Collections Database vs Simple Scan
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Collections Database
Organize anything with a personal database app. It offers over 20 field types, customizable layouts, and pre-built templates for common uses like books or expenses. Advanced features and iCloud sync are available.
- 20+ field types (text, number, picture, barcode, etc.)
- Customizable fields and display styles
- Pre-built templates (books, contacts, expenses, etc.)
- Organize with collections and subcollections
- Password, Face ID, and Touch ID protection
- iCloud synchronization across devices
- Advanced fields and calculations (Pro version)
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Collections is a personal database app to organize anything. 1. A field for every use Collections supports over 20+ field types: • Text, Number • Boolean • Picture • Select • Email, URL, Phone • Password • Date, Time • Color • Barcode And with the Pro version you can use even more advanced fields. • Document reference - Link documents together • Group - Add multiple values for a field • Formula - Create a formula for calculated values. Powerful formula editor with full support to math functions like SUM, AVG • Sources - Import documents from external APIs with Javascript 2. Customizable • Add and reorder fields • Add a separator between fields to better visualize them • Fields have different display styles like primary, secondary, thumbnail • Filter and sort data 3. Templates Collections includes basic templates to get started: • Books • Contacts • Expenses • Subscriptions • Credentials • Inventory • School 5. Advanced management Collections has different tools to help you creating the data model. SUBCOLLECTIONS Organize data into collections and subcollections. Simply said, they are like folders. LISTS A list contains items used in documents and it's very flexible. It could represent a Genre for a book or a Status like 'Available', 'Out of stock' for an object in the inventory. 6. Security • Protect collections using a password, Face ID or Touch ID • Sensitive data such as passwords are encrypted by default 7. iCloud Sync Data is synced automatically between devices through iCloud. 8. Apple's Shortcuts support Expand the app capabilities with Apple's Shortcuts support. 9. Pro version features • Add unlimited documents (free version is limited to 100 documents) • Add files to documents • Add advanced fields • Views • Grid • Use Summary to perform calculations across documents
Simple Scan
Easily convert paper documents into searchable PDFs or images in seconds. This app offers a streamlined scanning experience without cluttering your existing notes, with options to share directly via email, messages, or other applications. Enjoy private, on-device processing with no ads.
- Scan documents to PDF or JPEG
- Searchable PDFs with OCR
- Share scans via email, messages, or system share sheet
- Custom file destinations
- File naming suggestions (Apple Intelligence required)
- On-device processing
- No ads
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Simple Scan is the quick, easy way to scan paper documents to optimized, searchable PDF documents (or images) and send them almost anywhere. ## FEATURES ## * Same great scanning functionality as Notes, but no need to clutter your notes data with one-off scans * Create high-resolution multi-page PDFs from your paper documents * PDFs are searchable thanks to automatic Optical Character Recognition (OCR) * Built for simplicity. Just scan and send – no document library * Send scans via email or messages. Save to a file, or "Share" use to send to other apps via the system share sheet * Set up message destinations with pre-filled recipients for easy "Email to Myself" and other common uses * Custom file destinations save scans directly to a pre-selected folder without extra taps * File naming suggestions, such as names, dates, pulled from the scanned document (requires Apple Intelligence) * Save scans directly to Photos * Option to output as images (JPEG) instead of PDF * Quality option to control file size * Never any ads. Ever. * Private and on-device. All scan processing is done locally on your device. ## SIMPLE SCAN PRO ## Simple Scan is free to download and try! To continue using Simple Scan, unlock Simple Scan Pro--available as a low-cost, annual subscription or a one-time lifetime unlock purchase. ## SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS ## * Payment will be charged to your Apple account at confirmation of purchase * Your subscription will automatically renew unless auto-renew is disabled at least 24 hours before the end of the current subscription period * Automatic renewals will be charged at the same price you were initially charged for the subscription * Subscriptions can be managed or canceled by going to Account Settings on the App Store after purchase Have questions? Email support@agiletortoise.com. Terms: https://agiletortoise.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://agiletortoise.com/privacy-policy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Simple Scan at 4.9 against Collections Database's 4.6. Simple Scan also leads on ratings volume (660 vs 187). Collections Database's advantage is device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.4). On price, review sentiment, update cadence 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. Collections Database sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Simple Scan sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Simple Scan holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 187 and 660 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 87% and 87% positive.
Collections Database ships an update fortnightly, Simple Scan every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Collections Database | Simple Scan |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (187 ratings) | 4.9 (660 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 87.3% of reviews | 87.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 187 | 660 — better |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 25 MB | 21 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Matteo D'Ignazio | Agile Tortoise |
Customer experience
Collections Database
Simple Scan
User reviews
Collections Database
From 187 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Flexible and customizable
- 🚀 Powerful and feature-rich
- 💡 Excellent integration with Apple ecosystem
- 🔒 Secure and private data storage
- 💰 Good value for money
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional crashes and sync issues
- 📚 Lacking comprehensive documentation
- 🔍 Limited search and filtering capabilities
- 🔀 Difficulty moving/copying data between collections
Simple Scan
From 660 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Great interface
- 🚀 Fast and efficient
- 🔒 No ads or privacy concerns
- 💡 Customizable workflows
- 👍 Simple and straightforward
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional crashes
- 🔧 Cropping could be improved
- 🔧 Inability to name scans before saving
Bugs and requests
Collections Database
Reported bugs
2 issues- Keyboard issues when using search
- Inconsistent behavior between iOS and macOS versions
Requested features
4 requests- Collaborative features for sharing databases
- More advanced reporting and visualization options
- Improved import/export functionality
- Ability to customize the appearance and layout
Simple Scan
Reported bugs
2 issues- Crashes on multi-page scans for some users
- Issues with importing files from other apps
Requested features
3 requests- Ability to tag scans
- Favorite file/app destination options
- More image adjustment tools
In-app purchases
Collections Database
- Collections Ultra (Upgrade)$1.99
- Collections Pro$7.99
- Collections Ultra$9.99
Simple Scan
- Pro - Annual$9.991 Year
- Pro - Lifetime$39.99
Questions
Is Collections Database free?
Is Simple Scan free?
Which has better reviews, Collections Database or Simple Scan?
Do Collections Database or Simple Scan have ads?
Which is updated more often, Collections Database or Simple Scan?
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