Garmin VIRB Edit alternative
that still works.
Garmin discontinued VIRB Edit alongside its VIRB camera line, and its map tiles have largely stopped working. GaugeReel is the modern replacement: it reads the Garmin FIT file you export from Garmin Connect (or a GPX track) and turns your speed, heart rate, power, cadence, elevation and GPS route into broadcast-style gauges — over footage from any camera.
The key difference: VIRB Edit was locked to Garmin’s cameras. GaugeReel is not tied to any hardware — it just needs your Garmin data and a video clip, from a GoPro, DJI, Insta360, phone or mirrorless. Export a transparent layer, keep your original footage untouched, and start on a free tier with no watermark.
Discontinued — here’s the modern replacement
Garmin VIRB Edit was a free desktop editor built around the Garmin VIRB action camera. When Garmin wound down the VIRB line, the editor was discontinued too. It can still be installed in some cases, but it is unsupported and increasingly broken — which is why so many people are looking for a replacement.
Tied to a dead camera line
VIRB Edit was the free companion editor for Garmin’s VIRB action cameras. Garmin retired the VIRB line, and the editor was discontinued with it — no new features, no fixes.
Broken map tiles
The GPS route map leaned on Garmin’s online tile service. With the app unmaintained, those map tiles have largely stopped loading, leaving a blank or broken background behind the overlay.
No more updates
A frozen app drifts out of step with new OS releases, codecs and cameras. VIRB Edit gets no compatibility updates, so it grows more fragile on modern Windows and macOS over time.
Details about Garmin VIRB Edit are third-party observations, approximate and may change — check Garmin’s own site for the current status. GaugeReel is an independent app and is not affiliated with Garmin.
Your Garmin data, on any camera’s footage.
VIRB Edit only made sense if you shot on a Garmin VIRB. GaugeReel drops that constraint entirely. Export the FIT file from Garmin Connect — or a GPX track from any watch, bike computer or phone app — and GaugeReel syncs it to your clip by timestamp. The camera that shot the video never matters.
It reads GPX (including Garmin heart-rate, cadence and power extensions), Garmin FIT, and GoPro/DJI GPMF embedded in an MP4 — then renders speed, HR, power, cadence, elevation and a GPS map as a transparent layer you composite in any editor.
GaugeReel vs. Garmin VIRB Edit
An honest side-by-side, with Telemetry Overlay as a third data point. Each row marks the side that genuinely leads in accent — and where GaugeReel is still catching up, that shows too.
| Feature | GaugeReelFree · actively updated | Garmin VIRB EditDiscontinued | Telemetry Overlay~$199 one-time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Status & support | |||
| Still developed & updatedActively receiving new releases | Actively updated | Discontinued | Maintained |
| Tied to one camera lineLocked to specific hardware | No — any camera | Garmin VIRB cameras | No — any camera |
| GPS map tiles workRoute map behind the overlay | Cached map tiles | Largely broken | Yes |
| Desktop OS today | Windows (mac soon) | Windows + macOS | Win · Mac · Linux |
| PriceWhat it costs to use | Free / $10–$20 mo | Free (unsupported) | ~$199 one-time |
| Data & cameras | |||
| Reads Garmin FIT dataExported from Garmin Connect | Yes — FIT & GPX | Yes (Garmin data) | Broad format list |
| GPX track support | |||
| Pairs data to any camera’s footageGoPro, DJI, Insta360, phone… | Any camera | Built around VIRB | Any camera |
| Auto-syncs data by timestamp | Yes | Within VIRB workflow | |
| Gauges & export | |||
| Gauge style | Modern broadcast-style | Dated, frozen | Large library |
| Transparent (alpha) overlay layerPNG seq · ProRes 4444 · VP9 | Yes | Burned into video | |
| Never re-encodes your footage | Overlay only | ||
| One-click DaVinci Resolve send | Yes | ||
| Free tier, no watermark | Yes | Free but abandoned | Trial only |
Accent marks the leading side — applied across all three columns, not just ours
Coming straight from a Garmin watch or bike computer?
The Garmin video overlay page walks through the full FIT-to-overlay workflow — from exporting the file in Garmin Connect to compositing the transparent layer in your editor.
Garmin VIRB Edit, answered
Whether it’s discontinued, what replaced it, and how to put your Garmin data on footage from any camera.
Yes. Garmin discontinued VIRB Edit along with its VIRB action-camera line, and the app no longer receives updates. Because it relied on Garmin’s online services, parts of it — most visibly the map tiles behind the GPS overlays — have largely stopped working, and it is effectively unsupported on current versions of Windows and macOS. Old installers may still circulate, but there is no active development or support behind them. This is third-party observation and may change, so check Garmin’s own site for the current position.
Another question? hello@gaugereel.net
Move your Garmin overlays forward.
Skip the discontinued app. Export the FIT from Garmin Connect and build a modern, broadcast-style overlay for free — no watermark, no VIRB camera required.