# Cantrip vs Explain The Card

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Explain The Card at 100% against Cantrip's 57%. Explain The Card also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 4 months). Cantrip's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and ads (none vs shown). On price and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Explain The Card sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Cantrip asks for nothing beyond the download.

Cantrip ships an update every 4 months, Explain The Card every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Cantrip | Explain The Card |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[3.9 (15 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cantrip/id6443567103/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **15** | — |
| Positive reviews | 57.1% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | **Every 4 days** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 142 MB | 47 MB |
| Requires iOS | **18.6** | 26.1 |
| Devices | iPhone | **iPhone, iPad** |
| Age rating | 9+ | 9+ |
| Developer | [White Bridge Labs](https://appshunter.io/developer/1647217300) | [Danny Hollek](https://appshunter.io/developer/1853824340) |

## What reviewers say

### Cantrip

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cantrip/id6443567103)

Easily build and manage your Magic: The Gathering decks. Search and filter cards from any set, and quickly add, remove, or sideboard cards with intuitive gestures.

**Highlights:** Powerful deck builder, Card search and filtering, Add/remove cards with swipe, Sideboard management, Supports all card sets

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### Explain The Card

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/explain-the-card-mtg/id6779667101)

This app helps Magic: The Gathering players build decks using AI, understand card rules, and analyze card interactions. It offers features like camera scanning for card information and offline access to game rules.

**Highlights:** AI-powered Commander deck building, Camera scanning for card information, Plain-English card explanations, Two-card interaction analysis, Offline access to game rules, Deck management and editing

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium Monthly | $2.99 | per month |
| Premium Annual | $19.99 | per year |
| 50 Credits | $0.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Cantrip free?

Cantrip is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Explain The Card free?

Explain The Card is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Do Cantrip or Explain The Card have ads?

Explain The Card shows ads; Cantrip does not.

### Which is updated more often, Cantrip or Explain The Card?

Cantrip ships an update every 4 months, and Explain The Card every 4 days. Most recently, Cantrip was updated on October 16, 2026 and Explain The Card on October 8, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*