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Cardog vs CarsXE

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Cardog next to CarsXE: coverage, recalls, specs, pricing, auth and versioning, with every CarsXE claim linked to CarsXE's own page.

Cardog is the vehicle data API built for Canada: we decode 99.77% of Canadian VINs to trim, list Transport Canada and NHTSA recall campaigns for each VIN's model year, keep Canadian and US prices apart, and key every answer so it joins to the next one. Here is how Cardog sits next to CarsXE, row by row.

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

At a glance

CardogCarsXE
CoverageCanada and the US. 99.77% of Canadian VINs decode to trim levelUS VINs get the full field set; non-US VINs fall back to an international decoder with a smaller set (Specifications)
VIN decode and specsGET /v2/vin/{vin} for identity, then GET /v2/specs/{nano} for the sheet, every number with its unitOne /specs call returns identity, equipment, colours and warranties (Specifications)
RecallsCampaigns listed for a VIN's model year, from Transport Canada and NHTSA, each tagged with its authorityOpen recalls for the VIN, with a status and whether a remedy is available, under NHTSA campaign numbers; its campaign dictionary covers vehicles sold in the US (Recalls)
Market dataModel-year market quotesMarket value by VIN (docs index)
ListingsListing search, counts and facetsNot in the product list (docs index)
Pricing modelCredits: 2 per VIN looked up, 1 per spec sheet, 5 per VIN recall check. Plans from US$30 a monthMonthly plans with per-API quotas and pay-as-you-go overage; a sales-led Business tier (pricing)
AuthAPI key, as x-api-key or Authorization: BearerAPI key as a key query parameter (Specifications)
VersioningDated Cardog-Version header; each version is served for 12 months after the next one landsNot stated on the pages we checked
TermsAPI Platform Terms, Ontario lawTerms and conditions

Why teams choose Cardog

  • Canadian VINs to trim. We decode 99.77% of Canadian VINs to trim level. CarsXE's page says non-US VINs fall back to a smaller field set and does not say which set a Canadian-market VIN gets (Specifications), so test with your own VINs. See Decode a Canadian VIN.
  • Transport Canada recalls. GET /v2/vin/{vin}/recalls returns the Transport Canada and NHTSA campaigns listed for the VIN's model year, each tagged tc or nhtsa. CarsXE's recall page names NHTSA and covers campaigns for vehicles sold in the US (Recalls). See Recalls.
  • Canadian and US prices kept apart. A spec sheet lists MSRP and colours per market, CAD for Canada and USD for the US, never merged.
  • Units you can trust. Every number states its unit, and the source's own number is kept when it was published in a different unit.
  • Listings and market quotes. Canadian listing search with counts and facets, and model-year market quotes, keyed to the same refs as the decode.
  • A key in a header. Cardog takes the key as x-api-key or Authorization: Bearer, not as a query parameter.
  • A dated version header. Pin Cardog-Version and keep the response shape you built against.

When to use Cardog

Use Cardog when your VINs are Canadian, when Transport Canada recalls matter, or when the decode feeds Canadian prices, listings or market quotes.

FAQ

Does CarsXE decode Canadian VINs? Its specifications page says US VINs get the full field set and non-US VINs fall back to an international decoder with fewer fields. It does not say which path a Canadian-market VIN takes, so test a sample.

How does Cardog bill a spec lookup compared with CarsXE? A Cardog decode is 2 credits per VIN and a spec sheet is 1 credit, so a full spec lookup is 3 credits. Today 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. CarsXE prices by plan quota and overage; see its pricing page.

Do both have an MCP server? Yes. CarsXE documents a hosted server at mcp.carsxe.com. Cardog's is at mcp.cardog.io; see MCP server.

Does Cardog list Transport Canada recalls? Yes. GET /v2/vin/{vin}/recalls lists the Transport Canada and NHTSA campaigns for the VIN's model year, each tagged tc or nhtsa. See Recalls.

Sources

Checked on 2026-10-26:

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