Home Tech 11 Of The Best Photo Scanner Apps For Android & iOS

11 Of The Best Photo Scanner Apps For Android & iOS

The process by which a human-readable document can be converted into a computer-readable document is known as scanning. You can scan both a hard copy or soft copy.

Documents can be easily usable and storable after scanning. There were scanning machines or scanners which are used for this purpose.

However, nowadays, with your mobile phone camera and a photo scanner application, you can quickly scan anything in a minute. Before discussing photo scanner apps, we must know the importance of scanning.

You may wonder, if the photo option is already there, why do we need to scan. We can take pictures and send it, use it for various purposes. But when it comes to professional and official use, we have to provide scanned copies of documents instead of images.

Well, there are many reasons. The most important reason is time-saving. A good quality picture of jpg or jpeg format is up to 10-20 MB. Suppose you have to send ten photos to a person that means sending items of 100 MB.

Now, in Gmail, you can’t send more than 25 MB. So you need to upload those images to your drive and send the links in mail. The receiver has another headache now. He must need high network connectivity to access and download those images.

To eliminate those hectic processes and save time, we scan photos. A 10 MB photo after scanning, can be reduced to 200-400 KB, which is easily accessible. You can send those ten images without any tension, which will be around 2 MB in total.

That’s how it saves time. During the hiring process, HR does not have time to go through every resume he/she receives from candidates for a designation. So the company shortlists the CV through electronic scanning.

The computer will automatically detect specific keywords in that CV, and based on that; a candidate will be shortlisted. That’s how scanning eases the hiring process. 

Advantages of Scanning:-

  • It saves you time.
  • It is very easy to use and make copies of recorded images. 
  • Ability to use very high-density storage media.
  • Scanned copies do not lose quality over time, unlike paper documents. 
  • Information sharing makes it easy for you.
  • Users can be single or multiple and you can select the access level.
  • Retrieval time is less when the images are well organized, that exactly photos scanner apps do.
  • If you scan photos and save them to your drive, then those documents are safe for a lifetime.
  • Sometimes in legal procedures, third parties or any other people may try to destroy the physical documents. That’s where you can realize the actual importance of scanning.
  • After print out, the documents can be used for original purposes. 
  • Organizations always need documents in scanned format for better access. 

Disadvantages of Scanning:-

  • Sometimes, maintaining original quality may not be possible.
  • It is not easy to detect computer-readable document with the human eye.
  • Though nowadays we can scan through mobile scanner apps on our smartphone, previously we used to go to a cyber cafe and pay for scanning our documents. The scanning machine or scanners cost a little bit higher and include complex hardware and software management.
  • You may require different scanners for different types of documents and different purposes as well. To scan image or text
  • System and software change over time. So storage media’s life expectancy is short. Software and system change every 3 years.

Best Photo Scanner Apps: Our Top Pick 👌👌

10 years ago, we used to go to cybercafes to scan our documents. Things have changed now. You do not need to go there for scanning purposes.

With a smartphone and photo scanner apps you can easily do this at your home. With this emerging demand for such apps, we have prepared a comprehensive list of the 15 most popular photo scanner apps. Let’s begin

1. Google Photo Scan

Google has so many features, and it has dedicated services for various purposes. The best part about Google’s product is you can rely on it. Most of the Google services are free and very easy to use.

In the list of best photo scanner apps, the Google photo scan has separate importance. It is available for both iOS and Android. Google photo scan can fulfill all of your photo digitalization needs.

Best Photo Scanner Apps

This app clicks different shots of a photo to improve the scanning quality by removing glares. All the photo scanning apps do the same thing, but the perfection with which this app performs its task is unparalleled.

The UI is simple and focused on a single thing. It auto-detects edges, brings rotation options to you, and, most importantly, corrects perspective. The app synchronizes pretty well with Google photos.

The advantage of this synchronization is you can directly save your photos in the Google cloud for absolutely free of cost. It allows you to set a photo in the frame before shutting it.

The four dots keep moving with manual interference, and the center aligning process is completed. The dots work serially to complete the process. This app corrects the perspectives and eliminates the glares by clicking five photos and stitching them together.

The total time required for the scanning process with this app is 25 seconds. In the first 15 minutes, you need to target the camera on the object, and the scanning process will take the next 10 minutes.

