Scanly vs FrankenMarkdown
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Scanly
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The fastest way to scan, convert and organize PDFs on your iPhone — fully on-device, fully private. Scanly turns your camera into a precision document scanner with automatic edge detection, multi-page capture and OCR-ready output. Then it gives you every tool a paperless workflow actually needs: convert between PDF and Office, merge, split, compress, sign, watermark, lock with Face ID, and export to JPG. No cloud upload. No account. No subscription. — SCAN — • Auto edge detection and perspective correction • Capture unlimited pages in one session • Review, reorder and delete pages before saving • Import existing PDFs from Files or Photos — CONVERT (NATIVE, NO INTERNET) — • PDF → Word (.docx) • PDF → Excel (.xlsx) • PDF → PowerPoint (.pptx) • PDF → JPG (per page) • Word / Excel → PDF • Image → PDF (from camera roll) — ORGANIZE — • Merge multiple PDFs into one • Split a PDF into single-page files • Extract selected pages • Rearrange page order with drag handles • Compress to shrink file size — SECURE — • Lock any PDF with a password • Lock with Face ID / Touch ID — a strong random password is generated and stored in your device's Keychain, retrievable only with biometrics • Unlock instantly when reopening in the app — SIGN & ANNOTATE — • Draw your signature with Apple Pencil or finger • Add text watermarks (CONFIDENTIAL, DRAFT, etc.) • Extract text from any PDF with on-device OCR — BUILT FOR iOS — • 100% on-device — your documents never leave your iPhone • Works offline anywhere • Light & Dark mode • 10 languages: English, Tiếng Việt, 简体中文, 日本語, 한국어, Español, Français, Deutsch, Português, Bahasa Indonesia • Native SwiftUI, optimised for iPhone 14 and later • No subscription. No ads. No tracking. — PRIVACY — We don't have a server. There's nothing to send and nothing to leak. Face ID is used only to unlock PDFs you've explicitly locked. Camera access is only used when you tap Scan. Download Scanly and turn your iPhone into a complete document workspace today.
FrankenMarkdown
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Write Markdown, inspect the document as a system, and publish a finished file without sending the text to a server. FrankenMarkdown keeps the source and rendered document together. The editor provides live syntax highlighting, line numbers, an outline, and an automatically updated preview. On iPad and Mac, source and output can remain visible side by side; iPhone uses focused lanes sized for the smaller display. Document Lab adds the tools needed for longer work: word and reading statistics, structure and accessibility checks, semantic comparison between revisions, polished document templates, and publishing controls. Multi-chapter projects can produce a continuous PDF or a self-contained site package. Export the current document as PDF or self-contained HTML. The bundled Rust rendering engine handles typography, tables, code, mathematical notation, and document structure locally. No account, advertising, tracking, or cloud processing is required. Your text stays on the device unless you choose to share an exported file.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is device support: FrankenMarkdown at 3 against Scanly's 1. On price, ads, in-app purchases and iOS requirement 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
| Parameter | Scanly | FrankenMarkdown |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 8 MB | 11 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Manh Dung Nguyen | Jeffrey Emanuel |
In-app purchases
Scanly
No in-app purchases
FrankenMarkdown
No in-app purchases









