Comparison

autoniq® VIN Scanner vs Stockwave

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

Head to head
About

autoniq® VIN Scanner

This app provides automotive professionals with real-time vehicle pricing and evaluation data from trusted industry sources. It offers VIN scanning, market reports, vehicle histories, and auction inventory access to aid in strategic purchasing and pricing decisions.

Highlights
  • VIN Scanner (Text, Barcode, QR Code)
  • Expert Pricing Guides
  • Trusted Market Reports
  • Detailed Vehicle Histories (CARFAX/AutoCheck integration)
  • Auction Inventory Access
  • Simulcast Integration
  • Save Photos, Notes, and Selections
Features
Read full description

*For Automotive Professionals Only* autoniq is your source for vehicle pricing and evaluation, offering real-time market data and valuable insights from industry trusted sources. You’ll get comprehensive information in a clear, easy-to-use interface at affordable prices. EXPERT PRICING GUIDES - View reliable and independent data from industry leaders such as Black Book®, Galves®, J.D. Power®, and Kelley Blue Book® to help make strategic purchasing and pricing decisions. TRUSTED MARKET REPORTS - Evaluate market trends with detailed transaction data from Manheim Market Report®, ADESA CarValue™, and Pipeline Market Report™. DETAILED VEHICLE HISTORIES - Get seamless integration with CARFAX® and AutoCheck® for comprehensive vehicle history reporting, using your existing accounts (CARFAX or AutoCheck account required). AUTONIQ ALL-INCLUSIVE SELECTIONS - Enhance your car-buying with autoniq's top products: autoniq Profit Guide™, Retail Index®, and Market Report®. Gain smarter insights for better decisions. AUCTION INVENTORY - Access to inventories from over 500 auction locations, along with available photos and condition data. Browse upcoming inventory and navigate quickly through runlists for MANHEIM®, Edge Pipeline™, ADESA®, CarMax®, OVE®, SmartAuction®, and many more. Evaluate vehicles, add them to lists, and add your own notes and photos, all in one place. Get unlimited evaluations and access to over 300,000 vehicles on average with an autoniq subscription. SIMULCAST INTEGRATION - In simulcast sales, autoniq® delivers a competitive edge. Our real-time pricing keeps you synced and perfectly timed for the fast-paced auction action. VIN SCANNER: autoniq’s VIN Scanner reads TEXT, BARCODES, and QR CODES, so you can easily get accurate information on the spot whether it's at the auction or on the lot. FIND and filter vehicles at upcoming auctions. SAVE your own photos, notes, and selections in the Price Evaluator. TRACK and ORGANIZE your evaluated cars with wishlists that suit your business needs. CUSTOMIZE, EXPORT, and PRINT book sheets for customers and lenders. SHARE evaluations with your contacts by text or email. They don’t need an account to view shared vehicles. LINK your account with others’ at your dealership to view lists and notes made by your team. EASY AND AFFORDABLE – autoniq is designed for the automotive professional and displays all key vehicle data on one page, no tabbing required. No need to download additional software or hardware. And best of all, it won’t break your budget. autoniq is a subscription based service and provides monthly and annual options. Email customer service at support@autoniq.com or call (866) 482-8421 Monday – Friday between 8am and 6pm ET.

About

Stockwave

Streamline wholesale vehicle acquisition by simplifying auction sourcing. Quickly evaluate vehicles, access pricing guides, and get real-time bid guidance to make profitable decisions.

Highlights
  • VIN scanning for bid determination
  • Access to multiple price guides
  • Vehicle history reports
  • Auction condition report evaluation
  • Save vehicle notes
  • Navigate auction run lists
  • Real-time bid guidance
Features
Read full description

Stockwave is the latest innovation from vAuto for Wholesale Vehicle Acquisition. The Stockwave application will work for all existing vAuto clients that have a current AuctionGenius subscription or sign up for a new Stockwave subscription. Sourcing used car inventory at auction can drain time and money from a dealership. The searching and researching before the auction doesn’t always lead to the best buying opportunities. The bidding and buying process doesn’t always lead to profitable outcomes. Stockwave simplifies sourcing so much, you don’t have to spend time searching or researching - or waste money on the wrong bids again. The Stockwave mobile application is designed to aide in searching for Wholesale inventory from all major United States Automobile Auctions and for quickly evaluate the vehicles when at alive auction. Key Features: * Scan a VIN to quickly determine what to bid on a vehicle * Access price guides based on your current subscription such as MMR, KBB, Black Book, NADA, and Galves * Access Vehicle History Reports * Evaluate the Auction Condition Reports before you place a bid * Save Notes about each Vehicle to access your prior research * Navigate Auction Run Lists with ease while at the auction * Access real time bid guidance and profit projections Usage Requirements: * This app requires an active subscription with vAuto for AuctionGenius or Stockwave. * The VIN scanner requires access to your camera, and you can grant permissions by going to Settings -> Privacy -> Camera. * The VIN scanner requires an autofocusing camera. Some older Apple devices do NOT have autofocus cameras, so VIN scanning is NOT supported on those devices. * The Black Book and Galves price guides may require an additional subscription to access the data on a mobile device.

Screenshots

autoniq® VIN Scanner4 screens
Stockwave4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Stockwave at 3.5 against autoniq® VIN Scanner's 2.3. Stockwave also leads on monetization model (free vs subscription) and review sentiment (42% vs 32%). autoniq® VIN Scanner's advantage is ratings volume (109 vs 31). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Stockwave holds the better App Store score, 3.5 against 2.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 109 and 31 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 32% of autoniq® VIN Scanner's written reviews are positive against 42% of Stockwave's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly monthly. The most recent releases landed on June 11, 2026 and August 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
autoniq® VIN Scanner versus Stockwave: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameterautoniq® VIN ScannerStockwave
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.3 (109 ratings)3.5 (31 ratings) — better
Positive reviews32.4% of reviews41.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings109 — better31
Update frequencyMonthlyMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationSubscriptionFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size31 MB33 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperAutoniq, LLCvAuto, Inc.

Customer experience

autoniq® VIN Scanner

All ratings109 ratings
Positive30.3%
Neutral4.6%
Negative65.1%
Written reviews74 reviews
Positive32.4%
Neutral4.1%
Negative63.5%

Stockwave

All ratings31 ratings
Positive61.3%
Neutral6.5%
Negative32.3%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive41.7%
Neutral8.3%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

None

autoniq® VIN Scanner

No in-app purchases

None

Stockwave

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is autoniq® VIN Scanner free?
autoniq® VIN Scanner is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Stockwave free?
Stockwave is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, autoniq® VIN Scanner or Stockwave?
Stockwave is rated higher. autoniq® VIN Scanner averages 2.3 out of 5 from 109 ratings, while Stockwave averages 3.5 from 31 ratings.
Do autoniq® VIN Scanner or Stockwave have ads?
Neither autoniq® VIN Scanner nor Stockwave shows ads.
Which is updated more often, autoniq® VIN Scanner or Stockwave?
autoniq® VIN Scanner ships an update monthly, and Stockwave monthly. Most recently, autoniq® VIN Scanner was updated on June 11, 2026 and Stockwave on August 20, 2026.

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