Scanpaper vs CamScanner: A Focused CamScanner Alternative

If you’re looking for a CamScanner alternative, start with what you actually use a scanner app for. This page compares Scanpaper and CamScanner on scanning, text recognition, signing, privacy and pricing.

Every statement about CamScanner comes from its US App Store listing as it read on October 22, 2026, linked under References. If the listing doesn’t mention something, we don’t fill the gap from memory.

Scanpaper vs CamScanner at a glance

The CamScanner column repeats only what its App Store listing says. “Not listed” means the listing doesn’t mention it, not that the app can’t do it.

	Scanpaper	CamScanner (per its App Store listing)
Developer	Artmvstd SIA	INTSIG Information Co., Ltd
Platforms	iPhone and Android	iPhone and iPod touch; Mac with Apple M1 chip or later
Page cleanup	Live edge detection, auto capture, perspective correction, 6 filters	Filters and noise removal
Multi-page documents	Yes, unlimited pages per document	Yes, “scan multiple pages into one document”
ID documents	ID card mode (front and back on one page) and Passport mode, Pro	“ID CARD & PASSPORT” scanning mode
QR codes	None	QR code scanning mode
Text recognition	On-device, offline; copy, TXT, searchable PDF, Pro	Automatic OCR; extract text from any scannable object
Export formats	PDF, JPG, TXT (Pro)	PDF, JPG, Word, TXT
Convert other files to PDF	None	Converts multiple formats to PDF, including DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX, PPT and PPTX; PDF from a website
Signing	Draw and place your signature; 1 saved free, unlimited with Pro	“Create and add your own e-signature”
Merge and split	Both free	Not listed
Compress for email	Pro	Not listed
Passwords	PDF password, Pro	Lock folders and files with passwords
App lock	PIN and Face ID, Pro	Not listed
Sharing	Share sheet, print, save to Files	Email attachments or links; comments in WhatsApp, iMessage, Microsoft Teams; print
Cloud	No account, no cloud sync	Upload to Dropbox, Google Drive, Evernote, OneDrive
Pricing model	Free (3 documents, small footer) plus Pro subscription with a free trial	Free with in-app purchases; subscription for “unlimited access to all features”

Scanning: capture and page cleanup

CamScanner’s listing says you can scan receipts, contracts, paper notes, fax papers and books, and store them as multipage PDF or JPG files. It lists an ID card and passport mode, a QR code mode, and editing with filters and noise removal. It can also create a PDF from a website.

Scanpaper opens its own camera screen, draws the page outline live, and takes the shot itself once the page holds still. You can switch auto capture off for a manual shutter, and the torch helps in dim rooms. Perspective is corrected at capture, then you pick a filter: Original, Auto, Grayscale, B&W, Lighten or No Shadow.

The free version has Photo and Document modes. Pro adds ID card, Passport and Book, which splits a two-page spread down the middle. If you only scan a page now and then, the free scanner built into iPhone’s Notes and Files apps may be all you need, and our iPhone scanner to PDF guide shows where it lives.

Text recognition (OCR) in CamScanner and Scanpaper

CamScanner’s listing says it recognizes text automatically and can extract text from any scannable object. It lists Word and TXT among the formats you can save and share.

Scanpaper’s text recognition is part of Pro and runs on the phone (Apple Vision on iPhone, Google ML Kit on Android), so it works offline. You can copy the text, save it as a TXT file, and search your library by the words inside your scans.

PDFs exported after recognition carry an invisible text layer, so you can search them in any PDF reader. Scanpaper is tuned for printed text, so don’t rely on it for handwriting. It has no Word, Excel or PowerPoint output.

Signing documents

CamScanner’s listing says you can create and add your own e-signature on documents.

In Scanpaper you draw a signature, then place and resize it on any page. The signature library keeps signatures, initials and stamps: 1 saved signature on the free version and as many as you want with Pro.

Scanpaper places your own signature image on the page. It doesn’t send documents to other people for signing, keep an audit trail or fill PDF form fields.

