Pokemon Card Scanner
Updated . Plan prices and scan limits quoted here are the ones in the app today; if they ever change, the app wins.
Quick answer
Yes, there's a free Pokémon card scanner here, and it tells you what the card is worth. Take a photo of the card in your phone's browser and the scanner reads the name, set, card number and finish (holo, reverse holo, full art and the rest), matches it to the exact card in our catalog, and shows real sold prices for the raw card and for PSA, BGS, CGC and SGC grades. A free account has 50 scans a month and no credit card.
Works on iPhone and Android in the browser. Nothing to install.
What it reads on a Pokémon card
Pokémon pricing hangs on three things the name alone won't give you: the set, the card number and the finish. A Charizard from Obsidian Flames and a Charizard from Base Set share a name and nothing else, and inside one set the regular print, the reverse holo and the illustration rare are three different prices. So the scanner reads the set symbol, the number in the corner (the 125/198 kind), the rarity and the finish, then pins the card to one row in the catalog. If it lands on the wrong printing, the result shows the other versions of that card in the set and you tap the right one.
How to scan a Pokémon card
- Open hobbycardindex.com on your phone and sign in. The free account doesn't ask for a card on file.
- Tap the scanner. Lay the card flat, fill the frame, and tilt it away from the light so the holo doesn't flare out.
- The scanner finds the card in the frame and matches it. A couple of seconds, usually.
- You get the raw price and the graded prices side by side, recent sold comps, the price history chart and the pop report for that card.
- Add it to your collection to track the value, or to the watchlist with a price alert if you're waiting on a dip.
Pokémon card value scanner: what "value" means here
A lot of apps show one number and call it the value. We show the spread, because for Pokémon the spread is what you actually need. The raw price is what the card sells for loose; the PSA 10 price is often several times that, and the PSA 9 sits somewhere in between. Every one of those comes from real sold prices, not from what sellers are asking. You also get the recent sold comps, the price history (a month back or all the way back), the sales volume, and the population report showing how many copies PSA, BGS, CGC and SGC have graded and how many came back a 10. That last one matters more than people think: a card with a thin PSA 10 pop prices very differently from one with thousands of gems.
It's a TCG card scanner too
Pokémon is the biggest TCG in the catalog but it isn't the only one. The same scanner reads Yu-Gi-Oh, Magic: The Gathering, One Piece, Lorcana, Digimon and Dragon Ball cards, and the sports side (baseball, basketball, football, hockey, soccer, UFC and more) is covered on the general card scanner page. Twenty-five-plus categories, one catalog of more than 16 million cards.
What we have that other Pokémon scanner apps don't
Raw and graded on one screen
PSA 10, PSA 9, PSA 8, BGS 9.5, CGC 10 and SGC 10 next to the raw price, so the grading question answers itself.
Real sold prices
What cards actually sold for, not what a seller is asking this week. The difference on a graded chase card can be large.
Sold comps and a history chart
Dated recent sales for the exact card and a chart you can set from a month back to all time, so a spike looks like a spike.
Pop report and gem rate
How many copies each grader has slabbed and how many came back a 10, on the card page.
Slabs and cert numbers
Scan the slab or type the cert, and the grader's record comes with the graded price.
Japanese and English sets
Japanese Pokémon sets sit alongside the English ones with their own prices, because they trade differently.
A collection with a live total
Scanned cards go into a collection that tracks value over time, with a CSV export whenever you want it.
Grading ROI on Pro
Whether a raw card is worth sending in, with the fees netted out and a Grade, Consider or Skip call.
Three ways to price a Pokémon card
| Method | What you get | What it costs you |
|---|---|---|
| eBay sold listings | Real sales, but you filter out the wrong printing, the lots, the damaged copies and the graded ones by hand, and it only looks back about three months. | Free. Slow if you're doing a binder. |
| Marketplace listing prices | Asking prices from active listings. Fine as a rough floor on bulk, but a listing isn't a sale, and graded cards barely show up. | Free. Easy to overprice from. |
| HobbyCardIndex scanner | The exact printing from a photo, raw and graded prices from real sold prices, dated comps, history and the pop report. | Free account with 50 scans a month, then from $8.99. |
Graded Pokémon slabs and cert numbers
Scan a slabbed card the same way you'd scan a raw one. The scanner reads the card inside the holder and leaves room above it for the label, so the grader and grade come through with the match. If you'd rather type, the cert lookup takes the number off the label and pulls the grader's own record, within each grader's daily lookup cap. Graded Pokémon is where the pop report earns its keep, so it sits right on the card page next to the grade prices.
Two guides worth a read before you price vintage: what a 1st Edition Pokémon card is and how to spot a fake. The scanner matches the card; it won't tell you the card in your hand is a counterfeit.
Plans and scan limits
| Plan | Price | Scans a month | What else you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 50 | 25-card collection, 10-card watchlist, 3 price alerts, no credit card. |
| Pro | $8.99 a month | 5,000 | Unlimited collection, Grading ROI, full Market Movers, Collector's Workbench. |
| Dealer | $24.99 a month | 15,000 | Batch scanning (around 100 at a time) and the full Dealer Mode suite. |
| Enterprise | $49.99 a month | 30,000 | REST API and keys, bulk price files, 10 team seats. |
Yearly billing is roughly 15% off. Cancel anytime.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free Pokémon card scanner?
Yes. This one is free with a free HobbyCardIndex account, no credit card, and the free tier includes 50 scans a month plus a 25-card collection. It runs in your phone's browser, so there's no download. If you're working through a binder, Pro is $8.99 a month for 5,000 scans.
Does the scanner tell me what my Pokémon card is worth?
Yes. After the match you see the real sold price for the raw card and for PSA 10, PSA 9, PSA 8, BGS 9.5, CGC 10 and SGC 10, plus recent sold comps and a history chart. Those are prices cards actually sold for, which is usually lower than what sellers list them at.
Can it tell a reverse holo from a regular card?
It reads the finish along with the set and number, so in a clear photo the reverse holo, the regular print and the full art land on their own rows with their own prices. Holo glare is the usual reason for a miss. If it picks the wrong version, the other printings of that card are one tap away.
Does it work on Japanese Pokémon cards?
Japanese sets are in the catalog alongside the English ones, with their own prices, since vintage Japanese and modern Japanese trade very differently from English. Scan them the same way. Our Japanese Pokémon values page covers where the premiums and discounts sit, which is worth reading before you price a vintage Japanese holo off an English comp.
Does it scan graded Pokémon slabs?
Yes. Scan the PSA, BGS, CGC or SGC slab like a raw card; the scanner reads the card inside the holder and leaves room for the label. You can also type the cert number to pull the grader's record, within each grader's daily lookup cap. The card page then shows the graded price and the pop report.
Do I need to download a Pokémon card scanner app?
No. It runs in the browser on your phone, iPhone or Android, so you open hobbycardindex.com, sign in and tap the scanner. The browser asks for camera access the first time. Your scans and your collection sync to your account, so the binder you scanned on your phone is there on the laptop too.
Does it scan Yu-Gi-Oh, Magic and One Piece cards too?
Yes, the same scanner covers Yu-Gi-Oh, Magic: The Gathering, One Piece, Lorcana, Digimon and Dragon Ball, plus every sports category, 25-plus categories in all. They sit in the same catalog of more than 16 million cards, so a mixed binder of Pokémon and One Piece scans in one sitting without switching apps.