Comparison

SmartScan Pro vs Nova Scanner

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

Head to head
About

SmartScan Pro

Transform your iPhone into a powerful document scanner. Quickly capture multipage documents in high-quality PDF or JPEG, with automatic edge detection, perspective correction, and shadow elimination. Organize, rename, and share your scans with ease.

Highlights
  • Automatic document edge detection
  • Perspective correction
  • SuperScan mode for low-light
  • Document organization and search
  • Email scans as PDF/JPEG
  • Cloud backup to iCloud Drive
  • Touch ID & passcode lock
Features
Read full description

Your iPhone becomes a fully-featured, powerful document scanner with SmartScan. You can quickly and easily scan your multipage documents in high quality PDF or JPEG files on your iPhone or iPad. You can then rename and organize them, and send them anywhere. SmartScan uses complex and efficient algorithms to accurately detect document edges, correct their perspective, eliminate shadows, and perfectly contrast text, black on white. You can also choose between color and black-and-white photo modes. Our user interface is powerful and easy to use. With this app you can easily adjust the brightness, color, and rotation of your device. SmartScan offers SuperScan, a scanning mode that captures sharper images, especially in low-light conditions. Acquiring multiple takes of the same scan, SuperScan guarantees the best result. SmartScan also has an "Email to myself" feature that works with a single tap. SMARTSCAN FEATURES: • Automatic document edge detection and shooting. Perspective correction • SuperScan mode for sharpest scans • Document naming, storage in folders and smart search • “Email to myself” feature for quick routine emails • Add and reorder pages at any time • Arrange multiple receipts or business cards on a PDF page for printing, etc. • Email or message documents as PDF, JPEG, or PNG, or save to Photos • Touch ID & passcode lock • Upload, auto-upload and backup to iCloud Drive • Open PDFs or JPEGs in other apps like Dropbox or Google Drive to send to clouds • Copy & paste scans to other scans or Clipboard, and merge • AirDrop function • Printing via AirPrint or printing apps • Compact attachments with adjustable size • Ultra-fast processing Scanning tips • Make sure the document is laying flat in a bright location • For optimal edge detection results, make sure to have a contrasting outline or margin around your document while snapping the photo • When shooting in low light conditions, use flash to illuminate the scene. However, be careful not to produce too much glare from shiny documents or surfaces. SmartScan is on a road of constant improvement, and we value your input and feedback. If you have any questions or problems with the SmartScan app, please email us at support@amaximapps.com. We would be happy to help you out. Our Privacy policy: https://www.amaximapps.com/ssepp.htm License agreement: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Nova Scanner

Transform your phone into a powerful mobile scanner. Easily capture, edit, and share documents as PDFs or JPEGs. Features include OCR for text extraction, faxing, and secure document management.

Highlights
  • Multipage scanning
  • OCR text extraction
  • Cheap fax service
  • Document signing
  • Cloud file integration
  • Export as PDF/JPEG/PNG
Features
Read full description

Want a scanner in your pocket? SOLUTION: Scanner Now - extracts all the features of a real scanner into your iPhone. With Scanner Now, all you need to do is just take photos of your pages, documents, receipts, whiteboard, anything page like, leave the rest to the app, and have a coffee! Scanner Now is a handy scanner app that will turn your iOS device into a powerful mobile scanner. Easily scan, save, and share any documents in PDF or JPEG. More than just a PDF scanner. Use Scanner Now to turn anything — receipts, notes, documents, photos, business cards, whiteboards — into PDF with text you can reuse from each PDF and photo scan. Designed and developed by polycents! APP FEATURES: Scanner document - Multipage scanning - 3 pre-set page effect, black & white(thresholding), grayscale, colored. - 3-page enhancements - color correction, noise removing, white balance - Page finding - auto-detect border of a page. - Page rotating. Fax document - Cheap fax service - Send fax quickly - Fax history can be queried OCR document - Easily turn an image to text with the OCR function. - Extract text from a scanned document and then edit it as you wish. - Text scanner recognizes all popular languages and can even detect multiple languages within one document. Sign document - Easily sign in any document - Save each of your signatures Documents Management - Docs are arranged by the timeline. - OCR - Grid and list view. - Edit, share, rename, merge, delete documents, and pages. - Pictures from the camera roll, album. - Files from iCloud, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Box, Evernote, One Note Documents Share - System based sharing menu. - Export as PDF, JPEG, PNG. - Fax, Email, Printer. Misc - Passcode when launching. - File transferring via Wi-Fi. # Subscription Details # - A free trial period is provided. - Payment will be charged to your iTunes 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 originally charged for the subscription. - Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase - Any unused portion of the free trial will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription The following subscription plans are available (price may vary depending on location): • 12-month subscription with 7-day trial version – US$ 11.99 • 1-month subscription – US$ 1.99 Privacy Policy: https://www.iubenda.com/privacy-policy/55082894 Terms of use: https://polycents.com/terms-%26-conditions-3 Please don’t be hesitate to contact us using the built-in support page or directly email to scanner@bhi-technologies.com when you meet with any problem.

