Garmin Catalyst™ vs DriftPulse
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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
DriftPulse
Record, analyze, and share your drift sessions with precision. This app uses GPS and motion sensors to track drift lines, angles, and speed in real-time. Visualize your progress with detailed telemetry and compare your runs to master every drift.
- Real-time drift tracking
- Detailed telemetry analytics
- Session history and comparison
- Social sharing of drifts
- Intuitive user interface
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DriftPulse – Track, Analyze, and Master Every Drift Take your drifting to the next level with DriftPulse — the ultimate tool for recording, analyzing, and sharing your drift sessions on any track. Whether you're a professional driver or an enthusiast, DriftPulse gives you everything you need to unlock your full potential and relive your best moments. Key Features: Real-Time Drift Tracking: Record your sessions with precision using advanced GPS and motion sensors. See your drift lines, angles, and speed live on the map. Detailed Telemetry Analytics: Instantly analyze your runs — speed, angle, entry and exit points, and more. Visualize your progress with interactive graphs and clear stats. Session History: Keep all your drift sessions in one place. Compare laps, track your improvements, and never lose your best runs. Social Sharing: Share your achievements, stats, and coolest drifts with friends or the DriftPulse community. Simple & Intuitive Interface: Built by drifters, for drifters. Start tracking in seconds — focus on the drive, not the app. DriftPulse is your digital co-driver. Whether you drift for fun or competition, you’ll always know your angle, your speed, and your progress. Unlock the science of drifting, set new records, and ignite your passion for the sideways life! Download DriftPulse now and turn every slide into data. Ready to leave your mark on the track? URLs: - Privacy Policy: https://driftpulse.web.app/privacy.html - Terms of Use: https://driftpulse.web.app/terms.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Garmin Catalyst™ at none against DriftPulse's 2. Garmin Catalyst™ also leads on ratings volume (120 vs 1). DriftPulse's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.8). On price, update cadence, ads 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. DriftPulse sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Garmin Catalyst™ asks for nothing beyond the download.
DriftPulse holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Garmin Catalyst™ has 120 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Garmin Catalyst™ ships an update monthly, DriftPulse every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Garmin Catalyst™ | DriftPulse |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (120 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 81.8% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 120 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 16.5 — better | 16.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 220 MB | 67 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Garmin | Roman Khaitov |
Bugs and 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
DriftPulse
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Garmin Catalyst™
No in-app purchases
DriftPulse
- Monthly Pro$4.991 Month
- Annual Pro$39.991 Year
Questions
Is Garmin Catalyst™ free?
Is DriftPulse free?
Which has better reviews, Garmin Catalyst™ or DriftPulse?
Do Garmin Catalyst™ or DriftPulse have ads?
Which is updated more often, Garmin Catalyst™ or DriftPulse?
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