# Swift Paperless vs BackToLife Focus

The clearest difference is update cadence: BackToLife Focus at weekly against Swift Paperless's monthly. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Swift Paperless sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and BackToLife Focus sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Swift Paperless ships an update monthly, BackToLife Focus weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Swift Paperless | BackToLife Focus |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.9 (77 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/swift-paperless/id6448698521/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **77** | — |
| Positive reviews | 97.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Monthly | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Size | 30 MB | 130 MB |
| Requires iOS | **17.0** | 18.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Paul Gessinger](https://appshunter.io/developer/867006427) | [Lou Philip Carstens](https://appshunter.io/developer/1878383466) |

## What reviewers say

### Swift Paperless

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/swift-paperless/id6448698521)

This app allows users to manage documents directly from their iOS device. It seamlessly integrates with a self-hosted document management system, ensuring data privacy and control. Easily find, categorize, and add new documents on the go.

**Highlights:** Native iOS integration, Paperless-ngx compatibility, Document finding, Document categorization, Add documents from phone

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

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Coffee money | $3.99 | one-time |
| Proper thank-you | $8.99 | one-time |
| Above and beyond | $17.99 | one-time |
| Legendary generosity | $44.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Fast and efficient performance
- 👍 User-friendly interface
- ✨ Modern and clean design
- ✅ Seamless integration with Paperless-ngx
- 📱 Excellent mobile scanning feature

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Metadata box not resizable on iPhone 13 Mini
- 🐛 Document upload screen sometimes exits unexpectedly
- 🐛 Extra step to access iOS share sheet
- 🐛 Can't scroll multi-page PDFs on iPad
- 🐛 Document scan function buried in menus

**Reported bugs**

- Metadata box not resizable on iPhone 13 Mini
- Document upload screen sometimes exits unexpectedly
- Extra step to access iOS share sheet
- Cannot scroll multi-page PDFs on iPad
- Server removal from list upon logout

**Requested features**

- Ability to quickly open next document in current view (like 'save & next')
- Option to hide preview side bar for full-screen document view
- Smarter server management in multi-instance setup
- Ability to search within a document
- Support for Title view only without thumbnails


### BackToLife Focus

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/backtolife-focus/id6759390498)

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

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BackToLife Pro Monthly | $3.99 | per month |
| BackToLife Pro Yearly | $24.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Swift Paperless free?

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

### Is BackToLife Focus free?

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

### Do Swift Paperless or BackToLife Focus have ads?

Neither Swift Paperless nor BackToLife Focus shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Swift Paperless or BackToLife Focus?

Swift Paperless ships an update monthly, and BackToLife Focus weekly. Most recently, Swift Paperless was updated on November 7, 2026 and BackToLife Focus on November 9, 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.*