Plate Lookup vs GarageTracker
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Plate Lookup
Instantly identify vehicles by their license plate. Get details like make, model, year, engine specs, and even a photo. Perfect for car enthusiasts or anyone curious about a vehicle on the road.
- License plate lookup
- Vehicle make and model
- Year and trim details
- Engine specifications
- Vehicle photos
- Fuel type information
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Lookup any car, truck or semi-truck by it's license plate! Returns detailed information about the vehicle: • Make • Model • Year • Trim • Engine Specs • Fuel Type • Photo See a cool car and wanna learn more about it? Look it up! Curious if a vanity plate is available? Check and see! Did you know semi trucks have 12L engines? Search one's front plate to find out more! This app does not display (nor collect) any personal information about the owner of the vehicle.
GarageTracker
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Garage Tracker keeps every piece of gear you own properly maintained — bikes, motorcycles, ATVs, snowmobiles, running shoes, scuba tanks, ski boots, firearms, fishing reels, and more. NEVER MISS A SERVICE INTERVAL Add components like chains, brake pads, oil filters, or strings and set a service interval in miles, hours, rounds, dives, or days. Garage Tracker watches your usage and alerts you at 75%, 90%, and 100% — before something fails. SCAN TO START TRACKING Every piece of equipment gets its own QR tag. Print it, or export a 3D-printable keychain plaque with the QR raised in relief. Scan it with your camera to start a timed activity, scan again to stop. RECORD GPS TRIPS WITH A LIVE MAP Track a ride, run, or hike with live GPS on a map as you go. Background location keeps recording if you switch apps or your phone locks. Cover multiple pieces of gear in one trip by scanning a second tag mid-activity. 3D PRINT YOUR ROUTES Turn any recorded route into a printable terrain tile. Choose hex, square, or circle, adjust terrain height, color the elevation bands, and add a name or label right on the model. Works with multi-color printers and single-filament printers (the route prints as a separate inlay piece). Export 3MF or STL. SEE EVERY ROUTE ON ONE MAP The Activity Map (Pro) draws all your GPS routes together, color-coded by equipment. Filter by gear, activity type, or date range, then send what you see straight to the 3D print screen. Import and export GPX for routes recorded elsewhere. TRACK USAGE AUTOMATICALLY Connect Strava or Apple Health and your activity history syncs to the right equipment. Set a piece of gear to count every indoor ride or every outdoor run, so a trainer or a pair of shoes never needs manual attribution. Manually log anything that doesn't sync. FULL HISTORY FOR EACH MACHINE Open any piece of gear to see every activity logged to it, with totals, monthly subtotals, search, and filters for GPS, Strava, recorded, and manual entries. START FROM YOUR HOME SCREEN Tap play on the Garage Tracker widget to start a timed activity, then tap Stop to log it automatically. YOUR DATA, YOUR FILES All data is stored as plain Markdown and CSV files in iCloud Drive or locally on your device. No Garage Tracker account required. Open your files in any text editor, any time. ORGANIZE BY BAY Group equipment into bays — Road Bikes, Off-Road, Water Sports, Shop — with color coding, custom icons, and drag-to-reorder. RETIRE, DON'T DELETE Retire equipment you no longer use and its full history moves to a separate folder. Restore it any time. EXPORT EVERYTHING Export to CSV with five pre-built profiles: all activities, per-equipment, by activity type, unmatched inbox, and equipment summaries. Pro users can customize columns and filter by source. WHAT YOU CAN TRACK Road bikes, mountain bikes, e-bikes, running shoes, ATVs and side-by-sides, motorcycles, snowmobiles, kayaks, scuba gear, ski boots, rifles and firearms, bows, fishing reels, and anything else. NO ADS. NO ANALYTICS. NO ACCOUNT. Garage Tracker does not collect personal data or show ads. Your gear and activity data stays on your device or in your own iCloud Drive. FREE PLAN: 2 bays, 5 equipment items, 2 route-print exports, all other core features. PRO PLAN (auto-renewing subscription): unlimited bays and equipment, unlimited route-print exports, the Activity Map, and custom CSV exports. Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple ID settings. Garage Tracker is not affiliated with or endorsed by Strava. "Strava" is a trademark of Strava, Inc. LICENSED APPLICATION END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: GarageTracker at fortnightly against Plate Lookup's every 10 months. On price, ads, in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Plate Lookup sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and GarageTracker sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Plate Lookup ships an update every 10 months, GarageTracker fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Plate Lookup | GarageTracker |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.0 (44 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 29.6% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 44 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 10 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 62 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Casey Evanoff | ETHAN KYLE HELGAGER |
In-app purchases
Plate Lookup
- Unlock Full Version$0.99
GarageTracker
- Garage Tracker Pro$2.991 Month
- Garage Tracker Pro$14.991 Year
Questions
Is Plate Lookup free?
Is GarageTracker free?
Do Plate Lookup or GarageTracker have ads?
Which is updated more often, Plate Lookup or GarageTracker?
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