Comparison

OBD2 Logger vs I'm Hero OBD2 Scanner

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

Head to head
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

About

I'm Hero OBD2 Scanner

Features
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Turn your car's cryptic check-engine light into something you can actually act on. I'm Hero OBD2 Scanner connects to a standard ELM327 OBD-II adapter over Bluetooth LE or Wi-Fi and shows what your car is doing — in plain language. • Live data — RPM, speed, coolant, fuel trims, O2, intake and more on clean gauges, showing only the parameters your car supports. • Trouble codes — read and clear stored, pending and permanent codes, each with a description and a freeze-frame snapshot from the moment it set. • Explain with AI — tap a code for a plain-English explanation of what it means, common causes, how serious it is, and typical next steps. • Emissions readiness — check the MIL status and which monitors are ready before an inspection or buying a used car. • VIN & vehicle info, battery voltage, and drive-session logging with charts and CSV export. No account. Your vehicle data stays on your device. Works with common ELM327 adapters (Veepeak, Vgate and similar). No adapter yet? Try the built-in Demo mode. A trouble code points to a symptom, not a guaranteed part — always have a professional confirm before repairs.

Screenshots

OBD2 Logger4 screens
I'm Hero OBD2 Scanner3 screens

Verdict

The call

OBD2 Logger and I'm Hero OBD2 Scanner are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters — price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
OBD2 Logger versus I'm Hero OBD2 Scanner: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOBD2 LoggerI'm Hero OBD2 Scanner
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeks—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDaehyun NamRuslan Korennoy

In-app purchases

None

OBD2 Logger

No in-app purchases

None

I'm Hero OBD2 Scanner

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is OBD2 Logger free?
OBD2 Logger is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is I'm Hero OBD2 Scanner free?
I'm Hero OBD2 Scanner is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do OBD2 Logger or I'm Hero OBD2 Scanner have ads?
Neither OBD2 Logger nor I'm Hero OBD2 Scanner shows ads.

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