Engine Link vs ActiveOBD
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Engine Link
Transform your iPhone into a powerful vehicle diagnostics tool. Monitor real-time performance, read and clear fault codes, and customize your dashboard with detailed sensor data. Supports emission testing and offers a HUD mode for night driving.
- Real-time vehicle monitoring
- Read and clear OBD fault codes
- Customizable gauges and dashboards
- MPG widget and fuel efficiency plotting
- Heads up display (HUD) mode
- Horsepower, torque, and acceleration metrics
- Custom PID support
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EngineLink will turn your iPhone/iPod into vehicle / car performance / diagnostics tool and scanner that uses an OBD II WIFI adapter or a low Energy Bluetooth adapter (LELink, LELink2, Carista, Viecar) to connect to your OBD2 engine management / ECU. The only iPhone app does custom PID, now supports Torque custom PID file. BENEFITS: * Emission Test. * See what your car is doing in real-time. * Read and clear OBD fault codes. * Display car performance and sensor data. * Customizable gauges, showing only the data you were interested in * Top Ranked Car App * No in-app purchase and No subscription fees! __________________ FEATURES: + Show and reset a DTC / CEL / fault code (current, pending and history) like a scan tool + Graph data + MPG widget to plot real time fuel efficiency + Heads up display / HUD mode for night time driving (mirror the display on your vehicle's windshield) + Can read Transmission Temperatures (vehicle dependant) + Horsepower/HP & Torque / acceleration + Boost / vacuum gauge + Engine speed / Engine RPM / Engine Load /Coolant / Fuel Tank + Customizable dashboard + Full configurable GUI with user choice of dial gauge, bar gauge, plot gauge, digital gauge, and on-off gauge as display elements + Full custom PID support. + Formula support. + Preloaded GM and Ford PID libraries + Preloaded standard PID library and Prius PID libraries . + User can add more libraries within the app or by using iTunes File Sharing + Multiple ECU support. Non-CAN, 11-bit CAN, and 29-bit CAN ECU bus types + Multiframe data support + Background color option + Email user log function (access by long pressing custom PID screen) + Multiple PID formula support + 0 to 60mph timer and quarter mile timer __________________ EngineLink supports all OBD-II and EOBD compliant vehicles sold worldwide. If in doubt check with your manufacturer first or look for 'OBD2' on written on a big white label in your engine bay. The app needs an ELM compatible Bluetooth Low Energy (for iPhone4s and later) or Wi-Fi adapter to work. You can check Developer WebSite for Adapter Guide: http://www.outdoor-apps.com/enginelink.html *** If you have Bluetooth OBD adaptor, please contact support@ksolution.org for instruction before you purchase this app. Drop us an email for any suggestions/questions you may have at support@ksolution.org. We will answer.
ActiveOBD
This app functions as an OBDII scanner, offering specialized support for Subaru vehicles (MY2012+). It provides basic parameter readings for free, with a subscription unlocking advanced features like trouble code reading and data logging.
- OBDII scanning
- Subaru-specific support (MY2012+)
- CVT Oil Temperature reading
- AWD duty (%) parameter reading
- Trouble code reading (full version)
- Data logging (full version)
- Graphs building (full version)
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The OBDII scanner app with a special support of Subaru (MY2012+) make. It's the next-generation product based on our well-known "ActiveOBD for Subaru" app bringing its best features to iOS users. A compatible OBD adapter is required. Premium-level adapters supported (best speed and stability): - OBDLink MX+; - OBDLink CX; - vLinker MC+. Entry-level adapters supported (moderate speed, good stability): - Vgate iCar Pro Bluetooth 4.0 (BLE). Other adapters supported: - Viecar Bluetooth 4.0 (BLE), Vgate iCar Pro WiFi, Veepeak OBDCheck BLE+, KONNWEI. We do NOT support the majority of cheap ELM327 v2.1 clones. The basic free version already includes CVT Oil Temperature, CVT ratio and AWD duty (%) parameter readings and nice gauge screen ! Note: some of these parameters are inaccessible on some model ranges. The full version (subscription) includes extra parameters reading and features, such as graphs building, logging ("premium-level adapter" required), trouble codes reading. Note: for resource consumption optimization reason the data collection for graphs/logging activates upon accessing these functions and terminates with the current app session. Terms of Use (standard Apple Terms of Use / EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: ActiveOBD at Free against Engine Link's $5.99. ActiveOBD also leads on rating (3.6 vs 2.9). Engine Link's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1). On review sentiment, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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
ActiveOBD is free to download; Engine Link costs $5.99 up front. ActiveOBD sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $4.99 per month. Engine Link asks for nothing beyond the download.
ActiveOBD holds the better App Store score, 3.6 against 2.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 62 and 39 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 38% of Engine Link's written reviews are positive against 45% of ActiveOBD's.
Engine Link ships an update every 2 months, ActiveOBD every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Engine Link | ActiveOBD |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $5.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 2.9 (62 ratings) | 3.6 (39 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 38.2% of reviews | 45.5% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 62 — better | 39 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 10 MB | 24 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | K SOLUTION LLC | Mykhailo Zolotarov |
Customer experience
Engine Link
ActiveOBD
Bugs and requests
Engine Link
Reported bugs
4 issues- App crashes on connection
- Fails to read/clear error codes
- Inaccurate sensor readings
- Compatibility issues with certain OBD dongles
Requested features
5 requests- Add support for more vehicle types
- Improve user interface and customization options
- Add more PID support, especially for EVs
- Implement language localization
- Improve data logging and export capabilities
ActiveOBD
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Engine Link
No in-app purchases
ActiveOBD
- Full Version Subscription1 Month trial$4.991 Month








