Comparison

Carly vs MaxiAP

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

Head to head
About

Carly

This app provides comprehensive car diagnostics, live engine data, and repair guides. It helps users understand their car's health, perform maintenance, and even unlock hidden features. Compatible with a wide range of car brands, it empowers owners to take control of their vehicle's upkeep.

Highlights
  • Read and clear fault codes
  • Monitor engine live data
  • Access expert repair guides
  • Perform car maintenance
  • Check starter battery condition
  • Code and unlock hidden features
  • Detect mileage manipulation
Features
Read full description

Carly is the most versatile OBD2 solution, offering diagnostics, engine live data, and guides for car repair and maintenance. It's helped over a million car owners to save up to $2,000 per year for car-related topics. Get the Carly app and the Carly Universal Scanner to access data through the OBD2 port of your car. Unleash your inner car hero with Carly! It works for Audi, BMW, Ford, Lexus, Mercedes, Mini, Opel, Porsche, Renault, Seat, Skoda, Toyota, VW, and almost all other car brands with an OBD2 port. As every car is unique, which specific Carly features are available will vary with every model, build year, hardware, and software. ———— BASIC FEATURES INCLUDED IN THE (FREE) BASIC PACKAGE Diagnostics (OBD), Live Data (OBD), and Emission Check (OBD) enable you to have control over the most important systems — engine and transmission. ADVANCED FEATURES INCLUDED IN THE PREMIUM PACKAGE (YEARLY LICENSE) • UNDERSTAND YOUR CAR'S HEALTH With Carly Diagnostics, you can read and clear fault codes from all built-in electronic control units (ECUs), including engine, transmission, ABS, airbag, and multimedia, keep track of your car’s health, gauge the severity of problems, and more. • POWERCHARGE YOUR REPAIR SKILLS Get expert repair guides for your specific issues to help you understand and fix the issues by yourself. • MONITOR ENGINE LIVE DATA Live parameters or live data can help you take the guesswork out of understanding what your car needs and narrow down the fault causes. • PERFORM CAR MAINTENANCE INDEPENDENT OF THE WORKSHOP The Carly Maintenance feature helps you step-by-step to service your car yourself, reset your service and keep track of your service intervals directly from your phone. • VIEW THE CONDITION OF YOUR BATTERY The Carly Battery Check function helps you monitor the status of your car's starter battery, which will help to increase your batterie lifetime. • CODE AND UNLOCK HIDDEN FEATURES Access hidden features set by the manufacturer and customize your car to fit your needs. This feature is only available on certain car brands/models, and the coding options vary between each control unit. • DETECT MILEAGE MANIPULATION Mileage manipulation is on the rise. Don’t get tricked when buying a used car — use Carly to perform a used car inspection before buying. ———— HOW IT WORKS Step 1: Check which features are available for your car model Step 2: Order your Carly Universal Scanner Step 3: Plug the scanner into the OBD2 port and log in on this app THE CARLY UNIVERSAL SCANNER — THE MOST ADVANCED OBD DEVICE The OBD2 device was designed to support almost all car brands with an OBD2 port and to enable advanced Carly features. The scanner comes with: • A lifetime warranty • Premium customer support Take the health of your car into your own hands! ———— You can purchase a subscription for an individual car brand or for all car brands. This is a yearly subscription. The subscription automatically renews for one year if not canceled at least 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. The subscription can be managed in your purchases and the automatic renewal can be deactivated there. Terms of Use: https://bit.ly/35Mxg5s Privacy Policy: https://bit.ly/35Rruze

About

MaxiAP

Transform your iPhone into a powerful vehicle diagnostic tool. This app, paired with a Bluetooth OBDII connector, allows you to monitor your engine system, read and clear diagnostic codes, and generate repair reports for easy vehicle maintenance.

Highlights
  • Works on all 1996+ vehicles
  • Supports all 10 OBDII test modes
  • Reads and clears engine codes
  • Checks system readiness
  • Generates repair reports
  • Graphs live system data
Features
Read full description

Autel presents the new MaxiAP AP100 to make your iPhone devices into a powerful diagnostic tool. The MaxiAP AP100 package comes with a Bluetooth OBDII connector and a free app, through which you can monitor the engine system to ensure the performance of your vehicle. It is the perfect DIY tool for customers looking for easy and fast OBDII diagnostic functions. Features: ●Works on ALL 1996 and newer European, Asian, and U.S. vehicles (OBDII & CAN) ●Supports all 10 test modes of OBDII ●Reads & clears stored, permanent, pending codes for Engine system ●Reads & clears manufacture specific codes for GM, Ford, Chrysler ●Checks the readiness of the monitoring system ●Views the results of On-Board Monitor tests ●Generates repair reports for test vehicle ●Graphs system live data ●Views freeze frame data ●Displays the VIN, CVN and other information of the test vehicle ●Checks the status of the MIL and other additional information

Screenshots

Carly4 screens
MaxiAP4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Carly at 4.6 against MaxiAP's 3.1. Carly also leads on ratings volume (9.9K vs 7) and update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks). MaxiAP's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 16.0). On price, review sentiment, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Carly sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $21.99 per year. MaxiAP asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Carly holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Carly has 9.9K ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 29% of Carly's written reviews are positive against 33% of MaxiAP's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Carly ships an update weekly, MaxiAP every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Carly versus MaxiAP: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCarlyMaxiAP
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (9.9K ratings) — better3.1 (7 ratings)
Positive reviews29.2% of reviews33.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings9.9K — better7
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#198 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS16.08.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size417 MB30 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCarly Solutions GmbH Co KGAutel Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd.

Customer experience

Carly

All ratings9,896 ratings
Positive91.7%
Neutral1.7%
Negative6.6%
Written reviews603 reviews
Positive29.2%
Neutral5.5%
Negative65.3%

MaxiAP

All ratings7 ratings
Positive57.1%
Neutral0.0%
Negative42.9%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative66.7%

Bugs and requests

Carly

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes or freezes
  • Adapter not working as expected
  • Inaccurate or misleading diagnostic information

Requested features

4 requests
  • More vehicle support
  • Improved user interface
  • Offline functionality
  • Easier subscription management

MaxiAP

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Carly

Subscriptions10
  • Toyota$21.991 Year
  • Mercedes$28.991 Year
  • Smart Mechanic$35.991 Year
Show 7 more
  • Volkswagen, Audi, Seat, Skoda$53.991 Year
  • Carly for BMW Full-Version$59.991 Year
  • BMW and Mini$63.991 Year
  • All Brands Upgrade6 Months trial$78.991 Year
  • All Brands$82.991 Year
  • BMW and Mini + Smart Mechanic$99.991 Year
  • All Brands + Smart Mechanic$118.991 Year
None

MaxiAP

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Carly free?
Carly is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is MaxiAP free?
MaxiAP is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Carly or MaxiAP?
Carly is rated higher. Carly averages 4.6 out of 5 from 9.9K ratings, while MaxiAP averages 3.1 from 7 ratings.
Do Carly or MaxiAP have ads?
Neither Carly nor MaxiAP shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Carly or MaxiAP?
Carly ships an update weekly, and MaxiAP every 3 weeks. Most recently, Carly was updated on November 5, 2026 and MaxiAP on November 4, 2026.

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