# Scan & Paste vs Zotero

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Zotero at 78% against Scan & Paste's 0%. Zotero also leads on rating (4.6 vs 1.5) and ratings volume (431 vs 2). Scan & Paste's advantage is iOS requirement (11.0 vs 16.6). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Zotero holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 1.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Zotero has 431 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of Scan & Paste's written reviews are positive against 78% of Zotero's.

Scan & Paste ships an update every 2 months, Zotero every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Scan & Paste | Zotero |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [1.5 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/scan-and-paste/id1062224924/reviews) | **[4.6 (431 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/zotero/id1513554812/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 2 | **431** |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | **77.9% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 121 MB | 237 MB |
| Requires iOS | **11.0** | 16.6 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Primesoft Polska Sp. z o. o.](https://appshunter.io/developer/989168838) | [Zotero](https://appshunter.io/developer/1513554811) |

## What reviewers say

### Scan & Paste

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/scan-and-paste/id1062224924)

Transform your phone into a portable scanner for documents and photos. Extract text and structured data using OCR technology. Seamlessly integrate scanned content into your workflow via cloud clipboard or API.

**Highlights:** Photo and document scanning, OCR text recognition, Export as JPEG or PDF, Cloud clipboard integration, API for easy integration, Pre-built document templates

**In-app purchases:** none


### Zotero

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/zotero/id1513554812)

This research tool helps you collect, organize, annotate, cite, and share your academic and professional work. Save articles, books, and webpages, add notes and highlights, and generate bibliographies in thousands of styles. Collaborate with others and sync your library across devices.

**Highlights:** Collect research from various sources, Organize with collections and tags, Annotate PDFs and webpages, Generate citations and bibliographies, Collaborate in group libraries, Sync across devices

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Simple and powerful
- 🚀 Convenient and useful
- 🚀 Seamless syncing across devices
- 🚀 Excellent reference management
- 👍 Great annotation and PDF reading experience

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes frequently
- 🐛 Syncing issues with WebDAV
- 🐛 Metadata not automatically extracted from PDFs
- 🐛 Annotation tools could be improved
- 🐛 Limited sorting and filtering options

**Reported bugs**

- Unable to unzip PDF snapshots
- Annotations disappearing or moving unexpectedly
- Dark mode not working as expected
- Inability to add citations directly from the app

**Requested features**

- Eraser tool for annotations
- More color options for pen and highlighter
- Ability to open PDFs in external apps
- Bookmarking and table of contents support
- Improved search functionality


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Scan & Paste free?

Scan & Paste is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Zotero free?

Zotero is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Scan & Paste or Zotero?

Zotero is rated higher. Scan & Paste averages 1.5 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Zotero averages 4.6 from 431 ratings.

### Do Scan & Paste or Zotero have ads?

Neither Scan & Paste nor Zotero shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Scan & Paste or Zotero?

Scan & Paste ships an update every 2 months, and Zotero every 3 weeks. Most recently, Scan & Paste was updated on October 1, 2026 and Zotero on October 15, 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.*