Comparisons

Telemetry overlay software compared

Five tools render telemetry onto track-day video, and they suit different people. TrackHero is free and runs in a browser but needs desktop Chrome. Telemetry Overlay costs $199 and reads almost every logger made. RaceRender is the deepest for multi-camera and OBD-II work. OpenLap is free, open source and installable. DashWare is no longer maintained.

We make TrackHero, so treat our own entry with the appropriate scepticism. What follows tries to be accurate about where the other tools are simply better, because a comparison that pretends otherwise is not worth reading. Pricing and platform details were checked against each vendor's own site in August 2026.

At a glance

Prices are one-off unless noted. Watermark refers to what the free or trial tier applies to your exported video.

ToolRuns onPriceInstallWatermark
TrackHeroAny desktop Chrome browserFreeNone (runs in the browser)None
RaceRender 3Windows, macOSFree edition, then $39.95 to $59.95Desktop installFree edition is watermarked and capped at 3 minutes
Telemetry OverlayWindows, macOS, Linux$199 one-offDesktop installTrial is watermarked
DashWareWindowsFreeDesktop installNone

Pricing and platform details checked against each vendor's own site in August 2026.

The tools

TrackHero

Best for a free, no-install track-day video

Free, unwatermarked, and runs in a browser tab. Reads .vbo files from RaceChrono, VBOX Motorsport and Dragy, and telemetry embedded in GoPro footage. Renders a speed gauge, G-force plot, live lap delta and lap overview, and exports up to 4K. Nothing is uploaded. The limitation is real: it requires desktop Chrome, and it reads fewer formats than the paid desktop tools.

Full comparison with TrackHero

Telemetry Overlay

Best for breadth of device support

A $199 one-off desktop application for Windows, macOS and Linux. Reads AiM, Alfano, RaceCapture, RaceBox, VBOX, RaceChrono and more, and extracts telemetry from GoPro, Insta360 and DJI cameras. Covers cycling, aviation, sailing and skiing as well as motorsport. If your logger is unusual, this is the one that will read it.

Full comparison with TrackHero

RaceRender 3

Best for multi-camera and OBD-II

HP Tuners’ long-standing desktop tool for Windows and macOS. Multi-camera picture-in-picture, 360-degree video, OBD-II engine data and deep layout control. The free edition watermarks output and caps it at three minutes; paid editions run $39.95 to $59.95.

Full comparison with TrackHero

OpenLap

Best free desktop option

Free and open source, for Windows, macOS and Linux. Supports RaceBox, AIM MyChron, MoTeC, GPX, VBOX and Unipro. No subscription and no cloud. A good fit if you want something installed and local, with no browser requirement and no cost.

DashWare

No longer maintained

For years the default free recommendation, but its last release was version 1.9.1 in 2017 and it has seen no development since. Official downloads have been unreliable for a long time. Listed here because people still search for it, not because it is a live option.

Full comparison with TrackHero

Frequently asked questions

What is the best free telemetry overlay software?
For track-day video from a .vbo file or GoPro footage, TrackHero is free, unwatermarked and needs no installation, but it requires desktop Chrome. OpenLap is free, open source and installable, with wider logger support. RaceRender has a free edition, but it watermarks output and caps it at three minutes.
Which telemetry overlay tool supports the most devices?
Telemetry Overlay, by a clear margin. It reads AiM, Alfano, RaceCapture, RaceBox, VBOX, RaceChrono, Garmin FIT and many other sources, and extracts telemetry directly from GoPro, Insta360 and DJI cameras. It costs $199 as a one-off purchase.
Do I need to install anything to add a telemetry overlay?
Not if you use TrackHero, which runs entirely in a browser tab on a desktop machine with Chrome. Every other tool listed here is a desktop application that has to be installed.
Is DashWare still usable?
Not reliably. Its last release was in 2017, there is no active development, and the official download has been unavailable for years. It knows nothing about cameras or formats released since. Anyone still looking for it should treat TrackHero, OpenLap or RaceRender as the replacement.
Does any of this software upload my video?
None of the tools listed here do. The desktop applications process files locally by definition, and TrackHero, despite running in a browser, also does all parsing, compositing and encoding on your own machine. Its only network request is an optional weather lookup if you type in a track name.

Built by us. Used by us.

We built TrackHero to see our own laptimes and compare lines at SlovakiaRing. Grab it for your own trackdays.

Try TrackHero

Runs in Chrome on desktop.