DocLens vs Folio
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side ā with what reviewers say about each.
DocLens
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DocLens is a fully offline frame-select OCR tool: draw a box, extract exactly the text you circled, and translate it on your device. The liability clause in a contract, the date on a court ruling, one verbatim line from an interview: you choose the block, it reads only that. Headers, footers, ads and noise are never touched. Key features: 1. Frame-select OCR: shoot or pick a photo, drag a box, and only the text inside is recognized. Low-confidence lines are dashed-underlined for line-by-line proofreading before translation. 2. Accurate recognition: selectable recognition languages with automatic per-line detection for mixed Chinese and English; handwriting and rotated text supported; Enhance and Retry rescues poor scans. 3. On-device translation: results are translated paragraph by paragraph for fluent output. Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean, French, German and Spanish are supported, and language packs can be downloaded in advance. 4. QR and barcode scanning: frame a code to open URLs in an in-app browser, dial numbers, compose emails, open locations, or copy Wi-Fi passwords and contact fields. 5. Fully offline: recognition, translation and barcode scanning all run on your device. No account, no analytics, no cloud upload, and no network access from shutter to text. 6. Minimal permissions: DocLens never asks for full photo library access, only permission to save your exports. Data stays in the local sandbox and database. 7. Torch and Enhance Retry: turn on the light for close-up documents, and re-run recognition with boosted contrast when a scan comes out poorly. Membership: New users get a free 7-day trial, extendable once by another 7 days from the membership page. After the trial, you can still scan free once per day. VIP is a one-time purchase: no subscription, no ads, no tracking. Great for contract review, hearing and meeting notes, interview transcription, research excerpts, receipt and form data extraction, and translating foreign signs. Your files go nowhere. That is what makes DocLens different: it does not make decisions for you. It hands judgment back to you, and keeps privacy structural with on-device computing.
Folio
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Folio is a home for your notes, todos, and files on iPhone and Mac. Capture a thought in seconds, plan your next project, or keep a travel checklist close at hand. On iPhone, pin a note to your Lock Screen so it's there when you need it. CAPTURE AND WRITE ⢠Jot down a note with the quick-add bar ⢠Write with Markdown, headings, checklists, quotes, and text colors ⢠Attach photos, files, and map locations to your notes ⢠Save your current place as a note with the Save This Place shortcut ⢠Create unlimited notes for free TURN PLANS INTO TODOS ⢠Keep standalone todos beside your notes ⢠Break a task into subtasks and check them off one by one ⢠Set due dates and optional notifications ⢠Add Markdown details for instructions, links, and context MAKE ROOM ON MAC ⢠Keep folders, your note list, and the editor in view together ⢠Resize the panes to fit your workspace ⢠Start a note with Command-N ⢠Continue across iPhone and Mac with iCloud sync in Folio Pro FOLIO PRO ⢠Organize notes and files in folders ⢠Keep notes, todos, and folder files current with iCloud sync ⢠Improve your writing with on-device AI Enhance ⢠Pin more notes to your iPhone Lock Screen ⢠One-time purchase. No subscription. KEEP THE IMPORTANT THINGS CLOSE ⢠Pin one note to your iPhone Lock Screen for free ⢠Set reminders on individual notes ⢠Share a note with the people you invite ⢠Keep related files together in a folder ⢠Require Face ID or Touch ID to open protected folder files on supported devices PRIVATE BY DESIGN No accounts. No ads. Folio doesn't collect the content of your notes, todos, photos, files, or saved places. Your content stays on your device, in your own iCloud with Folio Pro, or with people you choose to share a note with. AI Enhance runs on your device using Apple Intelligence. Folio does not send your writing to an AI server. Apple Intelligence requires a supported device and must be enabled and available. Anonymous usage analytics help us improve Folio. They're on by default and include app opens, feature usage, and error codes, never your content. Turn them off in Settings to stop collection and delete the analytics already collected from your install.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Folio at every 2 days against DocLens's every 10 days. DocLens's advantage is iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
DocLens ships an update every 10 days, Folio every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | DocLens | Folio |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days | Every 2 days ā better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, Mac ā better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 ā better | 26.0 |
| Further details ā not scored | ||
| Size | 45 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ę¶ å | Tom Weiss |
In-app purchases
DocLens
No in-app purchases
Folio
No in-app purchases








