Garmin Catalyst™ vs Red Mist Timing
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
Red Mist Timing
Follow real-world racing events live with real-time lap timing, position tracking, and pit stop monitoring. Stay engaged with every pass and strategy change, whether you're trackside or remote. Access detailed race data used by teams and broadcasters.
- Live position tracking
- Real-time lap timing
- Pit stop monitoring
- Event schedules
- Accessible anywhere
- Detailed race data
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Follow the action as it happens. Red Mist Racing lets you watch along as your team, driver, or favorite participant progresses through real-world racing events. Whether you’re trackside or following remotely, stay fully engaged with every lap, pass, and pit stop—live and in real time. Live Position Tracking See your team’s position update in real-time as they move up or down the field. No delays, no refreshing—just instant access to what's happening on the track. Live Timing & Results Monitor lap times, sector splits, and overall standings as the event unfolds. Track personal bests, fastest laps, and key stats that matter. Pit Stop Monitoring Follow every pit stop and strategy change. Know exactly when a car pulls in and how long they spend in the pit lane. Event Schedules Stay in the loop with updates on race starts, finishes, class changes, and more—so you never miss a moment of the action. Accessible Anywhere Whether you're in the paddock, grandstand, or halfway around the world, Red Mist gives you the same detailed race data that the teams and broadcasters use. Perfect for fans, teams, and racing enthusiasts alike, Red Mist is your go-to companion for live motorsport event tracking.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Red Mist Timing at 100% against Garmin Catalyst™'s 80%. Red Mist Timing also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.8) and update cadence (every 11 days vs monthly). Garmin Catalyst™'s advantage is ratings volume (120 vs 4). 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.
Red Mist Timing 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 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 80% of Garmin Catalyst™'s written reviews are positive against 100% of Red Mist Timing's.
Garmin Catalyst™ ships an update monthly, Red Mist Timing every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Garmin Catalyst™ | Red Mist Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (120 ratings) | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 80.3% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 120 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 11 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.5 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 220 MB | 114 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Garmin | Brian Griggs |
Customer experience
Garmin Catalyst™
Red Mist Timing
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
Red Mist Timing
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Garmin Catalyst™
No in-app purchases
Red Mist Timing
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Garmin Catalyst™ free?
Is Red Mist Timing free?
Which has better reviews, Garmin Catalyst™ or Red Mist Timing?
Do Garmin Catalyst™ or Red Mist Timing have ads?
Which is updated more often, Garmin Catalyst™ or Red Mist Timing?
Other comparisons
