VRS Virtual Racing School and Garage 61 are the two names that come up when an iRacing driver asks where to get a reference lap to compare against. Both are iRacing-only and both take your own telemetry for nothing. The difference is whose laps you compare against, and what you pay for them: VRS sells pro-driver datapacks on a tiered subscription, while Garage 61 pools community-shared laps and is currently free in alpha. Everything below comes from each platform's own site and pricing pages as we verified them on 2026-10-09 (Garage 61) and 2026-10-11 (VRS).
| VRS Virtual Racing School | Garage 61 | |
|---|---|---|
| Sims supported | iRacing (the only sim listed anywhere on the site) | iRacing only |
| Free tier | Free $0: personal telemetry, free datapacks, 3-month retention | Everything free during alpha ('Is it free? Yes, all of it') |
| Entry paid tier | Dedicated $4.99/mo, or $4.16/mo billed yearly | Optional Pro plan, €5/mo (about $6) when subscribing yearly |
| Top tier | Competitive $9.99/mo, or $8.33/mo billed yearly, with all premium datapacks | No higher tier listed |
| Whose reference laps | Pro-driver datapacks: setups, telemetry and reference data per series, with Apex Racing Academy and Altus Engineering packs on the top tier | Community-shared telemetry and reference laps from other drivers across most car/track combos |
| Add-ons | Individual datapacks $1.99 to $19.99/mo | None listed |
| Human coaching | 50+ pro coaches: $29.99 per 30 min, $59.99 per hour, $99.98 per 2 hours | Not offered |
| Data storage | 3-month retention on the free tier | One year on the free plan; unlimited on Pro |
What you actually pay
VRS has a real $0 tier: personal telemetry, the free datapacks and three months of retention. Dedicated is $4.99 a month, or $4.16 a month paid yearly. Competitive is $9.99 a month, or $8.33 yearly, and includes all premium datapacks. If you only want one series, individual datapacks are add-ons from $1.99 to $19.99 a month. Garage 61 charges nothing for any of it right now. Its official docs answer 'Is it free?' with 'Yes, all of it'. The one price on the site is an optional Pro plan at €5 a month, roughly $6, when subscribing yearly, and that unlocks extras rather than the core comparison: advanced lap-search filters, custom display units and unlimited data storage, where the free plan keeps one year.
Pro laps or community laps
This is the decision that matters more than the price. VRS's standout is pro-driver datapacks: a setup, the telemetry and reference data for a given series, with Apex Racing Academy and Altus Engineering packs on the Competitive tier. The setup that produced the lap comes with it. Garage 61's standout is breadth: community-shared telemetry and reference laps from other drivers across most car and track combinations, all free right now. For an obscure car and track pairing, the community pool is more likely to have something than a curated pro catalogue. The catch Garage 61 itself states is that top drivers can set their data private, which shrinks the reference-lap pool exactly where you would most want it.
The free plans have different clocks
Both free plans have a time limit on your own data, but they are very different lengths. VRS keeps three months of telemetry on the $0 tier. Garage 61 keeps one year on its free plan, and the Pro plan removes the cap. If you want to look back at how you drove a track last season without paying, Garage 61's free plan covers that and VRS's does not. There is a second clock on the Garage 61 side, though: the site says paid tiers are coming, and its FAQ answers 'Will it stay free?' with 'Not all of it'. The alpha pricing is a snapshot, not a promise.
What only VRS offers
Garage 61 is a telemetry and reference-lap platform. VRS is that plus a coaching marketplace: the site lists 50+ pro coaches, booked at $29.99 for 30 minutes, $59.99 for an hour or $99.98 for two hours, on top of whatever subscription tier you hold. If a human looking at your data is part of the plan, only one of these two sells it. Neither covers anything beyond iRacing: it is the only sim listed anywhere on the VRS site, and the only one Garage 61 lists, so an ACC or Le Mans Ultimate driver should look elsewhere for both.
- Pick VRS if you want a pro driver's lap and the matching setup for your series, you race a series covered by its datapacks, or you may book a human coach later; the $0 tier is enough to try it.
- Pick Garage 61 if you want the widest pool of car and track combinations for free, or you want a full year of your own data kept without paying.
- On price alone they are close: VRS Dedicated is $4.16 to $4.99 a month, Garage 61 Pro is about $6 a month billed yearly, and both have a usable $0 plan today.
- Run both free tiers side by side; nothing in either plan stops you, and the overlap in what they cover is small.