Comparison

Adobe Scan vs Simple Scan

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Adobe Scan

Transform your mobile device into a powerful document scanner. Easily convert paper documents, receipts, and IDs into professional-looking PDFs or JPEGs. Enhance scans with automatic straightening, stain removal, and editable text conversion.

Highlights
  • High-speed bulk scanning
  • Convert paper to PDF/JPEG
  • Automatic straightening
  • Magic eraser for cleanup
  • Extract pages
  • Image to text OCR
  • Organize into folders
Read full description

Adobe Scan is free to download and turns your mobile device into a powerful PDF and document scanner that helps you create, save, and organize your paper documents as digital files. 6 WAYS TO USE ADOBE SCAN 1) Save time with a fast document scanner: Use High-speed scan to bulk scan documents and turn stacks into PDFs in seconds. 2) Clean up scans with Magic eraser: Auto-detect and remove thumbs, shadows, stains and creases so your document scans look clear and professional. 3) Make a PDF with your phone: Convert paper documents or printed images into PDFs or JPEGs with the mobile PDF and photo scanner. 4) Use the Extract pages tool to choose the pages you need from any multi-page scan and save them as a new PDF. 5) Turn images to text: Use the image-to-text feature to make words in your scans searchable and editable with OCR. 6) Scan anything: Receipts, IDs, notes, recipes, photos, business cards, whiteboards – scan documents into PDF or JPEG files you can work with on your phone, tablet, or computer. CAPTURE WITH PRECISION • The Straighten tool fixes pages that come out curved or tilted while you scan, even if all four corners aren’t visible in the scan. • Advanced scanning technology detects borders, sharpens content, and makes your scans editable and searchable. ENHANCE YOUR SCANS • Edit in text lets you scan words, and handwritten text, to make it editable. • The Modify tool helps you crop, rotate, resize, and adjust colors in your scans. • Reorder pages and preview before saving. • Adjust the brightness and contrast of your scans in just a few taps. ORGANIZE YOUR DOCUMENTS • Scan paperwork and create custom folders for work documents, personal files, school forms, or ID scans. • Contact details are pulled straight from business cards so you can save them to your phone contacts in seconds. • Scans are automatically saved to Adobe Document Cloud for instant access and sharing. • Set a password to keep that important scan secure while you send it. SMART LIBRARY • This powerful doc scanner finds documents and receipts in your photo library and turns them into PDFs. • Touch up scans or photos directly from your camera roll. REUSE & SHARE • Open PDFs directly in Adobe Scan, without leaving the app. Then use tools like Modify, Edit, and Share. • Make high-quality PDFs that unlock text from images – from scanned contracts to study notes – so you can copy, edit, and reuse. • Export your scans to Word, Excel, or PowerPoint for new formats, then share. DO MORE WITH ACROBAT READER • Open your PDF scan in Acrobat Reader to comment, highlight, fill forms, and sign documents. • Access and share securely across Scan, Reader, and Acrobat on web and mobile. IN-APP PURCHASE • Subscribe for even more scanning power. Subscriptions work across Scan and Reader mobile apps and Acrobat on the web. • Combine scans into one file so you can take multiple scans and consolidate into one document. • Increase OCR capacity from 5 to 100 pages so that you can find text in multiple images. Download this free mobile scanner to convert important photos and documents into PDF and JPEG files to help you stay organized. Adobe Scan is the PDF converter trusted by millions worldwide. Terms & Conditions: Your use of this application is governed by the Adobe General Terms of Use http://www.adobe.com/go/terms_linkfree_en and the Adobe Privacy Policy http://www.adobe.com/go/privacy_policy_linkfree_en Do not sell or share my personal information www.adobe.com/go/ca-rights-linkfree

About

Simple Scan

Transform your device into a powerful mobile scanner. Digitize documents, receipts, and IDs. Convert images and handwritten notes to text with OCR. Sign and mark up PDFs with a custom editor.

Highlights
  • Document scanning
  • OCR text recognition
  • PDF signing
  • Document markup
  • Batch scanning
  • Automatic border detection
  • Document organization
Features
Read full description

