Alternatives

CarsXE alternatives

Q: Does Cardog check Transport Canada recalls?

Yes. GET /v2/vin/{vin}/recalls lists Transport Canada and NHTSA campaigns for the VIN's model year, each tagged with its authority. The maker confirms whether a specific VIN is affected.

Q: How do I authenticate with Cardog?

Send your API key as x-api-key or Authorization: Bearer. See Authentication.

Q: Does Cardog have an MCP server?

Yes, at mcp.cardog.io. See MCP server.

Last updated: October 2026

Alternatives to CarsXE for vehicle data, led by Cardog, with what each covers, Canadian coverage, published pricing and free tiers, linked to each vendor's own pages.

Cardog is the alternative to CarsXE built for Canadian vehicles. We decode 99.77% of Canadian VINs to trim level, list Transport Canada and NHTSA recalls for the same VIN, serve spec sheets with units and Canadian prices in CAD, and key every answer so it joins to the next. Other vehicle data APIs are listed below with their published coverage and pricing.

This page is written by Cardog, so read it with that in mind. Every claim about another company links to that company's own public page, and we checked those pages on 2026-10-26. Every Cardog claim is something our API serves today.

Why teams look for an alternative to CarsXE

From CarsXE's own pages: US VINs return the full attribute set, while non-US VINs fall back to an international decoder that returns fewer fields (Specifications). Its recall campaign dictionary covers campaigns for vehicles sold in the United States (Recalls). Paid plans include a monthly quota per API with overage pricing beyond it, and the Sandbox is up to 100 API calls lifetime (pricing).

The alternatives at a glance

Alternative	What it covers	Canada coverage, as the vendor states it	Pricing, as published	Free tier
Cardog	VIN decode and batch decode, spec sheets, Transport Canada and NHTSA recalls, Canadian listings, market quotes	99.77% of Canadian VINs decode to trim level	Plans from US$30 a month (pricing)	50 credits a month, no card
Vehicle Databases	VIN decode, title check, history, plates, recalls, market value	Recalls API supports US and Canadian vehicles (Recalls)	Pay-as-you-go, monthly and yearly plans; no prices listed (home)	15 free credits (home)
Auto.dev	VIN decode, US dealer listings, photos; more APIs on paid plans	Listings come from US dealers (Vehicle Listings)	Growth $299 a month, Scale $599 a month, Enterprise custom (pricing)	1,000 calls a month (pricing)
MarketCheck	Dealer, private party and auction listings, market analytics, history by VIN, VIN decode	Active dealer listings in the US and Canada (Inventory Search)	Basic $299/mo and Standard $749/mo, plus data fees (pricing)	500 calls a month (pricing)
VinAudit	Specifications with equipment, colours, recalls, warranties and photos; market values	"Most makes and models across the U.S. and Canada" (product page)	Self-Service $100/mo plus $0.10/query; Enterprise by contact (product page)	Trial, up to 100 queries (product page)

Cardog

Cardog is a vehicle data API from a Canadian company, built for Canadian vehicles first.

Canadian VINs to trim. GET /v2/vin/{vin} decodes 99.77% of Canadian VINs to trim level. See Decode a Canadian VIN.
Transport Canada and NHTSA recalls. GET /v2/vin/{vin}/recalls lists both authorities' campaigns for the VIN's model year, each tagged tc or nhtsa. See Recalls.
Spec sheets with units. GET /v2/specs/{nano} states every number with its unit, keeps the source's own number when it was published in another unit, and lists Canadian and US prices apart, in CAD and USD.
Canadian listings and market quotes. Listing search with counts and facets, prices in CAD and radius in kilometres, and model-year market quotes, all keyed to the same refs as the decode.
Batches of 1,000. POST /v2/vin/batch decodes up to 1,000 VINs a request, and one bad VIN fails only its own row.
Simple credits. 2 credits per VIN looked up, 1 per spec sheet, 5 per VIN recall check, all drawn from one credit balance.
A key in a header. x-api-key or Authorization: Bearer.
Clients and agents. TypeScript and Python SDKs, a remote MCP server at mcp.cardog.io, and a dated Cardog-Version header, with each version served for 12 months after the next one lands.

