Scanpaper vs iScanner: A Phone-Only iScanner Alternative

If you’re shopping for an iScanner alternative, the main question is how much app you want. This page lines up Scanpaper and iScanner on scanning, text recognition, signing, privacy and pricing.

Every statement about iScanner comes from its US App Store listing as it read on October 22, 2026, linked under References. Where the listing doesn’t mention something, we don’t guess.

Scanpaper vs iScanner at a glance

The iScanner 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	iScanner (per its App Store listing)
Developer	Artmvstd SIA	BPMobile (seller: BP Mobile LLC)
Platforms	iPhone and Android	iPhone, iPad and Apple Vision
Page cleanup	Live edge detection, auto capture, perspective correction, 6 filters	Detects borders, straightens pages, corrects colors, removes shadows, fingerprints and noise
Multi-page documents	Yes, unlimited pages per document	Yes, “as many pages as you need” in one file
ID documents	ID card mode (front and back on one page) and Passport mode, Pro	Digital copies of passports, ID cards and driver’s licenses
Book spreads	Book mode splits a two-page spread, Pro	Not listed
Text recognition	On-device, offline; copy, TXT, searchable PDF, Pro	Built-in OCR in 20+ languages; copy, DOC or TXT, search any PDF
AI features	None	AI Chat: summarize, translate, rewrite, answer questions
Export formats	PDF, JPG, TXT (Pro)	PDF, JPG, DOC, XLS, PPT, TXT
Signing	Draw and place your signature; 1 saved free, unlimited with Pro	Sign by hand or from a photo; fill out forms
Markup	Pen, highlighter, black-out, text	Annotate pages, redact sensitive text
Merge and split	Both free	Merge scans, split pages
Compress for email	Pro	Not listed
PDF password	Pro	Password-protect PDFs
App lock	PIN and Face ID, Pro	PIN, Face ID or Touch ID
Fax	None	Send a fax
Account and sync	No account, no cloud sync	AWS cloud sync, web version, sign in to restore on a new phone
Pricing model	Free (3 documents, small footer) plus Pro subscription with a free trial	Free with in-app purchases; “iScanner Pro unlocks all scanner features”

Scanning: capture and page cleanup

iScanner’s listing says its in-house AI detects borders, straightens skewed pages, corrects colors, and removes shadows, fingerprints and noise. Its FAQ says you can scan as many pages as you need into a single file. The listing also names extra camera modes: ID copies, a math solver, measuring, counting objects and reading QR codes.

Scanpaper uses its own camera screen that draws the page outline live and fires the shutter by itself when the page holds still. You can switch auto capture off and shoot manually, and there’s a torch for dim rooms. Perspective is corrected at capture, and you finish each page with one of 6 filters: Original, Auto, Grayscale, B&W, Lighten or No Shadow.

The modes are Photo and Document on the free version, plus ID card, Passport and Book with Pro. Book mode splits a two-page spread down the middle, which saves you from cropping every page of a chapter by hand. Our guide to scanning multiple pages into one PDF walks through a long document start to finish.

Text recognition (OCR) in iScanner and Scanpaper

iScanner’s listing describes built-in OCR in 20+ languages that turns printed text into editable content. You can copy it, convert a scan to a DOC or TXT file, or search any PDF. On top of that, AI Chat can summarize, translate, rewrite or answer questions about a document.

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

PDFs exported after recognition carry an invisible text layer, so they’re searchable in any PDF reader. Scanpaper’s recognition is tuned for printed text, so don’t count on it for handwriting. It has no AI chat, summaries or translation.

Signing documents

iScanner’s listing says you can sign by hand or from a photo, fill out forms, annotate pages and redact sensitive text.

In Scanpaper you draw your signature once, then place and resize it on any page. The signature library holds signatures, initials and stamps: the free version saves 1 signature and Pro saves as many as you like.

That’s the whole job. Scanpaper places your own signature on the page, and it doesn’t send documents out for signature, keep an audit trail or fill PDF form fields.

Privacy and account model

iScanner’s listing says it keeps files on your device by default, with no third-party access. It offers a lock with a PIN, Face ID or Touch ID, PDF passwords, expiration dates on shared links, and a decoy password that opens a fake version of the app. It also describes file sync through AWS cloud storage, a web version you can use from any browser, and restoring everything on a new phone by signing in.

Scanpaper works without an account. There’s no sign-up screen and no cloud copy: every scan is stored in the app on your phone, and it leaves the phone only when you share it, print it or save it to another app such as Files or Google Drive.

Text recognition, a Pro feature, runs on the device as well, using Apple Vision on iPhone and Google ML Kit on Android, so it works with no connection. Pro also adds an app lock with a PIN and Face ID, and it can put a password on an exported PDF.

The trade-off is backup. Because nothing syncs, a lost phone means lost scans unless you’ve exported them, and a new phone means exporting your PDFs and importing them again. If you’d rather sign in and have everything restore on its own, an app with cloud sync suits you better.

Pricing model

The App Store listing shows iScanner as free with in-app purchases, and its description says “iScanner Pro unlocks all scanner features”. On October 22, 2026, the in-app purchase list showed items named “Premium”, “Premium Scanner & PDF editor” and “1 week Pro 10Gb storage”, priced from $3.99 to $19.99. The Subscriptions section showed “1 year Pro 100Gb storage” at $20.99 and a free trial on “1 week Pro 100Gb storage”.

Scanpaper is freemium. The free version keeps up to 3 documents with unlimited pages each, and it includes filters, markup, 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 removes the document limit and the footer, and it 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 vary by country, so the app and the store show yours.

Who should choose iScanner

iScanner’s listing calls it an AI-powered scanner “trusted by 145M+ users”, and the page shows 4.8 out of 5 from 1.4M ratings. It’s the stronger pick if any of these describe you:

• You turn scans into Word, Excel or PowerPoint files (the listing names DOC, XLS and PPT export).
• You want AI Chat to summarize, translate or answer questions about a contract.
• You fill out forms, redact text or send faxes from your phone.
• You want your files synced across devices and reachable from a browser.
• You scan on an iPad or Apple Vision, both named in the listing.
• You’d use the extras: math solver, measuring, counting objects, QR codes.

Who should choose Scanpaper as an iScanner alternative

Scanpaper suits you when you want fewer moving parts:

• You don’t want an account or a cloud copy of your passport, lease or medical letter.
• You need an ID card’s front and back on one page, which is what many visa and rental forms ask for. Our ID card scanner page shows how it works.
• You scan book chapters and want each spread split into two pages.
• You email scans and need smaller files, using Pro compression’s “email friendly” setting.
• You want to try it on your own documents first: the free version exports usable PDFs, with a small footer.

If you rely on office formats, AI, fax or sync, stay with iScanner. Scanpaper doesn’t do those things.

How to switch from iScanner to Scanpaper

Moving over is mostly a matter of exporting PDFs and importing them again:

1. Export the iScanner documents you want to keep as PDFs. Its listing names PDF among its export formats. Save them to the Files app or a drive you already use.
2. Install Scanpaper and open it. There’s no sign-up step.
3. Use the import option to bring your PDFs in from Files. The free version holds 3 documents, so start with the ones you open most.
4. Sort them into folders, and merge related files into one document if you like. Merging is free.
5. Scan your next piece of paper in Document mode and let auto capture take the shot.
6. If you pay for iScanner, manage or cancel that subscription in your App Store settings once your exports are safe. iScanner’s listing points to the same place.

For a wider look at the options, see our roundup of the best PDF scanner apps for iPhone.

References

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