing The LTE Subscription On Bounce.

That portal detail matters in real life. Families swap phones, change email addresses, or move between households. Knowing where the plan is managed keeps small issues from turning into an afternoon-long headache.

Cost Scenarios That Match Real Family Use

Most parents don’t want a single number. They want the “what does this look like in my house?” view. The table below maps common setups to what you’ll actually pay, before tax.

Scenario	Recurring Cost	What That Means In Practice
One watch, monthly plan	$9.99 per month	Best when you want flexibility or you’re testing the watch.
One watch, yearly plan	$99.99 per year	Lower effective cost over the year, paid as one charge.
Two watches, monthly plans	$19.98 per month	Two kids, two plans; easy to stop one if a child stops wearing it.
Two watches, yearly plans	$199.98 per year	Lower effective cost, but the upfront hit is larger.
Seasonal use, monthly plan	$9.99 in active months	Pay only during months you rely on LTE features most.
Co-parent split, monthly plan	$9.99 per month	Often easier to split month-to-month than one yearly charge.
Grandparent gift, yearly plan	$99.99 per year	A clean “one purchase covers the year” option for gifting.
Any plan with local tax	Plan price + tax	Total can vary by region based on digital services tax rules.

What Garmin Has Said Publicly About Kids Plan Pricing

Garmin’s Bounce 2 announcement lists kids smartwatch plans at $9.99 per month. That public pricing is a good anchor point when you’re checking whether a listing or a forum post is out of date.

Here’s the announcement page: Garmin’s Bounce 2 announcement on PR Newswire.

What The Subscription Does Not Cover

The LTE plan covers the network connection and related features. It does not cover hardware replacement, repairs, or accidental damage. If your child is hard on gadgets, you may want a separate protection plan from the retailer you buy from, or plan to self-insure and accept replacement costs if the watch gets lost.

It also doesn’t mean your child has “full phone service.” Bounce is built for a controlled contact list and parent oversight. That’s the point for many families, but it’s also why some older kids may reject it once their friends are on regular phones and open messaging apps.

How To Decide If Bounce Is Worth The Monthly Cost

A recurring fee feels different than a one-time purchase. The simplest way to decide is to connect the cost to the job you want the watch to do.

If You Want Easy Check-Ins

If your goal is “text me when you get off the bus” and “call me if practice ends early,” the subscription can feel well spent. You’re paying to reduce missed calls, dead phone batteries, and the common excuse of “I left it in my backpack.”

If You Want Location Sharing Without A Phone

Some parents buy Bounce mainly as a location device with bonus messaging. If that’s you, ask one practical question: will you actually check the map during the week, or will you only check it on outings? If it’s mostly outings, monthly billing can match your use.

If You Want A Gentle Step Before A Smartphone

Bounce can work as a “first connected device” for kids who aren’t ready for a phone. You get controlled contacts and less distraction. If your child is close to the age where they’ll need a phone soon, you may prefer monthly billing so you can stop the plan when the phone arrives.

Alternatives And How Their Ongoing Costs Compare

It’s smart to compare recurring costs with the closest alternatives. Some devices use carrier plans. Some rely on a brand-managed plan like Bounce. The table below helps you sort the big buckets without getting lost in model-by-model fine print.

Option Type	Typical Ongoing Cost Style	Trade-Off You’ll Feel Most
Garmin Bounce LTE plan	Brand-managed plan price	No carrier shopping, but you pay the plan to use LTE features.
Carrier kids watch	Carrier add-on line fee	Can bundle with your phone bill, but plan terms vary by carrier.
Apple Watch cellular	Carrier watch line fee	Strong app ecosystem, but it can open more distractions for kids.
GPS tracker (no calling)	Tracker subscription fee	Location focus, less communication flexibility.
Basic kids watch (no LTE)	No recurring fee	No away-from-phone calling or live location through cellular.

A Simple Checklist Before You Buy

This is the “save yourself a return” list. Run through it once and you’ll know if Bounce fits your household.

• Phone setup: You’ll manage the watch through the Garmin Jr app on a parent phone.
• Charging routine: Pick a daily charging habit your child can follow.
• Contact list: Decide who your child should be able to call or message.
• School rules: Check your school’s watch rules so it doesn’t end up in a backpack all day.
• Billing choice: Monthly if you want flexibility, yearly if the plan will stay active all year.
• Two-kid math: Multiply the plan cost by the number of watches in use.
• Tax reality: Expect possible tax on digital services based on where you live.

Quick Take On The Total Cost

If you want the clean answer: the recurring LTE plan is $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year, plus any tax your region applies. From there, the “right plan” comes down to how steady your child’s use will be. If the watch will be worn daily and you’ll use calling and location most weeks, yearly billing usually feels smoother. If you’re testing the waters or your use is seasonal, monthly billing keeps you nimble.