A single GET /v2/vin/{vin} bills 2 credits on any 200 answer, including valid: false; a batch bills 2 credits only for rows that come back valid: true; a 400 costs nothing. The Free plan includes 50 credits a month with no card.

Vehicle Databases

A catalogue of vehicle APIs including VIN decoding, title check, sales and auction history, stolen vehicle, license plate, recalls and market value (home). Its recalls API looks up by VIN or by year, make and model (Recalls). Pricing is pay-as-you-go, monthly or yearly, with no prices listed; signup includes 15 free credits (home).

Auto.dev

Vehicle APIs for the US buying journey: VIN decode, listings and photos on the free plan, and specs, recalls, payments, taxes and fees and plate-to-VIN on paid plans (pricing). Free: 1,000 calls a month; Growth $299 a month; Scale $599 a month (pricing).

MarketCheck

A listings and market data API with dealer, private party and auction search, price prediction, sales statistics, history by VIN and VIN decoders (Cars API). Basic is $299/mo and Standard $749/mo, each plus data fees; the free plan is 500 calls a month (pricing).

VinAudit

A VIN decoder whose specifications call can include attributes, equipment, colours, recalls, warranties and photos, alongside a market values API (docs). Self-Service is $100/mo plus $0.10/query; the trial is up to 100 queries (product page).

Where Cardog fits

Cardog is the vehicle API for teams whose vehicles are Canadian. One key answers who the vehicle is down to trim, which Transport Canada and NHTSA campaigns cover its model year, what its spec sheet says in metric units with the source's number kept, and what it lists for in Canada, priced in CAD. Every answer carries refs that join to the next, so nothing is matched on name strings. Start on the Free plan with no card, and move to a paid plan from US$30 a month. The migration guide maps CarsXE calls to Cardog's.

FAQ

Does Cardog decode Canadian VINs to trim? Yes. Cardog decodes 99.77% of Canadian VINs to trim level.

Does Cardog check Transport Canada recalls? Yes. GET /v2/vin/{vin}/recalls lists Transport Canada and NHTSA campaigns for the VIN's model year, each tagged with its authority. The maker confirms whether a specific VIN is affected.

How does Cardog bill a spec lookup? A decode is 2 credits per VIN and a spec sheet is 1 credit, so a full spec lookup is 3 credits. A single GET /v2/vin/{vin} bills its 2 credits on any 200 answer, including valid: false; a batch bills only the rows that come back valid: true. See Pricing.

How do I authenticate with Cardog? Send your API key as x-api-key or Authorization: Bearer. See Authentication.

Does Cardog have an MCP server? Yes, at mcp.cardog.io. See MCP server.

Sources

Checked on 2026-10-26:

CarsXE pricing: https://carsxe.com/pricing
CarsXE Specifications: https://docs.carsxe.com/docs/products/specifications
CarsXE Recalls: https://docs.carsxe.com/docs/products/recalls
Vehicle Databases home page: https://vehicledatabases.com/
Vehicle Databases, Vehicle Recalls API: https://vehicledatabases.com/api/vehicle-recalls
Auto.dev, Pricing: https://www.auto.dev/pricing
Auto.dev, Vehicle Listings API: https://docs.auto.dev/v2/products/vehicle-listings
VinAudit VIN Decoder API product page: https://data.vinaudit.com/vin-decoder-api
VinAudit VIN Decoder API documentation: https://data.vinaudit.com/docs/api/vin/decoder
MarketCheck, Cars API index: https://docs.marketcheck.com/docs/api/cars
MarketCheck, Inventory Search: https://docs.marketcheck.com/docs/api/cars/inventory/inventory-search
MarketCheck, Pricing: https://www.marketcheck.com/pricing

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