Comparison

Best Pokémon card scanner apps, compared

Updated September 19, 2026 · Written by the TCG Vault team. We make one of the apps on this list; here is how we compared them.

There is no single best Pokémon card scanner app; it depends on what you need. For free scanning, TCGplayer’s app and Rare Candy. For a big portfolio with graded and sealed items, Collectr. For Pokémon master sets, Dex, whose scanner is paid. For graded values and eBay sales, PokeScope. For decks and trades, Dragon Shield. And for one simple iPhone app across 12 games, TCG Vault, which is ours.

Below: the same facts for all eight apps in one table, then what each is best at and what to watch for.

Download on iOS

4.6★ from 105 ratings on the US App Store · iPhone, iOS 16+

Quick picks by what you need

Free scanning, no subscription

TCGplayer or Rare Candy

TCGplayer’s app lists no in-app purchases; Rare Candy says you can scan your entire collection for free.
A big portfolio across many games

Collectr

Raw, graded and sealed items across 25+ games, on iPhone, Android and the web. Unlimited scanning is PRO.
Pokémon master sets

Dex

Every variant of every set, including Japanese. The camera scanner is part of the paid Dex+ plan.
Graded values and sold prices

PokeScope or Ludex

PokeScope shows PSA, BGS and CGC prices and recent eBay sales; Ludex values cards from eBay completed sales.
Decks and trades

Dragon Shield

Deck builder, trade tool and scanning in any language — with one app per game.
One iPhone app for several games

TCG Vault (ours)

Scan, market price and collection total across 12 games. iPhone only, no graded values.

How we compared

On September 19, 2026 we read each app’s US App Store listing and the developer’s own website and wrote down the same things for every app: how it charges (in-app purchase prices as Apple lists them), what the free plan includes where the developer says so, which games it covers, which platforms it runs on, and its App Store rating with the number of ratings.

We haven’t run a side-by-side scanning-accuracy test, so this page doesn’t claim that any app scans more accurately than another. Where a developer doesn’t publish something, such as a free-plan scan limit, we say so rather than guess.

Apps are listed alphabetically, not ranked. We make TCG Vault; its entry follows the same rules as the rest, including its weak spots. Prices change, so check the listing before you subscribe. If something here is wrong or out of date, email support@tcgvault.io and we’ll fix it.

All eight apps side by side

Pokémon card scanner apps compared, listed alphabetically, checked September 19, 2026
App	How it charges (US)	Free plan	Games	Platforms	Stands out for	App Store rating (count)
Collectr	Free; PRO $7.99/mo or $59.99/yr	25+ games and unlimited portfolios; unlimited scanning is a PRO feature	25+	iPhone, Android, web	Portfolio of raw, graded and sealed items; up to 5+ years of price history with PRO	4.9 (65,266)
Dex	Free; Dex+ from $3.99/mo	All cards and sets, unlimited cards, 3 folders; the camera scanner is Dex+ only	Pokémon only	iPhone, Android, web	Every Pokémon variant, with English, Japanese and Simplified Chinese sets	4.8 (13,663)
Dragon Shield	Free; Premium $3.99/mo or $29.99–$39.99/yr	Free download; the listing doesn’t spell out free-plan limits	One app per game: Pokémon, Magic, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Flesh and Blood	iPhone, Android	Scans cards in any language with translation; deck builder, trade tool, CSV export	4.6 (13,817), Pokémon app
Ludex	Free; paid plans $4.99–$24.99/mo	Unlimited scans; up to 60 cards in your collection	Sports cards, plus Pokémon, Magic and other TCGs	iPhone, Android	Values from eBay completed sales; list cards on eBay from the app	4.7 (27,448)
PokeScope	Free; premium $7.99/week or $24.99/yr	Limited scans; premium makes them unlimited	Pokémon	iPhone, Android	Graded prices (PSA, BGS, CGC) and recent eBay sales next to raw prices	4.6 (2,766)
Rare Candy	Free (no in-app purchases listed)	“Scan your entire collection for free”	6: Pokémon, Magic, One Piece, Lorcana, Gundam, Riftbound	iPhone, Android	Free scanning plus a marketplace; also identifies graded slabs	4.7 (4,928)
TCG Vault (ours)	Free; Premium weekly or yearly (price shown in the app)	3 scans a day, one collection and market prices; unlimited scanning is Premium	12	iPhone only (iOS 16+)	Scan-to-price across 12 games, Auto scan mode with duplicate detection, 30+ currencies	4.6 (105)
TCGplayer	Free (no in-app purchases listed)	Scanning, collection and market prices, free	Every game sold on TCGplayer (44 named)	iPhone, Android	The scanner lives inside the TCGplayer marketplace app, so buying is a tap away	4.1 (14,816)

Listed alphabetically. Prices are the US in-app purchase prices on each App Store listing, or the developer’s own pricing page, on September 19, 2026. Ratings are US App Store averages with the number of ratings.

