Comparison

HandNote vs Scanner

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

Head to head
About

HandNote

Features
Read full description

Turn photos of your handwritten pages into clear, editable notes. HandNote keeps each original page next to its text on your device, so you can check the handwriting at any time instead of typing everything again. • Current recognition supports handwriting written with the Latin alphabet. • Recognize a handwritten page for free and add up to 10 pages to one note. • While you review, words that may need checking are highlighted. • Corrections you make are remembered and applied automatically next time. • Saved notes keep the original photo next to the text, stored on your device. • Notes are grouped by date — today, this week, earlier — and you can sort them into notebooks. • Copy or share the text, share a designed image card with or without the original page, or save the card to Photos. • Export all your notes at once as a zip with text files and the original photos. • Your first AI organization is free: see the outline, key points, summary and study cards for one of your own notes. • Premium keeps organizing every page after that and adds PDF, Markdown or plain-text file export. How it works: 1. Photograph a handwritten page or choose one from your photo library, then add more pages if you need them. 2. Check the highlighted words and correct anything the recognition got wrong. 3. Save the note with its original page, share it as text or an image card, and organize it with AI — the first time is free. The app is free to download. Recognition, review, editing, saving with the original photo, multi-page notes, correction memory, notebooks, copying, sharing text and image cards, and exporting all notes as a zip are available without upgrading, and your first AI organization is free. HandNote Premium only adds AI organization after that (outline, key points, summary and study cards) and PDF, Markdown or plain-text file export, through an auto-renewing weekly subscription or a permanent purchase. Important: Handwriting recognition and AI-organized content may contain errors. Always check important information against the original page. Apple Standard Terms: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://handnote.skybringup.com/privacy/

About

Scanner

Features
Read full description

Scanner turns paper into clean PDFs with your phone camera. Point it at a page, and Scanner finds the edges, straightens the page and takes the picture when you hold still. SCAN • Live edge detection outlines the page as you aim. • Automatic capture when the page is found and the phone is steady, or tap to scan yourself. • One page at a time, or many pages in a row. • Flash and light for dim rooms. • Import photos of documents you already took. NEVER LOSE A PAGE Each page is saved the moment it is taken. If a call comes in or the app closes during a long scan, the pages you took are still there. CLEAN PAGES • Tilted photos come out square with perspective correction. • The Clean filter removes shadows and whitens the paper. • Gray and black-and-white filters for crisp text. • Drag the corners to adjust a page, rotate it, or apply a filter to every page at once. EXPORT AS PDF, JPG OR TEXT • PDFs with searchable, copyable text. • Small, medium or original file size. • Page size: same as the scan, A4 or Letter. • Text recognition reads the words on your pages so you can copy or share them. • Share to mail, messages and other apps, or save to Files. ORGANIZE • Drag pages to reorder them, delete pages or add more. • Rename documents and search by name or by the text inside. PRIVATE Scanning, cleaning and text recognition all happen on your phone. Nothing is uploaded, and no account is needed. FREE WITH ADS, OR PREMIUM Scanner is free with ads, and there are no ads on the camera screen. Scanner Premium removes all ads. Choose a monthly subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase. Privacy Policy: https://dsm0829.github.io/scanner-privacy/ Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

HandNote4 screens
Scanner4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: HandNote at none against Scanner's shown. Scanner's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs monthly). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. HandNote sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days and Scanner sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.49 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

HandNote ships an update monthly, Scanner weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences Ā· 4 level
HandNote versus Scanner: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHandNoteScanner
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyMonthlyWeekly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.5 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size72 MB63 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperskybringupYOU SEUNGMIN

In-app purchases

2 purchases

HandNote

Subscriptions1
  • Weekly Premium$1.997 Days
One-time1
  • Lifetime Premium$6.99
2 purchases

Scanner

Subscriptions1
  • Scanner Premium Monthly$0.491 Month
One-time1
  • Scanner Premium Lifetime$5.99

Questions

Is HandNote free?
HandNote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Scanner free?
Scanner is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do HandNote or Scanner have ads?
Scanner shows ads; HandNote does not.
Which is updated more often, HandNote or Scanner?
HandNote ships an update monthly, and Scanner weekly. Most recently, HandNote was updated on October 25, 2026 and Scanner on October 21, 2026.

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