Comparison

PDF Scanner OCR Document Scan vs Scanly

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

Head to head
About

PDF Scanner OCR Document Scan

Features
Read full description

Turn paper into searchable PDF files on your iPhone or iPad. SCAN & IMPORT Capture documents with your camera or import photos and files. Crop, rotate, reorder pages, and build multi-page PDFs in seconds. OCR ON DEVICE Recognize text with on-device Vision OCR. Copy text, export plain text or RTF, and create searchable PDFs with a text layer. EXPORT & SHARE Share PDFs, save to Files, or export recognized text. Everything stays on your device โ€” no cloud required. FREE & PRO The free version includes core scanning with optional ads. Lifetime Pro removes ads, unlocks unlimited pages, full OCR, no PDF watermark, and RTF export. Perfect for receipts, invoices, contracts, notes, and everyday paperwork.

About

Scanly

Features
Read full description

Turn any paper document, receipt, ID card, or whiteboard into a clean, searchable PDF - right on your iPhone. Scanly scans, sharpens, signs, organizes, and recognizes text entirely on-device. Nothing is ever uploaded. FAST, SHARP SCANS - Capture pages with the camera, or import existing photos and PDFs. - Automatic edge detection and perspective correction straighten every page. - Manual crop editor with draggable corners, loupe magnifier, and pinch-to-zoom for pixel-perfect framing. - Enhancement filters clean up lighting and boost contrast for crisp, readable results. - Multi-page documents in one tap - reorder, retake, or delete pages before saving. - ID & card mode scans both sides of a card onto a single page. SEARCHABLE TEXT WITH ON-DEVICE OCR Scanly reads the text in your scans using Apple's on-device Vision engine - in multiple languages - and adds a searchable text layer to every PDF. Find any document later by the words inside it. QR codes in your scans are detected and ready to open or copy. SIGN & ANNOTATE Draw your signature once and place it on any page. Highlight, draw, and mark up scans with built-in annotation tools - everything stays in the PDF. ORGANIZED, PROTECTED, YOURS - Folders and tags keep hundreds of scans tidy; search finds them instantly. - Lock the app with Face ID so only you can open your documents. - Password-protect sensitive PDFs, compress large ones, or split a document into parts. - Print with AirPrint or save straight to the Files app. SMART EXTRAS - Scan a business card and add it to Contacts in one tap. - Turn a stack of receipts into a CSV you can open in Numbers or Excel. - Scanly works with Shortcuts, home-screen widgets, and the share sheet - send images or PDFs from any app straight into your library. NO WATERMARK. EVER. Your exported PDFs are clean and professional, with no stamps or watermarks - even on the free tier. Share to Mail, Messages, Files, or any app. 100% PRIVATE - BY DESIGN Everything runs locally. There is no account, no sign-in, no analytics, and no tracking. Scanly contains zero networking code - your documents and their contents stay on your device, always. HONEST, ONE-TIME PRICING Scanly is free to use and genuinely useful on its own. The free tier lets you keep up to 5 saved documents. Want unlimited documents and the full toolkit? Unlock Scanly Pro with a single one-time purchase - yours forever. No weekly subscriptions, no recurring charges. So many "scanner" apps charge every single week for the same on-device work. We think that's wrong. Pay once, scan forever. DESIGNED FOR EVERYONE - Full Dark Mode and Dynamic Type support - VoiceOver labels throughout - Reduce Motion support and gentle haptics - Works without a camera via Photos and Files import Scan it. Sign it. Search it. Keep it private. That's Scanly.

Screenshots

PDF Scanner OCR Document Scan4 screens
Scanly4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Scanly at none against PDF Scanner OCR Document Scan's shown. Scanly also leads on update cadence (daily vs every 2 weeks). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

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

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. PDF Scanner OCR Document Scan sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Scanly sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PDF Scanner OCR Document Scan ships an update every 2 weeks, Scanly daily. The most recent releases landed on September 9, 2026 and September 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 4 level
PDF Scanner OCR Document Scan versus Scanly: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPDF Scanner OCR Document ScanScanly
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksDaily โ€” better
AdsYesNo โ€” better
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad โ€” betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size9 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developermayabella s.r.o.Sahil Jain

In-app purchases

1 purchases

PDF Scanner OCR Document Scan

One-time1
  • Lifetime Pro$5.99
1 purchases

Scanly

One-time1
  • Scanly Pro$2.99

Questions

Is PDF Scanner OCR Document Scan free?
PDF Scanner OCR Document Scan is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Scanly free?
Scanly is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do PDF Scanner OCR Document Scan or Scanly have ads?
PDF Scanner OCR Document Scan shows ads; Scanly does not.
Which is updated more often, PDF Scanner OCR Document Scan or Scanly?
PDF Scanner OCR Document Scan ships an update every 2 weeks, and Scanly daily. Most recently, PDF Scanner OCR Document Scan was updated on September 9, 2026 and Scanly on September 20, 2026.

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