# FineReader vs PDF Scanner App

The clearest difference is review sentiment: FineReader at 71% against PDF Scanner App's 28%. FineReader also leads on ads (none vs shown) and rating (4.7 vs 4.5). PDF Scanner App's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. FineReader sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and PDF Scanner App sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

FineReader holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 19K and 6.3K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 71% of FineReader's written reviews are positive against 28% of PDF Scanner App's.

FineReader ships an update monthly, PDF Scanner App every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | FineReader | PDF Scanner App |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (19K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/finereader-pdf-scanner-and-ocr/id534203582/reviews)** | [4.5 (6.3K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-scanner-app-scan-document/id1414756292/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **19K** | 6.3K |
| Positive reviews | **70.9% of reviews** | 27.8% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Monthly | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 130 MB | 92 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [ABBYY USA Software House Inc](https://appshunter.io/developer/347345477) | [Smart Tool Studio](https://appshunter.io/developer/1080080426) |

## What reviewers say

### FineReader

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/finereader-pdf-scanner-and-ocr/id534203582)

Transform your mobile device into a powerful scanner for documents and books. Extract text from images with advanced OCR technology, create editable digital copies, and share them easily. Organize and annotate your scanned files with intelligent features.

**Highlights:** Scan documents and books, Offline and online OCR, Extract text to TXT, Save as PDF and JPEG, Share to cloud storage, Annotate PDFs, Automatic document classification

**Features:** Family Sharing, iMessage stickers, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| ARCHIVE Entry Premium monthly | $2.99 | per month |
| Scan PDF and documents | $2.99 | per month |
| ARCHIVE Basic Premium monthly | $3.99 | per month |
| ARCHIVE-Advanced Premium month | $5.99 | per month |
| PDF Scanner + OCR | $5.99 | per month |
| FineScanner Premium monthly | $7.99 | per month |
| PDF Scanner | $9.99 | per year |
| Photo Scanning app | $20.99 | per year |
| FineScanner Premium yearly | $29.99 | per year |
| ARCHIVE  No Ads | $5.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Quick scanning
- 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
- 📁 Efficient file management
- 🔑 Reliable OCR performance
- 💾 Convenient cloud integration

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔒 Privacy concerns with cloud processing
- 🔋 Drains battery quickly
- 💰 Expensive subscription model
- 🐛 Inconsistent scanning quality
- 📄 Limited multi-page document handling

**Reported bugs**

- Frequent crashes when switching between apps
- Unreliable auto-capture feature
- Issues with sending scans via email

**Requested features**

- Ability to edit scanned documents
- Support for multi-page PDF scanning
- Improved edge detection for curved documents
- Offline OCR processing option


### PDF Scanner App

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-scanner-app-scan-document/id1414756292)

Transform your phone into a powerful mobile scanner. Quickly scan, sign, and share documents in various formats. Features OCR, QR code scanning, and robust editing tools for professional document management.

**Highlights:** Scan documents to PDF, JPEG, TXT, OCR for text recognition, QR code and barcode scanning, Electronic signature addition, Document editing and cropping, Cloud storage integration, File management with PIN protection

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Fax Premium (One Month) | $4.99 | per month |
| Premium (One Week) | $6.99 | per 7 days |
| Premium (One Month) | $7.99 | per month |
| One Month -PDFScanner Premium | $9.99 | per month |
| One Month -eScanner Premium | $9.99 | per month |
| Promotion PDF subscription | $19.99 | per year |
| Fax Premium (One Year) | $47.99 | per year |
| Scanner APP Premium | $59.99 | per year |
| One Year -PDFScanner Premium | $59.99 | per year |
| Lifetime-PDFScanner Purchase | $69.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- ⭐ Excellent scanning quality
- 📝 Useful text recognition
- 🔍 Convenient document management

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Expensive subscription model
- 📢 Intrusive ads and popups
- 🤯 Buggy and unreliable performance
- 🤔 Confusing and unintuitive UI

**Reported bugs**

- Scans not saving properly
- Subscription issues and billing problems
- Compatibility problems with older devices

**Requested features**

- Add ability to edit scanned documents
- Improve OCR accuracy
- Provide more customization options


## Frequently asked questions

### Is FineReader free?

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

### Is PDF Scanner App free?

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

### Which has better reviews, FineReader or PDF Scanner App?

FineReader is rated higher. FineReader averages 4.7 out of 5 from 19K ratings, while PDF Scanner App averages 4.5 from 6.3K ratings.

### Do FineReader or PDF Scanner App have ads?

PDF Scanner App shows ads; FineReader does not.

### Which is updated more often, FineReader or PDF Scanner App?

FineReader ships an update monthly, and PDF Scanner App every 3 weeks. Most recently, FineReader was updated on October 1, 2026 and PDF Scanner App on September 30, 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.*