The experience you get with this app is better than other apps. After scanning, you can view, edit, save, rotate, crop, and delete them. Brief of some salient features of Google photo scan app is

Brief of some salient features of Google photo scan app is:-

  • You can easily get glare-free pictures
  • It works smoothly on both android and iOS.
  • Save your time as the process will take only 25 seconds.
  • Both horizontal and vertical scans with easy edit options

Pros:-

  • Effective in eliminating glare
  • Simple and easy use
  • Stores in Google photos for easy access
  • Free 

Cons:-

  • Linking to Google; privacy hampers
  • Not many advanced features unlike other apps

Download on Google Play Store

Download on Apple App Store

2. Helmut Film Scanner

Though the negatives are outdated, they still have not gone totally. By any chance you found old film negatives in your cupboard, what will you do? You must run to a photo studio to convert those rolls to digitize photos.

Best Photo Scanner Apps

Well, the Helmut Film Scanner app lets you do that. You won’t even require any specialized hardware for performing the task. The photo scanner app supports color negatives, black & white negatives, and color positives.

The steps involved in the process start with capturing an image followed by cropping, adjusting, saving, and sharing. Among the steps, adjustment is the most important because it involves contrast level, brightness, hue, color level, filter, and other adjustments.

If you want the best outcome, you need to take care of a few things like a light adjustment. Make sure that during capturing, the reel should get enough light. You can set negatives on your tablet or smartphone with a plain white screen.

Or what you can do is put the negatives on the laptop screen with maximum brightness and open a word doc or empty notepad. While capturing, don’t use flash cameras.

That will also work. You can recreate an image from scratch (reel), and that’s the most significant thing about this app.

Below are some features we would like to highlight:-

  • Any type of negatives can be converted to digital images
  • Easy adjustments of color, light, contrast, hue, etc
  • Easy saving and sharing options
  • Probably best app in this niche
  • Saves time and money

Pros:-

  • Easy conversion from negatives to digitize photo
  • Well optimized
  • Accuracy and quality can be improved through cool editing tools.
  • UI is simple and user friendly

Cons:-

  • It is not available for iOS users.
  • Service and maintenance wise poor

Download on Google Play Store

3. Photo Scan App by Photomyne

Photomyne may not be very much popular, but it is a splendid photo scanning app. The best part about this app is you can scan more than one photo in a single go. You have options here.

You can put your photos on a table or bed and scan it. Otherwise, you can scan multiple old photos from your album. The app is so technologically advanced that it can automatically detect and save different photos.

There is also a disadvantage that you should know about it. Edges can not be adequately detected. However, you can fix it manually and also use different filters. The app follows a freemium medium. But the free version has minimal options.

The free version is in beta mode right now. When it comes to the iOS version, it provides cool features like cloud backup storage, discovers more. It has many options, but you have to pay for them.

It saves you time. You can also add location, name, dates, and description of photos. Though you can export digitized photos to Dropbox, or Google Drive, there are certain limitations on the limit of the number of free albums.

Features of this application are as follows:-

  • Multiple photo scanning
  • Follows a premium as well as a free version 
  • Auto-detect and save option
  • Straightforward UI 
  • It is yet to be popular

Pros:-

  • A great tool to scan multiple photos
  • Easy scan and save option
  • Clean app by doing multiple tasks
  • Auto-rotate and smart cropping option

Cons:-

  • Premium model; Why will someone pay when there are free applications available
  • There are many complaints about the quality of the scanned copies
  • Edges of the scanned copies are not readable

Download on Google Play Store

Download on Apple App Store

4. Microsoft Office Lens – PDF Scanner

Another beautiful item in the list of photo scanning apps is Office Lens. Office Lens from Microsoft is perfect for those who simply want a high-resolution scan. It can be used both for personal and professional purposes.

11 Of The Best Photo Scanner Apps For Android & iOS

Though it has a good number of downloads and reviews in play stores, it does not give the feature of contrast and saturation adjustment. These features are essential to recognize texts from a document.

On the other hand, it gives you a feature that you don’t find in any other application. Office lens allows you to choose the resolution of a phone camera during scanning. The app does not have any complicated settings or features.

Anyone can use this. Simple cropping and manual rotating need to be done while performing scanning. If your smartphone has an excellent quality camera(Let’s assume 48 MP), then with this app, your photos will look 4-5 times sharper compared to other apps.

The resolution of the converted scanned copies is high. Usually, there are other applications people use to adjust lighting and another editing after scanning also.

