SmartScan AI vs PDF Scan
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SmartScan AI
Effortlessly extract text from images using advanced AI. Translate content into over 150 languages, summarize complex information, and export editable files or professional PDFs. This intelligent assistant helps you work faster and smarter by digitizing notes and documents.
- Handwritten and printed text OCR
- AI-powered translation to 150+ languages
- AI assistant for summarization and insights
- Text-to-speech functionality
- Editable file and PDF export
- Scan history and editing tools
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SmartScan AI: Scan, Translate, Edit & Export–Powered by AI SmartScan AI is your intelligent OCR assistant for effortlessly extracting handwritten and printed text from images. Powered by advanced AI, it helps you translate text into over 150 languages and export it as editable files or professional PDFs. Whether you’re digitizing notes, translating signs, or are tired of typing, SmartScan AI helps you work faster and smarter. AI Assistant (New!) Free Chat Mode: Ask AI anything, not just about scanned text. Summarize: Get concise summaries of long texts. Explain: Break down complex text into simple language. Keywords: Extract the most important terms instantly. Insights: Discover key takeaways or action points. Printed Text OCR Instantly recognize printed text in over 150 languages — perfect for documents, books, labels, or signs. Includes Hindi, Arabic, Russian, Thai, and many more. Handwritten Text Extraction Turn notes, letters, forms, and whiteboards into a digital text with a single tap. Works across surfaces like sticky notes, notebooks, and more. Languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified), Korean, Portuguese. AI-Powered Translation Translate any scanned text into over 150 languages within seconds — no external apps needed. Text-to-Speech Let the app read the extracted text aloud in 30+ languages. Ideal for studying, accessibility, and multitasking. History & Editing Tools All Ai, image scans are saved on your device. Share, edit text, add notes, preview PDFs, and manage your history with ease. Export Options Save as plain text or PDF. Print or share via email, AirDrop, messaging apps, and more. Private by Design No sign-up required. Your data stays on your device unless you choose to share it. Free with Optional Upgrade Enjoy the full feature set for free, supported by ads. Upgrade with in-app purchases for an ad-free experience. Made for You Switch between light/dark mode and choose your preferred app language. Designed with a clean, distraction-free interface.
PDF Scan
Transform your phone into a powerful document scanner. Easily scan paper documents, receipts, and IDs, converting them into searchable PDFs. Extract text from images using OCR and manage your files with cloud sync and various PDF tools.
- Document scanning with edge detection
- OCR for text extraction from images
- Image to PDF conversion
- Cloud sync with Google Drive
- PDF editing and signing
- PDF compression, merging, and splitting
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Max Scanner is OCR & PDF scanning app that turns your phone into Document Scanner. Scan paper documents, receipts, IDs, and photos, convert images to PDF, and extract text from images using OCR. Create searchable PDFs in seconds and manage them easily. • PDF Scanner – scan documents with automatic edge detection • OCR (Image to Text) – extract and edit text from images • Image to PDF Converter – create single or multi-page PDFs • Cloud Sync – back up and sync documents with Google Drive • PDF Tools – compress, merge, split, reorder, and protect PDFs • Edit & Sign PDFs – annotate, highlight, and add digital signatures Download Max Scanner – scan documents, use OCR, create PDFs, and sync to the cloud. Subscription Plans Monthly Plan – $5.99 • Unlimited scans & OCR • Ad-free access Yearly Plan – $60.99 • Unlimited scans & OCR • Ad-free access Subscription Info Payment is charged to your iTunes account at purchase. Subscriptions auto-renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel subscriptions anytime in your Account Settings. Any unused free trial will be forfeited upon purchase. Privacy Policy: https://appzys.com/ios/smartscanner/privacypolicy Terms of Service: https://appzys.com/ios/smartscanner/termsofuse
Screenshots
Verdict
SmartScan AI and PDF Scan both sit at 4.4 stars, but that hides the real split: 75% of PDF Scan's written reviews are positive against 54% of SmartScan AI's. PDF Scan also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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. SmartScan AI sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and PDF Scan sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.4 for SmartScan AI against 4.5 for PDF Scan. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 94 and 44 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 54% of SmartScan AI's written reviews are positive against 75% of PDF Scan's.
SmartScan AI ships an update every 2 months, PDF Scan every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SmartScan AI | PDF Scan |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (94 ratings) | 4.5 (44 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 54.2% of reviews | 75.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 94 — better | 44 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 17 MB | 116 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Naveen Vijay | Govarthani Rajesh |
Customer experience
SmartScan AI
PDF Scan
In-app purchases
SmartScan AI
- 75 Credits$0.99
- 175 Credits$1.99
- 500 Credits$4.99
PDF Scan
- Unlimited Scans Monthly$5.991 Month
- Unlimited Scans Yearly$60.991 Year
Questions
Is SmartScan AI free?
Is PDF Scan free?
Which has better reviews, SmartScan AI or PDF Scan?
Do SmartScan AI or PDF Scan have ads?
Which is updated more often, SmartScan AI or PDF Scan?
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