MTG Compendium vs MetaVault
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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/
MetaVault
This app helps Magic: The Gathering players manage their card collections, build decks using AI, and track game stats. It offers instant card scanning, collection valuation, and deck analysis tools.
- Instant card scanning with set code identification
- Live collection value and per-card pricing
- AI-powered deck builder with real deck data
- Deck management with version history
- Life counter and game tracking for multiplayer
- Import from popular MTG platforms
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MetaVault is the all-in-one companion for Magic: The Gathering collectors and Commander players. SCAN CARDS INSTANTLY - Point your camera at any card - MetaVault reads the set code and collector number to identify the exact printing, not just the name - Batch scanning with a live queue, foil toggle, prices, and one-tap Add All - High-value alerts buzz when a scan beats your price threshold - Scanned a card one of your decks needs, or one on your wishlist? MetaVault tells you on the spot KNOW YOUR COLLECTION - Live collection value and per-card prices, foil-aware - List and gallery views with deep filters: set, type, subtype, color, foil, quantity, and more - Groups for trade binders and sale boxes, card-level favourites, sold-card tracking - Buy List Compare: paste any shop's buy list and see their offer against market value - Import from Moxfield, ManaBox, Archidekt, Deckbox, MTG Arena, MTGO and more - Value chart over time, color and rarity breakdowns, top holdings - Your collection loads instantly and stays viewable offline AI DECK BUILDER - Pick any commander and get a full 99 built from real deck data and published combo lines - The vault dial goes from meta-first all the way to 100% cards you already own, with an upgrade board for what to buy next - Win conditions, near-combos, an ideal opening hand, and weaknesses with one-tap patches - Analyze an existing deck: suggested swaps, upgrades from your vault or to buy, and one tap creates the upgraded deck DECK MANAGEMENT - Main, sideboard, and considering piles with commander support and color identity - Version history with card-by-card diffs - finish, browse, and fork old versions - Sync a deck to the printings you actually own - Mana curve, per-color breakdowns, deck value and cost-to-finish GAME NIGHT - Life counter for 2-8 players with commander damage, poison, and counters - Monarch, Initiative, City's Blessing and Ring emblems; dice, coin flip, random player picker - Turn tracker and auto-saved game history with life-over-time charts AND MORE - Wishlist with import, export, and sharing - Full card search with an advanced query builder - Set completion tracking, every Commander precon, and the complete Secret Lair catalog - Share your collection, groups, decks or wishlist as links or QR codes - including filtered links that show only what you choose - An Apple Wallet pass with your collection value and a scannable QR - Sign in with Apple, and full account deletion in-app Card data and images courtesy of Scryfall. MetaVault is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved or endorsed by Wizards of the Coast.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: MetaVault at 100% against MTG Compendium's 57%. MetaVault also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.4) and in-app purchases (none vs 3). MTG Compendium's advantage is ratings volume (5 vs 1). 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
Both are free to download. MTG Compendium sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. MetaVault asks for nothing beyond the download.
MetaVault holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: MTG Compendium has 5 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 57% of MTG Compendium's written reviews are positive against 100% of MetaVault's.
| Parameter | MTG Compendium | MetaVault |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.4 (5 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 57.1% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 5 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Weekly | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 16.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 74 MB | 39 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Mark Webb | Christopher Osuna |
Customer experience
MTG Compendium
MetaVault
In-app purchases
MTG Compendium
- Unlimited Evals and Chat7 Days trial$2.991 Month
- Annual Pro Subscription7 Days trial$34.991 Year
- Compendium 3 Deck Evaluations$1.99
MetaVault
No in-app purchases