The key features are highlighted below:-

  • It makes documents easily readable with its trim and enhances properties.
  • Sharper and brighter outcomes
  • Easy to use
  • Extremely helpful in Official and School also
  • Uses phone camera resolution

Pros:-

  • Microsoft is a reliable source
  • Extremely useful in office and school.
  • It is absolutely free
  • Better color accuracy
  • Works fast with simple editing tools
  • Easily converted into PDF or Word
  • Easy saving options 
  • It supports multiple languages like English, German, Chinese, Spanish, etc.
  • Photos from a whiteboard can be easily scannable. 

Cons:-

  • It lacks editing tools
  • Optimization is somehow missing
  • It occupies a large space in comparison with other apps

Download on Google Play Store

Download on Apple App Store

5. Pic Scanner Gold: Scan photos

Pic Scanner is one of the rare photo scanner apps which is only available in iOS. It is a great platform to scan multiple photos simply and quickly. This app can effortlessly do auto-detection, crop, and minor adjustments.

11 Of The Best Photo Scanner Apps For Android & iOS

The scan results are mind-blowing, and additional features like trim, rotate, enhance, filter, and capture addition make it more magnificent. saves different photos individually.

To perform the scanning, you need to do a certain setup. Keep the photos on white paper or any white background and hold your device(iPad or iPhone) straight above it.

Auto-focusing will start, and photos will go through the process and convert into digitized photos within a few seconds. Unlike a few other applications, Pic Scanner does not require manual interference for dealing with perspective distortion.

You can also do background modification, text, and layouts. If your old image has stains or doesn’t look clear, the blemish removal option will show its magic. It allows its users to add basic descriptions like location, time, the date on it.

The splendid digital album and slideshow option give you a feeling of nostalgia when you see your digitized album. The Caster slideshow option is fun due to its unique browsing option. You can share those on social media on occasions like birthdays and anniversaries.

You can connect a big screen and play the slideshow on occasions as a family gets together. In its free version, you can save limited photos, and the sharing limit is only 12.

So you need to pay $2.99 after a free trial for the pic scanner app. But still, you won’t get all the features. The premium version of this app is known as pic scanner gold and costs $4.99.

Despite its premium offerings, we rate it as an awesome tool to scan and convert your photos into digitized greeting cards, which can be shareable.

Highlights of its key features are as follows:-

  • For iOS users only
  • Comes in 2 variants; pic scanner and pic scanner gold
  • Auto-detect and perfect for perspective adjustments
  • Many filters and editing tools
  • Cool slideshow options

Pros:-

  • Value for money
  • Blemish removal option
  • Super browsing option
  • Instruction manual
  • Perfect for a throwback or moments sharing

Cons:-

  • Not for android users
  • You have to pay for the app

Download on Apple App Store

6. CamScanner: Scanner to scan PDF

The next item in the queue of best photo scanner apps is CamScanner. It is known to everyone for its special document scanner options. It uses your phone camera, optimizes the quality of scanning, and completes the process effortlessly.

Best Photo Scanner Apps

You can import photos and images from your phone or take the picture and scan. After scanning, it gives you options like manual rotation for better edge distortion. Not only photos, but you can also scan old documents, handwritten notes.

Its cool editing features make photos alive. However, we notice that the sides of the images are not visible properly. There is a dark or shadowy mark on the side of a scanned copy, no matter how good the camera is.

This can be restricted by using proper lighting on the object. Converted scanned copies can be saved and shared both in Jpg and PDF format. You can also synchronize this application with other platforms and share it there directly.

Best Scanner App | CamScanner | Scan Notes Into PDF

They also follow the freemium model. But a free version will satisfy all your basic needs. With a premium version, you will get additional cloud storage and options to edit OCR results. But we recommend you keep an eye on other substitutions because the app has been banned in India.

We would like to discuss a few notable points:-

  • Tags sorting possible
  • Simple UI
  • Editing features like magic color 
  • Easy save and share option

Pros:-

  • Shareable directly from the app to a social media platform
  • Image optimization
  • Easy to use 
  • Both link sharable and direct shareable
  • Magic color gives optimum quality

Cons:-

  • For storage, you have to buy premium.
  • Edge distortion 
  • Ban in India

Download on Google Play Store

Download on Apple App Store

7. Adobe Scan: PDF Scanner with OCR, PDF Creator

We all know about Adobe Reader as a PDF opener. But it is also available in this segment, and more than 10 million people use this. The ratings are 4.6 stars. With the integrated OCR technology, Adobe scan is considered one of the best scanner apps.

Using your phone camera, you can scan a photo or import a photo from your phone. During scanning, Optical character recognition(OCR) allows you to take care of every single detail and gives you the best PDF quality.

