Comparison

Car Scanner ELM OBD2 vs CodigosDTC

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

Head to head
About

Car Scanner ELM OBD2

Monitor your car's real-time performance, diagnose fault codes, and access detailed sensor data. Customize your dashboard with various gauges and charts, and even reset diagnostic trouble codes. This tool helps you understand your vehicle's health and potentially reduce repair costs.

Highlights
  • Real-time vehicle data
  • OBD fault code reading and resetting
  • Customizable dashboard with gauges and charts
  • Extended PID support
  • Emission test readiness check
  • HUD mode for windshield projection
  • Acceleration measurement tool
Features
Read full description

Check what your car is doing in realtime, get OBD fault codes, car performance, sensor data and more! Car Scanner is a vehicle / car performance / trip computer / diagnostics tool and scanner that uses an OBD II Wi-Fi or Bluetooth 4.0 (Bluetooth LE) adapter to connect to your OBD2 engine management / ECU. Car Scanner gives you a bunch of unique features: 1) Layout your own dashboard with the gauges and charts you want! 2) Add custom (extended PIDs) and get information, that was hidden from you by car manufacturer! 3) It can also show and reset a DTC fault code like a scantool. Car Scanner includes a huge database of DTC codes descriptions. 4) Car Scanner allows you to read free-frames (sensors state when DTC is saved). 5) Now with Mode 06 - you can get ECU self-monitoring test results. Helps you fix your car and helps keep repair costs down! 6) Check if your car is ready for emission tests. 7) Check all of the sensors at one screen 8) Car Scanner works with any vehicle that uses the OBD 2 standard (most vehicles built after 2000, but can work for vehicles as far back as 1996, check carscanner.info for more details). 9) Car Scanner includes a lot of connection profiles, that gives you some extra features for Toyota, Mitsubishi, GM, Opel, Vauxhal, Chevrolet, Nissan, Infinity, Renault, Dacia, Hyundai, Kia, Mazda, Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, Seat, BMW and many others. 10) Car Scanner dashboard includes a HUD mode, that you can use to project data to your windshield. 11) Car Scanner provides a tool for very accurate acceleration measurments (0-60, 0-100, etc.) 12) Car Scanner can be used as a trip computer and can show you fuel consumption statistics! 13) For cars of the VAG group (Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, Seat), built on the MQB and PQ26 platforms, encoding functions are available - setting hidden parameters of the car. 14) And one more thing - Car Scanner provides the widest variety of features for FREE across the App Store. The app requires a Wi-Fi or or Bluetooth 4.0 (Bluetooth LE) OBD2 ELM327 compatible adapter (device) to work. ELM327 devices plugs into the diagnostics socket in the car ang gives your phone access to car diagnostics. Recommended adapters brands: Kiwi 3, Viecar, V-Gate, Carista, LELink, Veepeak. If you buy one of the cheap china OBD2 ELM327 adapters from ebay / amazon, then make sure it’s not marked as v.2.1. This adapters are supported, but they have lot’s of bugs. PLEASE NOTE: Vehicle ECUs vary in the amount of sensors supported. This app can’t show you something, that is not provided by your car. Attention "bad" adapters! We faced the problem, that some adapters (often cheep Chinese clones), can’t connect to the smartphone or the car. Some of them can even make your car engine work unstable, often lost connection, increase time lag when reading data. So, we recommend you to use genuine ELM327 or recommended adapter brands. Car Scanner ELM OBD2 is free but to unlock all the features, a one-time purchase or a subscription is required. Under no circumstances will the developer of this application be held responsible for incidents resulting from the use and/or interpretation of the data in the application. If you have any issues, you can always contact developer using Settings - Contact developer in the app or just send email to wp_soft@outlook.com Car Scanner ELM OBD2 for iOS Terms of use can be found at https://www.carscanner.info/ios-tos/

About

CodigosDTC

Understand your vehicle's diagnostic trouble codes with clear explanations, potential causes, symptoms, and AI-powered solutions. This app helps drivers, students, and mechanics interpret fault codes and make informed decisions before visiting a mechanic.

