Sotheby's vs Artifact.id
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Sotheby's
Access extraordinary art, precious objects, wine, and jewelry from auctions worldwide. Track bids, register for auctions, and explore past and upcoming sales with expert insights.
- Bid in live and online auctions
- Track bids and registrations
- Browse open, upcoming, and past auctions
- Search past and present lots
- Manage profile and view purchases
- Access favorite auctions and lots
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Extraordinary auctions. Exceptional finds. Anytime, anywhere. The Sotheby’s iOS app provides collectors with exceptional access to the world’s most extraordinary art, precious objects, wine and jewellery, together with the unparalleled expertise of our world-class specialists. Track your bids and registrations effortlessly. Bid in live and online auctions. Browse open, upcoming, and past auctions. Browse fixed price retail items in search results. Quickly access your favorite auctions and lots. Search past and present lots. Manage profile, view purchases, and customize your settings.
Artifact.id
Catalog and track your collectibles with detailed information in a private portfolio. Connect with subject experts for identification and evaluation, and join a community for authentication and education.
- Private collection portfolio
- Object detail capture
- Access to subject experts
- Authentication and education community
- Value calculation for insurance
- Social sharing with other collectors
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Artifact.id is committed to preserving, educating, and sharing unique and accurate information on collectibles, worldwide. The Artifact.id app captures integral details about each of your objects to catalog and track in your private portfolio. Store your first 1,000 objects for free. Artifact.id grants you access to thousands of subject experts who can help you identify, evaluate and recommend personalized services that relate to your collection. We have created a community that provides authentication and education. Artifact.id‘s unique social aspect encourages our members to learn how to create, build, and manage their individual brands and collections. Once your object has been assessed and evaluated, you can choose to share and connect with other collectors. Calculate the value of your collectibles for insurance or securely archive, and simply learn about your personal collection. Artifact.id is fostering a community that includes everyone from experienced to novice collectors, artists, archivists, curators, galleries, museums, appraisers, estate liquidators, and beyond.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Artifact.id at none against Sotheby's's shown. Artifact.id also leads on review sentiment (50% vs 24%) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). Sotheby's's advantage is ratings volume (95 vs 11). On price, rating, update cadence and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 3.4 for Sotheby's against 3.5 for Artifact.id. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sotheby's has 95 ratings behind it against 11, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 24% of Sotheby's's written reviews are positive against 50% of Artifact.id's.
Sotheby's ships an update every 2 weeks, Artifact.id fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Sotheby's | Artifact.id |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.4 (95 ratings) | 3.5 (11 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 24.3% of reviews | 50.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 95 — better | 11 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Fortnightly |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple TV — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17.4 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 54 MB | 80 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Sotheby's | Cornerstone Technologies |
Customer experience
Sotheby's
Artifact.id
Bugs and requests
Sotheby's
Reported bugs
10 issues- Cannot sort auction lots
- Cannot follow, view, or bid
- App crashes on launch
- ID verification camera not focusing
- Photo upload issues
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- Saved objects not displaying correctly
- App freezes or crashes during use
- Lot details never load
- AppleTV app fails to open
- App thinks it's on an iPhone on iPad
Requested features
8 requests- Allow sorting of auction lots
- Improve search functionality
- Enable calendar integration
- Make app landscape compatible
- Simplify personalization options
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- Improve account integration
- Allow file uploads for ID verification
- Fix AppleTV app issues
Artifact.id
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Sotheby's
No in-app purchases
Artifact.id
No in-app purchases
