Comic Book Values App: 6 Apps Compared for Pricing Comics

Yes. Several iPhone apps identify a comic and show a value for it. They differ in three ways that matter: how they identify the book (cover photo, barcode or typed search), where the prices come from (recorded sales, a partner price guide or user data), and what you pay. The comparison below uses each app's US App Store listing, checked September 25, 2026.

• Key Collector Comics: free with monthly or yearly premium tiers; 4.82 stars from 15,690 ratings. Database search, collection and wish list, raw and graded pricing; premium adds Key Alerts, Hot Keys, Hidden Gems, cover image search and more graded pricing detail. Best known for key-issue information.
• CLZ Comics: a paid subscription at $1.99 a month or $19.99 a year after a 7-day trial; 4.86 stars from 14,794 ratings. Adds comics with a Cover Scanner; values come from CovrPrice as an optional add-on at $90 a year, for raw and slabbed comics.
• PriceCharting: free; 4.82 stars from 26,705 ratings. Photo or barcode search across comics, cards and games; it says it tracks sales from auction sites including eBay, Heritage and PWCC.
• iCollect Comic Books: free, with an in-app purchase for unlimited storage; 4.56 stars from 3,085 ratings. Barcode scanning; value data from Amazon, Google, eBay and users.
• ComicSnap: free with a premium subscription for unlimited identifications; 4.71 stars from 3,657 ratings. Photo recognition.
• ComicLens: free scans every day, with a Pro plan for unlimited scans. Cover photo recognition with a confidence indicator and a manual fix, a reference range that moves with the grade you pick, and an on-device collection total.

Ratings, prices and features are from the App Store listings on September 25, 2026 and change often.

Yes, in two ways. A barcode scan (PriceCharting, iCollect) is fast when the cover has a barcode. A cover photo scan (CLZ, PriceCharting, ComicSnap, ComicLens, and Key Collector's premium Cover Image Search) works from the artwork, so it also handles books without a readable barcode. Either way, the scan identifies the book; the value you then see depends on the grade you choose, so pick the grade you actually see on the copy.

Yes. CLZ's Cover Scanner adds a comic from a picture of its cover, PriceCharting searches by photo, ComicSnap identifies from a snapshot, and ComicLens matches the likely issue and printing and shows how confident the match is. Identification is the step where apps most often go wrong on variants and later printings, so on an expensive key check the indicia against the match. See identify printings and variants.

They use different data. PriceCharting says it tracks sales from auction sites including eBay, Heritage and PWCC and sorts them by condition. CLZ shows CovrPrice values. iCollect draws on Amazon, Google, eBay and its users. Key Collector publishes its own raw and graded pricing. Sale-based figures move with the market and can rest on few sales for rare books, and a figure for one grade tells you little about another. On any book worth more than a few hundred dollars, compare two sources and read the sale dates. Our comic book value guide covers the main price sources.

• Identify the exact issue and printing (scan it, then check the indicia).
• Check whether it is a key; our first appearances list helps.
• Estimate the grade honestly with our grading guide.
• Compare recent sold prices in that grade.
• For a book worth thousands, consider grading, and for insurance or an estate, a formal comic book appraisal.

• Settle the grade from a photo. Spine stress, gloss and page quality need the book in hand; a grading company such as CGC gives the certified answer.
• Spot restoration reliably. Color touch and trimming are what graders look for; see spot a fake or restored comic.
• Make an offer. A reference range is not what a buyer will pay on a given day.

Research and drafting were assisted by AI and checked line by line against the sources listed on this page. Prices are the figures shown by the named source on the date given; they change with the market.