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We took three popular iPhone barcode scanners—RedLaser ($1.99), Barcode Scan Pro ($0.99), and ShopSavvy (free)—and pitted them against each other in a bid to see which was best, with some surprising results. To test them out, we scanned a number of items, both common and uncommon, and looked at which gave us the most results and the lowest prices. In our ratings, we also took into consideration the interface and how well the scanner recognized the barcodes.

Note: These tests were undertaken with an iPhone 3G. The iPhone 3GS has an autofocus camera, which may provide better scanning of bardcodes.

The Loot:

iPhone Barcode Comparison Products

  • Four pack of sugar-free Red Bull
  • WESC Harp headphones
  • Star Wars Vault book
  • Gattaca DVD
  • Box of Shredded Wheat
  • Bottle of Matua Wine
  • Bottle of 42 Below Kiwi Vodka

We went for a good range of items, as some are common (Red Bull), and some are rare (Matua Wine). The products’ barcodes were on a number of different surfaces including curved bottles, which is tricky for the iPhone’s camera to scan. For each scanner, we’ll list the items, how many results it found, and what the lowest price found was.

ShopSavvy

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

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  • Red Bull: 2 results, $9.99
  • Headphones: 1 result, $20
  • Star Wars Vault: 32 results (27 online, 5 local), $19.80
  • Gattaca: 14 results (12 online, 2 local), $1.97
  • Shredded Wheat: 5 results, $5.39
  • Wine: 1 result, $9.95
  • Vodka: 0 results

ShopSavvy (free, iTunes link) provided, hands down, the best results. It was the only scanner to find the correct package of Red Bull and the headphones. It also was the only one that found local results, even out in the boonies where I am, and differentiated between used and new versions of products. It automatically sorts results by price, and has a gorgeous interface. Items can be added to a wish list or to price alerts, the latter of which checks for a lower price each time you launch the app. The only downside is that the scanner isn’t quite as good as RedLaser‘s—it’s slow—so it might take some fiddling to work. The manual search also isn’t as pretty as the other two apps, but you get much better results, so I’m not complaining.

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Red Laser

Rating: 7.0 out of 10

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  • Red Bull: 1 result, a 24 pack for $45.78
  • Headphones: 0 results
  • Star Wars Vault: 25 results, $19.72
  • Gattaca: 9 results, $2
  • Shredded Wheat: 5 results, $5.39
  • Matua Wine: 1 result, $9.95
  • Kiwi Vodka: 0 results

Redlaser ($1.99, iTunes link) had far and away the best scanner of the lot. It read the barcode quickly with the least amount of problems. It generally produced a large number of results, with a good price. On the downside, it displayed search results without highlighting which was the cheapest, which takes away a lot of the app’s usefulness. It also used ellipses in results, making it hard to tell the details of an item without navigating to the product seller’s website. On the upside, Redlaser had the most minimalistic interface and has a nice feature where previously searched items are stored in one massive list, from which they can be favorited or deleted.

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Barcode Scan Pro

Rating: 4.6 out of 10

bcs2

  • Red Bull: 1 result, a 24 pack for $45.78
  • Headphones: 0 results
  • Star Wars Vault: 1 result, $64.97
  • Gattaca: 5 results, $3.01
  • Shredded Wheat: 2 results, a 6 pack for $48.99
  • Wine: 1 result, $9.95
  • Vodka: 0 results

Barcode Scan (iTunes link) was easily the worst of the three. Of the seven items, not even a single one of them scanned. That’s right, after spending a very, very long time playing with positioning, angle, and light, I still couldn’t get a single correct scan from this app. What’s also bad, is that it forces you to take a photo of the barcode, which it then tries to read. The other two applications are constantly reading from the camera, and let you know when they register the barcode. Once the barcode was manually entered, it found the least results, and for the highest prices.

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Barcode Scan wins a couple of points for its interface. The manual barcode entry is especially pretty, and it has some very good List features. You can add as many lists as you want, and share them with friends over email. If you scan an item that Barcode Scan has no results for, it allows you to upload information yourself.

Conclusion:

ShopSavvy (free, iTunes link) is our pick for the best iPhone scanner app. While it’s scanner isn’t the best (that honor goes to RedLaser [iTunes link]), it produced the most varied and cheapest product search results. Best of all, it’s free! So, while you might have to manually enter the information in sometimes or be patient as the barcode scans, the money you’ll save will be worth it.