# Garmin Catalyst™ vs DriftPulse

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.

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.

## The numbers

| Metric | Garmin Catalyst™ | DriftPulse |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.8 (120 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/garmin-catalyst/id1603280610/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/driftpulse/id6737479962/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **120** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 81.8% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Monthly | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 220 MB | 67 MB |
| Requires iOS | **16.5** | 16.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Garmin](https://appshunter.io/developer/411046952) | [Roman Khaitov](https://appshunter.io/developer/1776634879) |

## What reviewers say

### 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


### DriftPulse

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/driftpulse/id6737479962)

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.

**Highlights:** Real-time drift tracking, Detailed telemetry analytics, Session history and comparison, Social sharing of drifts, Intuitive user interface

**Features:** Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Pro | $4.99 | per month |
| Annual Pro | $39.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Garmin Catalyst™ free?

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

### Is DriftPulse free?

DriftPulse is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Garmin Catalyst™ or DriftPulse?

DriftPulse is rated higher. Garmin Catalyst™ averages 4.8 out of 5 from 120 ratings, while DriftPulse averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do Garmin Catalyst™ or DriftPulse have ads?

Neither Garmin Catalyst™ nor DriftPulse shows ads.

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

Garmin Catalyst™ ships an update monthly, and DriftPulse every 3 weeks. Most recently, Garmin Catalyst™ was updated on September 23, 2026 and DriftPulse on September 10, 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.*