Head-to-head
CardVault Identify vs Ximilar
Ximilar is a broad computer-vision platform that, among other verticals, offers trading-card recognition. Here's how that compares to an API built specifically around identifying cards.
TL;DR
- Our free tier is roughly 10x bigger: 1,000 identifies a month against Ximilar's roughly 100.
- Ximilar prices trading-card identify in credits — 10 credits per call; their $549/mo plan works out to about $0.0055/request. Our Scale plan is $225/mo at $0.0018/request, before any credit-pack discount.
- We're focused on trading cards and sports specifically, with 12+ TCGs plus sports and entertainment in one catalog; Ximilar's strength is breadth across computer-vision verticals beyond cards.
- We return an honest needsReview instead of forcing a guess when a match isn't confident.
How we compare
| CardVault Identify | Ximilar | |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | 1,000 identifies/mo | ~100 identifies/mo |
| Top published tier | $225/mo — 150,000 calls | $549/mo — ~100,000 identifies |
| Overage rate | $0.0018/request | $0.0055/request |
| TCG coverage | 12+ TCGs + sports & entertainment | — |
| Honest “not sure” vs. a forced guess | Yes | No |
Ximilar charges 10 credits per trading-card identify — their $549/mo plan buys ~100,000 identifies at $0.0055/request; our Scale plan is $225/mo for 150,000 at $0.0015/request. Their free tier is ~100 identifies/mo; ours is 1,000. CardSight AI's top published tier is $199.95/mo for 100,000 calls with a $0.0020 overage rate — ours is $225/mo for 150,000 with a $0.0018 overage rate, and every paid tier can also buy credit packs priced below even that overage rate for one-off spikes. We cover 12+ TCGs plus sports and entertainment versus CardSight's Pokémon + Magic, and we're the only one that returns an honest 'not sure' instead of a forced guess.
Field by field
Focus vs. breadth
Ximilar is a general computer-vision platform — card recognition is one of several verticals it supports alongside other visual-search and classification products. CardVault Identify does one thing: identify trading cards and sports cards from a photo, across 12+ TCGs plus sports and entertainment, through a single purpose-built endpoint.
Pricing model
Ximilar meters trading-card identify at 10 credits per call; at their $549/mo tier that's roughly $549 for about 100,000 identifies, or about $0.0055 per request. CardVault Identify's Scale plan is $225/mo for 150,000 identify requests included, with $0.0018/request beyond that — a flat monthly plan rather than a credit-bundle model, and every tier is priced on the pricing page rather than requiring a quote.
Free-tier size
Ximilar's free allotment for trading-card identify works out to roughly 100 identifies a month. CardVault Identify's free tier is 1,000 identify requests a month with no credit card required — enough to prototype a real integration, not just a handful of test calls.
Handling uncertainty
When CardVault Identify can't corroborate a match with confidence, it returns needsReview:true and card:null rather than forcing its best guess, with candidates in an alternates array for a confirmation step. We haven't independently verified how Ximilar's card-recognition endpoint behaves on a low-confidence match, so we won't characterize it beyond that.
Who each is best for
Pick CardVault Identify if…
Teams building specifically around trading cards or sports cards — a marketplace listing flow, a grading intake step, or a collector app — where flat published pricing, a large free tier, and honest uncertainty handling matter more than general-purpose computer vision.
Pick Ximilar if…
Ximilar's platform reaches well beyond cards — general product recognition, visual search, and other computer-vision verticals in one account. If your roadmap needs that broader CV surface alongside card identification, Ximilar's multi-vertical platform may be the better fit than a card-only API.
Switching over
Both services take a photo of a single card as input, whether uploaded as a file or passed as an image URL. Moving over means pointing your integration at a different endpoint and remapping the response shape (ours returns name, set, number, year, rarity, language, a confidence score, and needsReview/alternates) rather than changing anything about how you capture the photo.
CardVault Identify vs Ximilar — frequently asked questions
Is Ximilar a direct competitor?
Not exactly. Ximilar is a general computer-vision platform where trading-card recognition is one offering among several verticals. CardVault Identify is built specifically for trading cards and sports cards, which is why the pricing and coverage comparisons above are scoped to Ximilar's card-identify product, not its whole platform.
How does the pricing actually compare at scale?
Ximilar bills trading-card identify in credits (10 credits/call); at their $549/mo tier that's about $0.0055 per request for roughly 100,000 identifies. Our Scale plan is $225/mo for 150,000 identifies included, at $0.0018/request beyond that — and every paid tier can also buy discounted credit packs for one-off spikes.
What if I need computer vision beyond cards?
That's a genuine reason to look at Ximilar instead — its platform covers visual-search and classification use cases beyond trading cards. CardVault Identify doesn't try to be a general CV platform; it's scoped to cards and sports.
How big is the free tier difference?
Ximilar's free allotment for card identify is roughly 100 calls a month. CardVault Identify's free tier is 1,000 identify requests a month, no credit card required.
Can I test it before switching?
Yes — /scan runs a live identify request against our real catalog, no account needed to see a result.
See it identify a card right now
No sign-up required to try the scanner — real results from the live catalog.