The shortlist
4 things that do it.
Google's visual search: point your camera, or use an image or screenshot, to search for what you see.
- Free
- No price stated on Google's Lens page.
- Paid
- price not checked
- Best at
- A free first look: finding similar items, who makes them and where they are sold, with nothing extra to install.
- The catch
- A general visual search tool, not an antiques service; Google's page says nothing about dating, authenticity or valuing antiques.
- android
- ios
- chrome
An antiques and collectibles research service with a price guide of past sales and a visual database of makers' marks.
- Free
- The app is free to download, but WorthPoint 'offers access to products through a paid subscription' (UK App Store).
- Paid
- from £17.99 per month (MARKS Premium, UK App Store)
- Best at
- Identifying an item from its marks, autographs or patterns, or from a photo with the app's Visual Search, then checking what similar items have sold for.
- The catch
- Paid subscription for the price guide and marks; its website blocked our requests, so we checked it on the UK App Store only.
- web
- ios
A photo identifier app from Next Vision Limited that names an antique, suggests a market value and condition grade, and saves it to a collection.
- Free
- Free to download with in-app purchases; Premium unlocks 'unlimited identifications' (UK App Store); the free allowance is not stated.
- Paid
- price not checked
- Best at
- Snap-and-scan identification on a phone, with a running collection value.
- The catch
- Unlimited identifications need Premium; its valuation and accuracy claims are the developer's own, and we did not test it.
- ios
- android
The auction house's online form for asking its specialists for an estimate on an item you might sell.
- Free
- Christie's calls it a 'complimentary estimate'.
- Paid
- price not checked
- Best at
- A free expert opinion from a major auction house, if your item is the kind it sells.
- The catch
- Estimates take 3 to 4 weeks and are given only for items in a category Christie's sells that meet its minimum consignment value.
- web
How they compare
Which one suits you, and why.
If you want a free first look
Google Lens is Google's visual search. You point your camera at the item, or use an image or a screenshot, and it looks up similar things, who makes them, what they cost and where they are sold. There is nothing extra to install, and Google's Lens page names no price.
The limit is that Lens is a general visual search tool, not an antiques service. Google's page says nothing about dating, authenticity or valuing antiques. You get matches to compare against, not an identification you can rely on or a value.
If you want to identify maker's marks
WorthPoint is an antiques and collectibles research service. Its app describes a visual database of makers' marks, autographs, patterns and symbols for identifying an item and its history. If your piece has a stamp on the base or a signature you cannot read, that is the part of the service aimed at it. The app also has a Visual Search: snap the item or pick a photo, and it shows matching results across the Price Guide and Marks.
What you give up is money. The app is free to download, but WorthPoint offers access through a paid subscription, and on the UK App Store MARKS Premium alone is £17.99 a month or £89.99 a year. WorthPoint's own website blocked our requests, so everything here comes from its UK App Store listing.
If you want past sale prices
WorthPoint again, on a different tier. Its Price Guide covers nearly two decades of historical pricing data gathered from auction houses and online marketplaces. That answers what similar items have sold for, which is a firmer guide than an asking price.
It costs more than the marks tool: £24.49 a month on the UK App Store. Marks and prices together come to £33.99 a month, which adds up if you only have one item to look into.
If you want to scan items on your phone
AntiqSnap is a photo identifier app from Next Vision Limited, on iPhone and Android. You photograph an antique and it names it, suggests a market value and a condition grade, and saves the scan to a collection, so you keep a running collection value.
The catch is that unlimited identifications need Premium, and the free allowance is not stated. The UK App Store lists Premium in-app purchases at £3.99, £29.99, £34.99 and £39.99, without saying what period each covers. Its valuation and accuracy claims are the developer's own, and we did not test them.
If you might sell something valuable
Christie's online estimate is the auction house's form for asking its specialists for an estimate on an item you might sell. Christie's calls it a complimentary estimate, so it is a free expert opinion from a major auction house, if your item is the kind it sells.
You pay in patience and eligibility instead. Estimates take 3 to 4 weeks, and they are given only for items in a category Christie's sells that meet its minimum consignment value. An ordinary household piece may not qualify.
When paying is worth it
Paying makes sense if you buy or sell often. WorthPoint's annual plans on the UK App Store are £224.99 for the Price Guide, £89.99 for MARKS Premium or £349.99 for both, against £24.49, £17.99 or £33.99 a month. For a single object, the monthly price is the one to compare; for a regular habit, the annual plans cost less over a year. If you are only curious about one item, start with Google Lens and, if it might be valuable, Christie's free estimate.
What to watch for
The catches worth knowing first.
AntiqSnap's listing promises "Accurate Market Valuation", but that is the developer's claim, and we did not test it. Its feature list also offers to unlock "issuing country, year, face value", the same wording on its UK App Store and Google Play listings, which fits coins rather than antiques. Check what Premium covers before you pay.
If that "face value" wording has you thinking you're really looking at a coin, there's a better place to start. Our page on apps that identify coins covers CoinSnap and Coin ID Scanner, which work from a photo, plus PCGS CoinFacts for US coins and Change Checker for UK ones. Same warning applies there too: treat any value or grade as an estimate.
Renewals need attention too. AntiqSnap's Premium renews automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the period ends. WorthPoint's subscription also renews automatically, monthly or annually, though it says there are no cancellation fees.
For sellers with more than six items, Christie's asks you to contact its Valuations team rather than use the online form.
The same shortlist, as a table
| Thing | Free tier | Paid from | Platforms | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Lens | No price stated on Google's Lens page. | not checked | android, ios, chrome | A general visual search tool, not an antiques service; Google's page says nothing about dating, authenticity or valuing antiques. |
| WorthPoint | The app is free to download, but WorthPoint 'offers access to products through a paid subscription' (UK App Store). | £17.99 per month (MARKS Premium, UK App Store) | web, ios | Paid subscription for the price guide and marks; its website blocked our requests, so we checked it on the UK App Store only. |
| AntiqSnap | Free to download with in-app purchases; Premium unlocks 'unlimited identifications' (UK App Store); the free allowance is not stated. | not checked | ios, android | Unlimited identifications need Premium; its valuation and accuracy claims are the developer's own, and we did not test it. |
| Christie's online estimate | Christie's calls it a 'complimentary estimate'. | not checked | web | Estimates take 3 to 4 weeks and are given only for items in a category Christie's sells that meet its minimum consignment value. |
How we checked
What we read, and what we haven't tested yet.
On 2026-10-02 we read Google's Lens page, the WorthPoint and AntiqSnap listings on the UK App Store, AntiqSnap's Google Play listing and Christie's selling guide. WorthPoint's own website returned an access error to our requests, so its prices are from the UK App Store. Nothing was tested hands-on, and we did not check any valuation for accuracy, so this is what those pages say.
If none of these fit
The manual way.
If you are thinking of selling, an auction house specialist is the nearest thing to a reliable answer: Christie's offers a complimentary online estimate. For a free first look, a Google Lens photo search shows similar items and where they are sold.