Comparison

MTG Lens vs MTG Compendium

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

Head to head
About

MTG Lens

Features
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Discover MTG Lens: Your Magic The Gathering Assistant Features: - See legality, keywords and rules easily while playing. - Use your camera to scan and identify cards - Access detailed card information with up-to-date rules and legalities - View explanations of keywords for each card. - View cards in any language - Enhance your deck-building experience and view stats like Mana Curve - Many more in development, please give us feedback what you want or need. We are dedicated to making MTG Lens even better and welcome your feedback and suggestions at info@ernstconte.com. Magic: The Gathering is a registered trademark of Wizards of the Coast. MTG Lens is an independent app and is not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast or Hasbro, Inc.

About

MTG Compendium

This app is a comprehensive companion for Magic: The Gathering players. It allows you to scan and collect cards, build and analyze decks with detailed statistics, track your game history, and get personalized advice from an AI deck coach. It also provides tools for exploring game sets and preconstructed decks.

Highlights
  • Card scanning and collection management
  • Advanced deck building and analysis
  • Life counter and game log
  • AI-powered deck advice and insights
  • Price tracking and history
  • Set exploration and deck comparison
Features
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Stop passing the phone. Compendium is the Magic: The Gathering companion for your whole pod: a live multiplayer life counter, trades and head-to-head with the people you play, plus a deck builder, card scanner and a deck coach that knows your games. New: the Pod Hub puts your invites, pod mates, games together and possible trades in one place, and a QR code gets everyone at the table into your game (and your pod, if they want). Only one with the app? Add the others as guests. No account needed to scan, build and count life. Sign in (free) to play or trade with your pod. YOUR POD Pod Hub—invites, pod mates, games together and possible trades on one screen, one tap from the Decks tab Join by QR—show a code in game setup and friends join by scanning or typing a six-character code, and can add you to their pod as they join Names and commander art—choose a display name and a signature commander so your pod sees who's who Head-to-head with each pod mate from your live and shared games, on the Hub and on their profile Your pod this week on Discover: recent games, new binder cards and possible trades, plus a Rematch button After a game, "At this table" sends a pod invite to everyone you played with "In your pod" on card pages shows which pod mates have a card for trade or want it One Invites inbox for pod invites and live games, with alerts you control. All free PLAY & IMPROVE Life counter for 1–6 players with commander damage, poison, and custom counters Live Games—every player syncs life, commander damage and counters from their own phone in real time, no passing one device around the table. Works on whatever phone each pod mate has Game log that tracks your wins, losses, commanders faced, and finish position Share a logged game with your pod so everyone can fill in their own side of the story Win/loss trend analysis, play/draw splits, and rival tracking over time Pre-game matchup prep—know what you're up against before you sit down POD TRADING Invite friends into your pod and Compendium spots every card they want that's sitting in your binder, and every card you want that's sitting in theirs—no more "anyone got a...?" in the group chat Once connected, binders stay in sync automatically—no exporting, no back-and-forth messaging MEET MOX Mox knows Magic: The Gathering inside and out—and now it knows your games too. Ask Mox for deck advice, card questions, rules or upgrade ideas Get personalized Game Insights based on your real play history—not generic advice Let Mox build you a deck from scratch or finish your half-built list Add cards to your wishlist, collection, or deck with a tap SCAN & COLLECT Instant card scanning—add cards to your collection in seconds Smart filters, sets, and custom organization Real-time prices from TCGPlayer, CardMarket, and Cardhoarder 90-day price history so you can spot trends at a glance BUILD BETTER DECKS Deck builder for any format: Commander/EDH, Standard, Modern, Pioneer, Legacy, and more Set a budget ceiling and Mox will keep your list within it Opening-hand probabilities, mana curve, color distribution, and mana health Deck value tracking with 1-year price history Import from Moxfield, Archidekt, or any text list—export anywhere Browse, compare and import official preconstructed decks Discover feed with Card of the Week, trending decks and recent sets FREE TO START. UPGRADE WHEN YOU'RE READY. Compendium is free to download and use, and pods, Live Games and Pod Trading are free. Pro unlocks advanced analytics, unlimited deck evaluations, Game Insights, syncing your own collection and decks across your devices, and the full power of Mox—including chat, deck creation, and matchup prep. Magic: The Gathering and all related properties are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast LLC. Compendium is not affiliated with or endorsed by Wizards of the Coast. EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

MTG Lens4 screens
MTG Compendium4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: MTG Lens at none against MTG Compendium's 3. MTG Lens also leads on iOS requirement (17.3 vs 26.0). MTG Compendium's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 4 months). On price, 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. MTG Compendium sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. MTG Lens asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MTG Lens ships an update every 4 months, MTG Compendium weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
MTG Lens versus MTG Compendium: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMTG LensMTG Compendium
PriceFreeFree
Rating—3.4 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—57.1% of reviews
Number of ratings—5 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS17.3 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size151 MB74 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperErnst & Conte GmbHMark Webb

In-app purchases

None

MTG Lens

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

MTG Compendium

Subscriptions2
  • Unlimited Evals and Chat7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Annual Pro Subscription7 Days trial$34.991 Year
One-time1
  • Compendium 3 Deck Evaluations$1.99

Questions

Is MTG Lens free?
MTG Lens is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is MTG Compendium free?
MTG Compendium is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do MTG Lens or MTG Compendium have ads?
Neither MTG Lens nor MTG Compendium shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MTG Lens or MTG Compendium?
MTG Lens ships an update every 4 months, and MTG Compendium weekly. Most recently, MTG Lens was updated on October 10, 2026 and MTG Compendium on October 17, 2026.

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