Comparison

Zency vs Paperlock

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

Head to head
About

Zency

Features
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Zency is a private document scanner, OCR scanner, and smart document manager for receipts, invoices, PDFs, contracts, tax documents, business cards, and personal records. Scan paper documents, receipts, and invoices with your camera or import PDFs and images. Zency uses OCR text recognition to make your documents searchable and helps identify useful information such as document dates, total amounts, and tax amounts — so you can organize important records with less manual work. SMART DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT • Scan documents, receipts, invoices, and paperwork with your camera • Import PDFs, images, and files • OCR text recognition for searchable documents • Search across recognized text to quickly find documents • Automatically suggest document dates from recognized content • Detect and suggest total amounts and tax amounts when available • Organize documents with folders, tags, and categories • Create reminders for bills, contracts, renewals, and important dates • Store business cards and contact-related documents • Optional Google Drive backup and sync • Core document management features work offline RECEIPT & INVOICE ORGANIZER Keep receipts, invoices, bills, and purchase records organized in one searchable place. Zency uses OCR to recognize text inside your documents, making it easier to find an old receipt, invoice, contract, or record without manually browsing through folders and images. For supported documents, Zency can also suggest information such as dates, total amounts, and tax amounts to help reduce manual data entry. TAX DOCUMENT ORGANIZATION Keep important receipts, invoices, and tax-related documents together and easier to review. Mark documents that are relevant to your tax records and keep useful information such as dates, amounts, and tax amounts organized for later review and export. Zency helps you organize your records but does not provide tax, accounting, or financial advice. REMINDERS FOR IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS Documents often contain dates you need to remember. Create reminders for bills, insurance documents, contracts, warranties, renewals, subscriptions, and other important records so they are easier to follow up on when needed. BUSINESS CARDS & CONTACTS Save business cards and contact-related documents alongside your other important records. Keep documents connected to the people and businesses they belong to instead of leaving them scattered across photos, downloads, and folders. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Your documents stay on your device for core document management and OCR features. No mandatory account is required. Zency can be used offline, giving you access to your documents even without an internet connection. Google Drive backup and sync are optional, so you decide whether you want your documents backed up or synchronized. USE ZENCY FOR • Receipts and purchase records • Invoices and bills • Tax documents • Contracts and agreements • IDs and personal documents • Insurance documents • Warranties and renewal records • Business cards • Notes and scanned paperwork • Personal and business records WHY ZENCY? Many document apps are built around cloud storage. Zency takes a local-first approach focused on privacy, fast document organization, OCR search, and turning scanned or imported documents into useful, searchable records. Instead of simply storing files, Zency helps you organize them, find information inside them, track important dates, and keep important records under your control. Scan it. Organize it. Find it when you need it.

About

Paperlock

This app turns your photos and scans into a searchable vault of documents. It automatically extracts information like expiration dates and spending amounts, providing direct answers to your questions. All data is secured with Face ID and encrypted on your device.

Highlights
  • Searchable document vault
  • Automatic information extraction
  • Question-based retrieval
  • Photo library scanning
  • Face ID protection
  • Encrypted on-device storage
Features
Read full description

Your paperwork, finally searchable. Paperlock is a private, Face ID–protected vault that doesn't just store pictures of your documents - it reads them, understands them, and remembers everything for you. ASK, DON'T DIG Just type a question the way you'd say it: • "When does my passport expire?" • "Find receipts from the cafe last fall" • "How much did I spend at the hardware store?" You get a straight answer, with the actual document attached. YOUR PHOTOS ARE FULL OF DOCUMENTS Paperlock scans your photo library - entirely on your iPhone - and finds the receipts, IDs, and paperwork hiding in it. One tap locks them all safely in your vault. EVERYTHING IS UNDERSTOOD AUTOMATICALLY Scan a receipt and Paperlock knows the store, the date, and the total. Scan your license and it knows when it expires - and reminds you in time — up to 6 months ahead for passports. No folders, no tagging, no filing. Ever. PRIVATE BY DESIGN • Locked behind Face ID, encrypted on your device • Sensitive documents stay blurred until you reveal them • Your photo library is never changed or deleted • We never train on your documents, sell them, or look at them PAPERLOCK PLUS The free vault holds 25 documents and answers 5 questions a month. Plus gives you unlimited documents and questions, our most accurate document reading, and iCloud sync across your devices - $4.99/month, or $39.99/year with a 7-day free trial. Your documents are yours. Finally searchable. Terms of Use: https://getpaperlock.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://getpaperlock.com/privacy

Screenshots

Zency4 screens
Paperlock4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Zency at 15.0 against Paperlock's 17.0. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Zency sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Paperlock sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Zency ships an update every 9 days, Paperlock weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Zency versus Paperlock: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterZencyPaperlock
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 9 daysWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size72 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTuan HoangAndrii Zagoruiko

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Zency

One-time1
  • Zency Pro Access$39.00
2 purchases

Paperlock

Subscriptions2
  • Paperlock Plus$4.991 Month
  • Plus Yearly7 Days trial$39.991 Year

Questions

Is Zency free?
Zency is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Paperlock free?
Paperlock is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Zency or Paperlock have ads?
Neither Zency nor Paperlock shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Zency or Paperlock?
Zency ships an update every 9 days, and Paperlock weekly. Most recently, Zency was updated on October 24, 2026 and Paperlock on October 23, 2026.

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