Lapster vs Himawari CIRCUIT
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Lapster
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GPS lap timer for cars, motorcycles and karts — on any circuit, with or without a RaceBox. Lapster turns your RaceBox into a complete lap timer and telemetry system. And if you don't own one yet, your iPhone can time your laps too. RACEBOX — ALL THREE MODELS RaceBox Mini S, RaceBox Micro and RaceBox Pro. Connect over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, pull the sessions stored on the device, and every lap is timed, mapped and saved automatically. NO RACEBOX? USE YOUR PHONE Start a session with your iPhone's GPS and get real lap times on any circuit. Live map, predictive delta, lean angle, and a separate 0-100 acceleration mode with its own personal bests. EVERY LAP, IN DETAIL • Replay any lap on the map at 1x, 3x or 5x • Speed, position and time for every corner • Put your lap next to a friend's and see where the time went • Sector splits, top speed, G-forces and lean angle FOLLOW YOUR CREW Home is a feed of the latest rides of the riders you follow, with their personal bests, comments and reactions. One search field finds riders, tracks, sessions and teams. TRACKS Official circuits with verified records, plus tracks you build yourself — drop the start/finish line and sectors straight onto the map. Every track keeps a leaderboard of the drivers and riders on it. Records and leaderboards are kept separately for cars, motorcycles and karts. TRACK DAYS Find track days, book your spot, and read reviews from drivers and riders who were actually there — with their photos and lap times attached. SHARE IT Send a lap or a whole session with a link, post a story, or export a poster for Instagram. Your profile keeps every stat and badge you have earned. MESSAGES Direct and group chats with other drivers and riders, including voice messages. ALSO INSIDE • Import your existing rides from the RaceBox app (CSV) • Weather recorded automatically for every session • Your garage: cars and bikes, with photos • Available in 14 languages • Lap times to the millisecond • Import rides from AiM loggers (.xrk, .xrz) and Race Studio CSV Free to use. Optional donations if you want to support development. Lapster is not affiliated with RaceBox. RaceBox is a trademark of its respective owner. Terms of Use (Apple Standard EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Apple Watch: view sessions and lap times, chat with other drivers and riders, and record, play and transcribe voice messages. Includes watch face complications and Smart Stack widgets.
Himawari CIRCUIT
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Himawari Circuit turns a day at the track into something you can look back on. It times your laps with GPS and records your driving line, speed and G-force together. After the session you can see, on the map, where you were quick and where you lost time. AUTOMATIC LAP TIMING Every time you cross the control line, a lap is recorded, along with sector times, top speed and average speed. Each lap time is announced out loud, so you never have to look at the screen while you drive. DRIVING LINES YOU CAN COMPARE Your line is drawn on the map, colored by speed or by G-force, so you can see where you are on the power and where you are not turning. Lay your own earlier runs over it, or line up runs from friends in the same group. In replay, up to four cars move at once, so you can watch the gap open up. SESSION VIDEO Record with your phone as you drive and play it back with your telemetry over it. Only your best lap is kept, and it never leaves your phone. YOUR SESSIONS ARE KEPT FOR YOU Sessions upload automatically when you finish. With no signal they stay on your phone and go up once you are back online. VEHICLES AND TIRES Record sessions per vehicle, with maintenance records and tire details, so you can trace how a setup changed your times. WITH YOUR FRIENDS Create a group to share sessions and leaderboards with its members. Live timing shows where your friends are on track, and their lap times, as they drive. EXTERNAL GPS RECEIVERS Works with RaceBox, DigSpice IV and the self-built Himawari GPS. A phone's built-in GPS updates about once per second; an external receiver updates far more often, which makes lines worth comparing. WHAT YOU CAN TIME Circuits and closed courses, and point-to-point runs such as hill climbs. -------------------------------- PLANS The free plan covers lap timing, session recording, the track list and leaderboards, and cloud sync of your sessions. Paid plans are monthly. Each period is one month and renews automatically until you cancel. Cancel in your App Store subscription settings. Prices and what each plan includes are shown on the plan screen in the app. - Lap Pro - session video recording, compare your own driving lines, session replay, the speed chart in the comparison view, CSV export, tire and maintenance records, and notes after each session - Drivers Club - groups and chat, live timing to share and watch, leaderboard listing, and visibility settings - Premium - everything above, plus laying your friends' driving lines over your own -------------------------------- BEFORE YOU DRIVE This app is meant for race tracks and other places where driving at speed is allowed. Set it up before you drive, and never operate your phone while driving. It does not encourage speeding or unlawful driving on public roads. The times shown are estimates based on positioning. They are not guaranteed to match official timing. Your location is recorded only while the app is on screen. It is never collected in the background. You must be 18 or older to use Himawari Circuit. SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS - Premium (1 month): $7.99 - Drivers Club (1 month): $4.99 - Lap Pro (1 month): $4.99 Payment is charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. Your subscription renews automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage your subscription and turn off auto-renew in your App Store account settings after purchase. The free trial is available for Premium only. The first 3 months are free, and after the trial it renews at $7.99 per month. Cancel at least 24 hours before the trial ends and you will not be charged. Lap Pro and Drivers Club do not have a free trial. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://circuit.himawari-tech.jp/legal/privacy?lang=en
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Himawari CIRCUIT at weekly against Lapster's every 2 weeks. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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.
Lapster ships an update every 2 weeks, Himawari CIRCUIT weekly. Both last shipped on November 9, 2026.
| Parameter | Lapster | Himawari CIRCUIT |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 16.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 72 MB | 86 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Roman Milushov | masaki dobashi |
In-app purchases
Lapster
No in-app purchases
Himawari CIRCUIT
No in-app purchases





