# Owaka, RaidLine and the others: rally-raid GPS tracking compared Published July 21, 2026 · Comparison · The RaidLine team > Owaka, Anube, ERTF or RaidLine: how to choose a GPS tracking solution for your rally raid, by hardware, network coverage and budget. - Article (HTML): https://raidline.net/en/blog/owaka-alternatives-rally-tracking - French version: https://raidline.net/blog/owaka-alternatives-suivi-gps-rallye - Publisher: RaidLine, white-label mobile app for live GPS tracking, navigation and route management for rally raids: https://raidline.net/ (contact@raidline.net) When an organizer looks for a GPS tracking solution for a rally raid, the first name that comes up is often Owaka. It is an established player, and it is not the only one: Anube, ERTF and RaidLine cover the same need with different technical choices. Rather than a ranking, here is a read by use case: what each solution does well, and how to decide based on your route, your hardware and your organization. ## Owaka, an established live-tracking player [Owaka](https://www.owaka.com) (Owaka Adventure) is a French live-tracking solution used on many events every year, well beyond rally raid alone: enduro, raid and touring rallies, but also ultra-trail, trekking and cycling. Its strength is coverage: the Owaka beacon is a 100% satellite system that transmits positions over the Globalstar network, independently of GSM, sending coordinates roughly every five minutes. For an event crossing remote areas where the mobile network disappears, that is a sound choice: the point keeps coming through where a GSM beacon would have to store and retransmit. On the software side, Owaka offers an interactive map in the event’s colors with sponsor visibility, live rankings, checkpoints, GPX trace overlays and race statistics. Safety rests on automatic detection of abnormal stops or route deviations, instant SOS alerts, and medical or technical alerts pushed to race control. Tracking can be viewed from a computer, a tablet or a smartphone, with a public interface for the general audience and families. **Choose Owaka if:** you want a turnkey hardware-plus-platform offer, your priority is satellite coverage everywhere and public following by spectators, and one position every five minutes is enough for your race control. ## Anube and ERTF: two other rally-raid references [Anube](https://anube.es) (Anube Sport, based in Spain) has provided tracking and timing systems for rally and raid for more than ten years. Its Stella Evo and Spica trackers appear on FIA Technical List 98, which lists the systems compliant with the federation’s rally tracking specifications, and they equip international events such as the NORRA Mexican 1000. Anube’s distinctive trait is competitor-to-competitor safety: on top of the SOS pushed to the monitoring center, a vehicle in trouble can warn approaching vehicles, which receive an audible and visual signal. The unit also displays odometer, chronometer, danger warnings and control-point validation. [ERTF](https://www.ertf.com), a French company, is best known for the Unik II navigation GPS used on the Dakar: waypoint management, virtual checkpoints, a route editor, a graphic tracer, the Sentinel warning and speed control through villages. The tracking and safety side runs through an Iritrack-type device that transmits real-time positions, visible on the event website. ERTF therefore speaks first to organizations that think navigation-homologation first, with tracking as a complement. **Choose Anube or ERTF if:** your event sits close to FIA or Dakar standards, you need homologated navigation and tracking hardware, and competitor-to-competitor alerting is part of your safety plan. ## RaidLine: the white-label software approach RaidLine does not make a beacon. That is a deliberate choice: we are a white-label software platform, and the app your crews and spectators see carries your event’s colors, not ours. It brings together live tracking, offline navigation with pre-downloaded maps, native-notification announcements, real-time rankings and race-control tools, with our team on hand during the race. Above all, RaidLine is designed to be hardware-independent. We integrate natively with [Neyos](https://neyos.fr) beacons and build custom connectors for other providers: your positions feed the public map, the alerts and the leaderboard, whatever unit is on board. At Blue Rally Europe 2026 we even wired the leaderboard shown in the app to the Google Sheet the organization already used, with no double entry. The logic is the same everywhere: the master data can stay with the organizer, and the platform extends it to participants and the public. **Choose RaidLine if:** you want a single, on-brand app for navigation, announcements, tracking and race control, the freedom to keep or freely choose your beacons, and human support during the event rather than just access to a tool. ## Beacon and platform: two separate decisions The most common mistake is to treat GPS tracking as a single purchase. In reality there are two decisions: the **hardware** (the beacon, its network technology, its battery life, its ruggedness) and the **platform** that turns coordinates into a live map, alerts and a usable history. Some solutions deliver both in one package, others separate them. Both logics have merit. The integrated package simplifies ordering and support: one contact, one invoice. Separating hardware and platform gives you freedom: you pick the beacon suited to your route (multi-carrier GSM where the network is present, satellite or hybrid on isolated sectors) and the app that best serves your crews, without one dictating the other. To follow that reasoning in detail, read our guide to the [rally raid GPS beacon](https://raidline.net/en/blog/rally-raid-gps-beacon) and our pillar on [rally raid live tracking](https://raidline.net/en/blog/rally-raid-live-tracking). The all-in-one question often comes down to a cost trade-off: we covered it in our article on the [real cost of GPS tracking](https://raidline.net/en/blog/rally-raid-gps-tracking-cost). > **Compare on the facts** > RaidLine provides the white-label live tracking app and the race-control tools, compatible with your GPS beacons: public map shared by link, offline navigation, announcements, real-time alerts and leaderboard. Demo available on request. > [Request a demo](mailto:contact@raidline.net) ## The decision grid, in five questions 1. **Where does your route run?** Continuous GSM coverage: a multi-carrier beacon is enough and returns frequent points. Dead zones on isolated sectors: you need satellite or hybrid, as Owaka offers with its 100% satellite beacon. 2. **What regulatory framework?** An event close to FIA standards: start from hardware listed on Technical List 98, where Anube appears. A private or regional event: you have more latitude on the hardware. 3. **Do you want an on-brand app?** If the crew and spectator experience must carry the event’s colors, a white-label platform like RaidLine has the edge. 4. **Must you reuse an existing fleet?** If you already own beacons, favor a hardware-independent platform over a package that imposes its device. 5. **What level of support?** Access to a tool does not replace a team you can reach at the stage start. Ask what is planned during the race, not just before it. ## Frequently asked questions ### Does Owaka work without mobile coverage? Yes. The Owaka beacon is a 100% satellite system that transmits positions over the Globalstar network, independently of GSM coverage. It sends coordinates roughly every five minutes: satellite prioritizes coverage everywhere over the point frequency a GSM or hybrid solution reaches inside a covered area. ### What is the difference between Owaka and RaidLine? Owaka is a turnkey solution that pairs its satellite beacon with its live-tracking platform. RaidLine is a white-label software platform: the tracking, navigation and race-control app carries your event’s colors and connects to the beacons of your choice, rather than imposing a device. The two approaches answer different needs. ### Which solution for an FIA-homologated rally? If your event requires a tracking system compliant with FIA specifications, check that it appears on FIA Technical List 98. The Anube Stella Evo and Spica trackers are listed there. Choosing homologated hardware and choosing the platform that exploits the data remain two separate decisions. ### Can you keep your beacons and change only the platform? Often, yes. That is the point of a hardware-independent platform: RaidLine integrates natively with Neyos beacons and builds connectors for other providers, which lets you keep an existing fleet while changing the app that crews and the public see. ## Also worth reading - [Rally raid live tracking: give your spectators the race in real time](https://raidline.net/en/blog/rally-raid-live-tracking) - [GPS beacon for rally raid: how to choose the right hardware](https://raidline.net/en/blog/rally-raid-gps-beacon) - [The real cost of GPS tracking for a rally raid](https://raidline.net/en/blog/rally-raid-gps-tracking-cost)