Sim Comparison

Which Racing Sim Should You Play?

There is no single best racing simulator. There is one that fits the racing you want to do — here is how to work out which.

Start With the Racing, Not the Simulator

The most common beginner mistake is buying the sim with the strongest reputation and then finding it does not run the cars or the events you actually wanted. Decide first whether you are drawn to GT3 sprint racing, multi-class endurance, open-wheel, or ovals. The sim follows from that.

The second thing to weigh is cost model. Some sims are a one-off purchase; others run on a subscription plus paid content. A cheaper entry price can end up more expensive over a season, and the reverse is also true.

iRacing

Best for: organised competition, oval racing, anyone who wants structured championships rather than casual sessions.

iRacing’s strength is not physics, it is organisation. Races run to a fixed schedule with licensing and safety ratings behind them, so the field you race against is filtered by both pace and cleanliness. It is also effectively the only place for serious oval racing, which is why eNASCAR runs there.

The trade-off is the cost model: a subscription plus individual purchases for cars and tracks. Budget for it as an ongoing hobby cost rather than a single purchase.

Assetto Corsa Competizione

Best for: GT3 and GT4 racing, and the best value entry into serious sim racing.

ACC is the officially licensed simulator of the GT World Challenge, so it does one thing and does it thoroughly: GT racing on the circuits of that championship. If GT3 is what you watch, this is the most direct way to drive it, and it is a one-off purchase.

Because its scope is narrow, it is not the sim to buy if you want variety across many car types. See GT World Challenge Esports for the racing it is built around.

rFactor 2 and Le Mans Ultimate

Best for: endurance and prototype racing, and drivers who care most about how the car feels.

These sims have long been respected for tyre and surface modelling — the sense that grip changes as a session goes on. That matters most in endurance racing, where managing a car over a long stint is the whole point. Le Mans Ultimate is built specifically around WEC-style multi-class racing.

Historically the weak point has been the size and consistency of the online population compared with iRacing.

Assetto Corsa and Mods

Best for: variety, experimentation, and driving on a budget.

The original Assetto Corsa is old, cheap and endlessly extended by its community. Almost any car or circuit you can think of exists as a mod. It is the least structured option — you organise your own racing rather than joining a system — but it is the most fun per euro if you mainly want to drive.

Do I Need an Expensive PC?

Less than you might expect for a single screen, more than you might expect for VR or triple monitors. Sim racing rewards a stable, high frame rate over visual detail — consistency in what you see translates directly into consistency in what you do. Lower the graphics settings before you consider buying hardware.

[ZU PRÜFEN: aktuelle Preise, Abo-Kosten und Plattformverfügbarkeit der genannten Sims — diese ändern sich regelmäßig.]