Comparison

LapTrace vs Trackside

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

Head to head
About

LapTrace

Features
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Turn your iPhone into a local-first telemetry recorder and video companion for karting, cycling, and outdoor activities. RECORD THE SESSION • Start a karting, road-cycling, or outdoor session in seconds. • Capture timestamped location and motion telemetry with source and quality information. • Follow recording duration, current speed, quality, and active Apple-device sources with a local Live Activity. • Road cycling includes moving-time auto-pause, with a per-ride option to turn it off; raw telemetry and elapsed time continue. • Open LapTrace on a paired Apple Watch to add a separate Watch location stream to the active iPhone recording. • Keep the original sensor log while LapTrace calculates useful derived values. UNDERSTAND THE DRIVE • Review your route, speed, distance, and telemetry quality. • Optionally download nearby public kart-track data from OpenStreetMap after a clear permission prompt; normalized track data is cached locally for offline use. • When route evidence is strong, review the matched track layout, edit an unsaved start/finish suggestion, and compare an additional track-constrained route. • Set a non-destructive driving range to exclude setup or shutdown time from kart review and flat exports while preserving the complete raw recording. • When Watch data is available, compare iPhone, Apple Watch, and combined routes, observed rates, distance, gaps, and source timing. • See current, previous, and best lap times. • Compare lap deltas and inspect a speed trace without a wall of engineering data. • Configure a directed start/finish line and reusable track when needed. SYNC ACTION-CAMERA FOOTAGE • Import video from Photos or Files. • Align footage and telemetry with dependable coarse and fine offset controls. • Set video and telemetry in/out points. • Preview speed and lap values at the selected moment. CREATE A SHAREABLE VIDEO • Choose from reusable overlay presets. • Adjust overlay position, scale, and opacity. • Render the overlay with AVFoundation, then save or share the finished video. OWN YOUR DATA • Export CSV, JSON, GPX, FIT, or a documented LapTrace session archive where appropriate. • No account, LapTrace backend, analytics, tracking, or automatic upload. • Telemetry, imported media, projects, and exports remain local to your devices until you explicitly save or share them. LapTrace clearly labels each session's telemetry source and quality. FIT exports include timestamped position, altitude, speed, distance, lap, session, and activity records.

About

Trackside

Record and analyze track driving sessions with automatic lap timing, turn-by-turn insights, and video comparison. Connect your iPhone or compatible GPS receiver to capture telemetry data and share performance videos. Explore demo mode to test features without a vehicle.

Highlights
  • Automatic lap timing
  • Turn-by-turn telemetry analysis
  • Reference video comparison
  • Shareable telemetry videos
  • Friends and leaderboards
  • Import from VBOX, Garmin Catalyst
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Get more from every lap with free, unlimited recording and automatic lap timing, turn-by-turn analysis, reference-video comparison, and shareable telemetry videos. Record in any car using your iPhone or a supported external GPS receiver, including RaceBox Mini, Mini S, Micro, and Dragy Pro. Connect directly to a compatible Porsche for vehicle telemetry, or add supported OBD hardware for additional vehicle data. Import existing sessions from VBOX, Porsche Track Precision, Garmin Catalyst, and other supported apps. AUTOMATIC LAP TIMING • Record unlimited track sessions for free • Automatically detect supported tracks and begin recording • See live lap timing, predicted lap times, and your real-time delta to your best lap AUTOCROSS & CUSTOM COURSES • Create custom circuits and point-to-point courses from recorded GPS data • Set start and finish gates for autocross and other point-to-point runs • Save courses for future sessions or apply them to existing sessions ANALYSIS & AI INSIGHTS • Review lap times, sectors, inputs, and an optimal lap from your fastest segments • Compare every turn and get telemetry-backed insights on your biggest opportunities • Compare your lap against any reference video with synchronized playback and a live time delta FRIENDS & LEADERBOARDS • Add friends and compare stats from your track days • Compete on friends-only leaderboards at each track • Share full session telemetry with friends and compare laps CAMERAS & VIDEO • Record with your iPhone or supported GoPro, DJI, and Insta360 cameras • Add and sync onboard footage, then export shareable videos with telemetry overlays IMPORT, SYNC & EXPORT • Import sessions from VBOX, Porsche Track Precision, and other supported apps • Sync sessions across your devices with iCloud • Export sessions in a VBOX-compatible format for use with other analysis tools TRACKSIDE PRO Session recording is free and unlimited. Trackside Pro unlocks telemetry-backed AI insights, reference-video comparison, full lap data sharing with friends, and telemetry video export. PORSCHE DIRECT CONNECTION Trackside supports the same Porsche models as Track Precision. 911 • 991.1 GT3 and GT3 RS — model year 2015 or later • All 991.2 models — model year 2017 or later • All 992 models 718 CAYMAN & BOXSTER • 981 Cayman GT4 — model year 2015 or later • All 982 / 718 models — model year 2017 or later OTHER MODELS • Cayenne — model year 2022 or later • Panamera — model year 2022 or later • Taycan — model year 2022 or later Questions or feedback? Email trackside@californiamotorsports.co Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

LapTrace4 screens
Trackside4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: LapTrace at none against Trackside's 2. Trackside's advantage is update cadence (daily vs every 2 weeks). On price, ads, 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. Trackside sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. LapTrace asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

LapTrace ships an update every 2 weeks, Trackside daily. The most recent releases landed on September 20, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
LapTrace versus Trackside: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLapTraceTrackside
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhone, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB38 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPhilipp SeifertDaniel Stratton

In-app purchases

None

LapTrace

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Trackside

Subscriptions2
  • Trackside Pro Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Trackside Pro Annual$59.991 Year

Questions

Is LapTrace free?
LapTrace is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Trackside free?
Trackside is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do LapTrace or Trackside have ads?
Neither LapTrace nor Trackside shows ads.
Which is updated more often, LapTrace or Trackside?
LapTrace ships an update every 2 weeks, and Trackside daily. Most recently, LapTrace was updated on September 20, 2026 and Trackside on September 19, 2026.

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