Barcode Scanners vs BotBook
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Barcode Scanners
This app offers robust barcode scanning capabilities, supporting over 30 different types including QR, UPC, and Data Matrix. It provides powerful parsing for industry-standard formats like driver's licenses and GS1 codes, simplifying data extraction.
- Scan over 30 barcode types
- QR code scanning
- UPC scanning
- Data Matrix scanning
- GS1 code parsing
- Driver's license data parsing
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Barcode scanning made simple! Use this powerful app to easily scan over 30 different types of barcodes, including QR, UPC, GS1, Data Matrix, PDF417, DotCode, and many others. The Cognex Barcode Scanners application reads all major barcode symbologies, including Aztec Code, Codabar, Code 11, Code 25 (Interleaved, Industrial, COOP, Matrix and ITF-14), Code 39, Code 93, Code 128, Data Matrix, DotCode, EAN, ISBN, GS1 DataBar, MaxiCode, MSI Plessey, PDF417, Micro PDF417, Postal Codes, QR Code (Micro and Standard), TELEPEN and UPC barcode types, as well as GS1 sub-types like GS1 QR Code, GS1 Data Matrix and GS1-128. The app also provides powerful parsers to examine industry standard formatted barcodes more easily such as AAMVA (US and Canadian Driver’s Licenses), GS1, IUID, Structured Carrier Messages (MaxiCode), and more! To learn more about Cognex's high-speed barcode scanning and computer vision solutions, visit https://www.cognex.com.
BotBook
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BotBook is a journaling app for adult teams that want a verifiable record of who did what and when: college clubs, hobbyist groups, professional collaborations, robotics teams. Capture moments as they happen with text, photos, voice notes, and live transcription, and BotBook stamps each entry with the server-side time so the record holds up under review. KEY FEATURES • Photos, audio, and text in one entry. Take a quick photo of the work, hold the mic to dictate, and the transcript is right there alongside the audio file. • Server-side timestamps. The entry's "when" is set by BotBook's servers in UTC, not your phone, so the timeline can't be back-dated. • 24-hour edit window. Authors can fix typos and re-attach media for a day; after that, entries lock and anyone can comment but not rewrite. • Team roles. Team admins, mentors, journalees, and parents each see a view scoped to what they should be able to do. Admins can promote, demote, or remove members and invite new people via Gmail. • Live transcription. iOS Speech framework runs on-device by default; voice notes upload alongside the transcript. • Audit log. Every create / edit / delete / member change writes an append-only audit row with IP, device, and timestamp, so the team can prove provenance long after the fact. • Built for both phone and iPad. NavigationSplitView sidebar on iPad, hamburger on iPhone, identical features.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: BotBook at every 3 weeks against Barcode Scanners's every 5 months. Barcode Scanners's advantage is iOS requirement (9.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Barcode Scanners ships an update every 5 months, BotBook every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and September 27, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Barcode Scanners | BotBook |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (810 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 87.8% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 810 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 9.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 35 MB | 10 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Cognex Corporation | Prashanth Goriparthi |
Bugs and requests
Barcode Scanners
Reported bugs
3 issues- App crashing after iOS 12.3.1 update
- Unable to scan certain barcode types (e.g. GS1 DataMatrix)
- Frozen camera view after initial scan
Requested features
4 requests- Option to disable tips/tooltips on startup
- Batch export/logging of scan history
- Ability to display non-readable characters
- Deeper Shortcuts integration
BotBook
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Barcode Scanners
No in-app purchases
BotBook
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Barcode Scanners free?
Is BotBook free?
Do Barcode Scanners or BotBook have ads?
Which is updated more often, Barcode Scanners or BotBook?
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