# RaceChrono Pro vs Garmin Catalyst™

The clearest difference is price: Garmin Catalyst™ at Free against RaceChrono Pro's $19.99. Garmin Catalyst™ also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 3) and review sentiment (80% vs 58%). RaceChrono Pro's advantage is chart position (#17 vs unranked). On rating, ratings volume, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Garmin Catalyst™ is free to download; RaceChrono Pro costs $19.99 up front. RaceChrono Pro sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Garmin Catalyst™ asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for RaceChrono Pro against 4.8 for Garmin Catalyst™. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 184 and 120 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 58% of RaceChrono Pro's written reviews are positive against 80% of Garmin Catalyst™'s.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | RaceChrono Pro | Garmin Catalyst™ |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $19.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [4.7 (184 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/racechrono-pro/id1129429340/reviews) | **[4.8 (120 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/garmin-catalyst/id1603280610/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **184** | 120 |
| Positive reviews | 57.6% of reviews | **80.3% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Monthly |
| Monetization | Freemium | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | **#17** | — |
| Size | 43 MB | 220 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.6** | 16.5 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [RaceChrono Oy](https://appshunter.io/developer/1056547888) | [Garmin](https://appshunter.io/developer/411046952) |

## What reviewers say

### RaceChrono Pro

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/racechrono-pro/id1129429340)

**Currently charting:** #17 Top Paid · Sports (US App Store)

This app serves as a comprehensive lap timer and data logger for motorsports, enabling users to record and analyze performance. It offers video recording with data overlays and supports a wide range of external GPS and OBD-II devices for enhanced accuracy.

**Highlights:** Lap timing with sectors and optimal lap, Track library with over 2600 pre-made tracks, Data analysis with synchronized graphs and maps, Predictive lap timing, Video recording with data overlay, Support for external GPS and OBD-II devices, Unlimited session length

**Features:** Vision Pro support, iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Reference session 3 | $0.99 | one-time |
| Reference session 2 | $4.99 | one-time |
| Reference session 1 | $8.99 | one-time |


### Garmin Catalyst™

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/garmin-catalyst/id1603280610)

Access and analyze your motorsports performance data on your smartphone. Review lap times, session summaries, and driver profiles. Track annual driving activity and session weather conditions.

**Highlights:** Access performance data, View lap times, Session summaries, Customizable driver profiles, Track annual activity, Record weather conditions

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use interface
- 🚀 Great performance data
- 💡 Actionable driving insights
- 👍 Simple setup
- 👍 Great for track drivers

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Glitches when logging in
- 🐛 App just glitches
- 🐛 Loading is soooo slow
- 🐛 Not user friendly
- 🐛 Comparing to friends frequently fails

**Reported bugs**

- Everytime you try logging in the app just glitches anyways can’t even get logged in.
- Comparing to others frequently fails
- Compare to friend feature way to frequently fails with the message about the tracks not matching well enough despite being the same track on the same days even.
- New version is off
- It won’t let me compare the laps with other friends on the same day. Says lap not similar. Literally same day same track same session.

**Requested features**

- Option to select 1-5 laps for optimum view
- Watch reference videos side by side on the Catalyst
- Add video review on phone or iPad
- Allow moving videos to iCloud for review
- Ability to download in-car camera footage directly from device to app


## Frequently asked questions

### Is RaceChrono Pro free?

RaceChrono Pro costs $19.99, and also offers in-app purchases.

### Is Garmin Catalyst™ free?

Garmin Catalyst™ is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, RaceChrono Pro or Garmin Catalyst™?

Garmin Catalyst™ is rated higher. RaceChrono Pro averages 4.7 out of 5 from 184 ratings, while Garmin Catalyst™ averages 4.8 from 120 ratings.

### Do RaceChrono Pro or Garmin Catalyst™ have ads?

Neither RaceChrono Pro nor Garmin Catalyst™ shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, RaceChrono Pro or Garmin Catalyst™?

RaceChrono Pro ships an update monthly, and Garmin Catalyst™ monthly. Most recently, RaceChrono Pro was updated on November 1, 2026 and Garmin Catalyst™ on October 29, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*