# Scanner Pro vs Lightning User App

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Lightning User App at none against Scanner Pro's 15. Lightning User App also leads on iOS requirement (14.0 vs 18.0). Scanner Pro's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 9 months). On price and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Scanner Pro sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Lightning User App asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scanner Pro ships an update fortnightly, Lightning User App every 9 months. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Scanner Pro | Lightning User App |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.9 (337K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/scanner-pro-scan-to-pdf/id333710667/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **337K** | — |
| Positive reviews | 78.1% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Fortnightly** | Every 9 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Best chart rank | **#25** | — |
| Size | 271 MB | 80 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **14.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Readdle Technologies Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/285035419) | [Jared Penkert](https://appshunter.io/developer/1801729291) |

## What reviewers say

### Scanner Pro

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/scanner-pro-scan-to-pdf/id333710667)

**Currently charting:** #25 Top Grossing · Business, #162 Top Free · Business (US App Store)

Transform your device into a powerful scanner for documents, receipts, and IDs. Convert images to PDFs, organize your files with smart features, and share them easily. Includes OCR and QR code scanning for enhanced productivity.

**Highlights:** High-quality document scanning, Convert to PDF, OCR and full-text search, QR code scanning, Automatic border detection and image correction, Cloud storage integration, Edit and annotate scans

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (11)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Scanner Pro Plus | $3.99 | per month |
| Expense Report | $4.99 | per month |
| Scanner Pro Plus | $6.99 | per month |
| Scanner Pro Plus | $7.99 | per 7 days |
| Scanner Pro Plus | $19.99 | per year |
| Scanner Pro Plus | $29.99 | per year |
| Scanner Pro Plus | $29.99 | per year |
| Scanner Pro Plus | $59.99 | per year |
| Scanner Pro Plus | $59.99 | per year |
| Fax Pack 1 | $0.99 | one-time |
| Fax Pack 2 | $1.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Excellent scanning quality
- 👍 Easy to use and intuitive
- 💾 Seamless cloud integration
- 🌟 Consistently great over the years
- 🔍 Accurate edge detection and cropping

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
- ⚠️ Unreliable cloud sync and file management
- 🔍 Struggles with low-quality or angled documents
- 💤 Slow performance with large documents
- 🙅‍♀️ Intrusive advertising and upselling

**Reported bugs**

- Sudden loss of scanned documents
- Inconsistent iCloud sync and storage
- Cropping and alignment issues after updates

**Requested features**

- Ability to create subfolders
- Improved OCR accuracy, especially for receipts
- Direct import of emailed documents
- Customizable naming and organization options
- Faster cloud sync and better offline access


### Lightning User App

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lightning-user-app/id6743163690)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Scanner Pro free?

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

### Is Lightning User App free?

Lightning User App is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Scanner Pro or Lightning User App have ads?

Lightning User App shows ads; Scanner Pro does not.

### Which is updated more often, Scanner Pro or Lightning User App?

Scanner Pro ships an update fortnightly, and Lightning User App every 9 months. Most recently, Scanner Pro was updated on October 20, 2026 and Lightning User App on October 5, 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.*