11 Of The Best Photo Scanner Apps For Android & iOS

You don’t have to worry about the border part of a document, where many apps fail to focus. It is so powerful that it can even scan bills, old documents, and business cards where the characters are not visible properly.

As all of your scanned photos are saved in your phone gallery, you can easily share it on any platform or share them with your contacts. Lengthy legal documents can be scannable with this app, and it allows you to store documents in the Adobe document cloud for easy use.

The best part about the app is you can convert the scans into PDF and Microsoft Office. The advantage is you can fill, sign, edit, and again convert to PDF and send. 

Some highlighted features are as follows:-

  • It is simple and easy to use
  • Capture docs, books, tax receipts, and many more
  • Enhance scans with editing and scanning app
  • You can scan anything, anytime and anywhere
  • A scannable document can be used multiple times with in-built OCR technology
  • The scanned documents get saved directly in your phone gallery for easy use.
  • Once the scanning is done, you can upload it to Acrobat reader for highlighting
  • Direct connection with pdf editors so that after conversion you can edit your documents if you want. 

Pros:-

  • It is free
  • OCR technology is used for better quality and reuse of documents
  • Cool editing options 
  • You can easily erase stains and marks
  • Easy storage with the Adobe document cloud

Cons:-

  • It lacks advanced filters
  • Image quality can not be improved in PDF
  • Page reordering is a little bit difficult. The order should be done in a sequential way by default like Camscanner
  • No zoom option during selecting a PDF

Download on Google Play Store

Download on Apple App Store

8. Genius Scan

Though it is not that popular, it has created its position among all other big names. Twenty million satisfied users with a 4.7 stars rating make this Paris-based company a competitor for other apps.

Best Photo Scanner Apps 6

It works for both document scanners and photo scanners purposes. It supports iOS, Windows, and Android. With the specifications like perspective correction, edge distortion, smart detection, and image enhancement, it can add life to your old photos.

Its function is elementary. Try to catch the photo within the frame such that your phone camera can easily detect the image. Any edge detection and cropping can be done manually also.

Flashlight sometimes causes glares. So we recommend you turn off your flashlight during scanning. Instead, you can make sure that the object should get enough natural light. You can always add captions & notes, tag friends, and many more.

It gives you a search feature, which is very rare. The scanned photos can be shared on any social media.

The app is free. However, there is an in-app purchase option where you have to buy the app to upload documents to Google Drive or Evernote. For this, you have to pay $2.99.

Some key features of the application are as follows:-

  • Smart scanning features like distortion correction, filters & background removal
  • Easy pdf creation with multiple photos
  • Biometric unlock for your security
  • PDF password encryption option
  • Easy export options
  • OCR technology for smart detection

Pros:-

  • A free version is enough to perform activities
  • Batch scanning
  • Easy export
  • Text extraction 
  • Shadow removal option

Cons:-

  • To upload documents in the drive you have to pay
  • Difficulties in merging
  • Trouble in connecting with Gmail
  • Multi-selection of photos for PDF conversion is not possible
  • Some people complain about the quality 

Download on Google Play Store

Download on Apple App Store

9. Document Scanner

Last but not least in the list of photo scanner apps is the document scanner. Arguably, it is one of the best photo scanner apps on the list. The app performs well for both pictures and documents.

Free Mobile Document Scanner and PDF Creator App

The app removes grain from old documents and makes it clearer than before. Both manual and automatic adjustment options are there.

To discuss a few significant features:-

  • Enhancement of image quality
  • Both B/W and color scan are possible
  • PDF of different sizes from A1-A6, postcard and many more
  • Easy saving and sharing option
  • Apart from PDF scanner, it acts as a Barcode scanner and QR code scanner
  • OCR technology detects texts from images
  • Can be used under a flashlight also.
  • Portable and very easy to use

Pros:-

  • 50+ editing tools for high-quality scan
  • All type doc scanner
  • QR code, Barcode scanner
  • OCR Text Recognition
  • A+ document scanner based on customer rating and review

Cons:-

  • To compress size, it compresses quality also
  • Issues in uploading PDF formats  into a drive
  • Options like tagging, adding a caption, and changing name don’t work sometimes
  • A problem in merging multiple photos
  • Sometimes people complain about data loss and data security.

Download on Google Play Store

10. Shoebox

Whenever we discuss photo scanner apps, it will be unfair if we don’t discuss Shoebox. It was there in this segment from the very beginning. The scanning is excellent like other apps with its edge correction and perspective adjustment technology.

