The Magic Highlighter vs Simple Scan
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
The Magic Highlighter
This Safari extension automatically highlights your search terms on search result pages across popular engines. It offers a private, on-device solution to quickly find the information you need, replacing traditional find-in-page functions with enhanced capabilities.
- Highlights search terms automatically
- Supports popular search engines
- 100% private, on-device processing
- Replaces 'Find in page'
- Customizable highlight colors
- Highlights multiple terms
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Introducing the Magic Highlighter, a Safari Extension for iPhone, iPad, and Mac that automatically highlights search terms and phrases on search result web pages. Find what you’ve been searching for. * Supports all popular search engines, including Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Ecosia, Neeva, Kagi, and Brave Search! * %100 private! All data processed on-device, with no data collection * Automatically highlight search terms and phrases on search result web pages * Full replacement for the "Find in page" share sheet action, and the ⌘-F keyboard shortcut! * Use the ⌘-Shift-F keyboard shortcut on Mac and iPad (with external keyboard) to change highlight colors, and disable highlights for specific terms and phrases * Supports highlighting MULTIPLE terms and phrases ⌘-F(TW)!
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 price: Simple Scan at Free against The Magic Highlighter's $1.99. Simple Scan also leads on rating (4.9 vs 3.9) and review sentiment (87% vs 47%). The Magic Highlighter's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and device support (4 vs 2). On 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
Simple Scan is free to download; The Magic Highlighter costs $1.99 up front. Simple Scan sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per year. The Magic Highlighter asks for nothing beyond the download.
Simple Scan holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Simple Scan has 660 ratings behind it against 20, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 47% of The Magic Highlighter's written reviews are positive against 87% of Simple Scan's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 12, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | The Magic Highlighter | Simple Scan |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 3.9 (20 ratings) | 4.9 (660 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 46.9% of reviews | 87.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 20 | 660 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 21 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Herd Works Inc | Agile Tortoise |
Customer experience
The Magic Highlighter
Simple Scan
Bugs and requests
The Magic Highlighter
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
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
The Magic Highlighter
No in-app purchases
Simple Scan
- Pro - Annual$9.991 Year
- Pro - Lifetime$39.99
Questions
Is The Magic Highlighter free?
Is Simple Scan free?
Which has better reviews, The Magic Highlighter or Simple Scan?
Do The Magic Highlighter or Simple Scan have ads?
Which is updated more often, The Magic Highlighter or Simple Scan?
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