Highlights
  • Search and understand OBD2 fault codes
  • Clear explanations of potential problems
  • Consult causes, symptoms, and solutions
  • AI-powered automotive support chat
  • Save vehicle and diagnostic information
  • Organized fault information
Features
Read full description

CódigosDTC te ayuda a entender mejor las fallas de tu vehículo de forma clara, rápida y práctica. Consulta códigos de diagnóstico OBD2, revisa posibles causas, síntomas y soluciones, y recibe orientación automotriz con inteligencia artificial para saber qué puede estar ocurriendo antes de ir al taller. La app está pensada para conductores, estudiantes, técnicos y mecánicos que necesitan interpretar códigos de falla, revisar información útil del vehículo y tomar mejores decisiones durante un diagnóstico. Con CódigosDTC puedes: • Buscar y entender códigos de falla OBD2. • Recibir explicaciones claras sobre posibles problemas. • Consultar causas, síntomas y soluciones recomendadas. • Usar un chat de soporte automotriz con IA. • Guardar vehículos y diagnósticos. • Acceder a información organizada para revisar fallas con más confianza. Ya sea que quieras entender por qué se encendió el Check Engine, preparar una revisión, comparar posibles causas o tener una guía rápida durante el diagnóstico, CódigosDTC te ofrece una experiencia sencilla y enfocada en ayudarte a comprender mejor tu auto. Términos de uso: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Car Scanner ELM OBD24 screens
CodigosDTC4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: CodigosDTC at none against Car Scanner ELM OBD2's shown. CodigosDTC also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.8) and update cadence (every 2 days vs every 5 days). Car Scanner ELM OBD2's advantage is ratings volume (33K vs 2) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 18.0). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model 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. Car Scanner ELM OBD2 sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per 6 months and CodigosDTC sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

CodigosDTC holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Car Scanner ELM OBD2 has 33K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Car Scanner ELM OBD2 ships an update every 5 days, CodigosDTC every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Car Scanner ELM OBD2 versus CodigosDTC: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCar Scanner ELM OBD2CodigosDTC
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (33K ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews81.1% of reviews—
Number of ratings33K — better2
Update frequencyEvery 5 daysEvery 2 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size181 MB49 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStanislav SvistunovFIXCAR LLC

Customer experience

Car Scanner ELM OBD2

All ratings33,157 ratings
Positive95.8%
Neutral2.1%
Negative2.2%
Written reviews1,017 reviews
Positive81.1%
Neutral4.2%
Negative14.7%

CodigosDTC

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Car Scanner ELM OBD2

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Unable to connect to certain vehicle models
  • Incorrect fuel economy calculations
  • Sensor data not updating properly in some cases

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add support for more vehicle profiles
  • Improve CarPlay integration
  • Allow custom dashboard templates
  • Add option to automatically save data logs
  • Expand sensor coverage, especially for transmissions and ABS

CodigosDTC

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Car Scanner ELM OBD2

Subscriptions2
  • Car Scanner Pro (6 months)$3.996 Months
  • Car Scanner Pro (1 year)$4.991 Year
One-time3
  • Car Scanner Pro (low price)$6.99
  • Car Scanner Pro (mid price)$6.99
  • Car Scanner Pro (forever)$7.99
2 purchases

CodigosDTC

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Mensual$9.991 Month
  • Premium Anual$89.991 Year

Questions

Is Car Scanner ELM OBD2 free?
Car Scanner ELM OBD2 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is CodigosDTC free?
CodigosDTC is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Car Scanner ELM OBD2 or CodigosDTC?
CodigosDTC is rated higher. Car Scanner ELM OBD2 averages 4.8 out of 5 from 33K ratings, while CodigosDTC averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Car Scanner ELM OBD2 or CodigosDTC have ads?
Car Scanner ELM OBD2 shows ads; CodigosDTC does not.
Which is updated more often, Car Scanner ELM OBD2 or CodigosDTC?
Car Scanner ELM OBD2 ships an update every 5 days, and CodigosDTC every 2 days. Most recently, Car Scanner ELM OBD2 was updated on November 10, 2026 and CodigosDTC on October 31, 2026.

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