Comparison

Scanly vs PDF Scanner & Editor

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

Head to head
About

Scanly

Features
Read full description

PDF Scanner turns your iPhone into a pocket document scanner. Capture any document with your camera and get a crisp, auto-cropped PDF in seconds. SCAN ANYTHING Auto edge detection and perspective correction give you sharp scans of receipts, contracts, notes, and IDs, with multi-page documents in a single PDF. SMART TOOLS Extract text with OCR, sign with your finger, and convert, merge, split, or compress PDFs. Get instant AI summaries and ask questions about your documents. EXPORT & SHARE Save as PDF or images and send to any app in a tap. Fast, private, and designed for iPhone. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Custom Terms of Use: https://scanly-legal-ten.vercel.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://scanly-legal-ten.vercel.app/privacy

About

PDF Scanner & Editor

Features
Read full description

Finish your everyday PDF tasks without a subscription. Scan paperwork on iPhone or iPad, combine files, create a smaller sharing copy, and send or print the result. No account and no ads. FREE EVERYDAY TOOLS - Camera scanning on supported iPhone/iPad, with PDF, JPG or PNG export - ID Copy: front and back card images on one A4 or US Letter PDF page - Photos to PDF in your chosen order - Merge PDFs without a subscription or usage counter - Screen-optimized PDF compression without a subscription or usage counter - Import, read, rename, favorite, share and print PDFs - Optional fictional sample PDF to try the app PRO WHEN YOU NEED MORE - On-device OCR: extract, search, copy and share recognized text - Highlight, annotate and place handwritten signature stamps - Reorder, rotate, extract or remove pages - PDF passwords and document permissions - Compatible AirScan/eSCL network scanning - Supported PDF watermark tools and authorized photo/video region masking PRIVACY AND STORAGE Files are processed on your device. There is no developer-operated document upload server or app account. Optional iCloud Drive uses your Apple account; otherwise documents stay locally. IMPORTANT LIMITS Compression results depend on the source; a PDF may shrink little or become larger. The original stays unchanged. Compression is not a guaranteed target-size or lossless conversion. OCR extracts text; it does not add a searchable text layer to exported PDFs. Signatures are visible annotations, not certified digital signatures. Watermark tools do not recover content hidden underneath flattened watermarks. Only edit content you own or have permission to modify. Camera capture is an iPhone/iPad feature, not a Mac feature. Mac printing uses Apple’s system dialog. Network scanning requires compatible AirScan/eSCL hardware; AirPrint alone does not guarantee scanner compatibility. ID Copy fits cropped images proportionally into standard card-sized slots; use 100% print scale for card-sized output. It does not verify identity. PRO PURCHASES Monthly, quarterly and yearly auto-renewable subscriptions, or a one-time lifetime purchase, unlock the same remaining Pro tools. Localized prices and terms are shown before purchase. Restore purchases in Settings or on the paywall. Merge and compression remain free whether or not you subscribe. Privacy Policy: https://h5.skyingidea.com/legal/ Terms of Use: https://h5.skyingidea.com/legal/terms.html Support: https://h5.skyingidea.com/legal/support.html

Screenshots

Scanly4 screens
PDF Scanner & Editor3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Scanly at none against PDF Scanner & Editor's 4. PDF Scanner & Editor's advantage is device support (3 vs 1). On price, update cadence, ads and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

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

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

Both are free to download. PDF Scanner & Editor sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Scanly asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Scanly ships an update weekly, PDF Scanner & Editor every 9 days. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences Β· 4 level
Scanly versus PDF Scanner & Editor: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterScanlyPDF Scanner & Editor
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyWeekly β€” betterEvery 9 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo β€” betterYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, Mac β€” better
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details β€” not scored
Size23 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKirill SidoretsFuzhou Buwan Technology Co., Ltd.

In-app purchases

None

Scanly

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

PDF Scanner & Editor

Subscriptions3
  • Monthly Pro$2.991 Month
  • Quarterly Pro$6.993 Months
  • Yearly Pro$14.991 Year
One-time1
  • LemonFolio Pro Lifetime$29.99

Questions

Is Scanly free?
Scanly is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is PDF Scanner & Editor free?
PDF Scanner & Editor is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Scanly or PDF Scanner & Editor have ads?
Neither Scanly nor PDF Scanner & Editor shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Scanly or PDF Scanner & Editor?
Scanly ships an update weekly, and PDF Scanner & Editor every 9 days. Most recently, Scanly was updated on October 31, 2026 and PDF Scanner & Editor on October 31, 2026.

Other comparisons