This is not a comprehensive list of all the scanning apps we’ve tested. We have removed ones that are discontinued or no longer meet our criteria.
Microsoft Lens (Android, iOS), a former pick, is free, snaps clear scans automatically with good edge detection, and does not require an account. It doesn’t include OCR, but it can export documents to Microsoft Word for decent text recognition and editing. It’s somewhat slower at scanning documents than the competition, and it shoots darker, less-clear scans. It also requires more taps to save and share PDF files after scanning.
SwiftScan (Android, iOS), a former upgrade pick, can upload scans to more than a dozen cloud services (or your own FTP server) with a $60-per-year subscription. It had more trouble detecting document edges than other apps. Also, the free version shoots only two pages per scan and shows ads even in the shooting screen.
ABBYY FineReader (called Capture Documents on Android and FineReader on iOS) can scan three multipage documents for free, and then it costs $6 per month or $21 per year for unlimited scanning, OCR, and cloud sync. It offers a less-accurate, on-device OCR or a higher-quality cloud OCR, which took around 3 minutes for a four-page scan. It doesn’t offer scanning modes, but it is fast and accurate at detecting the edges of documents.
Scan.Plus (Android, iOS) was slower at scanning documents, and the finished images were not as sharp as those from the competition. It’s free, supported with in-app links to paid signature and fax apps from the same developers. It also has a number of AI tools, including a reasonably accurate tool to remove fingers from scans and an “AI Image to Text” button to recognize text on-device without saving the OCR text to the PDF.
CamScanner (Android, iOS) has had a troubled history involving Chinese malware. Its interface is overly busy, with ads for other apps from the CamScanner team, plus several scanning modes that seem to be of limited usefulness (stuff like question sets, an ID photo maker, and QR codes).
Clear Scan (Android, iOS) has a less-polished user interface than our picks. It displays constant ads, and while it can auto-shoot scans, you have to approve every shot, and it feels slower than other apps.
Dropbox (Android, iOS) includes a built-in scanner feature to scan PDFs to your Dropbox account for free. It scans black-and-white images by default; you have to switch to Original or Whiteboard filters after shooting to restore color. It was the slowest scanning app we tested, and it doesn’t include OCR or annotation features.
Evernote Scannable is free, has a simple design, and produces good-looking scans incredibly fast — as fast as Adobe Scan’s high-speed scanning mode. It has some odd limitations: It’s iOS only, less accurate at capturing smaller documents like business cards, doesn’t include OCR, and stores scans on your device for only 30 days before they’re automatically deleted.
Genius Scan (Android, iOS) is simple and free, but it isn’t as polished as our picks. It doesn’t automatically open to the camera, and the UI doesn’t rotate when shooting in landscape orientation. It does not do OCR scans by default, so you have to press a separate button to recognize text per page. Search within OCR results was hit or miss. OCR, sync, cloud storage, and more require a $40-per-year subscription.
iScanner (Android, iOS) was among the slowest scanner apps we tested, requiring more taps than any other app to scan and save documents. It also shows frequent, difficult-to-dismiss pop-over ads, and it costs $5 per week or $21 per year for paid plans.
Mobile Scanner (Android, iOS) repeatedly pushes its $4-per-week or $40-per-year subscription, or its $100 lifetime purchase, throughout the app, making it difficult to use the app’s free scanning features. The free app can only scan single documents at a time, and exported PDFs are watermarked. Its scans were also less sharp than those of the competition.
Notebloc (Android, iOS) is a free, ad-supported scanner app (with a $1-per-month subscription or a $24 one-time fee to remove ads) targeting students and teachers. It’s more bare-bones than most other apps, it does not automatically detect documents when shooting, and it’s worse at automatically cropping and OCR than other apps. It also centers the scan on a standard, letter-sized document instead of exporting the scanned document’s original dimensions.
Open Scanner (iOS only) is a free, open-source scanning app built around privacy. It includes the same iOS annotation features as Apple Notes. It recognizes scanned text in the app, but it does not include the OCR text in exported PDFs. It also overexposed documents in bright environments.
We previously tested and dismissed two other iOS-only apps. Prizmo pauses a moment while scanning each page, yet it delivers clear scans with good edge detection — but it’s worse at scanning books and skewed documents. Its OCR was good, including at recognizing handwriting, though you have to manually run OCR on each scan. Scanner Pro offered the most scanning modes, including presets for receipts, invoices, forms, letters, IDs, business cards, sheet music, and more. It can send faxes, for $1 each, and it can generate automated expense reports from receipts with the $30-per-year paid plan. PDF exports are watermarked with the free plan.
Scan Hero (Android, iOS) offers poor edge detection in scans, and when you first open the app, it guides you into an $8-per-week trial, which would be far more expensive than for any other scanning app.
This article was edited by Ben Keough and Erica Ogg.
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