Comparison

SideCar vs CarWidget

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

SideCar

This application allows users to set up and manage their SideCar device directly from their smartphone. It provides a streamlined interface for configuration and ongoing control of the device's features.

Highlights
  • Device setup
  • Device management
  • Smartphone control
  • Streamlined interface
Read full description

Setup and manage SideCar from your phone

About

CarWidget

Design and customize car-themed widgets for your iPhone and CarPlay dashboard. Personalize your driving experience with automotive-inspired designs, essential information at a glance, and a safe, private interface.

Highlights
  • CarPlay Widgets
  • Custom Dashboard Designs
  • Weather & Time Widgets
  • Fully Customizable
  • Safe & Private
Features
Read full description

CarWidget – CarPlay Widget Maker lets you create and customize car widgets with ease. Design clean, modern dashboards and build widgets that show the information you need while driving. Make your CarPlay screen yours. Car Widget Studio brings beautiful, glanceable widgets to CarPlay and your iPhone Home Screen. Choose from 316 templates, design your own, or put your favorites on rotation so your car screen keeps feeling new. WIDGET ROTATION — NEW Can't pick just one? Put 2 to 10 widgets on rotation and your car screen switches between them on its own. • Play in order or on shuffle, like a playlist • Auto timing helps you see every design during a typical drive, or set your own interval from 5 minutes to 1 hour • Pin the design you love, or skip to the next one in a tap • Keeps working while your iPhone is locked 316 TEMPLATES Clocks, calendars, weather, countdowns, aesthetic, neon, retro and racing styles, plus seasonal collections: • Halloween: pumpkins, ghosts, bat moons and a countdown to the big night • Cute: soft pastels, teddy bears, kittens and sparkles • Animals: puppies, pandas, penguins, goldfish and more Search the whole library and save your favorites. Many templates are animated inside the app. DESIGN YOUR OWN • Start from scratch or from any template • Add your photos, text, live clock, date, weather and calendar events • Edit photos before adding them: filters, crop and one-tap background removal • Turn a GIF or video into a widget by choosing the perfect frame, or create a Motion Slideshow that changes frames every few minutes MADE FOR THE DRIVE • Big, readable widgets designed to be understood at a glance • Live weather and today's events from your calendar • A step-by-step CarPlay Setup guide gets your widgets onto your car screen in about two minutes GOOD TO KNOW CarPlay widgets are shown as still images that update on a schedule set by iOS. Designs change every few minutes, not every second, and video does not play on the car screen. Widgets in CarPlay require iOS 26 or later and a CarPlay-compatible vehicle. CAR WIDGET STUDIO PRO Unlock every template, unlimited custom widgets and rotations, Motion Slideshows and an ad-free experience. You can use the free version with 3 custom widgets and 1 Widget Rotation. Payment will be charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage and cancel your subscriptions in your App Store account settings after purchase. Terms of Use: https://deeplyai.app/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://deeplyai.app/privacy.html • Support & Contact Need help? Rate us! Got feedback?
 info@deeplyai.app Car Widget Studio is not affiliated with Apple or any vehicle manufacturer. CarPlay is a trademark of Apple Inc.

Screenshots

SideCar2 screens
CarWidget4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: CarWidget at 3.2 against SideCar's 2.4. CarWidget also leads on update cadence (every 4 weeks vs every 10 months) and review sentiment (20% vs 0%). SideCar's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and ads (none vs shown). On price, ratings volume, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. CarWidget sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. SideCar asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

CarWidget holds the better App Store score, 3.2 against 2.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5 and 11 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of SideCar's written reviews are positive against 20% of CarWidget's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SideCar ships an update every 10 months, CarWidget every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
SideCar versus CarWidget: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSideCarCarWidget
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.4 (5 ratings)3.2 (11 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews20.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings511 — better
Update frequencyEvery 10 monthsEvery 4 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size11 MB53 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperEpilog Imaging Systems, Inc.DEEPLY AI

Customer experience

SideCar

All ratings5 ratings
Positive40.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative60.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

CarWidget

All ratings11 ratings
Positive54.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative45.5%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive20.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative80.0%

In-app purchases

None

SideCar

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

CarWidget

Subscriptions3
  • CarPlay Widget Premium Weekly$1.997 Days
  • CarPlay Widget Premium Monthly$5.991 Month
  • CarPlay Widget Premium Yearly$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • CarPlay Widget Lifetime$39.99

Questions

Is SideCar free?
SideCar is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is CarWidget free?
CarWidget is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, SideCar or CarWidget?
CarWidget is rated higher. SideCar averages 2.4 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while CarWidget averages 3.2 from 11 ratings.
Do SideCar or CarWidget have ads?
CarWidget shows ads; SideCar does not.
Which is updated more often, SideCar or CarWidget?
SideCar ships an update every 10 months, and CarWidget every 4 weeks. Most recently, SideCar was updated on November 4, 2026 and CarWidget on November 5, 2026.

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