Privacy and account model

CamScanner’s listing says documents are stored on your mobile device, and that scanning and sharing happen with no intervention from the CamScanner team or any third party. It lists password locks for folders and files, uploads to Dropbox, Google Drive, Evernote and OneDrive, and collecting comments from several people in one file online. Its October 2026 version notes add switching between multiple accounts.

Scanpaper is a scanner for iPhone and Android that works with no account at all. There’s no sign-up screen and no cloud copy of your files. Every scan is stored inside the app on your phone, and a scan leaves the phone only when you share it, print it or save it to another app such as Files or Google Drive.

Text recognition, which is part of Pro, also runs on the phone, using Apple Vision on iPhone and Google ML Kit on Android, so it works in airplane mode. Pro adds an app lock with a PIN and Face ID and can put a password on an exported PDF.

The cost of this model is backup. Nothing syncs, so if you lose the phone, you lose any scans you haven’t exported, and moving to a new phone means exporting PDFs and importing them again.

Pricing model

The App Store listing shows CamScanner as free with in-app purchases. Its description says a subscription gives “unlimited access to all features”, billed weekly, monthly, quarterly or annually, and its terms mention a free trial.

On October 22, 2026, the in-app purchase list showed items named “Premium Account” and “CamScanner Premium” priced from $4.99 to $69.99. It also showed a “One-page Fax” item at $0.99.

Scanpaper is freemium. The free version keeps up to 3 documents with unlimited pages each, with filters, markup (pen, highlighter, black-out, text), merge and split, folders, one signature, and PDF and image export. Free PDFs carry a small grey “Scanned with Scanpaper” line in the corner.

Pro is a subscription with a free trial. It lifts the document limit, removes the footer, and adds High scan quality, text recognition, the ID card, Passport and Book modes, compression, watermarks, page numbers, PDF passwords, app lock and unlimited signatures. Prices depend on your country, so check the app or the store for yours.

Who should choose CamScanner

CamScanner’s listing says it’s “Trusted by 300M+ users”, and the page shows 4.8 out of 5 from 2M ratings. It’s the better pick if you:

• Convert Word, Excel or PowerPoint files to PDF, or need Word and TXT output from scans.
• Review documents with other people through comments in WhatsApp, iMessage or Microsoft Teams.
• Send scans straight to Dropbox, Google Drive, Evernote or OneDrive.
• Scan QR codes in the same app, or turn a website into a PDF.
• Want it on a Mac too; the listing’s compatibility section names Macs with an Apple M1 chip or later.
• Use the app in one of the 58 languages the listing shows.

Who should choose Scanpaper as a CamScanner alternative

Scanpaper fits when you want a smaller tool that stays out of the way:

• You don’t want an account, and you want scans to stay on your phone until you choose to share them.
• You need an ID card’s front and back on one page for a visa, rental or bank form. See how the ID card scanner handles it.
• You merge and split scans often and want both free; our merge and split page covers the details.
• You email scans and need smaller files, using Pro compression’s “email friendly” setting.
• You want to test on your own paperwork first, since free exports are usable PDFs with a small footer.

If office conversion, comments, cloud uploads or QR codes are part of your week, stay with CamScanner. Scanpaper doesn’t do those.

How to switch from CamScanner to Scanpaper

Switching comes down to exporting PDFs from one app and importing them into the other:

1. Export the CamScanner documents you want to keep as PDFs. Its listing says you can save and share documents as PDF. Save them to the Files app or a drive you already use.
2. Install Scanpaper and open it. You won’t be asked to sign up.
3. Use the import option to bring the PDFs in from Files. The free version holds 3 documents, so start with the ones you need most.
4. Sort them into folders, and merge related PDFs into one document if that’s tidier. Merging is free.
5. Scan your next document in Document mode and let auto capture take the shot.
6. If you pay for CamScanner, its listing says subscriptions are managed in your Account Settings after purchase. Turn off auto-renewal there once your exports are safe.

References

• CamScanner - PDF Scanner App on the US App Store, checked October 22, 2026. Source for every CamScanner statement on this page: developer, platforms, languages, features, ratings, in-app purchases, subscription terms and version notes.