# Elfinbook vs Scanner

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Scanner at 90% against Elfinbook's 38%. Scanner also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.4) and ratings volume (2.3K vs 353). Elfinbook's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 5 weeks) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 13). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Elfinbook sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Scanner sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Scanner holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Scanner has 2.3K ratings behind it against 353, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 38% of Elfinbook's written reviews are positive against 90% of Scanner's.

Elfinbook ships an update every 2 weeks, Scanner every 5 weeks. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Elfinbook | Scanner |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.4 (353 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/elfinbook-scanner-and-ocr/id1186551971/reviews) | **[4.8 (2.3K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/scanner-document-scan-app/id1386975827/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 353 | **2.3K** |
| Positive reviews | 37.7% of reviews | **90.3% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 weeks** | Every 5 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 215 MB | 33 MB |
| Requires iOS | **11.0** | 13 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Hangzhou Qihui Technology Co., Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/1026642913) | [阳杰 刘](https://appshunter.io/developer/1494247048) |

## What reviewers say

### Elfinbook

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/elfinbook-scanner-and-ocr/id1186551971)

Transform handwritten notes into digital text with this app. Scan, enhance, and organize your notes, then sync them to the cloud. It offers a paper-like writing experience with digital convenience.

**Highlights:** Mobile scanning with camera, Optical Character Recognition (OCR), Digital pen and writing pad, Note organization and search, Cloud sync and auto-backup, PDF and JPEG export

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (7)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Premium | $1.99 | per month |
| Annually Premium | $10.49 | per year |
| Elfinbook Premium One Month | $0.99 | one-time |
| 1GB Cloud Space | $1.99 | one-time |
| 1 Month | $2.99 | one-time |
| Elfinbook Premium One Year | $7.99 | one-time |
| 12 Months | $14.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use
- 💡 Innovative concept (notebook + app)
- ♻️ Reusable notebook
- ✍️ Good handwriting recognition (sometimes)
- 📄 Scans documents well

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes
- ❌ Login/signup issues
- 📉 Poor OCR accuracy
- ⏳ Slow performance
- 💸 Premium features required

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes immediately upon opening
- App crashes during launch
- Cannot export to PDF
- Batch scan is too slow
- OCR text recognition does not work

**Requested features**

- Improved OCR accuracy
- Faster batch scanning
- Better language support for OCR
- More intuitive UI
- Smoother syncing


### Scanner

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/scanner-document-scan-app/id1386975827)

This app offers powerful document scanning with advanced image recognition for text extraction and translation. Easily create PDFs, scan IDs, and manage files efficiently for work or study.

**Highlights:** Fast document scanning, Automatic edge detection and cropping, Perspective correction, High-precision OCR text recognition, PDF file generation, Photo translation, ID scanning

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Consecutive weekly | $0.99 | per 7 days |
| Consecutive monthly | $2.99 | per month |
| Consecutive monthly | $3.99 | per month |
| Consecutive quarter | $7.99 | per 3 months |
| Continuous package year | $14.99 | per year |
| Consecutive year | $25.49 | per year |
| QNScanner+Consecutive year pro | $30.99 | per year |
| 月度VIP | $4.99 | one-time |
| 2 years VIP | $19.99 | one-time |
| 终身VIP | $29.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Fast scanning and text extraction
- 💰 Free to use
- 🌟 Great overall performance

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔒 Concerns about privacy and security
- 💰 Locked features behind paywall
- 🐛 Reliability issues, app crashes or doesn't work
- 🤖 Poor OCR accuracy, especially for Chinese text

**Reported bugs**

- Unable to scan documents properly
- Charged for premium features without consent

**Requested features**

- Automatic image cropping
- Integration with more cloud storage/email services
- Improved OCR accuracy for different languages


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Elfinbook free?

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

### Is Scanner free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Elfinbook or Scanner?

Scanner is rated higher. Elfinbook averages 4.4 out of 5 from 353 ratings, while Scanner averages 4.8 from 2.3K ratings.

### Do Elfinbook or Scanner have ads?

Both Elfinbook and Scanner show ads.

### Which is updated more often, Elfinbook or Scanner?

Elfinbook ships an update every 2 weeks, and Scanner every 5 weeks. Most recently, Elfinbook was updated on October 24, 2026 and Scanner on October 24, 2026.

---

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