# AI Scanner vs ScanElf

The clearest difference is ads: ScanElf at none against AI Scanner's shown. ScanElf also leads on iOS requirement (12.1 vs 15.6). AI Scanner's advantage is device support (4 vs 2). On price, update cadence and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. AI Scanner sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and ScanElf sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

AI Scanner ships an update every 6 days, ScanElf weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 17, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | AI Scanner | ScanElf |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.6 (9.2K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ai-scanner-image-to-text/id1225032527/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **9.2K** | — |
| Positive reviews | 70.3% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Every 6 days** | Weekly |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Size | 130 MB | 21 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | **12.1** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Govarthani Rajesh](https://appshunter.io/developer/1225032526) | [Yantai Jiaen Network Technology Co., Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1735092622) |

## What reviewers say

### AI Scanner

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ai-scanner-image-to-text/id1225032527)

This app uses AI to accurately extract text from images, PDFs, and screenshots in over 90 languages. It can also translate extracted text, scan physical documents into PDFs, and even allows you to chat with AI about your scanned content. Save, edit, and share your extracted text in various formats.

**Highlights:** Extract text from images and PDFs, Scan documents to PDF, Translate extracted text, Chat with AI about scanned content, Handwriting to text conversion, Copy text from any screen

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium Monthly Saver | $3.99 | per month |
| Unlimited Scans Monthly | $7.99 | per month |
| Unlimited Scans Yearly | $59.99 | per year |
| Extra Scans | $0.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Fast and accurate OCR
- 👍 Easy to use
- 💡 Helpful for various use cases
- 🚀 Saves time and effort

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔍 Limited free scans per day
- 💸 Expensive subscription
- 🔍 Ads even with paid subscription
- 🐛 Inconsistent text recognition

**Reported bugs**

- Crashes after recent update
- Unable to export/share scanned text
- Incorrect text recognition, especially for non-Latin scripts

**Requested features**

- Batch processing of images
- Ability to edit/correct recognized text
- Support for more languages
- Option to disable ads in free version


### ScanElf

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/scanelf/id6464152086)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Economy plan -Monthly | $3.99 | per month |
| Standard plan -Monthly | $8.99 | per month |
| Value plan -Yearly | $69.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is AI Scanner free?

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

### Is ScanElf free?

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

### Do AI Scanner or ScanElf have ads?

AI Scanner shows ads; ScanElf does not.

### Which is updated more often, AI Scanner or ScanElf?

AI Scanner ships an update every 6 days, and ScanElf weekly. Most recently, AI Scanner was updated on September 24, 2026 and ScanElf on September 17, 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.*