Comparison

SmartDrive vs CarKit

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

SmartDrive

Monitor and control your vehicle remotely. Features include remote start/stop, unauthorized movement alerts, speed limit notifications, route history, and maintenance logs.

Highlights
  • Remote vehicle start/stop
  • Unauthorized movement alerts
  • Speed limit notifications
  • Route history tracking
  • Maintenance logs
  • Last known location
Features
Read full description

Con esta app controlara su vehículo, como es el apagado remoto y encendido, ademas forcejeo en puerta de vehículo, movimientos no autorizados de vehículo, excesos de velocidad no autorizados, registro de rutas, ultimo punto donde estuvo el vehículo, registro de mantenimientos y servicios de vehículo entre otras muchas opciones.

About

CarKit

This app transforms your iPhone into a car dashboard, displaying speed, maps, music, and custom shortcuts. It automatically starts and ends drives, saving your parking location and trip history.

Highlights
  • GPS speedometer
  • Heading-up map
  • Now-playing card
  • Customizable quick tiles
  • Automatic drive start/end
  • Parked car pin
  • Trip history
Features
Read full description

CarKit turns your iPhone into the dashboard your car doesn't have. Mount the phone, start driving, and one landscape screen shows what matters: your speed, a heading-up map, what's playing, and the shortcuts you actually use. No extra hardware, no cable to a head unit — just the phone you already have, in the cradle you already own. A DRIVE HAS A BEGINNING AND AN END Most car apps forget the moment you get in and the moment you get out. CarKit treats the drive as an event. When the car connects, a greeting sound plays and the session starts. When it disconnects, CarKit drops a pin where you parked and closes the drive with a summary. You don't have to open anything — it runs with the app closed, driven by an automation you build once in the Shortcuts app. BUILT FOR THE WINDSCREEN • Big, glanceable speed readout, straight from GPS — no adapter needed • Heading-up map with place search, route preview and hand-off to Apple Maps • Now-playing card, so you can see and skip a track without hunting for it • Quick tiles that open your phone, your messages and the apps you drive with • Stays awake while you drive, dims when idle, and eases off when the phone runs warm LAYOUTS, NOT ONE FIXED SCREEN CarKit ships a layout system rather than a single face. Start on the free layout — a clean speed readout — then switch to a composed dashboard, an analogue gauge, a data-dense panel, a map-first view or a minimal digital readout. Pick the one that suits your car and your mount. WHERE YOU LEFT THE CAR Every drive that ends drops a parked-car pin with the time since you parked, on the map and in a Home Screen widget. Trip history keeps what actually happened: how long you drove, plus distance and top speed when the driving screen was open. Nothing is invented to fill a row. WIDGETS FOR THE HOME SCREEN Small, medium and large widgets for your parked car, your last trip, the weather, a photo, a countdown, a date or a line of text — plus a tile that starts driving mode in one tap. FREE AND PRO The free version gives you a driving layout, the map and the launcher tiles, and the connect/disconnect bracket runs free for your first three drives. Pro unlocks the rest: the other layouts, the sound packs, the parked-car pin, trip history and widgets. CARKIT PRO • Plans are weekly, monthly or yearly; some plans include a free trial • Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase • Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period • Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple Account settings YOUR DRIVES STAY YOURS Your location is used while you are using the app and stays on your device. We do not sell your trips, your parking history or any other personal data. We follow GDPR and CCPA privacy practices. Privacy Policy: https://getcarkit.app/privacy Terms & Conditions: https://getcarkit.app/terms Set the automation up once. Every drive after that just works. Questions or ideas? We're at info@quvarte.com

Screenshots

SmartDrive4 screens
CarKit4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: CarKit at 4.2 against SmartDrive's 1.0. CarKit also leads on review sentiment (25% vs 0%) and ratings volume (59 vs 1). SmartDrive's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and ads (none vs shown). On price and device support 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. CarKit sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per 7 days. SmartDrive asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

CarKit holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: CarKit has 59 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of SmartDrive's written reviews are positive against 25% of CarKit's.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
SmartDrive versus CarKit: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSmartDriveCarKit
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.0 (1 ratings)4.2 (59 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews25.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings159 — better
Update frequency—Every 4 days
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS10.3 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size16 MB76 MB
Age rating17+12+
DeveloperDetektorQuvarte

Customer experience

SmartDrive

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

CarKit

All ratings26 ratings
Positive80.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative19.2%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive25.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative75.0%

In-app purchases

None

SmartDrive

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

CarKit

Subscriptions3
  • Weekly - Pro3 Days trial$6.997 Days
  • Weekly - Pro$6.997 Days
  • Yearly - Pro$39.991 Year

Questions

Is SmartDrive free?
SmartDrive is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is CarKit free?
CarKit is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, SmartDrive or CarKit?
CarKit is rated higher. SmartDrive averages 1.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while CarKit averages 4.2 from 59 ratings.
Do SmartDrive or CarKit have ads?
CarKit shows ads; SmartDrive does not.

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