Comparison

Stockwave vs Carbly VIN Scanner

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

Head to head
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.

About

Carbly VIN Scanner

This app provides automotive professionals with real-time market data, appraisal tools, and auction search capabilities to optimize vehicle buying and selling. It offers VIN scanning, competitor pricing analysis, and inventory management features to maximize profit.

Highlights
  • VIN scanning (text/barcode)
  • Market data and pricing
  • Auction search and runlists
  • Inventory management
  • Competitor pricing analysis
  • Vehicle history report integration
Features
Read full description

Carbly is a data-driven inventory management and appraisal tool, providing the market data, retail pricing strategy, auction search tools and market intelligence you need to maximize your profit while buying and selling cars. Our partnerships with Live Local Market, Black Book®, J.D. Power Used Car Values, Real Retail, Manheim Market Report, Kelley Blue Book®, Market Tracker, Pipeline Market Report, Galves® Market Data, CARFAX™, and AutoCheck bring you fast and accurate vehicle appraisals. And with upcoming inventory from over 300 dealer auctions across the country, including EDGE Pipeline, Manheim, and ADESA, Carbly has all the data that you need to avoid costly errors while maximizing profit on every transaction. ** Carbly is for automotive professionals only and a state-issued dealer license is required to use the app. ** Never manually enter a VIN again! Carbly's scanner reads VIN text numbers or barcodes quickly and accurately. Just scan a VIN and Carbly shows you full wholesale and retail market data for the vehicle as well as local competitor inventory pricing. Browse upcoming dealer auctions to find the right vehicles for your lot, at the right price. Carbly has auction runlists from Manheim, ADESA, EDGE Pipeline, OVE, and SmartAuction. See accurate market pricing data on every auction listing. And, using our industry leading search, refine your target vehicle list by using more than 15 filters - including profit potential, wholesale value, retail value, year, make, model, trim, mileage, condition, vehicle type drivetrain, transmission, buy it now, and more * Connect your existing DMS or website provider to automatically sync your inventory feed into Carbly * Maximize retail strategy with Lot Sense Turn Optimizer & Regional Performance * Unified vehicle overview with all critical unit data in one place * Monitor your dealership's health with performance analytics * Market Day Supply (or time on lot) shows you how long a vehicle will likely take to sell * Successfully navigate market fluctuations with historical transaction data and future price forecasts * Vehicle summaries flag important attributes such as poor profit spreads, high mileage outliers, condition warnings and much more * Live Local Market shows you similar nearby vehicles for sale, average prices and days on lot, as well as detailed individual comps * Real Retail shows actual transaction comps so you know what customers are really paying and the profits dealers are making * View prices across multiple vehicle conditions and regions * Carbly for Teams allows everyone on the same account to share vehicles, collaborate with notes and photos, and stay in the loop on dealership activity. * Free CARFAX™ or AutoCheck vehicle history report integration (requires a CARFAX™ or AutoCheck account) * Arrange guide books and reports in the order that works best for your needs, organize and search cars, add unlimited custom folders, notes & photos Carbly is for automotive professionals only and a state-issued dealer license is required to use the app.

Screenshots

Stockwave4 screens
Carbly VIN Scanner4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Carbly VIN Scanner at 71% against Stockwave's 42%. Carbly VIN Scanner also leads on rating (3.9 vs 3.5). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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

Carbly VIN Scanner holds the better App Store score, 3.9 against 3.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 31 and 53 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 42% of Stockwave's written reviews are positive against 71% of Carbly VIN Scanner's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Stockwave ships an update monthly, Carbly VIN Scanner every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Stockwave versus Carbly VIN Scanner: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStockwaveCarbly VIN Scanner
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.5 (31 ratings)3.9 (53 ratings) — better
Positive reviews41.7% of reviews70.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings3153 — better
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size33 MB89 MB
Age rating17+4+
DevelopervAuto, Inc.Ambient Automotive, Inc

Customer experience

Stockwave

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

Carbly VIN Scanner

All ratings53 ratings
Positive73.6%
Neutral1.9%
Negative24.5%
Written reviews24 reviews
Positive70.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative29.2%

In-app purchases

None

Stockwave

No in-app purchases

None

Carbly VIN Scanner

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Stockwave free?
Stockwave is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Carbly VIN Scanner free?
Carbly VIN Scanner is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Stockwave or Carbly VIN Scanner?
Carbly VIN Scanner is rated higher. Stockwave averages 3.5 out of 5 from 31 ratings, while Carbly VIN Scanner averages 3.9 from 53 ratings.
Do Stockwave or Carbly VIN Scanner have ads?
Neither Stockwave nor Carbly VIN Scanner shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Stockwave or Carbly VIN Scanner?
Stockwave ships an update monthly, and Carbly VIN Scanner every 6 weeks. Most recently, Stockwave was updated on October 23, 2026 and Carbly VIN Scanner on October 24, 2026.

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