Adobe Scan vs CaptainScanner
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- High-speed bulk scanning
- Convert paper to PDF/JPEG
- Automatic straightening
- Magic eraser for cleanup
- Extract pages
- Image to text OCR
- Organize into folders
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Major update: The new Digitize tool lets you scan handwritten notes and whiteboards into editable, searchable documents that look digitally created. Currently available in beta. 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
CaptainScanner
Easily transform paper documents, receipts, and notes into digital PDFs. Organize, edit, sign, and share your files seamlessly. Protect your sensitive documents with password protection and access them across devices with cloud storage.
- Scan documents from camera or import files
- Add text, annotations, and signatures
- Rearrange and merge PDF pages
- Convert PDFs to JPG or PNG
- Password protection for PDFs
- Cloud storage integration
- Dark mode
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CaptainScanner is the ultimate PDF scanner app for all your document needs! Turn your paper documents, receipts, and notes into PDF files with just a few taps. Say goodbye to cluttered desks and overflowing filing cabinets - keep all your important documents in one convenient place on your phone. Scan documents straight from your camera, import from your photo library or import files from the Files app. You can even scan both sides of your ID and get a neat, single-page PDF copy. With CaptainScanner, you can add text, annotations, and even your own signature to your PDFs. Need to move pages around or merge multiple files into one? No problem - we've got you covered. Once you're happy with your PDF, sharing it is a snap. You can send it to other apps or people with just a few clicks. So whether you're a busy professional, a student, or just someone who wants to keep their life organized, CaptainScanner is the app for you. Try it today and see why it's the best PDF scanner app out there! ► Scan documents straight from your camera ► Import images from your photo library or files from the Files app ► Scan both sides of your ID and get a neat, single-page PDF copy ► Add text and annotations to your PDFs ► Sign your PDFs with your own signature ► Rearrange pages or merge multiple files into one PDF ► Share your PDFs with other apps or people with just a few clicks ► Edit your PDFs with powerful tools like highlighter, underline, and strikethrough ► Convert your PDFs to other formats like JPG or PNG ► Apply filters to enhance the quality of your scans ► Auto-crop and auto-enhance features to optimize your scans ► Protect your PDFs with a password ► Cloud storage integration for easy access to your PDFs across devices ► Dark mode for comfortable scanning in low-light conditions Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: CaptainScanner at none against Adobe Scan's shown. CaptainScanner also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 82%) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). Adobe Scan's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 4 months) and ratings volume (1.6M vs 48). On price, rating, 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
Both are free to download. Adobe Scan sells 13 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and CaptainScanner sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Adobe Scan against 4.8 for CaptainScanner. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Adobe Scan has 1.6M ratings behind it against 48, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 82% of Adobe Scan's written reviews are positive against 100% of CaptainScanner's.
Adobe Scan ships an update fortnightly, CaptainScanner every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Adobe Scan | CaptainScanner |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (1.6M ratings) — better | 4.8 (48 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 82.1% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1.6M — better | 48 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #12 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 16.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 400 MB | 13 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Adobe Inc. | Tech Plus Beyond Inc. |
Customer experience
Adobe Scan
CaptainScanner
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
CaptainScanner
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Adobe Scan
- Adobe Scan Premium$3.991 Month
- Adobe Scan Plus - Monthly$4.991 Month
- Adobe PDF Pack$9.991 Month
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- 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$59.991 Year
- Adobe Scan Premium7 Days trial$69.991 Year
- Adobe Scan Premium1 Year trial$69.991 Year
- Adobe PDF Pack$89.991 Year
CaptainScanner
- Premium | Yearly3 Days trial$5.991 Year
- Lifetime Access$39.99
- Lifetime Access$89.99





