TCGplayer vs MTG Scanner
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
TCGplayer
Quickly scan and identify trading cards to track their market prices and manage your collection. Access your entire collection on the go and browse the extensive marketplace for seamless shopping.
- Blazingly fast card scanning
- Effortless price tracking
- Access collection anytime, anywhere
- Seamless in-app shopping
- Supports numerous TCGs
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Blazingly Fast Card Scanning Say goodbye to tediously typing and searching for the correct card versions! The TCGplayer app scans your cards with unparalleled speed and accuracy, giving you more time to enjoy the games you love. Track Prices with Ease From the top TCGs to the hottest new games, the TCGplayer app lets you effortlessly scan, organize, and track the market price for every card from every TCG on our marketplace for free! Access Your Collection Anytime Your entire TCG collection is just a tap away! Whether at home or on the go, you can access your entire collection whenever and wherever you need from your mobile device. Simply log in to the app and your collection is at your fingertips! Seamless Shopping Browse and shop the extensive catalog on the TCGplayer marketplace from thousands of sellers with just a few taps. Supported Games: Magic: The Gathering, Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, One Piece TCG, Star Wars Unlimited, Digimon Card Game, Disney Lorcana, Cardfight!! Vanguard, Dragon Ball Super: Fusion World, Dragon Ball Super: Masters, Final Fantasy, Flesh and Blood, Grand Archive TCG, Shadowverse: Evolve, Sorcery: Contested Realm, Union Arena, UniVersus, Weiss Schwarz, Akora TCG, Alpha Clash, Argent Saga TCG, BAKUGAN TCG, Battle Spirits Saga, Chrono Clash System, Dice Masters, Dragoborne, Dragon Ball Z TCG, Elestrals, Exodus TCG, Force of Will, Future Card Buddyfight, Gate Ruler Gundam Card Game, Kryptik, Lightseekers TCG, MetaX TCG, MetaZoo, Munchkin CCG, Star Wars: Destiny, The Caster Chronicles, Transformers TCG, Warhammer Age of Sigmar Champions, WIXOSS, World of Warcraft TCG, Gundam
MTG Scanner
This app helps Magic: The Gathering players scan, value, and organize their card collections. Build decks, track card prices, and connect with friends for trading. It's designed for both collectors and competitive players to enhance their game experience.
- Scan Magic cards in any language
- Real-time card price tracking
- Organize cards into custom folders
- Build and export MTG decks
- Compare trade values with friends
- Track top card movers
- Weekly collection statistics emails
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Dragon Shield - MTG Scanner & Card Manager is the ultimate tool for scanning, valuing, organizing, and trading your Magic cards. Instantly recognize cards in any language, build powerful MTG decks, track your collection’s value over time, and connect with friends. Built for collectors and competitive players alike, this app helps you master your Magic: The Gathering™ experience. SOCIAL & FRIENDS Add and connect with friends on the app View your friends' collection, decks, wish and trade list Share your own lists and discover new cards through your network SCAN MAGIC CARDS Instantly scan cards in any language using advanced image recognition Real-time translation of foreign-language cards Check daily prices from TCGPlayer, CardMarket, CardKingdom and MTGMintCard Track 30-day price history for any Magic card Find format legality and oracle text and official rulings COLLECTION MANAGER Organize your MTG cards into custom folders Add folder images and track value over time Export your collection to CSV or text for backups and trades Stay informed with built-in card price tracking MULTIPLE SORTING OPTIONS AND FILTERS Get folder statistics (Mana Cost, Card Color, etc.) MTG DECK BUILDER Build decks with full support for sideboards and filtering Export decks to CSV or text to share with friends or import into tournaments See deck stats like mana curve, color balance, and type spread TRADE TOOL Compare the trade value between two players instantly See exactly who's ahead in the trade and by how much Use wishlists and tradelists to plan and manage your deals TOP MOVERS: WINNERS & LOSERS Track which Magic cards are rising or falling in value Filter by format, date range, or even just your own collection See the top card winners and losers within your collection WEEKLY COLLECTION EMAILS Get automatic weekly emails with stats about your MTG collection See value changes, new additions, and pricing trends over time
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: TCGplayer at none against MTG Scanner's 13. TCGplayer also leads on chart position (#20 vs #188) and ratings volume (17K vs 3.8K). MTG Scanner's advantage is rating (4.6 vs 4.2) and review sentiment (44% vs 21%). On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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. MTG Scanner sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. TCGplayer asks for nothing beyond the download.
MTG Scanner holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 17K and 3.8K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 21% of TCGplayer's written reviews are positive against 44% of MTG Scanner's.
TCGplayer ships an update fortnightly, MTG Scanner every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on October 25, 2026.
| Parameter | TCGplayer | MTG Scanner |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (17K ratings) | 4.6 (3.8K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 21.0% of reviews | 44.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 17K — better | 3.8K |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #20 — better | #188 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 69 MB | 230 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 9+ |
| Developer | TCGplayer, Inc. | ARCANE TINMEN APS |
Customer experience
TCGplayer
MTG Scanner
User reviews
TCGplayer
From 17K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fast scanning
- 👍 Convenient for cataloging cards
- 💡 Integrated with TCGplayer website
Room to improve
- 🐛 Inaccurate scanning
- 🐛 Buggy and laggy performance
- 🔒 Poor account/login management
- 👎 Limited sorting/organization options
MTG Scanner
From 3.8K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fast scanning
- 👍 Good for organizing collection
- 💰 Useful price tracking
- 🗂️ Customizable folders/decks
Room to improve
- 🐛 Inconsistent card recognition
- 💰 Expensive subscription model
- 🔍 Limited search/filter options
- 🔗 Lack of integration with other apps
Bugs and requests
TCGplayer
Reported bugs
3 issues- Crashes on startup
- Incorrect card information displayed
- Inability to properly scan certain card types (foils, black cards, etc.)
Requested features
3 requests- Ability to sync collection across devices
- More sorting/filtering options for collections
- Support for additional card games beyond MTG, Pokemon, and Yu-Gi-Oh
MTG Scanner
Reported bugs
3 issues- Login issues
- Incorrect card identification
- Scanning bugs with certain card types
Requested features
4 requests- Ability to import/export deck lists
- Display deck value in collection
- Improved scanning for special cards
- More comprehensive filtering options
In-app purchases
TCGplayer
No in-app purchases
MTG Scanner
- Mythic Monthly$1.991 Month
- Rare Monthly$1.991 Month
- Common Monthly$1.991 Month
Show 9 moreShow fewer
- Uncommon Monthly$3.991 Month
- Premium Monthly1 Month trial$3.991 Month
- Premium Monthly7 Days trial$3.991 Month
- Mythic Yearly$9.991 Year
- Premium Yearly7 Days trial$29.991 Year
- Common Yearly$39.991 Year
- Uncommon Yearly$39.991 Year
- Premium Yearly1 Month trial$39.991 Year
- Premium Yearly7 Days trial$39.991 Year
Questions
Is TCGplayer free?
Is MTG Scanner free?
Which has better reviews, TCGplayer or MTG Scanner?
Do TCGplayer or MTG Scanner have ads?
Which is updated more often, TCGplayer or MTG Scanner?
Which is more popular, TCGplayer or MTG Scanner?
Other comparisons
