Garmin Catalyst™ vs RaceMaps
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
RaceMaps
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RaceMaps is a live GPS tracking app for races, outdoor events, and group adventures. Participants share their location using their phones, allowing organizers, friends, and spectators to follow their position on a real map. Perfect for: • Enduro and Motocross • Trail Running, Running, and Marathon • Cycling and Mountain Biking • Car Rally and Convoy Trips • Boat Racing and Jet Ski • Group Rides and Adventure Touring RaceMaps is not just for racing. Use it for group rides, road trips, off-road adventures, big bike tours, cycling trips, or car convoys. See where members of your group are and make it easier to stay together throughout the journey. Whether you're organizing an event, joining a race, or following friends from anywhere, RaceMaps keeps everyone connected through live location sharing. RaceMaps — Real-Time. Real Routes. Real Adventure. Follow the race. Follow the journey.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Garmin Catalyst™ at none against RaceMaps's 9. Garmin Catalyst™ also leads on ads (none vs shown). RaceMaps's advantage is update cadence (every 9 days vs monthly). On price, device support and iOS requirement 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. RaceMaps sells 9 one-off in-app purchases. Garmin Catalyst™ asks for nothing beyond the download.
Garmin Catalyst™ ships an update monthly, RaceMaps every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 20, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Garmin Catalyst™ | RaceMaps |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (120 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 81.8% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 120 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 9 days — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.5 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 220 MB | 33 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Garmin | Pakawat Intaratut |
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
RaceMaps
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Garmin Catalyst™
No in-app purchases
RaceMaps
- 10 Slot view$1.99
- Remove Ads$1.99
- 30 Racer Slots$3.99
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- 50 Racer Slots$6.99
- 50 slot View$6.99
- 100 Racer Slots$12.99
- 300 Racer Slots$29.99
- 500 Racer Slots$49.99
- 800 Racer Slots$69.99
Questions
Is Garmin Catalyst™ free?
Is RaceMaps free?
Do Garmin Catalyst™ or RaceMaps have ads?
Which is updated more often, Garmin Catalyst™ or RaceMaps?
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