Android app · Google Play
CostCast
A shelf price tells you what a package costs. It rarely tells you what you are paying per kilogram. Point CostCast at the price tag and the comparable number appears in a second.
What one scan gives you
CostCast is a unit price calculator that reads the label for you. The camera picks up the price, the pack size and the unit printed on the tag, then the app normalises everything into one comparable figure.
- Price per kilogram or pound for anything sold by weight.
- Price per litre or gallon for milk, oil, juice, detergent, fuel.
- Shrinkflation detection — a smaller pack at the same shelf price is flagged instead of quietly passing as a deal.
- Manual correction — if the label is creased or the light is bad, edit the price or the size and the unit price recalculates instantly.
- Multiple currencies for shopping at home or abroad.
How a scan works
- Open CostCast and aim the camera at the shelf price tag.
- Google ML Kit reads the text on the device and fills in the price and pack size.
- The app divides price by size, converts the units, and shows the unit price next to the price you would actually pay.
Nothing is uploaded: recognition happens locally, and CostCast keeps no scan history, so there is no list of what you bought sitting anywhere.
Why the unit price is the number that matters
Supermarkets are not obliged to make comparison easy. The same product appears in 400 g, 750 g and 1 kg packs, one tag quotes price per 100 g, the next quotes price per pound, and the “family pack” is sometimes the most expensive option per gram. Doing that arithmetic in the aisle, with a phone in one hand, is exactly the moment people give up and buy the bigger box.
CostCast turns it into a single glance: two packages, two unit prices, one decision. It is the same check that consumer magazines do once a year, except it works on the shelf in front of you and on the tag that was reprinted last night.
Good to know
CostCast is free to install and free to use. An optional CostCast Pro subscription is offered inside the app — 14 days free, then $2.00 per month, cancellable at any time from Google Play. There are no ads, and no account is needed to start scanning.