Comparison

Pocket Codex Guides vs Archivist

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

Head to head
About

Pocket Codex Guides

Access your retro game guides anytime, anywhere with this offline reader. Organize your collection by game and track your progress. Supports HTML, TXT, and PDF files, with iCloud sync for seamless reading across devices.

Highlights
  • Offline access
  • Organize by game
  • HTML, TXT, PDF support
  • Progress tracking
  • iCloud Drive Sync
Features
Read full description

Pocket Codex is a a simple, offline reader for retro game guides. Features: Organize your guides by game Support for HTML, TXT, and PDF file types Simple, focused reading experience for each type Built for offline use Progress tracking iCloud Drive Sync for reading across multiple devices

About

Archivist

Digitize your Magic: The Gathering card collection quickly and easily. Scan cards to read details, organize your collection, build decks, and track prices. Connect with other collectors and manage your wishlist.

Highlights
  • Scan cards with camera
  • Organize by box, condition, foil, language
  • Build decks with mana curve
  • Track card prices and set alerts
  • Wishlist cards with TCGplayer integration
  • Follow other collectors
Features
Read full description

Archivist is the fastest way to digitize your Magic: The Gathering collection. Point your phone at any card and the scanner reads the name, set, and collector number in under a second. WHAT YOU CAN DO • Scan cards with your camera — works in most lighting • Organize by box, condition, foil, and language • Build decks with section-aware quantities and a live mana curve • Track card prices and get alerts when a card hits your target • Wishlist cards and check out on TCGplayer in one tap • Follow other collectors and see their public lists ARCHIVIST PLUS Cloud sync across iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Per-card price alerts. Upgrade suggestions for any Commander deck powered by EDHREC. Plus is available as an auto-renewing subscription — Monthly ($4.99) or Yearly ($39.99) — or as a one-time Lifetime purchase ($99.99). Subscriptions renew unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the period ends. Magic: The Gathering, its logos, mana symbols, and card text are trademarks and copyrights of Wizards of the Coast LLC. Archivist is unofficial Fan Content permitted under Wizards' Fan Content Policy and is not approved or endorsed by Wizards. Terms of Use: https://getarchivist.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://getarchivist.app/privacy

Screenshots

Pocket Codex Guides4 screens
Archivist4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Pocket Codex Guides at none against Archivist's 3. Pocket Codex Guides also leads on ratings volume (32 vs 1). Archivist's advantage is iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, rating, review sentiment 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. Archivist sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Pocket Codex Guides asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Pocket Codex Guides against 5.0 for Archivist. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pocket Codex Guides has 32 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Pocket Codex Guides versus Archivist: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPocket Codex GuidesArchivist
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (32 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings32 — better1
Update frequency—Every 9 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAnthony John CacceseRyan Fontenot

Customer experience

Pocket Codex Guides

All ratings24 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews18 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Archivist

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Pocket Codex Guides

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Archivist

Subscriptions2
  • Archivist Plus (Monthly)$4.991 Month
  • Archivist Plus (Yearly)$39.991 Year
One-time1
  • Archivist Lifetime$99.99

Questions

Is Pocket Codex Guides free?
Pocket Codex Guides is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Archivist free?
Archivist is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Pocket Codex Guides or Archivist?
Archivist is rated higher. Pocket Codex Guides averages 5.0 out of 5 from 32 ratings, while Archivist averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Pocket Codex Guides or Archivist have ads?
Neither Pocket Codex Guides nor Archivist shows ads.

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