ACV Auctions vs CarMax Auctions
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ACV Auctions
This app is a digital marketplace for dealers to buy and sell wholesale vehicles. It streamlines the auction process, allowing sellers to easily list cars and buyers to bid in live auctions. The platform handles all payments and title transfers for a seamless transaction experience.
- Dealer-to-dealer marketplace
- Live 20-minute auctions
- VIN scanning and condition reporting
- Live and proxy bidding
- Real-time negotiation
- Integrated payment and title transfer
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ACV Auctions is a dealer-to-dealer marketplace. The app replaces the physical wholesale car auctions that facilitate the sale of approximately 15 million vehicles every year. This platform allows dealers to engage in our live 20 minute auctions. It's easy for sellers to create an auction. Simply scan the VIN, enter vehicle condition information, and snap a few photos. Tap "Send to Auction" and your auction is instantly sent to thousands of potential bidders. Buyers review the condition report and bid to own using live and proxy bids. Auctions are live for 20 minutes. The system prevents last-second bid sniping so you're sure to get a fair chance in every auction. Once an auction ends, sellers can accept or send the high bidder a counter offer to start a live, real-time negotiation session with the buyer. Buyers can accept the counter offer or negotiate further. All of this right from the convenience of your mobile phone. All payments and title transfers are handled through our office. Buyers can pay instantly with an electronic check or floorplan. For sellers, we email prepaid FedEx® labels for sending in titles. Bill of sales get emailed for your records. ACV Auctions is free for dealers to use. There are no monthly fees or contracts. Our buyer and seller fees are considerably lower than physical auctions. Sign up for a completely free account at http://www.acvauctions.com/ (requires proof of valid dealer license). This app collects personal information. To see our Privacy Policy / Notice at Collection, please follow the link in the App Privacy section below.
CarMax Auctions
This app allows licensed dealers to participate in weekly vehicle auctions. Dealers can view inventory, research vehicles, place bids in real-time, and listen to live auctioneer audio.
- Real-time bidding
- View vehicle lists
- Place notes and watches
- Research vehicles
- View photos
- Live auctioneer audio
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Welcome to the CarMax Auctions app, made for licensed dealers to source the best inventory from across the country. Auctions are held every week and are conducted by professional auctioneers. CarMax Auctions app features: - View and bid in real time. - View lane vehicle lists and place notes, watches and early bids. - Research vehicles and view photos. - Listen to real-time audio as an auctioneer calls the auction.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: ACV Auctions at 55% against CarMax Auctions's 0%. ACV Auctions also leads on rating (4.4 vs 1.8) and ratings volume (1.2K vs 5). CarMax Auctions's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and iOS requirement (12.0.0 vs 17.4.1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
ACV Auctions holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 1.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ACV Auctions has 1.2K ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 55% of ACV Auctions's written reviews are positive against 0% of CarMax Auctions's.
ACV Auctions ships an update every 2 weeks, CarMax Auctions every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ACV Auctions | CarMax Auctions |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (1.2K ratings) — better | 1.8 (5 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 55.1% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1.2K — better | 5 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 6 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.4.1 | 12.0.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 161 MB | 1 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ACV Auctions Inc | Auction Frontier |
Customer experience
ACV Auctions
CarMax Auctions
Bugs and requests
ACV Auctions
Reported bugs
4 issues- App crashes when navigating between vehicles
- Notifications not working consistently
- Inability to view ended auctions and sold vehicles
- Lack of landscape mode support on tablets
Requested features
5 requests- Watchlist feature to track interested vehicles
- Faster bidding times
- Improved notification system
- Easier access to account and payment information
- Better integration between mobile app and website
CarMax Auctions
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
ACV Auctions
No in-app purchases
CarMax Auctions
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is ACV Auctions free?
Is CarMax Auctions free?
Which has better reviews, ACV Auctions or CarMax Auctions?
Do ACV Auctions or CarMax Auctions have ads?
Which is updated more often, ACV Auctions or CarMax Auctions?
Other comparisons
