Comparison

OpenAirScan vs Paperless Less Paper

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

OpenAirScan

This app connects to any network-enabled scanner using the ESCL (AirScan) protocol. It allows you to create scans in various formats, working with most scanners from the last decade. It is designed to be vendor-agnostic.

Highlights
  • Connects to ESCL/AirScan scanners
  • Vendor-agnostic compatibility
  • Supports various scan formats
  • Works with network-enabled scanners
  • Compatible with most modern scanners
Features
Read full description

OpenAirScan connects to any ESCL(a.k.a. AirScan)-capable scanner on your network and creates scans in various formats. It is entirely vendor-agnostic and should work with nearly all network-enabled scanners built in the past ten years.

About

Paperless Less Paper

This app provides a native mobile interface for paperless-ngx, allowing users to manage their documents on the go. It offers full search and filtering capabilities, document editing, and management of various metadata like tags and correspondents.

Highlights
  • Connect to multiple servers
  • Full search and filter
  • Edit documents
  • Manage correspondents, types, views, and tags
  • Import documents
  • Supports password-protected documents
Read full description

Less Paper is a native iOS client for paperless-ngx 3.x and earlier, the self-hosted document archive. It talks directly to your own server, and to nothing else. FIND ANYTHING The complete filter set from the web interface, custom fields included: title and content, correspondent, document type, storage path, tags, dates and ASN. Save any filter as a view, then create, edit and reorder your saved views without leaving the app. EDIT WHERE YOU ARE READING Fix a title, reassign a correspondent, add tags, notes or custom field values from the document itself — one Open menu leads to every section: Content, Custom fields, Details, History, Metadata and Notes, each editable when your account allows it. History lists who changed what and when, the way the web UI shows it. Select several documents and change them together, merge them, or delete them in one go. READ IT WITH NO SERVER IN REACH Save a document offline and it is kept on the device in full — the PDF, its notes, metadata and custom fields. The Offline tab reads those stored copies, so it works on a plane, in a basement, or anywhere your server is not. Pull to refresh and only the documents that actually changed are fetched again. GET DOCUMENTS IN Send anything on your device to paperless-ngx from the share sheet. Password-protected PDFs are unlocked on import, and the password is kept in the keychain so the next document from the same source opens without asking. The inbox then says what became of each one: File Tasks lists every import — which finished, which are still running, and which failed and why — and a failure can be dismissed once you have dealt with it. BUILT FOR REAL SETUPS Connect as many servers as you like and switch between them. Sign in with a password, or with the single sign-on provider your server is configured with. Client certificates, custom HTTP headers and reverse proxies such as Authelia are all supported. A restricted account works too: the app follows your user's permissions and simply does not show what you may not do. When something does go wrong, a local error log — with anything credential-shaped redacted out of it — is there to read and share, and nothing leaves the device unless you send it. KEEP THE ARCHIVE TIDY Create, rename and delete tags, correspondents, document types and storage paths, and set ownership and permissions on any document. Restore anything you deleted from the trash, or empty it for good. Works with every paperless-ngx from 2.15.3 to 3.x. Universal: iPhone and iPad — on iPad the document opens in a column beside the list rather than covering it. Less Paper is open source. Issues and feature requests are welcome at https://github.com/plu/less-paper

Screenshots

OpenAirScan4 screens
Paperless Less Paper4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Paperless Less Paper at 4.9 against OpenAirScan's 2.7. Paperless Less Paper also leads on review sentiment (88% vs 50%) and update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 months). OpenAirScan's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Paperless Less Paper sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. OpenAirScan asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Paperless Less Paper holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 2.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Paperless Less Paper has 20 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of OpenAirScan's written reviews are positive against 88% of Paperless Less Paper's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

OpenAirScan ships an update every 2 months, Paperless Less Paper every 5 days. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
OpenAirScan versus Paperless Less Paper: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOpenAirScanPaperless Less Paper
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.7 (3 ratings)4.9 (20 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews87.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings320 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB41 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLeo WehrfritzJohannes Plunien

Customer experience

OpenAirScan

All ratings3 ratings
Positive33.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative66.7%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Paperless Less Paper

All ratings19 ratings
Positive94.7%
Neutral5.3%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive87.5%
Neutral12.5%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

OpenAirScan

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Paperless Less Paper

One-time1
  • PRO User$3.99

Questions

Is OpenAirScan free?
OpenAirScan is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Paperless Less Paper free?
Paperless Less Paper is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, OpenAirScan or Paperless Less Paper?
Paperless Less Paper is rated higher. OpenAirScan averages 2.7 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while Paperless Less Paper averages 4.9 from 20 ratings.
Do OpenAirScan or Paperless Less Paper have ads?
Neither OpenAirScan nor Paperless Less Paper shows ads.
Which is updated more often, OpenAirScan or Paperless Less Paper?
OpenAirScan ships an update every 2 months, and Paperless Less Paper every 5 days. Most recently, OpenAirScan was updated on October 24, 2026 and Paperless Less Paper on October 24, 2026.

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