Engine Link LE vs Garmin Catalyst™
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Engine Link LE
Transform your iPhone into a vehicle diagnostics tool. Monitor real-time performance, read and clear fault codes, and customize gauges to display the data you need. Requires a LELink adapter for OBD2 connection.
- Real-time vehicle data display
- Read and clear OBD fault codes
- Customizable gauges and dashboard
- MPG widget and fuel efficiency tracking
- Heads-up display (HUD) mode
- Horsepower, torque, and acceleration metrics
- Support for various OBD-II/EOBD vehicles
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EngineLink LE will turn your iPhone/iPod into vehicle / car performance / diagnostics tool and scanner that uses a LELink (low Energy Bluetooth) adapter to connect to your OBD2 engine management / ECU. BENEFITS: * Emission Test. * See what your car is doing in real-time. * Read and clear OBD fault codes. * Display car performance and sensor data. * Customizable gauges, showing only the data you were interested in * NO in-app purchase and NO subscription fees! __________________ FEATURES: + Show and reset a DTC / CEL / fault code (current, pending and history) like a scan tool + Graph data + MPG widget to plot real time fuel efficiency + Heads up display / HUD mode for night time driving (mirror the display on your vehicle's windshield) + Can read Transmission Temperatures (vehicle dependent) + Horsepower/HP & Torque / acceleration + Boost / vacuum gauge + Engine speed / Engine RPM / Engine Load /Coolant / Fuel Tank + Customizable dashboard + Full configurable GUI with user choice of dial gauge, bar gauge, plot gauge, digital gauge, and on-off gauge as display elements + Full custom PID support. + Formula support. + Preloaded GM and Ford PID libraries + Preloaded standard PID library and Prius PID libraries . + User can add more libraries within the app or by using iTunes File Sharing + Multiple ECU support. Non-CAN, 11-bit CAN, and 29-bit CAN ECU bus types + Multiframe data support + Background color option + Email user log function (access by long pressing custom PID screen) + Multiple PID formula support + 0 to 60mph timer and quarter mile timer __________________ EngineLink supports all OBD-II and EOBD compliant vehicles sold worldwide. If in doubt check with your manufacturer first or look for 'OBD2' on written on a big white label in your engine bay. The app needs LELink or LELink2 (Bluetooth Low Energy) to work. The following iOS devices supports Bluetooth Low Energy BLE 4.0 and will work with LELink: iPhone 4s or later iPad (3rd generation) or later iPad mini or later iPod touch (5th generation) or later. You can check Developer WebSite for Adapter Guide: http://www.outdoor-apps.com/enginelink.html Drop us an email for any suggestions/questions you may have at support@ksolution.org. We will answer.
Garmin Catalyst™
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.
- Access performance data
- View lap times
- Session summaries
- Customizable driver profiles
- Track annual activity
- Record weather conditions
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For motorsports drivers of all levels, the Garmin Catalyst™ app provides a simple, intuitive way to access your Garmin Catalyst™ performance data — including lap times, session summaries and customizable driver profiles— on your compatible smartphone or tablet. The app also tracks your annual driving activity metrics and provides a record of weather conditions for each session. Garmin Catalyst™ App • Easily access your Garmin Catalyst™ performance data with use of this app on your compatible smartphone or tablet • Shows your session summaries, lap times, session weather conditions, lap-by-lap data and annual driving activity metrics • Customizable icons within the app let you tailor the look of your driver profile and vehicle icons • View vehicles and track notes from your Garmin Catalyst™ device
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Garmin Catalyst™ at 4.8 against Engine Link LE's 3.2. Garmin Catalyst™ also leads on review sentiment (82% vs 46%) and update cadence (monthly vs every 6 months). Engine Link LE's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.5). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Garmin Catalyst™ holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Garmin Catalyst™ has 120 ratings behind it against 12, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 46% of Engine Link LE's written reviews are positive against 82% of Garmin Catalyst™'s.
Engine Link LE ships an update every 6 months, Garmin Catalyst™ monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Engine Link LE | Garmin Catalyst™ |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.2 (12 ratings) | 4.8 (120 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 46.2% of reviews | 81.8% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 12 | 120 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 16.5 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 9 MB | 220 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | K SOLUTION LLC | Garmin |
Customer experience
Engine Link LE
Garmin Catalyst™
Bugs and requests
Engine Link LE
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Garmin Catalyst™
Reported bugs
7 issues- 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.
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- Friend integration is currently pretty lacking. When I try to compare laps it complains that the tracks aren't similar enough.
- Worse though is that there's no apparent way of sharing your sessions with friends.
Requested features
17 requests- 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
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- Compare data from other sessions
- Use for Sim racing games
- More functionality to come
- Make it even more simple
- Overall leaderboard
- Leaderboards of other tracks
- Compare session data between friends
- Fix track matching issues for friend comparison
- Allow browsing friend's sessions
- Add option to compare against other sessions
- Add dark mode option
- Add advanced analytics dashboard
In-app purchases
Engine Link LE
No in-app purchases
Garmin Catalyst™
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Engine Link LE free?
Is Garmin Catalyst™ free?
Which has better reviews, Engine Link LE or Garmin Catalyst™?
Do Engine Link LE or Garmin Catalyst™ have ads?
Which is updated more often, Engine Link LE or Garmin Catalyst™?
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