Comparison

Simple Scan vs DEVONthink To Go 4

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

Head to head
About

Simple Scan

Easily convert paper documents into searchable PDFs or images in seconds. This app offers a streamlined scanning experience without cluttering your existing notes, with options to share directly via email, messages, or other applications. Enjoy private, on-device processing with no ads.

Highlights
  • Scan documents to PDF or JPEG
  • Searchable PDFs with OCR
  • Share scans via email, messages, or system share sheet
  • Custom file destinations
  • File naming suggestions (Apple Intelligence required)
  • On-device processing
  • No ads
Features
Read full description

Simple Scan is the quick, easy way to scan paper documents to optimized, searchable PDF documents (or images) and send them almost anywhere. ## FEATURES ## * Same great scanning functionality as Notes, but no need to clutter your notes data with one-off scans * Create high-resolution multi-page PDFs from your paper documents * PDFs are searchable thanks to automatic Optical Character Recognition (OCR) * Built for simplicity. Just scan and send – no document library * Send scans via email or messages. Save to a file, or "Share" use to send to other apps via the system share sheet * Set up message destinations with pre-filled recipients for easy "Email to Myself" and other common uses * Custom file destinations save scans directly to a pre-selected folder without extra taps * File naming suggestions, such as names, dates, pulled from the scanned document (requires Apple Intelligence) * Save scans directly to Photos * Option to output as images (JPEG) instead of PDF * Quality option to control file size * Never any ads. Ever. * Private and on-device. All scan processing is done locally on your device. ## SIMPLE SCAN PRO ## Simple Scan is free to download and try! To continue using Simple Scan, unlock Simple Scan Pro--available as a low-cost, annual subscription or a one-time lifetime unlock purchase. ## SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS ## * Payment will be charged to your Apple 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 initially charged for the subscription * Subscriptions can be managed or canceled by going to Account Settings on the App Store after purchase Have questions? Email support@agiletortoise.com. Terms: https://agiletortoise.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://agiletortoise.com/privacy-policy

About

DEVONthink To Go 4

Manage your entire knowledge library on your iPad and iPhone. Organize, edit, and annotate documents, notes, and more. Leverage generative AI for summaries, content creation, and advanced search. Syncs privately and securely across devices.

Highlights
  • Document organization and management
  • AI-powered summaries and content creation
  • PDF annotation and editing
  • On-device OCR for searchable documents
  • Cross-device secure synchronization
  • Custom metadata and tagging
  • Shortcuts automation
Features
Read full description

Your entire knowledge library. Always with you. Always private. DEVONthink To Go is your document repository when you're not at your Mac. Collect, organize, edit, and annotate. Use generative AI to work with your stored knowledge or create new documents. Automate with Shortcuts. Our time-tested technology keeps all your data in sync between your Mac, iPad, and iPhone, privately and securely. The professional document and information manager for iPad and iPhone. From DEVONtechnologies, driving innovation since 2002. - Students: Annotate research papers with AI-powered summaries - Teachers: Organize your materials, use AI to create handouts and tests - Researchers: Have your data with you in a robust, powerful knowledge manager - Lawyers: Keep all case files organized and encrypted Have your important documents with you at all times: - Never lose an important document again, keep everything organized - Store PDFs, notes, images, bookmarks, just about any type - File your documents in groups, even more than one group at a time - Use tags, mark documents with flags or as unread, give them a star rating - Versioning lets you return to a previous state of a document - Revision-proof databases prevent edits to documents with special requirements - Sync your data between Macs, iPads, and iPhones, securely and privately Work with your documents: - Edit texts, Markdown files, or rich text documents - Annotate and edit PDFs with common tools - Make scans, scanned PDFs, or images searchable with the built-in, on-device OCR - Add custom, searchable metadata fields to enrich your documents Use generative AI: - Work with your favorite provider and model - Chat with your documents, analyze or summarize them - Transform text or extract text from images and even handwritten notes - Create new images from your data - Find documents using natural language with the AI-powered search assistant - Let the AI make order from chaos, rename documents, add tags, or label or rate them DEVONthink To Go is well-integrated with other apps: - Link to your documents from other apps with universal links - Access all your documents also through the Files app - Clip data from almost any app with the Clip to DEVONthink extension - Use drag-and-drop, inside DEVONthink To Go or between apps - Automate repetitive tasks with Shortcuts actions DEVONthink To Go is great standalone but also works perfectly with DEVONthink for Mac and across multiple devices. Synchronize your databases securely and privately over the local network or through a cloud service of your choice. You decide what data is synced, when, and where. Strong encryption makes sure that your data belongs to you, not to your service provider or us. Privacy policy: https://www.devontechnologies.com/r/privacy End user license agreement: https://www.devontechnologies.com/r/eula

Screenshots

Simple Scan4 screens
DEVONthink To Go 44 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Simple Scan at 88% against DEVONthink To Go 4's 45%. Simple Scan also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.7) and iOS requirement (17.4 vs 26.0). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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. Simple Scan sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per year and DEVONthink To Go 4 sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Simple Scan holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 670 and 242 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 88% of Simple Scan's written reviews are positive against 45% of DEVONthink To Go 4's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Simple Scan ships an update monthly, DEVONthink To Go 4 every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Simple Scan versus DEVONthink To Go 4: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSimple ScanDEVONthink To Go 4
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (670 ratings) — better4.7 (242 ratings)
Positive reviews87.5% of reviews — better44.8% of reviews
Number of ratings670 — better242
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.4 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB193 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperAgile TortoiseDEVONtechnologies, LLC

Customer experience

Simple Scan

All ratings670 ratings
Positive96.9%
Neutral1.2%
Negative1.9%
Written reviews64 reviews
Positive87.5%
Neutral4.7%
Negative7.8%

DEVONthink To Go 4

All ratings242 ratings
Positive92.6%
Neutral2.5%
Negative5.0%
Written reviews29 reviews
Positive44.8%
Neutral20.7%
Negative34.5%

Bugs and requests

Simple Scan

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Crashes on multi-page scans for some users
  • Issues with importing files from other apps

Requested features

3 requests
  • Ability to tag scans
  • Favorite file/app destination options
  • More image adjustment tools

DEVONthink To Go 4

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Simple Scan

Subscriptions1
  • Pro - Annual$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • Pro - Lifetime$39.99
2 purchases

DEVONthink To Go 4

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly1 Month trial$2.991 Month
  • Yearly1 Month trial$19.991 Year

Questions

Is Simple Scan free?
Simple Scan is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is DEVONthink To Go 4 free?
DEVONthink To Go 4 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Simple Scan or DEVONthink To Go 4?
Simple Scan is rated higher. Simple Scan averages 4.9 out of 5 from 670 ratings, while DEVONthink To Go 4 averages 4.7 from 242 ratings.
Do Simple Scan or DEVONthink To Go 4 have ads?
Neither Simple Scan nor DEVONthink To Go 4 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Simple Scan or DEVONthink To Go 4?
Simple Scan ships an update monthly, and DEVONthink To Go 4 every 3 weeks. Most recently, Simple Scan was updated on October 14, 2026 and DEVONthink To Go 4 on October 16, 2026.

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