An overlay sits on top of the game picture, so the numbers you want are in your eyeline instead of on a second monitor or a phone. Of the twenty tools in our verified sim racing data, seven state an overlay or a HUD on their own pages. Two are dedicated builders, one is an add-on to one of those, and four bundle the overlay with a coach or a lap analyzer.
| Tool | What the site states | Price (as stated) | Games and platform |
|---|---|---|---|
| RaceLab | Overlay suite with auto-adjusting layouts, a community layout library and streaming tools | Basic free forever; Pro €4.90/mo or €49.90/yr; Lifetime €399 once | iRacing, Le Mans Ultimate, Automobilista 2, ACC, Assetto Corsa, RaceRoom, rFactor 2, F1; Windows |
| SimHub | Dash Studio for building your own dashboards and overlays | Free base download; perpetual license at your own price (suggested €8 to €30) | 100+ supported games per its site; Windows |
| Lovely Dashboard | 16+ dashboard variants and a matching stream overlay | Free downloads; membership unlocks additional features | Windows, inside SimHub; supported sims not documented |
| Trophi.ai | In-game overlays alongside the Mansell AI voice coach | Premium $7.50/mo, billed $89.99/yr; 7-day trial only | iRacing, ACC, Le Mans Ultimate, F1 24, F1 25, F1 26, Rocket League |
| TrackPro | Overlays listed in the free tier | Free forever; live AI coaching from Starter, $20/mo | Windows 10/11; supported sims not named |
| TakeP1 | Telemetry HUD inside the free race engineer | Free: no trial, no tiers, no card | 10 titles including iRacing, ACC and F1 25; Windows |
| iSpeed | iRacing HUD and lap analyzer | Free donationware; a $15+ donation removes prompts | iRacing only; Windows |
The two dedicated overlay builders: RaceLab and SimHub
RaceLab is the only tool here whose whole product is the overlay. Its site describes layouts that adjust to the car and series you race, a community-driven layout library and streaming tools. Basic is free forever. Pro is €4.90 a month or €49.90 a year, and the €399 lifetime license equals about eight years of the annual plan. Two limits are recorded from its own site: it is overlays, not coaching, and the lap-time analysis, standings and performance-trends module is labeled 'Exclusive to iRacing'. SimHub comes at it from the hardware side. It connects 100-plus games to displays, overlays, bass shakers, LEDs and motion rigs, and Dash Studio lets you build your own dashboards and overlays or pull from a large community library. The base download is free, and full features need a perpetual license at a price you choose. Our data does not record which overlay features sit behind that license, so check before assuming the free download covers your layout.
Overlays that come bundled with a coach
Four tools treat the overlay as one part of something bigger. Trophi.ai pairs in-game overlays with its Mansell AI voice coach, but it has no free tier: Premium is $7.50 a month billed as $89.99 a year, after a 7-day trial. TrackPro goes the other way and lists overlays in its $0 forever tier, next to the core app, basic telemetry and session recording, with no signup needed. Its site no longer names which sims it supports, so confirm yours first. TakeP1 includes a telemetry HUD in its free race engineer, along with live coaching, voice radio and a spotter. Disclosure: TakeP1 is operated by the team behind PickMerit. iSpeed is the veteran, an iRacing-only HUD and lap analyzer whose site still lists compatibility as Windows XP through Windows 8.
If the overlay is for your stream
Two entries mention streaming by name. RaceLab lists streaming tools as part of its suite. Lovely Dashboard offers a stream overlay that matches its family of 16-plus dashboard variants. The catch is that Lovely is not standalone: its site marks the Lovely Plugin as 'Required' and everything runs on top of SimHub, so you are installing two things.
What to check before you install
- Your sim: RaceLab and Trophi.ai name their supported games. TrackPro and Lovely Dashboard do not. iSpeed is iRacing only.
- What free means: RaceLab Basic and TrackPro's free tier are labeled free forever. SimHub's full features need a license. Trophi.ai offers a 7-day trial only.
- A phone or tablet display: that is a different category, covered by second-screen apps such as RS Dash ASR, Race Dash and SIM Dashboard.
- Coaching: an overlay shows numbers and does not tell you what to change. For advice, look at Trophi.ai, TrackPro's Starter tier or TakeP1.