Best Pokémon Card Scanner Apps in 2026

Disclosure: Cardex is our app. We have tried to keep this comparison factual and to describe every app from its own published feature list, and we say plainly where a competitor does something we do not. Prices and features were checked in September 2026 and change often; confirm on the app store before you subscribe to anything.

How we compared the apps

Every app on this list can point a camera at a Pokémon card and name it. The differences are in what happens next, so we looked at seven things:

• Games covered: Pokémon only, or Magic, One Piece, Lorcana and others too.
• Free scanning: whether the scanner itself is free, limited, or behind a subscription.
• Price sources: which marketplaces feed the numbers. One source is a guess; three sources is a market.
• Graded prices: whether PSA, CGC and BGS values are shown next to the raw price.
• Sold listings: whether you can see what buyers actually paid on eBay, not just asking prices.
• Collection tools: portfolio value, history, binders, watchlists, master set tracking, export.
• Platforms: iOS, Android, web.

Comparison table

"Not stated" means the app's own website or store listing did not say at the time we checked, not that the feature is missing.

1. Cardex: best for Pokémon prices with the full picture

Best for: collectors who want to know what a card is really worth before buying, selling or grading.

Cardex is a Pokémon-only scanner and price checker for iPhone, iPad and Android. Automatic scanning identifies the exact card, set, collector number, rarity and variant as you move through a stack, and every match shows the raw price, PSA, CGC and BGS graded prices, recent eBay sold listings, price history and a side-by-side view of eBay, TCGplayer and Cardmarket. Scanned cards go into a collection tracker with a running total, binders, a watchlist and master set progress for every expansion. English and Japanese cards are supported.

Strengths: three marketplaces on one screen, graded prices next to raw, sold listings rather than asking prices, master set tracking. Free to download; an optional premium subscription unlocks the full experience.

Limitations: Pokémon only. If you also collect Magic or One Piece you will need a second app. Cardex does not authenticate cards, and no scanner app can.

See the price checker and identifier pages for details.

2. Collectr: best for multi-game portfolios

Best for: collectors who own several games and want stock-portfolio style tracking.

Collectr covers Pokémon, Magic, Yu-Gi-Oh!, One Piece, Lorcana and, by its own count, more than twenty other games. The headline feature is the portfolio: live value for every card and sealed box "charted over time like a stock portfolio", with cost basis, gains and losses, and currency switching. Scanning identifies set, number and variant. Collectr says cards are "valued daily from real sales data" but does not name the marketplaces.

Strengths: breadth of games, sealed product tracking, graded prices, cost basis accounting, social showcase features.

Limitations: unlimited scanning, longer price history and export require PRO at $59.99 a year or $7.99 a month. Price sources are not spelled out.

3. TCGplayer app: best for selling

Best for: anyone who plans to sell on TCGplayer, and players who want a free scanner across every game.

The official TCGplayer app scans cards from any game sold on the marketplace and shows the TCGplayer Market Price, which is built from actual sales on the site. It is completely free with no scanning subscription, and it feeds straight into buying and listing on the marketplace.

Strengths: free, no limits, every game, the price you would actually list at on TCGplayer.

Limitations: one marketplace's view. No graded prices, no eBay sold data, and TCGplayer is US-centric, so European collectors get less useful numbers. Collection features are basic compared with dedicated trackers.

4. Dex: best design and web access

Best for: Pokémon collectors who want a polished collection app with a browser version.

Dex is Pokémon-only and covers English, Japanese and Simplified Chinese expansions from Base Set to current sets. Prices come from TCGplayer, Cardmarket, CardTrader and eBay, converted to your currency. The free tier includes every card, all marketplaces, three folders, a trade finder with friends and wishlists. It also runs in a web browser.

Strengths: four price sources, web app, friends and trade finder, well-designed Pokédex-style organization.

Limitations: the camera scanner is a Dex+ feature at $3.99 a month, so free users search by name. Graded prices and sold listings are not stated.

5. Shiny: best free multi-game scanner

Best for: collectors who want unlimited free scanning across Pokémon, Magic, One Piece and other games.

