Comparison

Cortex OBD2 vs OBD2 Logger

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

Head to head
About

Cortex OBD2

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Turn your iPhone into an advanced automotive scanner and professional diagnostic powerhouse with Cortex OBD2 Diagnostic Scanner. Designed for car enthusiasts, daily drivers, and workshop technicians, Cortex connects wirelessly via Bluetooth to your vehicle ECU to deliver instant insights, eliminate mystery dashboard warning lights, and unlock hidden vehicle features. WHY CORTEX OBD2? PROFESSIONAL DIAGNOSTIC SCANNER Read and clear diagnostic trouble codes from Engine, Transmission, ABS, Airbag, and Body Control modules. Get AI-powered Fault Doctor analysis with root cause explanations, confidence percentages, and step-by-step repair guidance — not just raw hex codes. LIVE TELEMETRY DASHBOARD Stream real-time sensor data with customizable analog and digital gauges. Monitor RPM, vehicle speed, coolant temperature, turbo boost pressure, fuel trims, mass air flow, battery voltage, and 35+ additional parameters. Choose from preset layouts or build your own dashboard. FORENSIC ODOMETER VERIFICATION Cross-check mileage data across multiple ECU modules — Engine, Instrument Cluster, Transmission, ABS, and Body Control Module. Detect odometer tampering and mileage rollbacks that basic scanners completely miss. Essential for used car buyers. ECU CODING AND ADAPTATIONS Unlock hidden vehicle features with manufacturer-level coding. Needle sweep activation, daytime running light styles, mirror fold on lock, comfort turn signals, and dozens of brand-specific customizations for European and Asian vehicles. DPF REGENERATION AND DIESEL SERVICE Full UDS-based stationary diesel particulate filter regeneration with live exhaust gas temperature monitoring and safety interlocks. Clear soot buildup warnings and restore DPF efficiency without visiting a dealer. FIAT / STELLANTIS PROXI ALIGNMENT Advanced CAN network Proxi alignment for Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Jeep, Peugeot, Citroen, and Opel vehicles. Fix flashing odometer issues after component replacement and perform factory-level module configuration. CAMERA VIN SCANNER Point your camera at any VIN barcode, chassis plate, or registration document to instantly decode vehicle specifications. Works completely offline with no data transmitted. DUAL STANDARD UNIT SYSTEM Automatic region-based unit selection: International metric for EU/Asia or US/UK imperial. Switch anytime with a single tap on the telemetry dashboard. 26 LANGUAGES SUPPORTED English, Turkish, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish, Czech, Danish, Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Hungarian, Romanian, Russian, Ukrainian, Greek, Arabic, Hindi, Thai, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and Indonesian. HARDWARE COMPATIBILITY Works with any standard ELM327 Bluetooth or Wi-Fi OBD2 adapter. Optimized for OBDLink, vLinker, Veepeak, Vgate, and Carista adapters. Compatible with all OBD2 compliant vehicles sold worldwide. PRIVACY FIRST 100% ad-free. No tracking. No data collection. Your vehicle data stays on your device. Requires a compatible OBD2 Bluetooth or Wi-Fi adapter, sold separately.

About

OBD2 Logger

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OBD2 Logger turns your iPhone into a precision data logger for any modern car. Plug a Bluetooth ELM327 adapter into your vehicle's OBD2 port, pair it once, and stream live engine, hybrid, battery, and emissions data straight into per-session CSV files on your phone. No accounts. No cloud. No analytics. Your driving data never leaves your device. LIVE READOUT • 40+ standard SAE J1979 PIDs, automatically discovered from your car: RPM, vehicle speed, coolant temp, throttle, MAF, intake MAP, fuel trims, catalyst temperatures, and more. • Manufacturer-specific Mode 21 PIDs on profiled vehicles — including HV pack voltage, MG1/MG2 motor torque, and battery cell-block temperatures on Toyota/Lexus hybrids. • Values grouped by category (Engine, Hybrid, Battery, Emissions, Diagnostics) and updated every second. • One CSV per logging session, written into the app's Files container — open it in Numbers, Excel, pandas, DuckDB, or any other tool with no preprocessing. • Wide-table format: ISO-8601 timestamps, one column per active PID, blank cells where the ECU returned no data (no spurious forward-fill). • Smart-stop after extended idle so you don't end up with a tail of empty rows when you forget to tap Stop. WORKS IN THE BACKGROUND • Keeps logging while you drive with Maps in the foreground or the screen off, using Apple's standard background location mode for trip-tracking apps. The system location indicator is shown the entire time. We don't store your location. VEHICLE PROFILES • Ships with three profiles: a generic Mode-01 fallback, a Toyota hybrid family profile, and a 2020 Lexus RX 450h/450hL profile validated against a real vehicle. • VIN auto-read on connect; year, make, model, and trim pre-filled from NHTSA's free public vPIC API. • Import any third-party profile JSON to add coverage for your car. The format is documented and human-readable. DON'T HAVE AN ADAPTER YET? • Tap "Try demo mode" on the second onboarding step to explore the app end-to-end with synthetic data — no hardware required. WHAT YOU NEED • Any Bluetooth Low Energy ELM327 adapter (Veepeak OBDCheck BLE+, vLinker MC+, OBDLink, etc. — most BLE clones work). USB-only and Wi-Fi-only adapters are NOT supported. • A car with an OBD2 port (1996+ in the US, 2001+ in the EU). PRIVACY • Nothing is collected, transmitted, or stored on our servers — we don't have servers. The only outbound call the app ever makes is one VIN decode per vehicle to NHTSA's vPIC API. • Your CSVs and vehicle records live in the app's Files container, accessible to you in the iOS Files app under On My iPhone → OBD2 Logger. • Open source: github.com/NathanNam/obd2-logger

Screenshots

Cortex OBD24 screens
OBD2 Logger4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: OBD2 Logger at none against Cortex OBD2's 3. Cortex OBD2's advantage is update cadence (every 8 days vs every 6 weeks). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. Cortex OBD2 sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per 7 days. OBD2 Logger asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cortex OBD2 ships an update every 8 days, OBD2 Logger every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 4 level
Cortex OBD2 versus OBD2 Logger: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCortex OBD2OBD2 Logger
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 8 days — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size43 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperIsmail ImamogluDaehyun Nam

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Cortex OBD2

Subscriptions3
  • MotoCortex PRO Weekly$3.997 Days
  • MotoCortex PRO - Monthly$8.991 Month
  • MotoCortex PRO - Annual$39.991 Year
None

OBD2 Logger

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Cortex OBD2 free?
Cortex OBD2 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is OBD2 Logger free?
OBD2 Logger is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Cortex OBD2 or OBD2 Logger have ads?
Neither Cortex OBD2 nor OBD2 Logger shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Cortex OBD2 or OBD2 Logger?
Cortex OBD2 ships an update every 8 days, and OBD2 Logger every 6 weeks. Most recently, Cortex OBD2 was updated on November 9, 2026 and OBD2 Logger on November 5, 2026.

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