# Business Card Reader vs Appleton

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Appleton at none against Business Card Reader's 10. Appleton also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 70%) and rating (5.0 vs 4.6). Business Card Reader's advantage is ratings volume (21K vs 2) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 9 months). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Business Card Reader sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Appleton asks for nothing beyond the download.

Appleton holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Business Card Reader has 21K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 70% of Business Card Reader's written reviews are positive against 100% of Appleton's.

Business Card Reader ships an update every 2 months, Appleton every 9 months. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and June 1, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Business Card Reader | Appleton |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (21K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/business-card-reader/id898215947/reviews) | **[5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/appleton/id1083924638/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **21K** | 2 |
| Positive reviews | 70.3% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 months** | Every 9 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 82 MB | 71 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | **12.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [ABBYY USA Software House Inc](https://appshunter.io/developer/347345477) | [Emerson Process Management](https://appshunter.io/developer/561985742) |

## What reviewers say

### Business Card Reader

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/business-card-reader/id898215947)

This app quickly scans and stores contact information from business cards in 25 languages. It automatically corrects and normalizes data, offers an Apple Watch app, and allows for easy export and sharing of contacts.

**Highlights:** Quick and accurate business card scanning, Auto-click photo feature, Automatic phone number normalization, Address autocompletion, Apple Watch app integration, Export contacts to Excel and Salesforce, Multilingual card recognition

**Features:** Family Sharing, Apple Watch app, iMessage stickers, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BCR Premium monthly promo | $3.99 | per month |
| BCR Premium monthly | $7.99 | per month |
| BCR Premium monthly | $7.99 | per month |
| BCR Premium yearly | $14.99 | per year |
| BCR Premium yearly | $29.99 | per year |
| BCR Premium yearly | $29.99 | per year |
| ARCHIVE  No Ads | $2.99 | one-time |
| ARCHIVE  50 business cards | $3.99 | one-time |
| ARCHIVE  Export to Excel | $5.99 | one-time |
| BCR Premium no time limitation | $59.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Efficient scanning
- 📁 Convenient storage of business cards
- 🔗 Integrates with contacts and social media
- 🔍 Accurate OCR recognition
- 💾 Saves time and space

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Inconsistent OCR accuracy
- 🔍 Requires manual editing of scanned data
- 💰 Subscription model is expensive
- 📤 Issues with exporting/transferring data
- 🔌 App crashes and freezes

**Reported bugs**

- Scanning sometimes assigns text to wrong fields
- App crashes when trying to export contacts
- Location data incorrectly attached to business cards
- Syncing issues between mobile and desktop versions

**Requested features**

- Allow scanning of both sides of business cards
- Improve OCR accuracy, especially for international cards
- Provide more flexible export options (CSV, vCard, etc.)
- Offer a one-time purchase option instead of subscription
- Add ability to sort and organize contacts into groups


### Appleton

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/appleton/id1083924638)

This business app provides sales professionals with product information, installation guides, and troubleshooting resources for Appleton Group offerings. It requires a login and automatically updates content when connected, allowing for offline use after syncing.

**Highlights:** Product and service information, Installation guides, Troubleshooting assistance, Sales presentations, Automatic content updates, Offline access after sync

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Business Card Reader free?

Business Card Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Appleton free?

Appleton is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Business Card Reader or Appleton?

Appleton is rated higher. Business Card Reader averages 4.6 out of 5 from 21K ratings, while Appleton averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.

### Do Business Card Reader or Appleton have ads?

Neither Business Card Reader nor Appleton shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Business Card Reader or Appleton?

Business Card Reader ships an update every 2 months, and Appleton every 9 months. Most recently, Business Card Reader was updated on September 26, 2026 and Appleton on June 1, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*