Comparison

Barcode Lookup vs Smarty Shopping

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

Head to head
About

Barcode Lookup

Instantly search over a billion products by scanning barcodes or by name. Get detailed information including pricing, images, reviews, and descriptions to compare prices and find the best deals online. Save favorite items and share product details easily.

Highlights
  • Scan UPC, EAN, ISBN, GTIN barcodes
  • Search products by name
  • View pricing, images, and reviews
  • Compare prices from online retailers
  • Save favorite products
  • Share product details
Features
Read full description

Barcode Lookup is more than just a barcode scanner. This app lets you instantly search over a billion products to find useful information including pricing, images, reviews and descriptions. Perform on-the spot price comparisons and find out where to buy products online at the lowest prices. Barcode Lookup gives you all the details you need about a product so you can save time, spend less and always know exactly what you’re buying. Key features: • Scan any barcode (UPC, EAN, ISBN or GTIN) to display product details in seconds • Look up any product by name in the handy Search tab • Get product details, best prices and unbiased customer reviews • Save your favorite products and check the History tab to see all your previous scans • Find products sold by over 10,000 online retailers • Share product details via email, SMS, iMessage or social media • Buy directly from your preferred online store with just a few simple touches and swipes We put useful product information at your fingertips so you can buy faster, smarter and cheaper. Download our free app today and change the way you shop!

About

Smarty Shopping

Discover the best coupons and earn cash back at thousands of online retailers. Compare prices across the web, track item pricing history, and find top deals with a barcode scanner for in-store shopping.

Highlights
  • Coupon searching
  • Cash back rewards
  • Price comparison
  • Item pricing history
  • Barcode scanner
  • Top deals by merchant
Features
Read full description

Let your shopping adventure begin. Smarty searches for the best coupons and earns you cash back at 6,000+ of your favorite online retailers. Never miss out on a good deal again by adding our Smarty mobile app today for free! Compare prices across the web with Smarty and always get the best price. Check out our new views for historically tracking item pricing, Top Deals by merchant, working coupon history, verified coupons, and Top Merchants who have better deals. Use our improved Price Comparison feature with barcode scanner to simplify shopping. To get started, click the barcode scanner icon in the upper right corner of our home screen. Accept the permission for the barcode scanner to access the device camera. Center the barcode in the rectangle. When recognized, it will automatically get scanned and show the price history and links to buy at the best deals, if available. To scan a different barcode, click the barcode image in the top left corner. To exit the barcode scanner screen, click the Cancel button in the top right corner.

Screenshots

Barcode Lookup4 screens
Smarty Shopping4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Barcode Lookup at 4.6 against Smarty Shopping's 3.4. Barcode Lookup also leads on monetization model (ad-supported vs free with in-app purchases). Smarty Shopping's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 5 months). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Barcode Lookup holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 613 and 1.4K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 48% of Barcode Lookup's written reviews are positive against 40% of Smarty Shopping's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Barcode Lookup ships an update every 5 months, Smarty Shopping fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Barcode Lookup versus Smarty Shopping: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBarcode LookupSmarty Shopping
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (613 ratings) — better3.4 (1.4K ratings)
Positive reviews47.6% of reviews — better39.8% of reviews
Number of ratings6131.4K — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationAd-supported — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size70 MB93 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperHuge Impact Inc.Smarty LLC

Customer experience

Barcode Lookup

All ratings534 ratings
Positive91.0%
Neutral2.4%
Negative6.6%
Written reviews42 reviews
Positive47.6%
Neutral4.8%
Negative47.6%

Smarty Shopping

All ratings1,353 ratings
Positive59.3%
Neutral2.8%
Negative37.9%
Written reviews387 reviews
Positive39.8%
Neutral1.6%
Negative58.7%

User reviews

Barcode Lookup

From 613 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fast and efficient barcode scanning
  • 👍 Intuitive and easy-to-use interface
  • 💾 Comprehensive product database with 525 million items
  • 🛍️ Shows pricing and store availability information
  • 📍 Store locator feature helps find items in stock

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent app crashes and freezes
  • ❌ Fails to scan many common barcodes
  • 🔍 Poor barcode recognition accuracy
  • 📷 Camera zoom is excessively magnified
  • 🤔 Inconsistent and inaccurate product matching

Smarty Shopping

From 1.4K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Convenient shopping experience
  • 💰 Helpful cash back and rebates
  • 🛒 Easy to find deals and coupons
  • 📈 Saves money on purchases

Room to improve

  • 🤑 Unauthorized charges and subscription fees
  • 🔒 Lack of transparency around terms and conditions
  • 🔁 Difficult to cancel or manage subscription
  • 🕰️ Delayed or non-existent cash back payouts

Bugs and requests

Barcode Lookup

Reported bugs

9 issues
  • App crashes when attempting to scan barcode
  • Barcode scanner hangs and never completes scan
  • App fails to load or immediately closes on launch
  • Stuck on splash screen unable to proceed
  • Update notification loop prevents app usage
Show 4 more
  • History images fail to load or display
  • Scanned products show incorrect results
  • Manual UPC entry returns no results despite valid barcode
  • App becomes buggy after updates

Requested features

6 requests
  • CSV export functionality for product data
  • Ad-free premium version
  • Map integration showing nearby store locations
  • Improved camera zoom controls
  • Better data input and manual entry system
Show 1 more
  • Enhanced product matching accuracy

Smarty Shopping

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes or freezes during use
  • Inconsistent or unreliable coupon application
  • Difficulty logging in or accessing account information

Requested features

4 requests
  • Improved customer support and communication
  • Clear disclosure of fees and subscription details
  • Streamlined process for cancelling subscriptions
  • Faster and more reliable cash back processing

In-app purchases

None

Barcode Lookup

No in-app purchases

None

Smarty Shopping

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Barcode Lookup free?
Barcode Lookup is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Smarty Shopping free?
Smarty Shopping is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Barcode Lookup or Smarty Shopping?
Barcode Lookup is rated higher. Barcode Lookup averages 4.6 out of 5 from 613 ratings, while Smarty Shopping averages 3.4 from 1.4K ratings.
Do Barcode Lookup or Smarty Shopping have ads?
Both Barcode Lookup and Smarty Shopping show ads.
Which is updated more often, Barcode Lookup or Smarty Shopping?
Barcode Lookup ships an update every 5 months, and Smarty Shopping fortnightly. Most recently, Barcode Lookup was updated on September 21, 2026 and Smarty Shopping on September 22, 2026.

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