Ever since the GT7 game release back in March 2022, sim racing drivers have been debating about which was the better game between iRacing and Gran Turismo 7.
While they both have their pros and cons, it can be tough to decide which one is the right game for you.
In this blog post, we’ll take a look at some of the key differences between these two popular sim racing games.
Our goal is to help you decide between these two racing games by looking at few different factors including:
- Driving realism
- Variety of cars and tracks
- Graphics quality
- Car handling
- Compatibility
- Laser scanned tracks
- Prices and Download
So let’s now get started with our in depth comparison guide.
Table of Contents
How realistic is it to drive?
iRacing is probably the most popular sim racing software that is frequently used by real life racing drivers to practice their driving skills.
Thus, it is natural for iRacing to offer some of the most realistic driving experience for its users.
After years of trying a variety of sim racing software, we can safely say that iRacing still stands as possibly the best in terms of combining all aspects of a realistic driving experience including handling, sound quality, force feedback, car & tyre grip and more.
Gran Turismo 7 is another great racing simulator that has been around from March 2022.
Despite being known more as a game rather than a racing simulator, the developers of Gran Turismo 7 are still prioritizing their simulation to be as realistic as possible to real-life racing.
In fact, the software itself was created based on real life racing physics!
Variety of cars and tracks
iRacing does not have the most cars and race track option, but they are well known for their great variety of car categories, which includes nascar, indycar, road racers, open wheeler, prototype cars, rallycross cars, and even offroad cars.
There are at least 100 different kinds of cars and you can use them to race in over 100 tracks with approximately 350 layouts and configurations.
On the other hand, Gran Turismo 7 features more than 520 cars from countless manufacturers around the world.
All in all, the car details and specs in Gran Turismo 7 are quite impressive, but they could definitely add more realism when it comes to car physics and handling.
As for the tracks, there are 35 venues with 25 different layouts for you to race on.
Graphics quality
iRacing has a state of the art graphic quality that we can hardly find any flaws in. Both the car exterior and interior are very detailed and you can see how they pay high attention to every detail including the racing environment.
As long as you are using a PC with reliable GPU and processor, be ready for the ultimate graphic experience!
Similarly, Gran Turismo 7 is also known for their excellent graphic quality.
It has been one of their strong points since their first release, and the Playstation version itself was set as a flagship software used to demonstrate the maximum potential of a Playstation graphic quality.
Car handling
The car handling in iRacing is known to be extremely hard to adapt to. For us, we would call it extremely realistic rather than extremely hard.
Yes, the only reason why it is relatively harder to handle a car in iRacing is because of how realistic it is compared to driving a real life racing car.
Once you get a hang of it, it will actually provide a better sense of realism that racing enthusiasts always look for.
In contrast, the car handling in Gran Turismo 7 is not as realistic as iRacing, in fact you’ll struggle to properly feel the grip from the tyres and won’t be able to tell whether the car is sliding or not.
However, it is much easier to adapt to, and we highly recommend using Gran Turismo 7 for beginners who just want to have fun with a realistic racing simulation.
Compatibility (PC, Xbox, Playstation)
Both iRacing and Gran Turismo 7 are niche sim racing software that run exclusively on 1 device.
As you might know already, iRacing is only available for PC, in which racing simulations can be delivered at the highest performances.
With that in mind, racing with consoles is not to be overlooked, especially when you are racing with Gran Turismo 7 which is only available on Playstation.
Especially for Playstation users, we highly recommend Gran Turismo 7 as it really is one of the best racing software that you can run on Playstation.
FOV (Field of view)
FOV is one of the most important factors that will determine the immersion of your overall racing experience. As it applies with most high quality racing softwares, you can always adjust your FOV in the settings menu of most racing games.
In the case of iRacing and Gran Turismo 7, we believe that both racing software have excellent FOV even when used by default.
Make sure you check our free FOV calculator that we’ve recently released!
Are tracks laser scanned?
Laser scanning is something that will not directly affect your racing performance, but it is highly regarded by sim racers as one of the most important factors to get on point for sim racing games.
In iRacing, most of the race tracks are based on real life racing venues.
Thus, the majority of tracks are completely laser scanned up to each and every detail. Similarly, Gran Turismo 7 has only a few tracks that are based on real life venues, and some of these (but not all) are laser scanned to provide users with the most realistic details.
The majority of tracks that are not laser scanned in Gran Turismo 7 are the ones based on fictional and historical racing venues.
Online multiplayer
iRacing is an online racing software that is dedicated for online multiplayer races. It is one of the most popular simulator where the best sim racers from around the world use to test out their skills against each other.
iRacing is supported with a sophisticated licensing system where you will be able to participate in racing events with racers of your skill level.
Thus, the races are always winnable yet still challenging at the same time.
Multiple aspects of your performance (including safety records) will be measured in order to put you into the best matchmaking server possible.
Gran Turismo 7 applies similar measures to make sure their online races are kept competitive and fun for racers of all levels, though it’s nowhere near as competitive and professional as iRacing.
Force Feedback (FFB)
While iRacing and Gran Turismo operate on different devices, it is safe to say that both developers have done a great job in maintaining a precise and accurate force feedback system.
Some drivers would be fine racing with the default settings, but you can always adjust the in-game force feedback according to your own preference in the settings menu.
Prices and Downloads
The following are the prices and download links for iRacing:
|
Period |
Price |
|
1 Month |
$9.99 |
|
6 Months |
$39.99 |
|
1 Year |
$74.99 |
Gran Turismo 7 prices
|
Device |
Price |
Link |
|
Playstation |
$69.99 |
Playstation Download |
So which one is better for you?
Both iRacing and Gran Turismo 7 are great choices depending on what you are looking for in a sim racing game.
If you are looking for the most realistic experience with excellent FOV and laser scanned tracks, then iRacing is the perfect choice for you.
On the other hand, if you are looking for a simple GT3 online multiplayer experience that is fun and competitive for all skill levels, Gran Turismo 7 is probably better.
You should really give both of them a try and see which one suits you the best!
As always, happy sim racing!
