MaxWorth vs CardStack: Which Credit Card Benefits Tracker Is Better? (2026)
Quick answer: MaxWorth and CardStack are both iPhone benefit trackers with Amex and Chase offer activation, and the difference is scope versus automation. MaxWorth adds shopping-portal comparison, award flight search and hand-verified cards for Canada and Australia, never connects to a bank, and costs $60 a year or $159.99 once. CardStack is US-only but offers automatic credit marking on its paid tier through an optional, read-only Plaid link, at $89.99 a year or $239.99 once. If you want credits ticked off for you without handing over a stored login, CardStack is the compromise; otherwise MaxWorth does more for less.
Field by field
| Field | MaxWorth | CardStack |
|---|---|---|
| Bank login | Never. There is no account-connection feature in the product. | Optional. The free tier asks for nothing; CardStack+ adds a read-only Plaid link you can disconnect at any time. |
| Marks credits used automatically | No. You tap "used"; cycle-aware reminders fire before each credit expires. | Yes, on CardStack+ with the Plaid link on. Manual on the free tier. |
| Card-linked offer activation | Amex and Chase, one click, via the Chrome and Safari extension. | Amex and Chase, via the browser extension (CardStack+). |
| Shopping-portal rate comparison | Yes: 10+ shopping portals compared per store, checked daily, with stacking flagged. | No. |
| Award flight search | Yes, inside the points tracker. | No. |
| Countries covered | United States, Canada, Australia (hand-verified card data). | United States. |
| Platforms | iOS; Chrome and Safari extensions. No Android, no web app. | iOS; Safari and Chrome extensions. No Android, no web app. |
| List price | Free · $7.99/mo · $60/yr · $159.99 lifetime | Free · $12.99/mo · $89.99/yr · $239.99 lifetime |
Where CardStack wins
- Automatic credit marking on CardStack+, through a Plaid link that is read-only and optional. MaxWorth has no automatic marking at all.
- An AI agent inside the app (Stack) and Siri integration on iOS 27.
- A 7-day trial on the paid tier.
Where MaxWorth wins
- Portal comparison across 10+ shopping portals and award flight search; CardStack does neither.
- Covers Canada and Australia; CardStack is US-only.
- No account connection anywhere in the product; CardStack offers one, even if optional.
- Lower list price at every tier: $7.99 vs $12.99 monthly, $60 vs $89.99 yearly, $159.99 vs $239.99 lifetime.
- Launched in 2025 with a year more of card-data iteration; CardStack launched in March 2026.
What each costs
MaxWorth: Free · $7.99/mo · $60/yr · $159.99 lifetime. CardStack: Free · $12.99/mo · $89.99/yr · $239.99 lifetime. List prices only; this page does not track promotions.
Frequently asked questions
Does CardStack require a bank connection?
No. The free tier is a manual tracker. The Plaid link is an optional feature of CardStack+ and is what powers automatic credit marking; you can use CardStack+ without it.
Which has the bigger card database?
We do not compare database sizes: vendors count differently and the number says nothing about whether your cards are in it. Check your own cards in each free tier before paying.
Which is cheaper?
MaxWorth at every tier: $7.99/mo, $60/yr or $159.99 lifetime, against CardStack+ at $12.99/mo, $89.99/yr or $239.99 lifetime.
Sources and check dates
- MaxWorth (checked 2026-10-03): MaxWorth App Store listing · MaxWorth Chrome Web Store listing
- CardStack (checked 2026-10-03): CardStack pricing page · CardStack App Store listing
MaxWorth publishes this site. Every claim about the rival comes from its own site, help centre or store listing; anything we could not confirm is marked as such rather than written as "no".