Japanese watches have long been known for their high quality and excellent value. If you’re looking for a watch with a style that reflects the kind of person you are while offering you fantastic durability and reliability and won’t cost you a fortune, you’ve probably considered these two brands. The question you need us to answer is which watch is better, and should you go with Seiko or Casio?
Casio and Seiko produce quality Japanese watches at affordable prices. Seiko is known for mechanical watches with a traditional, conservative look, whereas Casio is known for quartz, digital watches with a rugged look and many features. Both offer a range to suit different budgets and needs.
Several factors will influence your decision, and we aim to give you all the answers to help you choose the right watch. Do you prefer modern or traditional watch designs, what tech features excite you the most, and how does pricing compare between Casio and Seiko? We’ll look at these comparative issues and highlight some of our favorites from each so you can make an informed decision.
Which Is Better Seiko or Casio
Not all watches are designed and constructed the same way or offer the same look and specifications. Casio and Seiko are excellent examples of very different approaches to watch-making. Neither brand is worse or better than the other – they offer different things for different clients. Depending on the person you are, what you’re looking for, and the kind of life you lead, one or the other may suit you better.
On a very surface level, Seiko watches are considered a more traditional model with a prestigious name and are usually mechanical. Casio watches are usually quartz, are a little more rugged, and come with every function you could want. If you’re looking to give an air of professional dependability in the office, a Seiko model might be more to your liking. In contrast, an active sportsperson or someone with a physical job would find the rugged durability of the Casio a far better bet.
Whichever brand suits your image and lifestyle, both are well known for their durability and price range. Seiko has a lasting history in developing both mechanical and digital watches, while Casio is renowned for their digital watches and has even had watches approved for trips in space.
There is no single Seiko or Casio watch, and both brands offer an extensive range of products that vary quite a bit in price, functionality, innovation, and style. It’s best to compare budgets and your durability, design, and tech needs between the brands to find the watch model that does what you need.
Style and Design of Seiko and Casio
The most apparent visual difference when you look at Casio and Seiko is how very different they appear, style-wise. I’ll break down the design choices and how they will affect your image and reflect your personality.
Style and Design of Seiko
Seiko is known to offer watch models that offer a more timeless, sophisticated look. Suppose you’re working in an office or professional environment where you want a traditional aesthetic that makes you look expert and businesslike. In that case, you’re more likely to find that look with Seiko watches.
Their catalogs offer watches designed for luxury, more casual styles, and diving watches. However, since they excel at mechanical quartz watches, with only a few forays into digital, the design of the face tends to be traditional and analog. Indeed, if you’re looking for a dress watch that emanates maturity and refinement, Seiko will have plenty of models to offer you.
Modern Seiko watches emphasize a sleek look with metal and leather, and the designs tend to be more conservative. Even their sports collections, which offer more durability and tech for an active user, maintain a toned-down, less obtrusive style.
Style and Design of Casio
Casio is relatively newer to the watch market than Seiko, and this Japanese electronics manufacturer is known for musical instruments, cell phones, calculators, and digital cameras. They aim to make durable, affordable electronics, and their analog and digital watches are no exception.
While they offer a range of styles, even their analog dress watches tend to have a younger, more modern feel than their Seiko counterparts. Casio is very well known for its G-SHOCKrange, and the rugged watch with all its bells and whistles is called ‘The Toughest Watch of All Time.’ These watches can take a lot of action and still keep going in perfect time, and they have a resilient look to match.
If you love to be outdoors, hiking, diving, or working hard, then Casio is the watch that will suit you best, especially their G-SHOCK range. Their higher-end models do not look as chunky and oversized as some low-price models and use high-quality materials such as titanium.
They also offer watches in more traditional analog styles and some classic retro designs. However, suppose you’re looking for a low-priced watch that offers loads of functions and prefer a chunky, hard-wearing, modern look and digital face with an emphasis on resin material and water resistance. In that case, Casio is the brand for you. They also offer far more color choices, which is great if you’re looking for a fun, vibrant watch.
Technical Features of Seiko and Casio
What about each brand’s technical features – how do they compare for durability, timekeeping, water resistance, and mechanical innovation? While different models in each brand will offer different capabilities, we’ll cover some of the primary ground each company is best known for.
Technical Features of Seiko
Seiko prides itself on offering excellent mechanical timing with attention to detail and artisanal craftsmanship. Their watches are used in international sporting events for their superb timekeeping. But what do models at different price points offer you? We looked at a high-price limited edition SJE087, a mid-priced limited edition SSA445, and a budget SGEH88.
King Seiko SJE087
The King Seiko currently costs about $3,300, which is quite a price tag, so what does this limited edition Seiko watch offer?
