Comparison

ScanMate vs PDF Scanner

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

Head to head
About

ScanMate

Transform your device into a powerful document scanner. Capture, enhance, and organize your papers with advanced features like OCR and AI classification. Keep your documents private and accessible.

Highlights
  • Unlimited scans
  • No watermark
  • Automatic edge detection
  • Multi-page scanning
  • Offline OCR
  • AI document classification
  • Face ID app lock
Features
Read full description

ScanMate turns your iPhone into a fast, private document scanner — without the ads, watermarks, and subscription traps you're tired of. FREE, AND STAYING FREE • Unlimited scans — no daily limits • No watermark on any export • No ads, anywhere • Automatic edge detection, manual crop with a magnifier • Multi-page and batch scanning • Enhancement filters: Auto, Grayscale, B&W, Color • Sign pages, reuse saved signatures, drop in a date stamp • Expiry reminders for passports, IDs, insurance, and contracts • Export to PDF, JPG, or PNG; share or save to Files • Folders, tags, search, favorites, and Trash • Face ID app lock • Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets, Control Center button, Siri and Shortcuts • Find any scan straight from Spotlight SCANMATE PRO • Offline OCR in more than 15 languages • Search inside your documents • AI naming and document classification • Receipt, invoice, and business-card extraction — save cards to Contacts • Receipt ledger with monthly totals and CSV export • Smart cleanup and background removal • PDF tools: merge, split, reorder, compress • Export to Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive • Unlimited private folders PRIVATE BY DESIGN Everything runs on your iPhone. Scans and text recognition never touch our servers. Documents sync through your own iCloud account — we never see them. Locked documents and private folders never appear in widgets or Spotlight. HONEST PRICING A genuinely useful free tier that stays free. One fair yearly plan, or buy Pro once with Lifetime. No fake countdowns, no surprise trial charges, no dark patterns. Cancel anytime in Settings. Built for students, small businesses, freelancers, accountants, lawyers, real estate agents, teachers, and parents. Scan a receipt, a contract, a whiteboard, or a stack of notes — and get a clean, professional PDF in seconds. — Questions? support@scanmate.app — a real person answers. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://jigsawlab.com/scanmate/privacy.html

About

PDF Scanner

Features
Read full description

The honest scanner. Scan, search, and sign your documents on your iPhone or iPad. Nothing ever leaves the device. Most scanner apps hide useful tools behind weekly subscriptions and upload pages to servers. PrivaScan keeps scanning, naming, search, and PDF export on-device, with a clear Pro upgrade for longer files and document workflows. SCAN IN SECONDS Open the app and the camera is already up. Point it at any page — edges are found, perspective is fixed, and multi-page documents batch automatically. Import photos and PDFs you already have, too. IT NAMES AND FILES ITSELF On-device intelligence reads each scan and names it like a person would — “Verizon Bill — Jul 2026” — so your library organizes itself. No typing, no “Scan 47”. FIND ANY WORD IN ANY DOCUMENT Every scan becomes searchable text, on your phone. Search “late fee” and jump straight to the line in the lease where it appears — indexed on-device in a blink. INCLUDED WITH THE APP • Unlimited scanning and saving • Auto edge detection, crop, filters, rotate and reorder • Automatic naming and filing • Folders, favorites and full-text search • Face ID / passcode lock • Unchanged PDF exports up to 10 pages, with no watermarks • Print and save to Files through the system share sheet — all offline PRIVASCAN PRO • Export PDFs of any length • Sign documents: draw your signature once, stamp it on any page • Merge documents into a single PDF • iCloud sync across your devices — coming in 1.1 No weekly subscriptions. No monthly subscriptions. Ever. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No accounts. No servers. No analytics. No tracking SDKs. Our App Store privacy label reads “Data Not Collected” — because we can’t collect what never leaves your phone. Scanning, text recognition, naming and search all run on-device, and the whole app works in Airplane Mode. If weekly charges and cloud uploads have made scanner apps hard to trust, this one’s for you. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

ScanMate4 screens
PDF Scanner4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: PDF Scanner at every 2 days against ScanMate's every 3 weeks. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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. ScanMate sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and PDF Scanner sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ScanMate ships an update every 3 weeks, PDF Scanner every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
ScanMate versus PDF Scanner: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterScanMatePDF Scanner
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperiCometCharnpreet Singh

In-app purchases

3 purchases

ScanMate

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Scan Mate Membership$4.991 Month
  • Yearly Scan Mate Membership$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Membership Scan Mate$59.99
2 purchases

PDF Scanner

Subscriptions1
  • PrivaScan Pro Annual$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • PrivaScan Pro Lifetime$24.99

Questions

Is ScanMate free?
ScanMate is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PDF Scanner free?
PDF Scanner is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do ScanMate or PDF Scanner have ads?
Neither ScanMate nor PDF Scanner shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ScanMate or PDF Scanner?
ScanMate ships an update every 3 weeks, and PDF Scanner every 2 days. Most recently, ScanMate was updated on October 25, 2026 and PDF Scanner on October 16, 2026.

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