CoinLoupe Guides
Published October 21, 2026 · Android
Search "coin identifier" on Google Play and you'll get dozens of apps that all promise the same thing: point your camera at a coin, learn what it is and what it's worth. Under the hood most of them work similarly — a photo goes to an image-recognition model and comes back with a name, a date and a price estimate. Where they really differ is what you get before paying, how they charge and whether they show ads.
Not always. If you have one or two coins:
A dedicated app earns its place when you have a jar, an album or a box to sort through, or you want to keep a record of what you have.
One of the most-installed coin identifiers on Google Play, from a studio that also makes plant, rock and antique identifier apps. Polished, fast, and its listing shows no ads. The model is subscription-first: a free trial that converts to a paid plan. Public one-star reviews frequently mention being asked for payment before getting a first result and trial charges — read the trial terms carefully before you start one.
A newer app (released in 2025) from the studio behind the PlantIn plant identifier, and one of the fastest-growing in the category. Subscription with a short free trial; reviews also mention a lifetime option. Its listing indicates it contains ads. Like CoinSnap, the most common complaints in its low-star reviews are about billing rather than identification.
From AIBY, a studio with a large family of identifier and utility apps. Premium is sold as a subscription (reviews mention weekly and yearly plans after a short trial), and the listing indicates ads. Fine for a quick identification if you're comfortable managing a trial.
A long-running app whose listing says identification itself is free and unlimited; the paid tier removes ads and raises daily limits on extras like value estimates and detailed analysis. If you mainly want to know what a coin is, this model is generous. Accuracy reviews are mixed, as they are for every app in the category.
A highly rated identifier with a broad catalogue. Reviews describe a few free scans followed by a paywall with a short trial and a subscription. Its listing includes a clear disclaimer that values are a reference, not a guarantee of authenticity or sale price — a good sign.
Several popular apps are ad-supported: you can scan by watching ads, or pay to remove them. That keeps them free in money terms, but low-star reviews in this group are dominated by ad volume — sometimes multiple ads per scan.
An Android app we built in 2026. 3 identifications a day are free, with the full main result — country, year, mint mark, denomination, composition, weight, diameter, mintage, rarity and an estimated value range — and unlimited saving to a collection. No ads, no account, no card to try it. Photos are sent to our server only to be identified (via Google's Gemini API) and aren't stored. Pro is a monthly subscription with a 7-day free trial or a one-time lifetime purchase, and adds unlimited scans (100 a day fair use), a condition grade estimate, a checklist of valuable varieties and errors, collection total value and CSV export. It's newer and smaller than the apps above and has no iPhone version.
Based on public listings and reviews at the time of writing. "Model" describes the pricing structure, not exact prices.
| App | Free without paying | Pricing model | Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Lens | Unlimited, no value range | Free | No |
| PCGS CoinFacts | Reference catalogue (no photo ID) | Free | No |
| CoinSnap | Very limited; trial-led | Subscription with trial | No |
| CoinIn | Limited; trial-led | Subscription with trial; lifetime reported | Yes |
| Coin ID | Limited; trial-led | Subscription (weekly/yearly reported) | Yes |
| Coinoscope | Identification free | Optional Pro: removes ads, raises limits on extras | Yes (free tier) |
| HeriBase | A few scans | Subscription with trial | Listing says no |
| CoinLoupe | 3 identifications/day + collection | Monthly (7-day trial) or lifetime | No |
Every app in this list — ours included — gives estimates. A photo can't prove a coin is genuine, and AI models still misread worn dates and mint marks, mistake one country's coin for another and sometimes over-value common coins. Use apps to decide which coins deserve a closer look. If a coin may be rare, have it authenticated and graded by PCGS or NGC, or shown to a reputable dealer, before you buy or sell.
Free · 3 identifications a day · no ads · optional Pro