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Best Optical Character Recognition Apps

250+ iOS apps curated and reviewed

4.7 avg rating
20 free apps
Updated September 2026

From beginner-friendly picks to power-user tools, our optical character recognition list covers 250+ iPhone apps updated through September 2026. Compare ratings, prices, and screenshots in one place.

Compare top Optical Character Recognition Apps (September 2026)

#AppPriceRatingAdsIn-App PurchasesUpdated
1Adobe Scan: PDF & OCR ScannerAdobe Scan: PDF & OCR ScannerFree4.9★ (1.6M)YesYesSep 2026
2AI Scanner : Image to TextAI Scanner : Image to TextFree4.6★ (9.2K)YesYesSep 2026
3Handwriting To Text RecognizerHandwriting To Text RecognizerFree4.6★ (3.6K)YesYesSep 2026
4Text Scanner & Image to TextText Scanner & Image to TextFree4.6★ (259)NoYesSep 2026
5Text Capture: Image to TextText Capture: Image to TextFree4.5★ (2.7K)NoYesSep 2026
6thWords OCRthWords OCRFree was $0.995.0★ (2)NoYesJun 2026
7Fuhro SoutoFuhro SoutoFree—NoNoAug 2026
8Text-DetectionText-DetectionFree—YesNoAug 2026

Top Picks for Optical Character Recognition

Adobe Scan: PDF & OCR Scanner#1

Adobe Scan: PDF & OCR Scanner by Adobe Inc.

Text Document, Photo Converter
Editor's Choice
💼 Business
4.9😊(1.6M ratings)
FreeAdsIn-App Purchases
#12in Business
Adobe Scan: PDF & OCR Scanner screenshot 1
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Adobe Scan: PDF & OCR Scanner screenshot 3
Adobe Scan: PDF & OCR Scanner screenshot 4
Adobe Scan: PDF & OCR Scanner screenshot 5
Adobe Scan: PDF & OCR Scanner screenshot 6

Transform your mobile device into a powerful document scanner. Easily convert paper documents, receipts, and IDs into professional-looking PDFs or JPEGs. Enhance scans with automatic straightening, stain removal, and editable text conversion.

What We Love

  • 🚀 Easy to use
  • 👍 Intuitive interface
  • 🚀 Quick scanning
  • 👍 Convenient for on-the-go
  • 🚀 High-quality scans
  • 👍 Seamless integration with cloud storage
  • 🚀 Efficient document management

Room to Improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or freezes
  • 🐛 Issues with auto-cropping and alignment
  • 🔒 Privacy concerns around cloud storage
  • 💰 Expensive premium features
AI Scanner : Image to Text#2

AI Scanner : Image to Text by Govarthani Rajesh

OCR Text Scanner, PDF Scanner
Strong Contender
📊 Productivity
4.6😐(9.2K ratings)
FreeAdsIn-App Purchases
AI Scanner : Image to Text screenshot 1
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AI Scanner : Image to Text screenshot 3
AI Scanner : Image to Text screenshot 4
AI Scanner : Image to Text screenshot 5
AI Scanner : Image to Text screenshot 6

This app uses AI to accurately extract text from images, PDFs, and screenshots in over 90 languages. It can also translate extracted text, scan physical documents into PDFs, and even allows you to chat with AI about your scanned content. Save, edit, and share your extracted text in various formats.

What We Love

  • 🚀 Fast and accurate OCR
  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 💡 Helpful for various use cases
  • 🚀 Saves time and effort

Room to Improve

  • 🔍 Limited free scans per day
  • 💸 Expensive subscription
  • 🔍 Ads even with paid subscription
  • 🐛 Inconsistent text recognition
Handwriting To Text Recognizer#3

Handwriting To Text Recognizer by Muhammad Mohsin

Best Handwritten Notes Reader
Worth Considering
📚 Education
4.6😊(3.6K ratings)
FreeAdsIn-App Purchases
Handwriting To Text Recognizer screenshot 1
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Effortlessly convert handwritten notes and documents into editable digital text. This app uses advanced OCR technology to recognize text from images, supporting multiple languages. Convert your physical notes to digital format with a single click.

What We Love

  • 🚀 Excellent handwriting recognition
  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 💡 Converts handwritten notes to text
  • 🚀 Fast and accurate
  • 👍 Helpful for students and professionals
  • 🚀 Works well with messy handwriting
  • 👍 Saves time and effort

Room to Improve

  • 🔒 Limited free usage
  • 🐛 Occasional errors in transcription
  • 🔒 Requires subscription for full functionality
  • 🐛 Freezes or crashes on some devices

More Optical Character Recognition apps to explore

FAQ about Optical Character Recognition

What are the best optical character recognition apps for iPhone?
Adobe Scan: PDF & OCR Scanner tops our optical character recognition apps ranking as of September 2026, with a 4.9-star average from 1.6M App Store ratings, and it's free to download.
Yes — 20 of the top optical character recognition apps we rank are free to download, including Adobe Scan: PDF & OCR Scanner and AI Scanner : Image to Text.
Adobe Scan: PDF & OCR Scanner shows ads and offers in-app purchases, according to its App Store listing as of September 2026.
We track 250+ optical character recognition apps on the iOS App Store as of September 2026, ranked by rating, recency, and analysis of real user reviews.
This app transforms your mobile device into a powerful PDF and document scanner. It allows you to create, save, and organize paper documents as digital files, converting them into professional-looking PDFs or JPEGs.
Key features include high-speed bulk scanning, automatic page straightening, a magic eraser for cleanup, the ability to extract specific pages, and advanced OCR to make text in scans searchable and editable.

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optical character recognition on mobile