MQuant® StripScan vs @BactLAB
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
MQuant® StripScan
This app provides digital readout for test strips, replacing manual color matching for pH and chemical concentration measurements. It offers guided measurement processes, automatic data saving, and visualization tools for enhanced analysis and traceability.
- Digital test strip readout
- Guided measurement process
- Automatic data saving
- Visualizations and analysis
- Instrumental readout
- Warning for interferences
Read full descriptionHide full description
Use the MQuant StripScan® app for fast and reliable determination of pH or chemical concentrations in aqueous solutions using MQuant® test strips. The app guides through the measurement process, determines the measurement result by camera, and saves and visualizes measurements automatically. • No more guessing: Instrumental readout rather than color-matching by eye. • Digital precision: Reliable and reproducible results, with warnings if critical measurement interferences are detected. • Data storage and traceability: Enriched datasets are stored automatically. Forget pen and paper! • Visualizations and analyses: Organize and group your data for better clarity on your measurement results.
@BactLAB
Easily count bacterial colonies on food safety test plates using your smartphone. This app leverages AI and cloud technology to promote operational efficiency and improve quality of life for those involved in food health and safety.
- AI-powered colony counting
- Cloud storage for count data
- Count report generation (PDF/email)
- Supports multiple CompactDry™ test types
- Arbitrary adjustment function for counts
Read full descriptionHide full description
The safety and security of foods are important for humans to live. The examination of bacteria in foods and drinking water can be easily available to everyone. The product supports human life in any place and region. Making it easy bacterial counting, by using a familiar mobile device for everyone around the world, trying to promote operational efficiency using the global cloud and AI, adding value to CompactDry™ to play a role in the improvement of the QOL, keeping these ideas in mind we have developed the application for everyone engaging on health and safety of food. You can easily determine the bacterial (colony) count cultured in CompactDry™ using your smartphone. Targeted Products ( 7 Types ) CompactDry™ TC ( General Bacteria ) CompactDry™ TCR ( General Bacteria ) CompactDry™ EC ( E.coli / Coliforms ) CompactDry™ CF ( Coliforms ) CompactDry™ YM ( Yeast / Fungus ) CompactDry™ YMR ( Yeast / Fungus ) CompactDry™ ECO ( E.coli ) Primary Functions Colony counter - Colony count arbitrary adjustment function equipped - Cloud storage function for count data Count report [ pdf / email ] Uniform management of data by company (*Optional) Remarks - Regarding the colony counting process, the processing with the initial AI model released in August 2018 had implemented counting technology image processing that combines "image processing" and "machine learning (Deep Learning)" for colony position detection. In the AI model released in July 2023, object detection AI network (machine learning model) [YOLOv4] that processes position (area) detection and class classification in one network is used as a backbone and implemented as a hard-tuning AI enabling business use by repeated inference verification tests specializing in colony detection (counting) . - The cloud image recognition technology used in this service employs artificial intelligence (AI) technology for image recognition system jointly developed by Shimadzu Diagnostics Corporation and Hitachi Solutions, Ltd. - Restrictions for input images in Colony Counter No warranty of accuracy is given for the following images. 1. Image resolution of less than 800 pix x 1200 pix. 2. The background color is not white. 3. Colored medium. 4. A viscous sample is added. 5. Food residues are contained. 6. Highly concentrated colonies. Other ・The count result of "0" does not mean a negative result. ・Detection range is between 1–250 cfu/plate. ・There are two types of misreads that can occur when using the @BactLAB™. - @BactLAB™ Application did not detect all of the colonies specific to the CompactDry™ plate. - The counter detected all the colonies but it categorized them incorrectly. - Please note that the specification or performance may be changed without notice. - The cloud image recognition technology utilized in this service employs the artificial intelligence (AI) technology for image recognition system jointly developed by Shimadzu Diagnostics Corporation and Hitachi Solutions, Ltd. - Please see here. https://corp.sdc.shimadzu.co.jp/english/products/global/bactlab/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: @BactLAB at every 2 months against MQuant® StripScan's every 5 months. MQuant® StripScan's advantage is review sentiment (8% vs 0%). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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 — 1.7 for MQuant® StripScan against 1.7 for @BactLAB. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 10 and 6 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 8% of MQuant® StripScan's written reviews are positive against 0% of @BactLAB's.
MQuant® StripScan ships an update every 5 months, @BactLAB every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on August 3, 2026 and September 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | MQuant® StripScan | @BactLAB |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.7 (10 ratings) | 1.7 (6 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 8.3% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 10 — better | 6 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 42 MB | 24 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Merck KGaA (Darmstadt, Germany) | Shimadzu Diagnostics Corporation |
Customer experience
MQuant® StripScan
@BactLAB
In-app purchases
MQuant® StripScan
No in-app purchases
@BactLAB
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is MQuant® StripScan free?
Is @BactLAB free?
Which has better reviews, MQuant® StripScan or @BactLAB?
Do MQuant® StripScan or @BactLAB have ads?
Which is updated more often, MQuant® StripScan or @BactLAB?
Other comparisons















