Comparison

PaperScan vs AirScan

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

Head to head
About

PaperScan

Easily digitize various paper documents like invoices, receipts, and recipes. Automatically crop, straighten, and enhance scans for outstanding quality. Upload to cloud storage or share via email and print.

Highlights
  • Automatic document recognition and capture
  • Automatic cropping and straightening
  • Scans various document types
  • High scan quality in any lighting
  • Creates PDF files
  • Batch upload to cloud storage
  • Share via email, print, and AirDrop
Read full description

Scan invoices, business cards, tickets, cookbook recipes and all other kinds of paper documents with PaperScan. Upload them to Dropbox, GoogleDrive or DocuWare and share with others. PaperScan helps you to overcome your daily paper flood. And the best thing is - the app is both free and ad-free. Features: - Automatically recognizes documents and triggers image capture - Automatically crops and straightens the captured document - Scans all kinds of documents: big ones, small ones, invoices, receipts, tickets - you name it - Outstanding scan quality in any lighting conditions - Creates PDF - Upload to Dropbox, GoogleDrive and DocuWare in batch mode - Email, print and AirDrop for single documents - Simple and intuitive

About

AirScan

Easily digitize paper documents into high-quality PDFs using your mobile device. Recognize text in multiple languages, edit scans, and convert them to various file formats. Securely store important documents like IDs and licenses within the app.

Highlights
  • Scan documents to PDF
  • Text recognition (OCR) in 8 languages
  • Convert to DOCS, XLS, PPT
  • Edit and enhance scans
  • Add digital signatures
  • Email and print scans
  • Securely store IDs and licenses
Features
Read full description

Digitize paper documents from your mobile device with airScan, a free scanner app. From IDs and whiteboards to forms and receipts, scan anything to PDF, get text recognized in 8 languages, extract it, clean up your scans, or convert them into your preferred file format — all within a single app. For advanced options, move your scans to pdfFiller, an all-in-one PDF editor, to easily sign, edit, and manage PDFs online. ***Your most-used documents at your fingertips*** Digitize your most-used documents. Simply scan your ID, passport, or driver's license into a high-quality PDF and securely store it in the app. ***Save scans in your preferred file format*** Transform scans of your most-used documents like contracts, agreements, and business letters into shareable PDFs, DOCS XLS, or PPT file formats — all without having to switch between apps. ***Give your scans a facelift on the go*** With just a few taps, you can adjust the contrast and brightness of your scans or apply black or white filters to make them easier to read. Remove unwanted text and shadows while cropping out distracting backgrounds for a more polished look. ***Sign scanned documents in a flash*** No pens and paper! Draw your signature on a mobile phone screen and place it anywhere on your document with one tap. ***Email scanned documents*** Once you've finished editing your scan, send it via email right from the airScan app. Your recipient can view the crisp PDF file without hassle. ***Print from your phone*** Need a hard copy of a scanned document? With airScan, you can print out your scan from the convenience of your phone in seconds. Add your signature before printing to start the signature collection flow on the fly. ***Make your PDFs fillable and build signature workflows*** Move your PDFs to pdfFiller, an all-in-one document solution that lets you edit, annotate, and sign PDFs, make them fillable, and use them to capture data in minutes. pdfFiller is the only solution you need to get your documents done.

Screenshots

PaperScan4 screens
AirScan4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: PaperScan at 4.8 against AirScan's 4.4. AirScan's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and update cadence 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

PaperScan holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 747 and 455 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 71% of PaperScan's written reviews are positive against 73% of AirScan's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PaperScan ships an update every 4 months, AirScan every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
PaperScan versus AirScan: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPaperScanAirScan
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (747 ratings) — better4.4 (455 ratings)
Positive reviews70.9% of reviews73.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings747 — better455
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size23 MB15 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDocuWare GmbHairSlate, Inc.

Customer experience

PaperScan

All ratings747 ratings
Positive95.4%
Neutral2.0%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews103 reviews
Positive70.9%
Neutral8.7%
Negative20.4%

AirScan

All ratings455 ratings
Positive86.4%
Neutral4.0%
Negative9.7%
Written reviews49 reviews
Positive73.5%
Neutral10.2%
Negative16.3%

User reviews

PaperScan

From 747 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use and intuitive interface
  • 📄 Automatic edge detection and document alignment
  • 🚀 Fast scanning and processing
  • 💾 Multiple export options (PDF, email, Dropbox, DocuWare)
  • ✨ High-quality document capture

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Inconsistent edge detection accuracy
  • ⚠️ Forced flash usage in good lighting
  • 🖼️ Automatic brightness adjustment issues
  • 🎨 Unattractive UI/skin design
  • ⏱️ Slow autoscan feature

AirScan

From 455 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use and intuitive interface
  • 🚀 Quick document scanning and sharing
  • 📧 Seamless email integration
  • 💼 Great for business professionals on-the-go
  • 🆓 No excessive in-app purchase prompts

Room to improve

  • 📏 Limited document size compatibility
  • 🖼️ Results similar to basic camera photos
  • 🐛 Photos disappear after editing
  • 📤 Unreliable email sending
  • 🔧 Limited editing features

Bugs and requests

PaperScan

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • Image disappears after scanning instead of displaying
  • App freezes and requires multiple restarts to show scans
  • Edge detection fails 50% of the time
  • DocuWare integration not transferring documents properly
  • Autoscan unreliable and inconsistent
Show 1 more
  • Boundary re-registration issues after outline detection

Requested features

5 requests
  • Direct save to Photos app instead of Files only
  • Improved edge detection algorithm
  • Better autoscan reliability and speed
  • Manual brightness control options
  • UI/design improvements

AirScan

Reported bugs

7 issues
  • Email validation errors preventing app access
  • Cursor placement issues when entering information
  • App freezing on iPhone 6s Plus
  • Incompatibility between app and PDF Filler after updates
  • Email sending failures
Show 2 more
  • Page upload limit of 7 pages maximum
  • Photos disappearing after data entry

Requested features

6 requests
  • Support for multiple document sizes
  • Android version availability
  • Advanced PDF editing features
  • Built-in printing capability
  • Improved photo persistence during editing
Show 1 more
  • Better focus and image quality enhancement

In-app purchases

None

PaperScan

No in-app purchases

None

AirScan

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PaperScan free?
PaperScan is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is AirScan free?
AirScan is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, PaperScan or AirScan?
PaperScan is rated higher. PaperScan averages 4.8 out of 5 from 747 ratings, while AirScan averages 4.4 from 455 ratings.
Do PaperScan or AirScan have ads?
Neither PaperScan nor AirScan shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PaperScan or AirScan?
PaperScan ships an update every 4 months, and AirScan every 2 months. Most recently, PaperScan was updated on October 16, 2026 and AirScan on October 13, 2026.

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