This limited watch is a recreation of the original 1965 King Seiko KSK; this is one classy-looking retro watch with the following tech specifications:
- Stainless steel body and crocodile leather band
- Automatic manual winding
- 50 meters water resistance
- +15 to -10 seconds p.day time accuracy
- About 45 hours of power reserve
- Stop seconds hand
- Date display
Seiko Presage SSA445
Seiko has many limited editions available every year, so if you desire a watch that is a little more unique and collectible, you’ll likely be interested in their recent offerings. I’m looking at the $893 Seiko Presage, which offers:
- Stainless steel
- Automatic manual winding
- LumiBrite on hands and indexes
- 50 meters water resistance
- 4,800 A/m magnetic resistance
- +15 to -10 seconds p.day time accuracy
- About 41 hours of power reserve
- 34-hour handStop seconds hand
- Date display
Seiko SGEH88 Quartz
Unlike Casio, Seiko is not known for its budget watches, and the range decreases dramatically at lower prices. However, on special, you can find the Seiko SGEH88 for $250 and sometimes as low as $104.98.
- Stainless steel face and calfskin band
- Quartz
- 100 meters water resistance
- 4,800 A/m magnetic resistance
- +/-15 seconds p.month accuracy
- About five years of battery life
Technical Features of Casio
The Casio brand was established in 1946, but only in the 1980s did this innovative Japanese company become known for its watches. The world’s first electronic watch, which also came equipped with an automatic calendar, the Casiotron, was released by Casio in 1974, so they have constantly been pushing for more innovative tech.
With their push to keep prices low while constantly offering the best durability and tech, Casio is always known to offer new technical features.
Casio is best known for their digital watches, so they have the edge if you prefer to read your time on screen. Different models at varying price points will offer a range of tech features, so it’s good to know what you require and which features you can do without.
To give an idea of the range of features at different price points, I’ll look at three models – a limited edition GMW-B5000TVB, a mid-priced GST-B400D-1AER, and a budget BLX-560VH-1.
GMW Titanium Virtual Armor GMW-B5000TVB
The virtual world inspires this limited edition titanium Casio watch with its irregular geometric patterns of ion plating, resin buffering, and scratch-resistant sapphire glass. But what does this $1,700 watch offer in terms of tech specs?
- Titanium with ion plating
- 12/24 hour digital time format
- 200 meters water resistance
- +/-15 seconds p.month time accuracy
- 22 months of full charge battery power
- Bluetooth connectivity
- Digital time and calendar display
- Selectable display illumination
- Multiple Language display
- Hollow Core Guard Structure shock resistance
- Uses solar power to charge – no battery change is needed
- Date and weekday display
- Stopwatch function
Along with the standard Casio watch staples, this is a watch in a class of its own, designed for world travelers with various date, time, and calendar settings.
G-Shock G-Steel GST-B400D-1AER
With an entry price of about $347.21, the G-Shock G-Steel comes in quite a bit cheaper than the GMW above, so what does this slimline steel gent’s watch offer?
- Stainless Steel
- 200 meters water resistance
- +/- 15 seconds p.month time accuracy
- Seven months of full charge battery power
- Analog and Digital display
- LED display illumination
- Neobrite coating on watch hands for night illumination
- Hollow Core Guard Structure shock resistance
- Uses solar power to charge – no battery change is needed
- Stopwatch function (more limited than the above model)
Baby-G Vintage Hawaii BLX-560VH-1
Casio is well known for its massive range of budget watches under $100, and I chose this one for its basic, retro design and surf-friendly tech. Yes, this is a watch designed with surfers in mind.
- Resin
- 200 meters water resistance
- +/- 30 seconds p.month time accuracy
- Three-year battery life
- Digital display with electro-luminescent display when button is pressed
- Countdown timer
- Date and Weekday display
- Moon phase display
- Tide graph, set to your specific coastal location
- Neobrite coating on watch hands for night illumination
- Stopwatch function
As you can see, the technical abilities you’re looking for might not be in the most expensive watch, though the materials and timing will be better at higher price points.

Pricing of Seiko and Casio
As you can see from the brief comparisons I’ve listed above, Seiko is generally more expensive than Casio and tend to use higher quality, more expensive materials in their top models.
If you’re looking for an inexpensive watch that will last a long time and put up with the knocking about from day-to-day activities, you’ll most likely be better off with a Casio watch. However, their bright and rugged aesthetic is not for everyone, and you may prefer to spend more and have a more elegant timepiece.
At the top end of their ranges, both brands will offer you classy timepieces, albeit with different aesthetics and top-quality engineering. Limited edition watches will cost more, but if you love knowing that only a thousand other people worldwide are wearing the same watch, that can be a definite pro.
If you’re looking for watches that will be collectible and increase in value over the years, you’d typically look at luxury watch brands. Having said that, with their appearance in films and breaking records, some of the Seiko watches have become an excellent way to get into the watch collecting hobby.
The higher price points of Seiko will still not be as high as luxury brands. The Prospex Seiko Lux is a collectible that retails at around $2,400.
In terms of budget watches that get the job done, if you’d prefer to keep your watch under $100-$200, then Casio will offer you far more range and better tech for the price.
Conclusion
At lower price points under $200, Casio is the better bet regarding what the watches offer you and for general durability. At higher prices, it’s best to compare different models from each brand case-by-case to see which offers you the elements you are looking for. The general guideline is that Seiko offers a more classic, mechanical watch at a higher price point, while the cheaper digital Casios have more range, tech, and endurance at budget prices.