It is available for almost every OS. i.e. Android, iOS, OSX, and Windows. A dotted outline will appear when you try to scan a photo. You can manually drag that line to the corner and crop for better detection of edges if you find any inaccuracy in corner detection.

The application is free. But you need to sign up for Ancestry.com. To operate the scanning app, you have to open an account there. The Shoebox was acquired by Ancestry.com a few years ago.

You can easily share the scanned photos on any social media platform like Facebook, Whatsapp, and Instagram if you want, or you can simply save it to your gallery. You can mention the details like time, location of the photo, camera, and date.

You can also tag people and add a caption to your scanned photos. The app is simple to use, but it lacks important features like contrast, frame, filter, and other editing adjustments. For saving purposes, you can either use your phone gallery or Ancestry.com account.

Key features are highlighted as follows:-

  • Free app 
  • Easy saving and sharing option
  • A simple yet effective tool
  • Easy tagging and caption option
  • Manual adjustment can be done

Pros:-

  • The app is free for everyone
  • Available for all types OS i.e. Android, iOS, Windows, OSX
  • Freedom of saving
  • Geotagging option
  • Easy to use

Cons:-

  • You have to open an account on Ancestry.com
  • It does not provide editing tools
  • The quality of scanning is decent
  • Not very familiar

Download on Google Play Store

📗FAQ

What is the best PhotoScan app for Android?

You can find several PhotoScan apps for Android, including Google Photoscan, which is free. Users also have Photomyne, Family Search Memories, and Pic Scanner Gold, which comes for a nominal fee of $5.99.

What is the best app to scan photos with iPhone?

The best apps for scanning photos with your iPhone include Google PhotoScan, Microsoft Lens, Adobe Scan, and Pic Scanner Gold. These are suitable for your iPhone and can work efficiently by scanning photos on your smartphone.

Which is better PhotoScan or Photomyne?

This is a very difficult choice to make because it is up to the individual choice and preference. You may want to do so when you are somebody who likes to use the features of PhotoScan. However, when you find the automatic cropping feature Photmyne useful, then go ahead.

What is a good PhotoScan app?

A good PhotoScan app is something that can help you scan and take photos very efficiently. Some of the best apps in today’s market would be Photomyne, Microsoft Lens, Genius Scan, and Google PhotoScan.

Is Google PhotoScan free?

Yes, it is free to use. Google PhotoScan can be used on both iOS and your Android device as well. When you want to use it on your Android device, then it needs to have the Android 5.0 version at least to work better.

Does Apple have a photo scanning app?

Yes, though it has been designed by Google, the PhotoScan app works on both iOS and Android devices. You can take photographs of the scanned items as you want. Then the app combines these images providing you with a digital photograph.

Which app is best for scanning photos and documents?

There are plenty of apps you can find in the market for scanning photos & documents. Some of them include Google Photo Scan, Office Lens, Adobe Scan, and Photomyne. They are some sublime choices for you to use today in 2022.

What is the best free photo scanner app for iPhone?

While Google PhotoScan and Photomyne are good choices, there are also wonderful options in the form of Tiny scanner, CamScanner, and Scanbot. These apps can be used for viewing your images & photos on your Android and iOS device.

Conclusion 

In this context, we have discussed the importance of scanning. After a brief, we have touched on the positive and negative aspects of scanning. Scanning can be done with the help of a scanner.

But gradually, photo scanner apps have started replacing conventional scanners. The above-mentioned are undoubtedly the best photo scanner apps for iPhone/iPad and Android.

Because you will be able to scan a vast quantity of your photos in hours instead of weeks, but when it comes to dealing with old photos, Google has no match. If you are confused about which app to use, select a random one, and go for it.

Otherwise, you can go through the app description, size of the app, check ratings, and read the reviews to find a better app for photo scanning purposes. You will find numerous applications, but you have to choose wisely.

With these apps, you don’t have to be worried about your old photos fading away in any corner of the house. You can share the scanned documents with anyone effortlessly.

During scanning, other factors like lighting, color accuracy, type, and quality of documents can also play a role. Yes, we can trust the apps we have mentioned earlier.

You will get the satisfaction of using a photo scanner app irrespective of different apps when you get better quality and great features. Recreate the moments of college days or childhood with scanned stills.

Gift your friends and relatives the scanned polaroids and make them happy. Photobooks, photo slam books, photocards, and calendars would be some finest recommendations that you should try. They will be surprised by these remarkable creations.

So, what are you waiting for? Do let us know your sound off in the comment section below. Also, tell us which one you liked the most?