# VDScan vs Synthy

The clearest difference is price: Synthy at Free against VDScan's $14.99. Synthy also leads on review sentiment (81% vs 72%). VDScan's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 7) and rating (4.5 vs 4.2). On ratings volume, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Synthy is free to download; VDScan costs $14.99 up front. Synthy sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. VDScan asks for nothing beyond the download.

VDScan holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 575 and 384 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 72% of VDScan's written reviews are positive against 81% of Synthy's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

VDScan ships an update fortnightly, Synthy monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 20, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | VDScan | Synthy |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $14.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | **[4.5 (575 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/vdscan/id1446737725/reviews)** | [4.2 (384 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/synthy-read-aloud-doc-and-scan/id1579863833/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **575** | 384 |
| Positive reviews | 71.5% of reviews | **81.3% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Fortnightly** | Monthly |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 1.2 GB | 213 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **16.6** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Opus Noma LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1501593543) | [Dating onlain, ooo](https://appshunter.io/developer/1503663142) |

## What reviewers say

### VDScan

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/vdscan/id1446737725)

Capture text from documents, labels, and signs using your camera and have it read aloud with text-to-speech. This app offers fast, accurate, and private on-device OCR with support for numerous languages. Save, export, and enhance your scanned documents with intelligent features.

**Highlights:** On-device OCR and text recognition, Text-to-speech with 61 voices, ScanTone real-time text detection, Batch scanning mode, Export as plain text or PDF, Offline functionality

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Fast and accurate OCR
- 👍 Easy to use interface
- 💡 Integrates well with VoiceDream Reader
- 🚀 Impressive scanning speed
- 👍 Helpful audio cues for scanning

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes and loses scanned data
- 🐛 Struggles with curved/angled pages
- 🐛 Inconsistent performance on different surfaces
- 🐛 Difficulty scanning multi-column documents

**Reported bugs**

- Crashes when scanning too many pages
- Loses scanned data after app restarts

**Requested features**

- Batch import of photos for OCR
- Option to edit/correct OCR results
- Support for scanning book pages and flattening
- Ability to save scans directly to cloud storage


### Synthy

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/synthy-read-aloud-doc-and-scan/id1579863833)

Transform documents, books, and web content into audio with advanced text-to-speech technology. Scan physical documents or import digital files and listen to them read aloud with natural-sounding AI voices. Adjust playback speed and enjoy background listening for a seamless audio experience.

**Highlights:** Scan and read documents, Text to speech with AI voices, Adjustable reading speed, Import files and web links, Background listening mode, Type and listen functionality

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (7)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Synthy Scan & Read Premium | $4.99 | per 7 days |
| Endless Listening with Synthy | $5.99 | per month |
| Endless Listening with Synthy | $9.99 | per month |
| Endless Listening with Synthy | $12.99 | per month |
| Three months | $34.99 | per 3 months |
| 6 month premium | $49.99 | per 6 months |
| Synthy Premium | $79.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Convenient text-to-speech
- 🚀 Efficient scanning and conversion
- 🔊 Natural-sounding voices
- 🔍 Versatile content support
- 🔧 Customizable reading experience

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes and freezes
- 💰 Subscription-based model
- 🔌 Inconsistent performance
- 📚 Limited free content access
- 🤖 Occasional mispronunciations

**Reported bugs**

- Scanning issues with page breaks
- Playback pauses at paragraph ends
- Inconsistent text recognition
- Subscription cancellation problems

**Requested features**

- Highlight and annotate text
- Background playback with screen lock
- More language and voice options
- Improved OCR accuracy
- Easier file management and organization


## Frequently asked questions

### Is VDScan free?

VDScan costs $14.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Synthy free?

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

### Which has better reviews, VDScan or Synthy?

VDScan is rated higher. VDScan averages 4.5 out of 5 from 575 ratings, while Synthy averages 4.2 from 384 ratings.

### Do VDScan or Synthy have ads?

Neither VDScan nor Synthy shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, VDScan or Synthy?

VDScan ships an update fortnightly, and Synthy monthly. Most recently, VDScan was updated on September 24, 2026 and Synthy on September 20, 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.*