# Scan Hero vs Simple Scanner

Scan Hero and Simple Scanner both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 95% of Simple Scanner's written reviews are positive against 66% of Scan Hero's. Scan Hero's advantage is ratings volume (242K vs 929) and chart position (#41 vs unranked). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Scan Hero sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days and Simple Scanner sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Simple Scanner holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Scan Hero has 242K ratings behind it against 929, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 66% of Scan Hero's written reviews are positive against 95% of Simple Scanner's.

Scan Hero ships an update every 10 days, Simple Scanner every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on October 25, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Scan Hero | Simple Scanner |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (242K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/scan-hero-pdf-scanner/id1017261655/reviews) | **[4.8 (929 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/simple-scanner-pdf-doc-scan/id1531265666/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **242K** | 929 |
| Positive reviews | 65.5% of reviews | **95.3% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Every 10 days** | Every 2 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#41** | — |
| Size | 245 MB | 196 MB |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Mosaic S.r.l.](https://appshunter.io/developer/570748343) | [TongSoft Information Co., Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1522822281) |

## What reviewers say

### Scan Hero

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/scan-hero-pdf-scanner/id1017261655)

**Currently charting:** #41 Top Grossing · Business (US App Store)

Scan documents, photos, and text on the go and manage your paperwork digitally. Edit, sign, and share your scans as PDFs or images. Offers OCR, HD quality, and secure file protection.

**Highlights:** Scan documents to PDF or image, Multiple camera modes for specific documents, Edit scans: re-crop, perspective, filters, Organize and reorder pages, OCR text extraction, Digital signatures, Secure files with Face ID/passcode

**Features:** Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (11)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Get Premium! | $1.99 | per 7 days |
| Premium Scanner App + OCR | $4.99 | per 3 months |
| Weekly Subscription | $9.99 | per 7 days |
| Weekly Sub with Free Trial | $9.99 | per 7 days |
| Scanner for Me - Plus | $10.99 | per month |
| Monthly Premium Subscription | $14.99 | per month |
| Document & Text Scanner + OCR | $16.00 | per month |
| Upgrade to Pro! | $16.00 | per month |
| Monthly Premium Subscription | $22.00 | per month |
| Upgrade to Pro! | $89.99 | per year |
| Scanner for Me Full Version | $6.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Easy to use
- 👍 Convenient scanning
- 🚀 Fast scanning
- 👍 Helpful for business/school
- 👍 Great for on-the-go scanning

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Inconsistent scanning quality
- 🔒 Difficult to cancel subscription
- 💰 Expensive subscription
- 🔒 Automatic subscription charges
- 🐛 Buggy/glitchy app

**Reported bugs**

- Scans not properly cropped
- Inability to rearrange scanned pages
- Crashes when editing/cropping documents

**Requested features**

- Ability to rotate scanned documents
- Option to save scans to cloud storage
- Improved OCR text recognition


### Simple Scanner

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/simple-scanner-pdf-doc-scan/id1531265666)

Transform your phone into a portable scanner to digitize documents, photos, and receipts. Save scans as images or PDFs, organize them with folders and tags, and share them via cloud services, email, or direct Wi-Fi transfer. Features include OCR text recognition and password protection.

**Highlights:** Portable document scanner, Save as JPG or PDF, Cloud upload and sync, OCR text recognition, Password protection, Direct Wi-Fi transfer

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (12)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 month subscription | $3.99 | per month |
| 1 Month -Send unlimited faxes | $19.99 | per month |
| 1 year subscription | $29.99 | per year |
| 1 year subscription | $29.99 | per year |
| cloud storage subscription | $79.99 | per year |
| 1 Year - send unlimited faxes | $149.99 | per year |
| Fax  15  credits | $0.99 | one-time |
| Fax  60  credits | $2.99 | one-time |
| Fax 250 credits | $9.99 | one-time |
| Fax 600 credits | $19.99 | one-time |
| Fax 2000 credits | $49.99 | one-time |
| lifetime license | $89.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Fast and efficient
- 💡 Useful features
- 🔒 Secure
- 📁 Organizes documents well

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes or bugs
- 💰 Subscription issues
- 📢 Too many ads
- 🔄 Syncing problems

**Reported bugs**

- Camera not working properly
- Trouble canceling subscriptions
- Scanned documents not saving correctly

**Requested features**

- Add support for more file formats
- Improve sharing and exporting options
- Implement dark mode
- Allow importing PDFs directly


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Scan Hero free?

Scan Hero is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Simple Scanner free?

Simple Scanner is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Scan Hero or Simple Scanner?

Simple Scanner is rated higher. Scan Hero averages 4.7 out of 5 from 242K ratings, while Simple Scanner averages 4.8 from 929 ratings.

### Do Scan Hero or Simple Scanner have ads?

Both Scan Hero and Simple Scanner show ads.

### Which is updated more often, Scan Hero or Simple Scanner?

Scan Hero ships an update every 10 days, and Simple Scanner every 2 weeks. Most recently, Scan Hero was updated on October 25, 2026 and Simple Scanner on October 25, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*