The apps, one by one

Collectr

Best for: large multi-game collections

Collectr is a portfolio app for collectors who own a lot across many games. It tracks raw cards, graded slabs and sealed product as one portfolio and says it has 10M+ users. The free plan covers 25+ games and unlimited portfolios; PRO ($59.99 a year, or $7.99 month to month) adds unlimited scanning, up to 5+ years of price history, filters and data export.

Scanning on the free plan is limited: Collectr lists unlimited scanning as a PRO feature.
Runs on iPhone, Android and the web.
The most-rated app on this page.

iPhone, Android, web · Free; PRO $7.99/mo or $59.99/yr · App Store 4.9 (65,266) · App Store listing (US) · getcollectr.com/pro · Google Play listing

Dex

Best for: Pokémon master-set collectors

Dex is a Pokémon-only collection app built around sets and variants: every English, Japanese and Simplified Chinese set, with prices from TCGplayer, Cardmarket, CardTrader and eBay. The free plan tracks unlimited cards in three folders; the camera scanner is part of Dex+, which Dex’s site lists at $3.99 a month.

No scanning on the free plan.
Deck building with hand simulators and draw odds.
iPhone, Android and a web app.

iPhone, Android, web · Free; Dex+ from $3.99/mo · App Store 4.8 (13,663) · App Store listing (US) · dextcg.com (pricing) · Google Play listing

Dragon Shield

Best for: players who build decks and trade

Dragon Shield’s scanners are separate apps for Pokémon, Magic, Yu-Gi-Oh! and Flesh and Blood. Each scans cards in any language with real-time translation, checks daily TCGplayer and Cardmarket prices, and adds a deck builder, a trade tool and CSV export. Premium is $3.99 a month or $29.99–$39.99 a year.

One app per game: collect four games, install four apps.
The App Store listing doesn’t say what the free version limits.
Ratings shown are for the Pokémon app.

iPhone, Android · Free; Premium $3.99/mo or $29.99–$39.99/yr · App Store 4.6 (13,817) · App Store listing (US) · Google Play listing · MTG app, App Store · Yu-Gi-Oh! app, App Store · Flesh and Blood app, App Store

Ludex

Best for: collectors with sports cards too

Ludex is built around sports cards and also scans trading card games such as Pokémon and Magic. Values come from eBay completed sales and other marketplaces, and you can list cards on eBay from the app. Paid plans run from $4.99 to $24.99 a month.

Free plan: unlimited scans, up to 60 cards in your collection and 5 eBay listings a month.
Sports first: Pokémon is one category among many.

iPhone, Android · Free; paid plans $4.99–$24.99/mo · App Store 4.7 (27,448) · App Store listing (US) · Google Play listing

PokeScope

Best for: graded and sold prices

PokeScope is a Pokémon scanner that puts graded values next to raw ones: PSA, BGS and CGC prices, plus recent eBay sales for each card. Premium, at $7.99 a week or $24.99 a year, unlocks unlimited scans.

Pokémon-focused.
Its Google Play listing says no account is needed to start scanning.

iPhone, Android · Free; premium $7.99/week or $24.99/yr · App Store 4.6 (2,766) · App Store listing (US) · pokescope.app · Google Play listing

Rare Candy

Best for: free scanning with no subscription

Rare Candy pairs a free scanner with a marketplace. It says you can scan your entire collection for free, supports Pokémon (English and Japanese), Magic, One Piece, Lorcana, Gundam and Riftbound, and identifies graded slabs from PSA, CGC, BGS, SGC and TAG. It also sells singles, sealed product and digital “Instapacks”.

