Disclosure. We make Paperlock, and it appears in the table below. For most of the jobs on this page another app is the better pick, and we say which.
The scan is the easy part
Point any of these apps at a page and you get the same thing: edges found, perspective straightened, contrast boosted, a PDF out the other end. The camera does the heavy lifting, and it.s the same camera for every app. So "best scanner app" really means best at what happens next:
- A clean PDF to send. The landlord wants the signed lease back by tonight.
- Batch scanning. A box of old statements, forty pages, one evening.
- Into a workflow. Every scan should land in Dropbox, Drive or a shared folder without you touching it.
- Privacy. Your passport scan shouldn't sit on a server you didn't choose.
- Finding it again. In three years, you need the warranty, and you don't remember what you named it.
If you scan receipts, that's a different set of trade-offs (totals, taxes, rewards apps), and our receipt scanner comparison covers it. If all you want is free, see the free document scanner apps list.
Nine options at a glance
| App | Best at | Reads the text for search | Where scans live | Finding it later | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notes / Files (built in) | A quick clean scan, no install | Partly, via Notes search | Your phone and your iCloud settings | Search a word or browse | Free |
| Adobe Scan | Acrobat users; export to PDF, JPEG or Word | Yes, searchable PDFs | Your Adobe Document Cloud storage | Search in Acrobat | Free to download; paid Acrobat features |
| Genius Scan | Batch scanning, scans kept on the phone | Yes, a text layer | On the phone unless you export or sign up | Search and your folders | Free download; optional paid cloud backup |
| Scanner Pro (Readdle) | Polished scanning and password-protected PDFs | Yes, a text layer | Phone, optional iCloud backup | Search and your folders | Free download; paid features |
| CamScanner | Many languages, converting to Word or Excel | Yes | Synced to its cloud | Search and your folders | Free version; some features need Premium |
| SwiftScan | Auto-upload to cloud services and apps | Yes, on the device | Phone, then wherever you send it | In the destination app | Free to try; paid plans |
| Google Drive | Scans that should live in Drive | Yes, searchable PDFs | Your Google Drive | Drive search | Free with a Google account |
| OneDrive | Scans that should live in OneDrive | Check OneDrive | Your OneDrive | OneDrive search | Part of the OneDrive app |
| Paperlock | Finding the document years later by asking | Yes, and understands it | Encrypted on your phone; a page goes to our servers only to be read or answered, and isn't kept | Ask: "when does my passport expire?" | Free for 25 documents; Plus $4.99/month or $39.99/year |
For a clean PDF to send: the scanner you already have
Before you install anything, try the one Apple ships. In Notes, open a note, tap the attachment button and choose Scan Documents. In Files, tap the More button, choose Scan Documents, then pick a folder and tap Save. In Auto mode the phone captures the page by itself the moment it's steady, and you can keep adding pages to the same document. Apple's support article has the steps, and our guide to scanning documents on iPhone covers the tricks (light, a dark background, flattening a folded page).
For signing, sending and the occasional form, this is the best scanner app for iPhone, and it's free. Where it stops: no batch tools, no automatic uploads to other services, and finding a scan later depends on remembering a word in it or the note you put it in. Our Paperlock vs Apple Notes page goes through that last part honestly.
For batch scanning: Genius Scan
If you're working through a stack, Genius Scan is built for it. Its maker describes batch scanning and export options aimed at exactly that evening with the box of statements, and it adds a text layer to PDFs so they're searchable. It's also the strongest privacy story among the dedicated scanners: its privacy policy says documents are stored only on your device, processed there, and leave it only when you export them or create an account for its cloud backup. One optional renaming feature sends the first page's text to an outside provider, and the policy says so plainly, which is how it should be done.
Our Genius Scan review goes deeper.
For a workflow: SwiftScan, Scanner Pro, Adobe Scan, or your cloud drive
If scans need to land somewhere other than your phone, pick the app that sends them there with the fewest taps.
- SwiftScan is the workflow specialist. It supports the major cloud services (iCloud, Google Drive, Dropbox, Box and others) and apps like Slack, Todoist and Evernote, and you can set one location where every scan is sent automatically. Its text recognition runs on the phone.
- Scanner Pro adds a searchable text layer, can back up scans through iCloud, lets you put a password on a PDF, and shares to print, fax and other apps. Readdle says it is ISO 27001 security certified. See our Scanner Pro review.
- Adobe Scan is free to download, turns scans into searchable PDFs and exports PDF, JPEG or Word. Scans are stored in your Adobe Document Cloud storage and can be sent to services like Dropbox or Google Drive. If you already work in Acrobat, it's the obvious choice. More in our Adobe Scan review.
- CamScanner reads text in many languages and converts scans into Word, Excel and other formats, with files synced to its cloud. The free version covers basic scanning and sharing; some features need Premium. If you're weighing it, our CamScanner alternatives page lists what else fits.
- Google Drive has a scanner inside the app: tap Add, then Scan, clean up the page, name it and choose a folder. Google says scans are saved as searchable PDFs in your Drive. If Drive is home already, skip the extra app (Drive scanning compared).
- OneDrive has a built-in scanner too. Microsoft retired Microsoft Lens starting January 9, 2026 and points former Lens users to the OneDrive app (what that means for Lens users).
For privacy: ask where the scan goes
A scanner app sees the most sensitive paper you own: passports, tax returns, medical letters. Three questions sort the options:
- Is the scan processed on the phone? The built-in scanner, Genius Scan and SwiftScan say yes for their core work.
- Is it stored on someone's server by default? Apps built around their own cloud, like Adobe Scan and CamScanner, store scans in your account there. Google Drive and OneDrive scanners are, by definition, cloud storage. That's fine if you chose that cloud; it's worth noticing if you didn't.
- Does any feature send text to a third party? Read the privacy policy for "optional" features, not just the headline.
Our guide to whether scanner apps are safe walks through the App Store privacy labels and what to look for.
For finding it again in five years: a reading vault
Here's the part scanners don't solve. Every app above gives you a well-made PDF
and then leaves the naming and filing to you. Searchable text helps if you
remember a word that's in the document. It doesn't help when your question is
"when does the car insurance renew?" and the answer is a date on page three of
something called Scan 2024-03-11.pdf.
That's the gap Paperlock was built for. You scan with the camera (auto-crop, straightening, multiple pages) or import PDFs and photos, and it reads each document: what it is, who it's from, the dates, the amounts, when it expires. It gives the document a plain title and files it, with no folders or tags. Later you ask in plain English, and the answer comes back with the document attached; if the answer isn't in your vault, it says so. Documents are stored encrypted on the phone behind Face ID, and expiry reminders are there if you turn them on. How it works has the details.
The honest limits: question-answering needs internet and runs partly on our servers (documents are processed to answer and not stored there), iCloud sync is part of Plus and off by default, there's no sharing between users, no folders, and no Android or web version. Many people will be happiest using a scanner above for intake and a vault for the documents they'll need again.
Which one to pick
- Sign and send tonight: Notes or Files. Free, already installed.
- A box of paper in one evening, kept on the phone: Genius Scan.
- Every scan straight into a cloud folder or app: SwiftScan, or the scanner inside Google Drive or OneDrive if that's your cloud.
- You live in Acrobat: Adobe Scan.
- Password-protected PDFs and a polished app: Scanner Pro.
- Converting scans into Word or Excel in many languages: CamScanner.
- The passport, lease and warranty you'll need in three years: a reading vault like Paperlock, free for your first 25 documents.