I've got all 3,have had TCII since 05-06 when introduced and got efilive commercial around 09 and I was given Hptuners pro a few years ago in trade for some work.
TCII is best hands down over all as an editor imo,plus you're not getting sucked dry by vin licensing which is a rediculous concept almost. It includes all available or needed tables with no censoring and you can request what you need. Customer service is the best i've ever had from any product. However it isn't really in the same class as the others since they include scanners and spreadsheets. (Availablish for TCII but not near the useability and ease).
Efilive is next,I like the interface better than HP and from my use with it editing it seems to be restricted a bit as far as available data/tables. Learning to navigate by their little number identifiers seems key to ease of use. Coming from learning and using TCII the histograms and built in scantool were awesome.
I've only used Hp tuners a few times and am still unimpressed and is the last tool I reach for.
Most recently last night trying to look at mode$06 data on a dodge truck,nogo. Not sure if it's there and couldn't find it though.
I also hate how they restrict tables and such from the software to keep the idiots from bricking stuff. Offhand the ETC rates and mode tables,been awhile since i've checked but as I recall they rationalized it.
My experience is limited though,I think i've logged a car or two trying it out and i've only actually programmed 2 vehicles.
1 was because it was a cadillac and the only tuner that supported it,first time using and misread the warning screen. So I blew $100 just to open the file and see if I had the option for VATS shutoff (I didn't) and it had so little support even there I can't believe they would even charge for it.
However i've never so much as spent the time to set it up for tuning anything really even,so most of that opinion is based in bias.
I've always seen Hp as the tuner for the beginner/casual DIYer,Efi would be next step up with TCII for basically pro's only or simpler stuff in volume.
To be clear i'm not a professional "tuner". I'm an extreme enthusiast who started with TCII 10yrs ago and became a highly certified master technician chasing the knowledge to use it. I'm rural and easily program (vats/emissions) more vehicles than I need to tune (VE,timing etc..)
That point of view should be taken into account,as I really don't use these tools on a daily basis like most do. 99% of my programming is with TCII and not the others. I'm more likely to use Hex editor before paying the crazy license prices. Tuning is part of the job dealing in custom cars, the various tuners/scanners I have (quite a few) are only a tool in my box like all the rest for me (top 5 though).
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