Comparison

Cards HQ vs VCP App

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

Head to head
About

Cards HQ

Stay updated with the University of Louisville Cardinals' sports news, opinions, photos, and videos. Get exclusive commentary and insider analysis from a trusted local source, all in one convenient app.

Highlights
  • Latest sports news
  • Opinions and commentary
  • Photos and videos
  • Insider analysis
  • Exclusive content
Features
Read full description

Coverage of the University of Louisville Cardinals has never been better. Catch all the latest sports news, opinions, photos, and videos for the Louisville Cardinals — all in one place, brought to you by the authoritative source of the best local coverage, The Louisville Courier-Journal. With exclusive commentary, insider analysis and award-winning photos and videos from The Louisville Courier-Journal's team, the Cards HQ app is your one stop for all coverage of the UofLCardinals. • This app is free to download and all users can access a sampling of free articles every month. • Subscriptions are charged to your account at confirmation of purchase and automatically renew unless turned off in your account settings at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. You can manage your subscriptions and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to your Account Settings after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when you purchase a subscription, where applicable. See "Subscription Support" in the app's Settings for more details and customer service contact information. MORE INFORMATION • Terms of service - https://cm.courier-journal.com/terms • Privacy Notice/Your California Privacy Rights - https://cm.courier-journal.com/privacy • Help Center: https://help.courier-journal.com

About

VCP App

Quickly find the value of your trading cards using your camera. Track your collection's worth like a stock portfolio and build a want list to monitor auctions from major platforms.

Highlights
  • Camera-based card value search
  • Collection worth tracking
  • Want list with auction alerts
  • Prices by grade
  • Support for multiple grading companies
Features
Read full description

Scan cards. Track your collection. Research card values. Follow the market. Make smarter collecting decisions with VCP. From vintage to modern, sports to TCG and non-sports, VCP gives collectors powerful tools to identify, research, manage, and monitor cards across sports, gaming, movies, TV, music, pop culture, and more. Create a free VCP account directly in the app and get free TCG pricing for Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering, Lorcana, Yu-Gi-Oh! and more. New members can also try VCP Gold free for 1 week to unlock the full VCP experience. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ SCAN CARDS WITH YOUR PHONE Use your device camera to scan supported cards and quickly find them in VCP. Go from the card in your hand directly to pricing, sales history, population data, and other valuable research tools. BUILD AND TRACK YOUR COLLECTION My Collection gives you one place to organize and monitor the cards you own. Track your collection, follow changing values, and keep a clear picture of what your cards are worth. RESEARCH REAL SALES Access detailed sales history from major auction marketplaces and research actual sold prices across multiple grading companies and grades. Review past sales, sold-card images, price ranges, and market activity before you buy or sell. FOLLOW THE CARDS YOU WANT Build your Want List and follow the cards you're looking for, including alerts when matching cards become available for sale. SAVE CARDS TO FAVORITES Quickly save interesting cards to your Favorites so you can easily return to them later for research, comparison, or reference. EXPLORE POPULATION DATA Research grading populations with VCP's powerful population tools, including Universal Population Reports that bring data from multiple grading companies together in one place. FROM VINTAGE TO MODERN, SPORTS TO TCG AND NON-SPORTS Whether you collect classic sports cards, modern releases, Pokémon, Magic, Lorcana, Yu-Gi-Oh!, or non-sports cards featuring movies, TV, music artists, celebrities, and other pop-culture subjects, VCP gives you the tools and market data to research and manage your collection in one place. UNDERSTAND THE MARKET Explore market reports, pricing trends, card values, sales data, and other tools designed to help collectors make more informed decisions. Whether you're scanning a card at a show, managing your collection, researching your next purchase, or tracking down a hard-to-find card, VCP puts powerful collecting tools at your fingertips. Create your free VCP account today and get free TCG pricing. New members can also try VCP Gold free for 1 week to unlock the full VCP experience. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Cards HQ3 screens
VCP App4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: VCP App at none against Cards HQ's shown. VCP App also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs monthly) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.6). Cards HQ's advantage is review sentiment (67% vs 44%). On price, rating, ratings volume and in-app purchases 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. Cards HQ sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and VCP App sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $17.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Cards HQ against 4.4 for VCP App. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 186 and 122 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 67% of Cards HQ's written reviews are positive against 44% of VCP App's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cards HQ ships an update monthly, VCP App every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Cards HQ versus VCP App: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCards HQVCP App
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (186 ratings) — better4.4 (122 ratings)
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews — better43.8% of reviews
Number of ratings186 — better122
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 5 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.616.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size184 MB60 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperUSA TODAY Co., Inc.Vintage Card Prices, Inc.

Customer experience

Cards HQ

All ratings186 ratings
Positive87.6%
Neutral6.5%
Negative5.9%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

VCP App

All ratings116 ratings
Positive84.5%
Neutral2.6%
Negative12.9%
Written reviews16 reviews
Positive43.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative56.3%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Cards HQ

Subscriptions3
  • 1 Month of Full Access to Courier-Journal.com$9.991 Month
  • App Access1 Month trial$9.991 Month
  • App Access1 Year trial$39.991 Year
1 purchases

VCP App

Subscriptions1
  • VCP Gold Monthly7 Days trial$17.991 Month

Questions

Is Cards HQ free?
Cards HQ is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is VCP App free?
VCP App is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Cards HQ or VCP App?
Cards HQ is rated higher. Cards HQ averages 4.5 out of 5 from 186 ratings, while VCP App averages 4.4 from 122 ratings.
Do Cards HQ or VCP App have ads?
Cards HQ shows ads; VCP App does not.
Which is updated more often, Cards HQ or VCP App?
Cards HQ ships an update monthly, and VCP App every 5 days. Most recently, Cards HQ was updated on October 14, 2026 and VCP App on October 21, 2026.

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