Comparison

Himawari CIRCUIT vs Pole Lap Logger

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

Head to head
About

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

About

Pole Lap Logger

Features
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The lap you drove, read back to you. Pole Lap Logger records lap times, sector times, speed, G and your GPS line, then replays the whole lap on a map so you can see exactly where the time went — and lays it over your in-car video. RECORDING • The phone you already have is enough to record a session — mount it with a clear view of the sky and its built-in GPS does the work. • For higher precision, pair a supported Bluetooth LE GPS receiver. It samples far more often than a phone, which sharpens lap and sector times. • Start/finish and sector lines are detected automatically as you cross them. Built-in layouts carry pit lines as well, so out laps and in laps stay separate and never spoil a best time. ANALYSIS • Replay any lap on a satellite map and watch it trace the line you actually drove. Follow it flat in 2D, or tilt the camera to sit behind you. • Compare two laps at once and watch the delta build and fall, corner by corner. • Plot speed, longitudinal G and lateral G against time or distance — or sync the two laps by position instead of time. • Enter your gear ratios, final drive and rev limit, and the map shows the gear and engine speed at each corner, with rev-limit lines on the graph. • Your best at each circuit, across every saved session, is highlighted — or pin one earlier session to measure against. VIDEO OVERLAY • Lap time, delta, sectors, speed, G and a course map are drawn into your in-car video and saved as a new video. • Line the video up with the session from the GPS that most GoPro models record, from the time it was shot, or by hand at a moment you choose, such as crossing the start line. • Replay a lap with its synced video alongside the map and graph. Play, pause or scrub the graph and the video follows. Choose a layout with two or three frames. • Export the whole video or one lap with a few seconds either side. MP4 and MOV in H.264 or HEVC, including GoPro recordings split across files. • The video is processed on your device and never uploaded. The result goes to your photo library with the Pole Lap Logger name in the corner, which Premium can hide. CIRCUITS • Built-in layouts arrive with their start/finish, sector and pit lines already placed. • Draw anything else yourself in a few minutes: drop the lines on a satellite map and it works just like a built-in layout. • Just cruising? Record without a circuit and keep the trace anyway. YOUR DATA STAYS YOURS • Sessions are stored on the device. There is no account and no sign-in. • Export any session as GPX, CSV or NMEA. • Open files shared with you in the app. • No advertising of any kind. FREE AND PREMIUM Recording, playback, comparison, graphs, the circuit editor and data export are never limited. Video Overlay is free with one layout and exports up to 1080p. The free version keeps three saved sessions on the device. Premium removes that cap and adds every Video Overlay layout and your own layouts, exports up to 4K, custom export ranges, the options for session info, lap confirmation, the scrolling graph and the gauges, and a switch to hide the watermark. Features added later may also be part of Premium. Premium is available as a monthly or yearly subscription, or as a one-time purchase that never expires. Prices are set per region and shown on this page and in the app. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel them in your Apple Account settings. Purchases are tied to the App Store account used to make them. BEFORE YOU START • Lap times and telemetry come from GPS. Accuracy depends on the receiver, the device and the conditions, and this app is not an official timing device. • Use it on closed courses, keep your eyes on the track and never operate the app while driving. • Do not rely on any figure it shows for decisions that affect your safety. Terms of Use: https://polelaplogger.com/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://polelaplogger.com/privacy

Screenshots

Himawari CIRCUIT4 screens
Pole Lap Logger4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Himawari CIRCUIT at none against Pole Lap Logger's 3. On price, update cadence, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Pole Lap Logger sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per month. Himawari CIRCUIT asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 5 level
Himawari CIRCUIT versus Pole Lap Logger: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHimawari CIRCUITPole Lap Logger
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 5 daysEvery 5 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.415.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size86 MB58 MB
Age rating12+4+
Developermasaki dobashiTasuku Endo

In-app purchases

None

Himawari CIRCUIT

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Pole Lap Logger

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Monthly$1.491 Month
  • Premium Yearly$2.991 Year
One-time1
  • Premium Lifetime$19.99

Questions

Is Himawari CIRCUIT free?
Himawari CIRCUIT is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Pole Lap Logger free?
Pole Lap Logger is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Himawari CIRCUIT or Pole Lap Logger have ads?
Neither Himawari CIRCUIT nor Pole Lap Logger shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Himawari CIRCUIT or Pole Lap Logger?
Himawari CIRCUIT ships an update every 5 days, and Pole Lap Logger every 5 days. Most recently, Himawari CIRCUIT was updated on October 28, 2026 and Pole Lap Logger on November 6, 2026.

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