# Cascade vs VendBuddy

The clearest difference is review sentiment: VendBuddy at 100% against Cascade's 65%. VendBuddy also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6). Cascade's advantage is ratings volume (281 vs 3) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 10 days). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Cascade sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and VendBuddy sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $15.00 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

VendBuddy holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Cascade has 281 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 65% of Cascade's written reviews are positive against 100% of VendBuddy's.

Cascade ships an update every 4 days, VendBuddy every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Cascade | VendBuddy |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (281 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cascade-mtg-card-scanner/id1528247277/reviews) | **[5.0 (3 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/vendbuddy/id6760195941/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **281** | 3 |
| Positive reviews | 65.5% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 4 days** | Every 10 days |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Size | 56 MB | 80 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **16.4** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 17+ | 9+ |
| Developer | [Cascade MTG LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1528247279) | [VendBuddy](https://appshunter.io/developer/6807596499) |

## What reviewers say

### Cascade

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cascade-mtg-card-scanner/id1528247277)

Effortlessly manage your Magic: The Gathering collection and decks. Scan cards quickly, track their value with daily updated prices, and build/playtest various deck formats. Sync your collection across all your devices for seamless access.

**Highlights:** Fast card scanning, Unlimited collection tracking, Real-time price updates, Deck building and playtesting, Cross-device sync, Import/export collection data

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Cascade Premium - Monthly | $1.99 | per month |
| Cascade Premium - Annual | $19.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Clean and intuitive user interface
- 🚀 Fast and smooth app performance
- 📱 Excellent card scanning feature (when working)
- 🎯 Great organizational tool for decks and collections
- 💾 Batch importer for quick card addition

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💸 Misleading 'free' app with significant paywall ($50/year or $5/month)
- 🐛 Unreliable card scanner with high error rates
- 🐛 Scanner fails on extended art, special symbols, and non-English cards
- 🐛 Manual search often returns zero results
- 🐛 Missing card printings and special sets in database

**Reported bugs**

- Card scanner misidentifies cards or fails to scan entirely
- Manual entry bug deletes all previously manually-entered cards from scanning session
- Incorrect card name mapping (e.g., Maarika showing as Zangief)
- App crashes or fails to open after adding many cards
- Account access lost after reinstalling app

**Requested features**

- Search function within decks
- Average mana value/CMC statistics for decks
- Easier deck identification when viewing cards
- CSV and table format import support
- Duplicate card detection feature


### VendBuddy

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/vendbuddy/id6760195941)

This app helps trading card vendors manage their business at events. It offers tools for building deals, scanning cards, tracking inventory, and analyzing event profitability. Keep your business organized and focus on making sales.

**Highlights:** Deal Builder with real-time pricing, Automatic card identification via camera scan, Comprehensive inventory management, Event profit and loss tracking, Portfolio value dashboard, Support for 5 major trading card games, Graded card pricing

**Features:** iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Starter | $15.00 | per month |
| Standard | $29.00 | per month |
| Pro | $59.00 | per month |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Cascade free?

Cascade is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is VendBuddy free?

VendBuddy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Cascade or VendBuddy?

VendBuddy is rated higher. Cascade averages 4.6 out of 5 from 281 ratings, while VendBuddy averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.

### Do Cascade or VendBuddy have ads?

Neither Cascade nor VendBuddy shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Cascade or VendBuddy?

Cascade ships an update every 4 days, and VendBuddy every 10 days. Most recently, Cascade was updated on October 29, 2026 and VendBuddy on October 28, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*