CarSnipe is built to get you to a Marketplace seller before other buyers. VinCount gives a dealer the private-party cars it collects in one city from three sites, with the facts from each ad laid out to compare. They cost very different amounts because they do different jobs.
CarSnipe and VinCount side by side
| CarSnipe | VinCount | |
|---|---|---|
| Sites covered | Facebook Marketplace only. Checked every 15 minutes on Basic and every 3 minutes on Pro, while your browser is open. | Craigslist owner listings, and private sellers on Facebook Marketplace and OfferUp. Checked every 30 minutes from 6 AM to 11:30 PM Pacific. |
| Markets | Anywhere Facebook Marketplace has a vehicles category. Pro can watch your home market plus up to 4 more on one search, in beta. | Los Angeles. Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Miami, Atlanta and Phoenix come next. |
| Built for | Car buyers who want to message a Marketplace seller first. Its FAQ says Basic's 2 searches suit someone after one specific vehicle. | Used-car dealers buying private-party cars. |
| What each row shows | A Telegram alert with photo, price, mileage, distance and drive time. Pro adds a market value from comparable local sales, a deal badge and red flags read from the listing. | One row per car: seller, year, make and model, miles as typed, title flag, what the ad says, ask, price drops, days listed, photo count, site, the plate read off the photos, and the VIN when the seller posted one. |
| Dealer-seller detection | Not published. | Marks a car "likely dealer" when the ad offers financing, names a business, reads like dealer-website copy, or shares a phone number or text with other cars. |
| Repost handling | Not published. Pro alerts you when a saved listing drops in price. | A repost or cross-post is one row when a VIN, a plate, shared photos or the same ad text proves it is one car. The row carries its price cuts across postings. |
| Auction and retail pricing data | Pro shows a market value from comparable local sales. Auction data not published. | Adding an auction median per car, with its count, and retail prices. Not live yet. |
| Seller outreach | None. You message the seller. | None. You contact the seller. |
| Price | Basic $9.99 a month or $99 a year. Pro $24.99 a month or $249 a year. 7-day free trial with full Pro access, card required. | $299 a month per market for early dealers, who keep it. $499 a month at launch. |
| Contract terms | Monthly or yearly. Cancel anytime from Telegram, no long-term commitment. | Month to month. One flat fee per market, no per-lead fees. |
Checked September 29, 2026, on CarSnipe's home page, which carries its features, plans and FAQ. If CarSnipe has changed since, its own page is the one to trust.
How CarSnipe works
You install the extension in Chrome, Edge, Brave or Firefox and pair it with @CarSnipeBot on Telegram. You tell the bot the make, model, year range, price ceiling, top mileage and radius you want. The extension checks Marketplace in the background while your browser is open, using your own Facebook login. CarSnipe says those credentials stay encrypted on your computer and never reach its servers. When a car matches, your phone gets a Telegram message with the photo, price, miles and drive time.
Pro adds the parts that help you judge the car. Each alert carries a market value drawn from comparable local sales, a deal badge, and red flags read from the seller's description. Pro also tells you when a listing you saved drops in price, and it runs unlimited searches. Basic allows 2.
How VinCount works
VinCount runs on its own schedule, so nothing has to stay open on your computer. It checks Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace and OfferUp every 30 minutes from 6 AM to 11:30 PM Pacific. You set a buy box once: make and model, year, price, miles, type, how recently posted, seller, and flags such as nothing wrong in the ad or price dropped. The sheet shows the cars that fit, one row each, and new cars arrive on the open sheet on their own. See how it works for each column.
When CarSnipe is the better fit
- You are after one car or a few models, and $10 to $25 a month is the right spend. VinCount costs about 12 times CarSnipe Pro.
- You want an alert on your phone within minutes of a post. CarSnipe Pro checks every 3 minutes. VinCount checks every 30 minutes and has no text or email alerts yet.
- You buy outside Los Angeles. VinCount covers no other market yet.
- Facebook Marketplace is the only site you buy from.
- You want an estimated market value on each car. VinCount never shows one.
When VinCount is the better fit
You stock a lot from private sellers and work the market every day. VinCount shows the cars that fit your buy box from three sites on one sheet, including cars posted days ago that are still up. A car listed on two sites, or reposted, is one row when a VIN, a plate, shared photos or the same ad text proves it is one car, and the row keeps its price cuts across postings.
The seller's claims stay apart from what VinCount saw. Miles, title and condition in an ad are the seller's word. CarSnipe Pro reads red flags from the listing too. VinCount turns the ad's words into about 30 "the ad says" tags, problems first, such as doesn't run, a warning light, mileage off or a price that is not the full price. Then come history, papers and terms, such as one owner, smogged or OBO.
VinCount marks a car "likely dealer" when the ad reads like a lot's, and the seller filter hides those cars. When a plate shows in a photo, the row shows the plate cut out of that photo beside its text. VinCount never shows a deal score, a deal badge or a suggested offer. You know your recon, your lot and your turn, so the math stays yours.
What VinCount does not do yet
VinCount is in alpha. It covers Los Angeles only. Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Miami, Atlanta and Phoenix come next, and VinCount does not collect them yet. It is adding an auction median per car, with the number of sales behind it, and retail prices, but neither is live today. It sends no text or email alerts, so you see new cars when you open the sheet. It does not contact sellers for you. For a fast Marketplace alert on the car you want, CarSnipe does that today for far less.