Comparison

TCGplayer vs TCGSim

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Blazingly fast card scanning
  • Effortless price tracking
  • Access collection anytime, anywhere
  • Seamless in-app shopping
  • Supports numerous TCGs
Features
Read full description

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

About

TCGSim

Practice popular trading card games solo with this easy-to-use app. It supports deck tuning, strategy research, and includes features like free card manipulation and dice rolls. Customize your experience with optional in-app purchases.

Highlights
  • Solo play for 1-2 player fields
  • Free card manipulation
  • Deck and card management
  • Import decks via codes/CSV
  • Dice roll and coin toss
  • Customizable backgrounds
Features
Read full description

A must-have app for TCG players! This app is a simple and easy-to-use solo play app for popular trading card games. Use it for deck tuning and strategy research. Supported TCG Examples: - Yu-Gi-Oh! - Pokémon TCG (Pokémon Card) - Duel Masters *This app is a non-official app for each TCG. Key Features: - Solo play (supports 1-player and 2-player fields) - Free card manipulation - Deck management (create/edit/delete) - Card management (create/edit/delete) – up to 500 cards - Download cards/decks from deck codes or CSV files - Dice roll / coin toss functions In-App Purchases (Optional): - Remove ads - Increase deck registration limit - Customize card back images Customize field background images *For the setting method, please refer to the X (old twitter) account below. https://twitter.com/TCGSim

Screenshots

TCGplayer4 screens
TCGSim4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: TCGSim at 78% against TCGplayer's 20%. TCGSim also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 17.0). TCGplayer's advantage is rating (4.1 vs 3.0) and in-app purchases (none vs 4). On price 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. TCGSim sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. TCGplayer asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

TCGplayer holds the better App Store score, 4.1 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: TCGplayer has 15K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 20% of TCGplayer's written reviews are positive against 78% of TCGSim's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

TCGplayer ships an update every 3 weeks, TCGSim every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard9 real differences · 2 level
TCGplayer versus TCGSim: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTCGplayerTCGSim
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.1 (15K ratings) — better3.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews19.7% of reviews77.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings15K — better2
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#15 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size63 MB167 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperTCGplayer, Inc.Kenta Hayakawa

Customer experience

TCGplayer

All ratings14,647 ratings
Positive77.0%
Neutral4.0%
Negative19.0%
Written reviews1,281 reviews
Positive19.7%
Neutral10.5%
Negative69.9%

TCGSim

All ratings2 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral100.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive77.8%
Neutral22.2%
Negative0.0%

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

TCGSim

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

TCGplayer

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

TCGSim

One-time4
  • Unlock Custom Field Image$1.99
  • Unlock Custom Card Back$1.99
  • Remove Ads$2.99
Show 1 more
  • Unlock Deck Slots$2.99

Questions

Is TCGplayer free?
TCGplayer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is TCGSim free?
TCGSim is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, TCGplayer or TCGSim?
TCGplayer is rated higher. TCGplayer averages 4.1 out of 5 from 15K ratings, while TCGSim averages 3.0 from 2 ratings.
Do TCGplayer or TCGSim have ads?
TCGSim shows ads; TCGplayer does not.
Which is updated more often, TCGplayer or TCGSim?
TCGplayer ships an update every 3 weeks, and TCGSim every 3 months. Most recently, TCGplayer was updated on October 3, 2026 and TCGSim on September 30, 2026.

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