Shiny scans Pokémon (English, Japanese and Chinese), Magic, One Piece, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Lorcana and more, and is free on iOS and Android with no premium tier mentioned. Values draw on TCGplayer and eBay completed sales, plus PriceCharting for graded slabs and sealed products, with historical data. Collection tools include sets, folders, tags, wishlists, cross-device sync and price alerts.

Strengths: free, unlimited, many games, slab and sealed values, price alerts.

Limitations: Cardmarket is not listed as a source, so EUR pricing is weaker. A generalist app is less deep on Pokémon-specific features such as master set tracking.

6. PokeScope: simplest free price check

Best for: a quick free look-up with no account.

PokeScope is a free Pokémon scanner with no sign-up. Point the camera and get prices from TCGplayer, Cardmarket and auction data, updated hourly according to the app. It has a collection manager with spreadsheet export, price alerts, a trade calculator and offline access to cached prices.

Strengths: free, fast to start, offline mode, export.

Limitations: graded prices are not stated, and the database of around 20,000 cards is smaller than the full Pokémon TCG, so some older or foreign printings may be missing.

7. Ripdex: fast batch scanning on a budget

Best for: scanning a whole binder quickly with TCGplayer prices.

Ripdex identifies cards on-device in under a second and supports batch scanning with a running total, so a binder can be catalogued in one session. Prices are TCGplayer market data with variant-level detail and a 90-day history chart. Scanning is free; a premium subscription unlocks unlimited scanning and collection features.

Strengths: speed, batch mode, web access, on-device recognition.

Limitations: single price source, no graded prices, no eBay sold data. Premium pricing is not shown on the site.

8. Eyevo: offline recognition and graded prices

Best for: collectors who scan without a connection or in several languages.

Eyevo recognizes the exact printing in under a second directly on the device, so it works offline, and distinguishes sets, languages, variants and reprints across eight languages including Japanese. It shows raw, graded and sold prices and exports the full collection to CSV.

Strengths: offline recognition, language coverage, graded and sold prices, CSV export.

Limitations: the website does not state its pricing model or scan limits, and does not list its price sources in full.

Which Pokémon card scanner app should you choose?

• You want to know if a card is worth grading or selling: Cardex, Collectr or Eyevo, because they show graded prices next to the raw price; Cardex and Eyevo also show sold listings.
• You collect more than one game: Collectr for portfolio depth, Shiny for free scanning, TCGplayer if you sell there.
• You sell on TCGplayer: the TCGplayer app, then check eBay sold prices elsewhere for anything valuable.
• You are in Europe: an app with Cardmarket data: Cardex, Dex or PokeScope.
• You want zero cost, no account: PokeScope, Shiny or the TCGplayer app.
• You are completing master sets: Cardex tracks full master sets including secret rares and variants per expansion.

Most of these apps are free to try. Scan the same ten cards in two or three of them and compare the prices against recent eBay sold listings; the app whose numbers match real sales is the one to keep.

Try Cardex free

Scan a card and see raw and graded prices, recent eBay sales and three marketplaces on one screen. iPhone, iPad and Android.

Scanner app questions

What is the best free Pokémon card scanner app?

TCGplayer, Shiny and PokeScope scan for free with no subscription. Cardex and Ripdex are free to download and scan with optional premium tiers. Which is best depends on whether you need graded prices, several marketplaces or several games.

Are Pokémon card scanner apps accurate?

Identification is very accurate on modern cards for all of the apps here; the differences show on worn vintage cards, Japanese cards and look-alike reprints. Price accuracy depends on the data source: an app showing eBay sold listings reflects real transactions, while a single-marketplace price can be an asking price.

Can a scanner app tell if a Pokémon card is fake?

No. Scanner apps identify the card the image most resembles; they do not authenticate print quality, texture or card stock. Use the identified card as a reference and check the physical signs in our guide to spotting fake Pokémon cards.

Do scanner apps work on Japanese Pokémon cards?

Cardex, Dex, Shiny and Eyevo state Japanese support. Check the app's store listing for other languages.

Which app is best for tracking collection value?

Collectr for multi-game portfolios with cost basis, Cardex for Pokémon collections with master set tracking, Dex if you want a web version. See our guide to tracking a Pokémon card collection.