SimpleScan is the incredibly easy-to-use document scanner you've been looking for. Download now so you can scan ANYTHING you want, faster than ANYWHERE else, and so DEAD SIMPLE you could almost do it with your eyes closed. And it's a LOT more than fast and easy... Turn your iOS device into a powerful mobile scanner than does all the work for you, digitizing printed documents, important receipts, IDs & Passports... and even converting images and handwritten notes into text with the OCR function! It gets better... Because we're out to be the most indispensable tool in your day to day life, you can even save more time by signing and marking up your PDFs with our custom document editor. No set-up fees or long-term commitment required – SimpleScan is here to take all the confusion and hassle out of scanning, storing, and sharing your documents (and as you know, life is FULL of documents)... We're called SimpleScan for a reason: this is as easy as it gets. :) Here are just a few more reasons why SimpleScan has quickly become the top PDF scanning, text recognition, and document signing app available: • Scan, store, and save contracts, receipts, documents of any kind, paper notes, schedules, timetables, whatever! • Save multiple signatures to quickly add the one you need, fast. • With the Markup feature, you can highlight text, draw, and scribble on your docs however you want. • Our scanner automatically detects document borders, corrects angles, enhances important imagery while removing shadows, cleans up text and color, and more. Basically, you really can't mess up with this scanner if you tried. • The custom "batch scanning" feature allows you to scan as many pages as you'd like, all in one neat document. • Quickly create documents by selecting images from your Camera Roll, or uploading from anywhere else on your device. • Securely store your documents in your built-in 'document library' for sending later. • Create folders to keep all your docs neatly organized... like they should be. • The export function lets you directly share with friends, email to colleagues, or add to any other app in just a couple taps. • And plenty more! Download SimpleScan for FREE now, and LET US PROVE TO YOU that we're the last document scanning, signature adding, file storage app you'll ever need! Upgrade To SimpleScan Pro: The SimpleScan app is free to download and use forever. If you would like to upgrade to SimpleScan Pro and get unlimited access to all features within the app, we offer a 3-day free trial to make sure it's the right decision for you. Information about the auto-renewal of subscription: – You can subscribe for unlimited access to all features within the app – Subscriptions are billed weekly, monthly, quarterly or annually at the rate selected depending on the subscription plan – Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase – Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period – Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. The cost depends on the selected plan – Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase – Any unused portion of the free trial will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription By using the SimleFax App, you are agreeing to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use: http://www.danecoltd.com/simple-fax-privacy-policy/ http://www.danecoltd.com/simple-fax-terms-of-use/ We appreciate your SimpleScan reviews and feedback. Please email us at support@danecoltd.com. We have a full-time support team that is here to ensure your success with using this simple, yet powerful, scanning app. Download SimpleScan to scan from your iPhone & iPad today!

Screenshots

Adobe Scan4 screens
Simple Scan4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Adobe Scan at 83% against Simple Scan's 22%. Adobe Scan also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.4) and ratings volume (1.6M vs 245). Simple Scan's advantage is iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Adobe Scan sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and Simple Scan sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Adobe Scan holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Adobe Scan has 1.6M ratings behind it against 245, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 83% of Adobe Scan's written reviews are positive against 22% of Simple Scan's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Adobe Scan ships an update fortnightly, Simple Scan every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Adobe Scan versus Simple Scan: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAdobe ScanSimple Scan
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (1.6M ratings) — better4.4 (245 ratings)
Positive reviews82.6% of reviews — better22.2% of reviews
Number of ratings1.6M — better245
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 3 months
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#11 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.016.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size398 MB82 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAdobe Inc.Daneco Ltd.

Customer experience

Adobe Scan

All ratings1,586,882 ratings
Positive97.6%
Neutral1.3%
Negative1.1%
Written reviews3,809 reviews
Positive82.6%
Neutral2.9%
Negative14.4%

Simple Scan

All ratings245 ratings
Positive84.1%
Neutral2.9%
Negative13.1%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive22.2%
Neutral0.0%
Negative77.8%

Bugs and requests

Adobe Scan

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Scans not saving properly
  • Compatibility issues with older devices
  • Problems with multi-page document scanning

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add option to save scans locally without cloud sync
  • Improve edge detection and auto-cropping accuracy
  • Implement multi-language OCR support
  • Allow manual control over scan settings and adjustments

Simple Scan

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

12 purchases

Adobe Scan

Subscriptions12
  • Adobe Scan Premium$3.991 Month
  • Adobe Scan Plus - Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Adobe PDF Pack$9.991 Month
Show 9 more
  • Adobe Scan Premium - Monthly7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Adobe Scan Premium$9.991 Month
  • Scan premium - monthly$14.991 Month
  • Adobe Scan Plus - Yearly$19.991 Year
  • Adobe Scan Premium7 Days trial$29.991 Year
  • Adobe Scan Premium7 Days trial$49.991 Year
  • Adobe Scan Premium7 Days trial$69.991 Year
  • Adobe Scan Premium1 Year trial$69.991 Year
  • Adobe PDF Pack$89.991 Year
4 purchases

Simple Scan

Subscriptions4
  • 3-Day Trial On Weekly Plan3 Days trial$9.997 Days
  • 3-Day Trial On Monthly Plan3 Days trial$14.991 Month
  • 3-Day Trial On Yearly Plan3 Days trial$49.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • SimpleScan Pro Yearly Plan$49.991 Year

Questions

Is Adobe Scan free?
Adobe Scan is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Simple Scan free?
Simple Scan is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Adobe Scan or Simple Scan?
Adobe Scan is rated higher. Adobe Scan averages 4.9 out of 5 from 1.6M ratings, while Simple Scan averages 4.4 from 245 ratings.
Do Adobe Scan or Simple Scan have ads?
Both Adobe Scan and Simple Scan show ads.
Which is updated more often, Adobe Scan or Simple Scan?
Adobe Scan ships an update fortnightly, and Simple Scan every 3 months. Most recently, Adobe Scan was updated on September 24, 2026 and Simple Scan on September 18, 2026.

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