Alternatives · car widget apps · 2026
myCar alternatives: 8 CarPlay widget apps compared
Published · Updated · from US App Store listings · published by N5 Labs, maker of one of the eight alternatives
Short answer
myCar: Car Widgets & Dashboard is the most-reviewed car widget app on the US App Store, with 12,926 ratings averaging 4.6 on October 6, 2026, so most people can simply use it. The alternatives are worth a look when you need something its listing does not describe. CARFACE adds synced lyrics for Apple Music and Spotify. HiCar centers on connect, arrival and disconnect sounds. CarSkin and AutoDash list a one-time lifetime purchase. Car Widgets: Style Dashboard has the same 4.6 average with weather and time widgets. Car Play Widgets: Dashboard, our own app, builds widgets around your car model, but it is new and has only 7 ratings.
What myCar offers
myCar: Car Widgets & Dashboard is published by KarmaTECH OU. It was first released in November 2025, and version 1.11.4 came out on October 1, 2026. It installs on iOS 15.1 or later; among the nine apps we compared, only CarSkin goes as low. Its listing advertises photos, custom icons and animated GIFs for the car screen, plus startup sounds from engine sounds to electric tones. Its listed in-app purchases are weekly $4.99 to $5.99, yearly $19.99 to $24.99, other items $0.99 to $34.99. Its listing does not describe lyrics or a countdown, and no purchase on its list is named lifetime.
Alternatives by what you need
| If you want | Look at | Why, from the listings |
|---|---|---|
| Synced song lyrics | CARFACE (450 ratings, 3.9 average) | Its listing advertises real-time lyrics for Apple Music and Spotify, powered by Musixmatch. It installs only on iOS 26.0 or later. |
| Sounds before widgets | HiCar (1,210 ratings, 4.1 average) | Its listing leads with a startup sound on connection, cues for arrival and disconnect, and your own audio files. |
| Paying once | CarSkin (161 ratings, 4.2 average)AutoDash (132 ratings, 4.6 average) | Both list a lifetime purchase: CarSkin at $19.99 to $29.99 and AutoDash at $39.99 to $59.99. Carvia sells themed collections at $4.99 each. |
| A widget of your exact car | CarSkin (161 ratings, 4.2 average)Car Play Widgets (7 ratings, 3.9 average) | CarSkin takes a photo of your car or a model you pick, with color and license plate. Car Play Widgets has a library of about 1,100 car models across 121 brands. |
| Clocks, calendars and weather | AutoDash (132 ratings, 4.6 average)Car Widgets: Style Dashboard (516 ratings, 4.6 average) | AutoDash lists 14 clock styles, calendars, weather and a world clock. Car Widgets: Style Dashboard lists weather and time widgets at the same 4.6 average as myCar. |
| Editing the layout yourself | CarTheme (145 ratings, 4.4 average) | Its listing describes an editor for colors, backgrounds, spacing and icons. It installs only on iOS 26.0 or later. |
All eight alternatives
- Car Dashboard Widgets - HiCar: 1,210 ratings, 4.1 average. Sounds first: the listing leads with connect, arrival and disconnect cues.
- Carvia: Car Widgets: 993 ratings, 3.3 average. Buying one themed collection instead of subscribing.
- Car Widgets: Style Dashboard: 516 ratings, 4.6 average. A well-rated all-rounder: the same 4.6 average as myCar, with weather and time widgets and connection sounds.
- CARFACE Car Widgets & Lyrics: 450 ratings, 3.9 average. Synced lyrics. It is the only listing here that advertises real-time lyrics for both Apple Music and Spotify.
- CarSkin: Widgets for Car: 161 ratings, 4.2 average. A widget built around your exact car, with a lifetime purchase listed.
- CarTheme: Car Widgets & Sounds: 145 ratings, 4.4 average. Adjusting layout details yourself, on iOS 26 or later.
- Car Widgets: AutoDash: 132 ratings, 4.6 average. Utility widgets such as clocks, calendars and weather, with a lifetime purchase listed.
- Car Play Widgets: Dashboard(ours): 7 ratings, 3.9 average. A widget of your own car model with countdown, clock and text cards, if you accept a subscription.
