Best Offline Car Racing Games for Android and iPhone
Asphalt 8, Hill Climb Racing and Race Max Pro all race without internet. See what each costs, which store has it and which parts still go online.
Asphalt 8 is still the one to download first. Gameloft’s own help centre says you do not need to be connected to play it, it is free on Google Play and the App Store, and it has more than 300 cars and motorbikes to work through.
If your phone is short of space, take Hill Climb Racing. If you would rather pay once and see no adverts, take Rush Rally 3.
Every game in the main list is on both stores. We kept a game only where its store listing or its developer’s help pages say it plays offline, and we note the parts that do not. The descriptions come from those listings.
Offline car racing games at a glance
| Game | Get it | Cost | What plays offline | What needs a connection |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asphalt 8 | Google Play, App Store | Free, with ads and in-app purchases | The racing itself | Challenging friends, the worldwide leaderboard |
| Hill Climb Racing | Google Play, App Store | Free, with ads and in-app purchases | The whole game | Nothing the listing mentions |
| Race Max Pro | Google Play, App Store | Free, with ads and in-app purchases | A career of more than 215 races | Multiplayer leagues |
| Drift Max Pro | Google Play, App Store | Free, with ads and in-app purchases | Solo play, once installed | One-on-one multiplayer |
| Rush Rally 3 | Google Play, App Store | Paid: $5.99 on Google Play, $4.99 on the App Store | Listed as playable offline | Weekly live events, real-time multiplayer |
| CSR 2 | Google Play, App Store | Free, with ads and in-app purchases | The Tempest, Ladder and Daily Races | Live races |
The prices are the US ones. Both stores set a local price in other countries, so yours will differ.
The games
Asphalt 8
Gameloft’s arcade racer was on our old list and keeps its place. The Google Play listing counts more than 300 licensed cars and motorbikes and over 75 tracks, from the Nevada desert to Tokyo, with ramps that throw you into barrel rolls.
The Asphalt 8 help centre answers the question directly: you do not need to be connected to the internet to play. What you lose offline is challenging friends, the worldwide leaderboard and uploading your ghosts. The price of all that content is the download. The App Store puts it at 3.5GB.
Hill Climb Racing
Fingersoft’s listing says the game is playable completely offline, and suggests a bus, a plane or a train. You drive as far over the hills as you can before you crash or run out of fuel, collecting coins to pay for upgrades. The garage runs from the original Hill Climber to bikes, trucks and stranger things.
It is a physics driving game about distance, not a circuit racer. It is also about 210MB on the App Store, a small fraction of Asphalt 8. The sequel, Hill Climb Racing 2, is sold on its online multiplayer and its listing makes no offline promise, so stay with the first one.
Race Max Pro
Revani’s racer covers street racing, drifting and drag racing in licensed cars from makers such as Aston Martin, Pagani, BMW and Nissan. The listing on both stores describes a complete offline career of more than 215 races with no Wi-Fi needed.
The ranked multiplayer leagues are the online part. The App Store size is 1.5GB.
Drift Max Pro
A drifting game from Tiramisu, with a career of ten seasons, a view from inside the car and courses set in places such as Tokyo and Brooklyn. Its App Store listing says it does not need an internet connection after installation. The Google Play listing puts it another way: practise offline, then go online to race other people one against one.
It is 1.5GB on the App Store.
Rush Rally 3
Brownmonster’s rally game is the paid option: $5.99 on Google Play and $4.99 on the App Store in the US. For that you get 72 stages on snow, gravel, tarmac and dirt, with a career mode, single rallies and rallycross against other cars.
The listing advertises offline play beside multiplayer. The weekly live events and real-time multiplayer are the parts that need a connection. Google Play shows no adverts flag on it, though both stores list in-app purchases. On the App Store it is about 290MB.
CSR 2
Zynga’s drag racer is short straight-line races in licensed cars that you collect and tune. It is the other survivor from our old list.
The Google Play listing calls it a no-Wi-Fi game. Zynga’s help centre is more exact: The Tempest, Ladder and Daily Races are the offline options, and live races need a connection. Much of the game is live races, crews and events, so this is the one we would lean on least for a long flight.
Two more that Google Play tags as offline
Google Play puts an “Offline” tag on some listings. These two carry it, but neither developer says so in its own description, so we have kept them apart. Try each with your connection switched off before you depend on it.
- GRID Autosport: Feral’s port of the console racer costs $9.99 on both stores in the US, and the listing says that one purchase includes all the extra content. Google Play shows no adverts and no in-app purchases on it. It has 100 cars and 100 circuits. The Android listing asks for 3.9GB of free space and names the phones it supports, so read that list before you pay.
- Beach Buggy Racing: Vector Unit’s kart racer, with 15 tracks and more than 25 power-ups. It is free with ads and in-app purchases, and about 120MB on the App Store.
Racing games that will not work offline
Several games that turn up on lists like this one need a connection, or have gone.
- Asphalt 9: Legends: now called Asphalt Legends. Gameloft’s help centre says the phone version requires an internet connection. It was on our old list and does not belong on this one.
- Need for Speed No Limits: the listing says it requires a persistent internet connection.
- Asphalt Xtreme: the old Gameloft listing has gone from Google Play. The game now appears under Netflix on both stores, for Netflix members only.
- Real Racing 3: we could not find it on Google Play or the App Store any more.
The 2019 version of this page also mixed in PlayStation and Xbox games such as Gran Turismo Sport and Forza Horizon 4. This page is now about phones only.
Which one to pick
- The most game for nothing: Asphalt 8, if you have 3.5GB to spare.
- A small download: Hill Climb Racing, at about 210MB on the App Store.
- A long single-player career: Race Max Pro.
- Drifting: Drift Max Pro.
- No adverts: Rush Rally 3, for about six dollars.
Whichever you choose, download it and open it once on Wi-Fi before you travel. Big games often fetch more data the first time they start.
We have also checked offline shooting games for iPhone and offline RPG games for Android in the same way.
Quick answers
Which car racing game can I play without internet?
Asphalt 8, Hill Climb Racing, Race Max Pro and Drift Max Pro all play offline according to their developers, and all four are free on Google Play and the App Store.
Can you play Asphalt 8 offline?
Yes. Gameloft’s help centre says a connection is not needed to play. You need one to challenge friends, compete on the worldwide leaderboard or upload your ghosts.
Is Asphalt 9 offline?
No. The game is now called Asphalt Legends, and Gameloft’s help centre says the phone version requires an internet connection.
What is the best offline racing game for iPhone?
Asphalt 8, if you have the space for a 3.5GB download. If you do not, Hill Climb Racing.
Which offline racing games are small downloads?
On the App Store, Hill Climb Racing is about 210MB and Rush Rally 3 about 290MB. Google Play’s web pages do not state a size, so check the listing on your own phone.
