The world is getting more and more digital. In turn, businesses are using printed documents less. That's especially true when sending files to coworkers. Rarely do people use Fax machines nowadays. Instead, they send files as PDFs. So, you may need a PDF scanner on your phone. It will let you convert printed files into digital copies.
There are hundreds of apps available on the App Store or Play Store. So, which app should you choose? You have come to the right place. Here are the 10 best PDF document scanners on Android and iOS.
To start our list, here are the top 5 pdf scanners available on both Android and iOS.
PDFelement is best for users who also need a mobile PDF editor with powerful features.
The latest version of PDFelement is 3.0.7 on Android and 3.0.12 on iOS.
PDFelement for Android is free without any in-app purchases. For iOS, it is free, with in-app purchases starting at $6.99.
PDFelement is an expert in handling PDF files. The developers imported the technology they used in the desktop version of the software. Thus, the mobile app is robust. Its scanner capability is amazing. There are no complications involved. Just launch the app, select the Scan tool, then start scanning.
PDFelement for iOS also comes with OCR. It will let you make scanned text editable text if you wish to do so.
OCR is not included in the free version.
The OCR feature is only available on iOS.
Adobe Scan is a scanner app where you don't even have to press the capture button to scan documents.
The latest version of Adobe Scan for Android is v. 22.11.18-regular, while the latest on iOS is v. 22.11.15.
Adobe Scan is free to download with in-app purchases. In-app purchases both on Android and iOS start at $3.99.
Adobe Scan is a very reliable mobile scanner. Its auto-detection feature lets it scan documents without you pressing the capture button. Put the paper in the frame, and Adobe Scan will scan it. This makes the creation of multi-page PDFs so much easier.
You can create PDF files by scanning. However, you can't edit the said PDFs. Using another tool is required for that.
The interface may make beginners confused.
CamScanner is best for scanning files you want to convert into Word, Excel, or Powerpoint.
CamScanner's latest version on Android is version 6.29.0.2211130000, and on iOS is Version 6.30.0.
A premium membership for CamScanner starts at $3.99 for a week.
CamScanner offers a powerful OCR tool that accurately recognizes text from printed documents.
You need a registered account to be able to use the scanner more than once.
The free version adds a watermark to pages.
OneDrive is the best scanner if you want to store documents on the cloud.
The latest version of OneDrive on Android is version 6.69. For iOS, the latest version is 13.44.
It's super easy to use. There are different settings for scanning documents on Whiteboard, paper, business cards, and photos. Then, you can export directly to a cloud storage system.
Does not have an OCR function to make the scanned text editable.
You need to register to access the scanner.
Reviewers on the App Store all agree that OneDrive is a great online storage system. You can use it to not just store your scanned PDFs but also share them with others.
Microsoft Lens is best for text extraction.
Microsoft Version's latest version on iOS is version 2.66.4, while on Android is version 16.0.15726.20076.
Microsoft Lens lets you scan different types of documents and convert them into PDFs. The best thing about it is it supports the recognition of handwritten text.
Microsoft Lens' can only recognize handwritten text if it is in English.
A user wrote on Google Play that Microsoft Lens is "one of the best scanner apps out there." They loved how it always created clear pictures. On top of that, they like how you can combine multiple photos into one PDF and share it in different ways.
Here are the best document scanners available only on iOS.
Apple's Notes App is the best free scanner on iOS. It is built-in into every iPhone and iPad. The app allows you to take notes, as expected. But a not-so-hidden feature lets you scan documents.
If you want to learn how to use the Notes App's scanner, watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SpH4fAYObo.
Notes is a built-in program for every iPad and iPhone, and its scanner and PDF editing and creation tools are surprisingly advanced. You can markup or add signatures on the scanned files!
The lack of an OCR function means you can't make the scanned text editable.
Scanner for iOS is best for high-resolution scans.
The latest version of this app is version 2.5.3.
Starts at $4.99.
The Scanner App is a great choice if you want the scanned document to be as clean as possible. After scanning the document, you can use its photo adjustment features to ensure the text in the document is readable.
Without a Premium membership, you don't have access to unlimited scans.
A reviewer on the App Store says the Scanner app is a great app if you want to go paperless. They praised the fast OCR and smart adjustment functions. The reviewer said that this app would make tedious scanning tasks into short work.
Easy Scan is best for organizing scanned PDFs.
The latest version of Easy Scan is version 3.5.43.
In-app purchases in Easy Scan start at $3.99.
Easy Scan, as the name suggests, is easy to use. On top of that, it offers lots of powerful features, enabling you to do more than just scan a document. For instance, you can do color correction, remove noise, or lock the document. You can also fax the document to 30 countries.
Many features are locked behind a paywall.
These are the best PDF scanners available only on Android.
PDF Document Scanner is best for crisp scans on Android.
The latest version of PDF Document Scanner is version 5.3.
Subscriptions start at $19.99 per month.
PDF Document scanner lets you scan a single-page or multi-page document. It also offers OCR, which ensures the words in the scans are readable. The images produced by scanning with this app are very crisp and clean.
The free version is full of ads.
No PDF editing features.
A reviewer on Google Play said that if you can look past the ads that plague the screen, you'll see that it's a great app. That's because PDF Document Scanner works as intended and produces clear results.
PDF Scanner is great for adding filters to documents while you are scanning them.
The latest version of PDF Scanner is version 4.0.1.
The in-app purchases in PDF Scanner start at $3.99.
PDF Scanner does what it is supposed to do. It lets you scan printed documents with auto-crop features that remove unwanted things from the scanned file. You can also apply filters while (not after) scanning, so you can see the output before you take a photo.
The free version has ads.
A user on Google Play wrote that PDF Scanner is "clean, concise, and to the point". They hated how other apps bombarded them with permissions or options they didn't need. This one is simple and gets the job done quickly.
Here are some of the people's most asked questions about mobile scanners.
Yes, there is an online PDF scanner. You can try onlinecamscanner.com. It lets you take pictures of documents and then download them as PDFs, PNGs, or JPGs.
You can use PDFelement for iOS/Android to convert scanned PDF files to other formats. It supports many output file types. The best thing is that the conversion is lightning fast. It will be done in a few seconds.
These are the 10 best PDF scanners for smartphones. As you can see, each has its own strengths and limitations. We suggest starting with Wondershare PDFelement, as it has the most features out of this selection. Its scan function is also among the most robust. Top that with PDFelement's OCR and editing tools, and you can do many things with the documents you scan.
