Comparison

Carly vs CTEK App

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

CTEK App

This app connects to compatible CTEK charging products via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, offering remote control and enhanced features. Monitor charging status, schedule EV charging, and access special modes for battery reconditioning or power supply.

Highlights
  • Remote charging control
  • Charging scheduling
  • Battery reconditioning modes
  • 12V power supply mode
  • Charging history tracking
  • Product status monitoring
Features
Read full description

CTEK APP The CTEK APP keeps you on top of all your compatible CTEK charging products, right there in the palm of your hand. Quickly installed and simple to use, the CTEK APP syncs your CTEK products to your smartphone via BLUETOOTH® and Wi-Fi, or by using BLUETOOTH® only.* From the clear, easy to read home page you can check the status of all CTEK products that are within range and unlock extra product features to give you even more control. It’s designed to work effortlessly with all compatible CTEK products, including the NJORD® GO portable EV charger** and the CTEK CS ONE smart charger. Get the most out of your NJORD® GO EV charger The CTEK APP gives you total control over how and when you charge your EV with your NJORD® GO. Simply connect it to the app over BLUETOOTH® or Wi-Fi and you can: • Access additional NJORD® GO features and functions • Start, stop and pause charging remotely, and enable or disable auto start • Schedule charging for any time of day • Increase or lower the output current during heavy domestic power usage • Record and display your entire charging history Open up additional features on your CS ONE smart charger • Connects automatically over BLUETOOTH® • Revive deeply discharged batteries using the ‘RECOND’ reconditioning mode • Select ‘LITHIUM WAKE UP’ for lithium-ion batteries with Under Voltage Protection (UVP) • Turn your CS ONE into a 12V power supply using ‘SUPPLY’ mode to support the battery during service work • Displays charger voltage and amperage All you need in a single app The CTEK APP also gives you access to a range of additional functions, including: • Quick connection to the CTEK customer support team • Comprehensive product FAQs and troubleshooting • Easy access to terms and conditions The CTEK APP is compatible with most CTEK connected products. If you need any more information on compatibility, check the app and product user manuals or get in touch with our customer support team. What’s New • Support for CTEK CS ONE chargers • Full charging history page (NJORD GO only) • Date filtering in history page (NJORD GO only) • General bug fixes * BLUETOOTH® and Wi-Fi compatibility is subject to product type. Some connected product functions might not be available. ** We call the NJORD® GO an ‘EV charger’ but technically speaking, it’s ‘Electrical Vehicle Supply Equipment’ (EVSE) that provides a safe supply of electricity to power the on-board battery charger in your EV. Most people use the term ‘EV charger’ so to keep things simple, we’re going to use this term as well.

Screenshots

Carly4 screens
CTEK App4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Carly at 4.6 against CTEK App's 2.7. Carly also leads on ratings volume (9.9K vs 3) and update cadence (weekly vs monthly). CTEK App's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. CTEK App asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Carly holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 2.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Carly has 9.9K ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 29% of Carly's written reviews are positive against 12% of CTEK App's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Carly ships an update weekly, CTEK App monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Carly versus CTEK App: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCarlyCTEK App
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (9.9K ratings) — better2.7 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews29.2% of reviews — better11.9% of reviews
Number of ratings9.9K — better3
Update frequencyWeekly — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#176 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.0 — better16.6
Further details — not scored
Size417 MB29 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCarly Solutions GmbH Co KGCTEK Sweden AB

Customer experience

Carly

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

CTEK App

All ratings2 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews42 reviews
Positive11.9%
Neutral2.4%
Negative85.7%

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

CTEK App

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

CTEK App

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Carly free?
Carly is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is CTEK App free?
CTEK App is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Carly or CTEK App?
Carly is rated higher. Carly averages 4.6 out of 5 from 9.9K ratings, while CTEK App averages 2.7 from 3 ratings.
Do Carly or CTEK App have ads?
Neither Carly nor CTEK App shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Carly or CTEK App?
Carly ships an update weekly, and CTEK App monthly. Most recently, Carly was updated on November 8, 2026 and CTEK App on November 3, 2026.

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