Screenshots

SmartScan Pro4 screens
Nova Scanner4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: SmartScan Pro at 12.0 against Nova Scanner's 15.0. On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. SmartScan Pro sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Nova Scanner sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for SmartScan Pro against 4.6 for Nova Scanner. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.3K and 817 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 68% of SmartScan Pro's written reviews are positive against 74% of Nova Scanner's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. Both last shipped on September 21, 2026.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
SmartScan Pro versus Nova Scanner: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSmartScan ProNova Scanner
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (1.3K ratings)4.6 (817 ratings) — better
Positive reviews68.1% of reviews74.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.3K — better817
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size18 MB133 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAMAXIM APPS, INCBeesoft Apps

Customer experience

SmartScan Pro

All ratings1,349 ratings
Positive87.6%
Neutral4.6%
Negative7.8%
Written reviews166 reviews
Positive68.1%
Neutral10.8%
Negative21.1%

Nova Scanner

All ratings817 ratings
Positive90.2%
Neutral2.8%
Negative7.0%
Written reviews82 reviews
Positive74.4%
Neutral4.9%
Negative20.7%

User reviews

SmartScan Pro

From 1.3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Efficient scanning
  • 💡 Helpful for expense tracking
  • 🚀 Quick and convenient
  • 👍 Simple and straightforward

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and bugs
  • 💰 Limited free features, requires paid upgrade
  • 🔒 Lack of security/privacy features
  • 🎨 Poor image quality and editing options
  • 🗑️ No delete/remove function

Nova Scanner

From 817 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Convenient
  • 💡 Great for on-the-go scanning
  • 👍 User-friendly
  • 👍 Excellent scanning quality

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Subscription issues (unable to use after paying)
  • 🐛 Crashes and glitches
  • 🔒 Security concerns (unable to bulk share documents)

Bugs and requests

SmartScan Pro

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes when trying to scan
  • Camera not working after updates
  • Scans not saving properly
  • Inconsistent performance across devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add ability to delete/remove scanned documents
  • Improve image quality and editing tools
  • Provide more free features without requiring upgrade
  • Implement security and privacy features
  • Add support for multi-page scanning and PDFs

Nova Scanner

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Subscription not working as expected
  • Repeated prompts to subscribe even with active subscription
  • Distorted or partial image capture

Requested features

3 requests
  • Bulk document sharing
  • Improved subscription management
  • Compatibility with more platforms (e.g., Canvas, Discord)

In-app purchases

2 purchases

SmartScan Pro

Subscriptions1
  • SmartScan Premium$1.991 Month
One-time1
  • SmartScan Premium$4.99
9 purchases

Nova Scanner

Subscriptions4
  • Scanner App Premium - 1 Month$1.991 Month
  • PDF Scanner, Fax and OCR7 Days trial$9.991 Year
  • PDF Scanner, Fax and OCR7 Days trial$10.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Scanner App Premium - 1 Year7 Days trial$11.991 Year
One-time5
  • Scanner App - 50 Fax Credits$3.99
  • 250 Fax Credits$9.99
  • 600 Fax Credits$19.99
Show 2 more
  • Upgrade to Premium$19.99
  • 2000 Fax Credits$49.99

Questions

Is SmartScan Pro free?
SmartScan Pro is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Nova Scanner free?
Nova Scanner is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, SmartScan Pro or Nova Scanner?
Nova Scanner is rated higher. SmartScan Pro averages 4.5 out of 5 from 1.3K ratings, while Nova Scanner averages 4.6 from 817 ratings.
Do SmartScan Pro or Nova Scanner have ads?
Neither SmartScan Pro nor Nova Scanner shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SmartScan Pro or Nova Scanner?
SmartScan Pro ships an update every 2 months, and Nova Scanner every 2 months. Most recently, SmartScan Pro was updated on September 21, 2026 and Nova Scanner on September 21, 2026.

Other comparisons