OBD Mate vs ActiveOBD
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
OBD Mate
Diagnose vehicle faults and receive driving assistance using your smartphone or tablet. Connect via Bluetooth to read and clear error codes, monitor sensor data, and view custom dashboards for a better driving experience.
- Fault diagnosis
- Driving assistance
- Read and clear codes
- Freeze frame data
- O2 sensor monitoring
- Customizable dashboard
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The OBD assistant is a driving companion that can communicate with the vehicle terminal through Bluetooth using smartphones and tablets to complete functions such as fault diagnosis and driving assistance. It not only has rich and comprehensive vehicle detection and diagnosis functions such as fault code reading and clearing, freeze frames, battery voltage, gearbox, and performance testing, but also has a cool instrument panel and driving assistance functions, making driving more fun.
ActiveOBD
This app functions as an OBDII scanner, offering specialized support for Subaru vehicles (MY2012+). It provides basic parameter readings for free, with a subscription unlocking advanced features like trouble code reading and data logging.
- OBDII scanning
- Subaru-specific support (MY2012+)
- CVT Oil Temperature reading
- AWD duty (%) parameter reading
- Trouble code reading (full version)
- Data logging (full version)
- Graphs building (full version)
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The OBDII scanner app with a special support of Subaru (MY2012+) make. It's the next-generation product based on our well-known "ActiveOBD for Subaru" app bringing its best features to iOS users. A compatible OBD adapter is required. Premium-level adapters supported (best speed and stability): - OBDLink MX+; - OBDLink CX; - vLinker MC+. Entry-level adapters supported (moderate speed, good stability): - Vgate iCar Pro Bluetooth 4.0 (BLE). Other adapters supported: - Viecar Bluetooth 4.0 (BLE), Vgate iCar Pro WiFi, Veepeak OBDCheck BLE+, KONNWEI. We do NOT support the majority of cheap ELM327 v2.1 clones. The basic free version already includes CVT Oil Temperature, CVT ratio and AWD duty (%) parameter readings and nice gauge screen ! Note: some of these parameters are inaccessible on some model ranges. The full version (subscription) includes extra parameters reading and features, such as graphs building, logging ("premium-level adapter" required), trouble codes reading. Note: for resource consumption optimization reason the data collection for graphs/logging activates upon accessing these functions and terminates with the current app session. Terms of Use (standard Apple Terms of Use / EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: ActiveOBD at 3.6 against OBD Mate's 1.8. ActiveOBD also leads on review sentiment (45% vs 9%). OBD Mate's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 3 months). On price, ratings volume, 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. ActiveOBD sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $4.99 per month. OBD Mate asks for nothing beyond the download.
ActiveOBD holds the better App Store score, 3.6 against 1.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 115 and 39 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 9% of OBD Mate's written reviews are positive against 45% of ActiveOBD's.
OBD Mate ships an update every 5 weeks, ActiveOBD every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | OBD Mate | ActiveOBD |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.8 (115 ratings) | 3.6 (39 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 9.4% of reviews | 45.5% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 115 — better | 39 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 365 MB | 24 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Autophix Tech Co., Ltd | Mykhailo Zolotarov |
Customer experience
OBD Mate
ActiveOBD
In-app purchases
OBD Mate
No in-app purchases
ActiveOBD
- Full Version Subscription1 Month trial$4.991 Month








