M Performance Drive Analyser vs Garmin Catalyst™
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
M Performance Drive Analyser
This app analyzes driving dynamics, providing professional recording and analysis of performance data. View results as videos and graphs on your smartphone after connecting an OBD stick to your BMW. Supports all BMW models from 2008 onwards.
- Track and data recording with video
- Professional analysis tools
- Video file generation with data overlay
- Precision time measurement for tests
- Real-time engine power and torque display
- Real-time engine data
- Fuel consumption and CO2 emission tracking
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M PERFORMANCE DRIVE ANALYSER. Derived directly from motorsports, the M Performance Drive Analyser calculates all important driving dynamics data and provides you with numerous professional recording and analysis options. Results can be displayed and analysed in the form of videos and graphical representations on your smartphone. The plug and play system requires the M Performance Drive Analyser OBD stick that you connect to the OBD (on-board-diagnostics) port of your car. The OBD stick is a BMW genuine accessory product that is available at your BMW dealer. All BMW car models 2008 and later are supported. KEY FEATURES TrackDrive Track- and data recording including video with professional analysis tools. One click generation of a video file with overlay driving dynamics data for sharing TestDrive Precision time measurement for acceleration, distance, elasticity and brake deceleration tests PowerDrive Shows real time engine power and torque G-Drive Shows lateral and linear acceleration with maximum value notifications CoreDrive Shows real time engine data FuelDrive Shows fuel consumption and CO2 emission including fuel cost The M Performance Drive Analyser is designed and manufactured by INATRONIC GmbH & Co. KG for BMW AG Munich. Important note: Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life.
Garmin Catalyst™
Access and analyze your motorsports performance data on your smartphone. Review lap times, session summaries, and driver profiles. Track annual driving activity and session weather conditions.
- Access performance data
- View lap times
- Session summaries
- Customizable driver profiles
- Track annual activity
- Record weather conditions
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For motorsports drivers of all levels, the Garmin Catalyst™ app provides a simple, intuitive way to access your Garmin Catalyst™ performance data — including lap times, session summaries and customizable driver profiles— on your compatible smartphone or tablet. The app also tracks your annual driving activity metrics and provides a record of weather conditions for each session. Garmin Catalyst™ App • Easily access your Garmin Catalyst™ performance data with use of this app on your compatible smartphone or tablet • Shows your session summaries, lap times, session weather conditions, lap-by-lap data and annual driving activity metrics • Customizable icons within the app let you tailor the look of your driver profile and vehicle icons • View vehicles and track notes from your Garmin Catalyst™ device
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Garmin Catalyst™ at 4.8 against M Performance Drive Analyser's 3.6. Garmin Catalyst™ also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 7 months) and review sentiment (82% vs 62%). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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.
Garmin Catalyst™ holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Garmin Catalyst™ has 120 ratings behind it against 11, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 62% of M Performance Drive Analyser's written reviews are positive against 82% of Garmin Catalyst™'s.
M Performance Drive Analyser ships an update every 7 months, Garmin Catalyst™ monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | M Performance Drive Analyser | Garmin Catalyst™ |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.6 (11 ratings) | 4.8 (120 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 61.5% of reviews | 81.8% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 11 | 120 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 | 16.5 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 36 MB | 220 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | INATRONIC | Garmin |
Customer experience
M Performance Drive Analyser
Garmin Catalyst™
Bugs and requests
M Performance Drive Analyser
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Garmin Catalyst™
Reported bugs
7 issues- Everytime you try logging in the app just glitches anyways can’t even get logged in.
- Comparing to others frequently fails
- Compare to friend feature way to frequently fails with the message about the tracks not matching well enough despite being the same track on the same days even.
- New version is off
- It won’t let me compare the laps with other friends on the same day. Says lap not similar. Literally same day same track same session.
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- Friend integration is currently pretty lacking. When I try to compare laps it complains that the tracks aren't similar enough.
- Worse though is that there's no apparent way of sharing your sessions with friends.
Requested features
17 requests- Option to select 1-5 laps for optimum view
- Watch reference videos side by side on the Catalyst
- Add video review on phone or iPad
- Allow moving videos to iCloud for review
- Ability to download in-car camera footage directly from device to app
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- Compare data from other sessions
- Use for Sim racing games
- More functionality to come
- Make it even more simple
- Overall leaderboard
- Leaderboards of other tracks
- Compare session data between friends
- Fix track matching issues for friend comparison
- Allow browsing friend's sessions
- Add option to compare against other sessions
- Add dark mode option
- Add advanced analytics dashboard
In-app purchases
M Performance Drive Analyser
No in-app purchases
Garmin Catalyst™
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is M Performance Drive Analyser free?
Is Garmin Catalyst™ free?
Which has better reviews, M Performance Drive Analyser or Garmin Catalyst™?
Do M Performance Drive Analyser or Garmin Catalyst™ have ads?
Which is updated more often, M Performance Drive Analyser or Garmin Catalyst™?
Other comparisons