Ordered by US rating count. The CarPlay widget app roundup lists every app's features, prices and caveats.
Car Play Widgets vs myCar
myCar wins on evidence: it has about 1,800 times as many ratings. Choose Car Play Widgets only if its differences matter to you, such as picking your car model from a library or adding a countdown card.
Browsing and customizing are free. Saving a widget requires Pro, a weekly or yearly subscription with no free trial. The app has no CarPlay app of its own and reads no vehicle data. Its widgets need iOS 26 or later and a CarPlay display that shows widgets. Car Play Widgets 1.5 has no synchronized lyrics. Its text cards show words you type yourself.
| Dimension | Car Play Widgets: Dashboard | myCar: Car Widgets & Dashboard |
|---|---|---|
| US ratings on October 6, 2026 | 7 ratings, 3.9 average | 12,926 ratings, 4.6 average |
| First released | July 2026 | November 2025 |
| Installs on | iOS 17.0 or later | iOS 15.1 or later |
| Widgets | Car artwork from a library of about 1,100 car models across 121 brands, plus photo, clock, date, countdown and text cards | Photos, custom icons and animated GIFs |
| Sounds | Connect, disconnect and home-arrival sounds, run by an Apple Shortcuts automation | Startup sounds, from engine sounds to electric tones |
| Lyrics | No synced lyrics in version 1.5. Text cards show words you type yourself | Not described in the listing |
| Listed prices (US) | Weekly $4.99 (read October 5, 2026); a yearly plan at the price shown in the app | Weekly $4.99 to $5.99, yearly $19.99 to $24.99, other items $0.99 to $34.99 |
| What is free | Browsing and customizing; saving a widget requires Pro | Not stated in the listing |
| Background-location note on its App Store page | No | Yes |
Frequently asked questions
What are the best alternatives to the myCar widgets app?
It depends on what you want that myCar's listing does not describe: CARFACE for synced lyrics, HiCar for connect and disconnect sounds, CarSkin or AutoDash for a lifetime purchase, and Car Widgets: Style Dashboard for weather and time widgets. None comes close to myCar's 12,926 US ratings, so myCar remains the default pick.
myCar vs CARFACE: which car widget app is better?
myCar has the stronger record: 12,926 US ratings at a 4.6 average against CARFACE's 450 at 3.9 on October 6, 2026. It also installs on iOS 15.1, while CARFACE needs iOS 26.0. CARFACE is the better choice only if you want real-time lyrics for Apple Music or Spotify, which myCar's listing does not describe.
Is there an app like myCar Car Widgets with lyrics and sounds?
Yes. CARFACE Car Widgets & Lyrics advertises widgets, real-time lyrics for Apple Music and Spotify, and connect and disconnect sounds. Car Play Widgets 1.5 has no synchronized lyrics. Its text cards show words you type yourself. It does play connect and disconnect sounds through Apple Shortcuts.
Is myCar free?
myCar is a free download with in-app purchases. On October 6, 2026 its US App Store page listed these in-app purchase price points: weekly $4.99 to $5.99, yearly $19.99 to $24.99, other items $0.99 to $34.99. Its listing mentions a Premium Mode and does not say what stays free, so check the purchase screen in the app.
Do myCar alternatives work with CarPlay the same way?
For widgets, yes. On iOS 26 or later, including iOS 27, iOS can show an app's small iPhone widgets in stacks on the CarPlay dashboard, so every widget app reaches CarPlay through widgets, the same way. Apple also allows a second route, a CarPlay app of its own, only for apps in the categories it supports, such as audio or navigation. No app can change CarPlay's layout itself.
Sources
The US App Store listing of each app, linked from its name above and read on October 6, 2026. The App Store shows several price points per plan, so the price in an app can differ. Ratings change daily; treat the numbers as a snapshot. How widgets reach CarPlay, on iOS 26 and iOS 27, comes from Apple's iPhone User Guide, Customize widgets in CarPlay, and the app categories that can have a CarPlay app come from Apple's developer page for CarPlay.
Sources checked on October 6, 2026.