A shop as well as a tracker: listings, drops and auctions live in the same app.
No in-app purchases on its App Store listing.

iPhone, Android · Free (no in-app purchases listed) · App Store 4.7 (4,928) · App Store listing (US) · get.rarecandy.com · Google Play listing

TCG Vault (our app)

Best for: one iPhone app for several games

TCG Vault is an iPhone scanner for 12 games: scan a card and it shows the name, set, number, rarity and market price, refreshed daily and shown in any of 30+ currencies, then keeps a running total for your collection. Premium (weekly or yearly, priced in the app) unlocks unlimited scanning, 1-, 3- and 6-month price charts, multiple collections and marketplace links.

iPhone only: no Android app, no web app.
No graded values, eBay sold prices, CSV export or wishlists.
Only 82 ratings, far fewer than any other app here.

iPhone only (iOS 16+) · Free; Premium weekly or yearly (price shown in the app) · App Store 4.6 (105) · App Store listing (US)

TCGplayer

Best for: free scanning if you buy on TCGplayer

TCGplayer’s own app scans cards and tracks the market price of every card from every game on its marketplace, for free, and because TCGplayer is the marketplace, buying is a tap away. Several apps here, TCG Vault included, show TCGplayer market prices.

No in-app purchases on its App Store listing.
You log in to a TCGplayer account to keep your collection.
44 games are named on its App Store listing.

iPhone, Android · Free (no in-app purchases listed) · App Store 4.1 (14,816) · App Store listing (US) · Google Play listing

Only collect Magic? ManaBox and Delver Lens are Magic specialists; see our MTG card scanner page.

What to look for in any card scanner app

01

Free-plan limits in writing

Look for the limit on the developer’s own listing or pricing page. “Free” can mean free scanning, a free trial or a free download with a paywalled scanner.
02

Where prices come from

Market prices, eBay sold prices and graded comps answer different questions. Pick the one that matches how you buy and sell.
03

Versions, not just names

1st Edition vs Unlimited, holo vs reverse holo: a scanner is only as useful as its handling of the version you actually hold.
04

Your phone and your games

Several apps here are iPhone and Android; TCG Vault is iPhone only. Dex and PokeScope are Pokémon only.
05

Ratings with their counts

A 4.6 from 82 ratings and a 4.6 from 13,817 ratings are not the same signal.
06

The privacy label

Every App Store listing has an App Privacy section that shows what the app collects. Worth a look before you give an app your camera.

Card scanner app FAQ

What is the best Pokémon card scanner app?

There’s no single winner. For free scanning without a subscription, TCGplayer or Rare Candy. For a multi-game portfolio with graded and sealed items, Collectr. For Pokémon master sets, Dex (its scanner is paid). For graded values and eBay sales, PokeScope. For decks and trades, Dragon Shield. For one simple iPhone app across 12 games, TCG Vault, which is ours.

Which card scanner apps are free?

The TCGplayer app lists no in-app purchases, Rare Candy says you can scan your entire collection for free, and Ludex’s free plan has unlimited scans with a 60-card collection limit. Collectr, PokeScope and TCG Vault limit scanning on their free plans, and Dex keeps its scanner in the paid Dex+ plan.

Which scanner app supports the most card games?

TCGplayer’s app covers every game sold on its marketplace; 44 are named on its App Store listing. Collectr lists 25+, TCG Vault 12 and Rare Candy 6, and Dragon Shield has a separate app for each of four games. Dex and PokeScope are Pokémon only.

Which apps show graded card values?

PokeScope shows PSA, BGS and CGC prices; Collectr tracks graded cards alongside raw cards and sealed product; Rare Candy identifies graded slabs from PSA, CGC, BGS, SGC and TAG; and Ludex values cards from eBay completed sales. TCG Vault shows raw (ungraded) prices only.

Is this comparison biased toward TCG Vault?

We make TCG Vault, so read it with that in mind. To keep it fair, every fact about another app comes from that app’s own App Store listing or website, dated September 2026; apps are listed alphabetically rather than ranked; and TCG Vault’s weak spots (iPhone only, no graded values, 82 ratings) sit next to its strengths. Corrections go to support@tcgvault.io.

Do App Store ratings show which scanner is most accurate?

Not directly. A rating mixes accuracy with price, design and support, and the number of ratings matters as much as the score: 4.6 from 82 ratings (ours) is a much thinner signal than 4.9 from 65,266. We haven’t run a side-by-side accuracy test, so we don’t claim that any app scans more accurately than another.

Sources

Every fact about another app on this page comes from one of these pages, read on September 19, 2026.

Sources — checked September 19, 2026

Keep going

Collectors rate us 4.6

Try TCG Vault on your own cards.

Free to download on iPhone. Scan a few cards, check the prices against the other apps here and keep the one that fits.