ScanMaven against the 5 most-installed scanner apps on Google Play, feature by feature: CamScanner, Adobe Scan, TapScanner, Genius Scan and Clear Scan. No ads, no trials, no account and one $14.99 price, with almost everything else free.
Prices and features checked October 25, 2026 from each app's Google Play listing, official help pages and pricing. Sources are at the bottom of the page.
No ads. Ever.
CamScanner, TapScanner and Clear Scan all show ads in their free versions. ScanMaven has none, free or paid.
No trial traps
CamScanner, Adobe Scan, TapScanner and Genius Scan all sell trials that turn into charges. ScanMaven has no trial and nothing that renews.
No account
Adobe Scan won't scan a page without a sign-in, and CamScanner syncs to its own servers. ScanMaven has no account and no internet permission.
$14.99 once
The big four charge $29.99 to $69.99 a year, or up to $9.99 a week. ScanMaven Pro is $14.99, once, and it's yours for good.
What everything costs over 3 years
The cheapest way to unlock every paid feature in each app for three years, in U.S. dollars.
ScanMaven
$14.99
Everything, one payment
CamScanner
$179.97
Premium at $59.99 a year × 3; weekly is $9.99, which is $519 a year
Adobe Scan
$209.97
Premium at $69.99 a year × 3; no one-time option
TapScanner
$89.97
Yearly plan at $29.99 × 3; signing, ID cards and Word export are sold as extra subscriptions on top
Genius Scan
$119.97
Ultra at $39.99 a year × 3; the one-time option was retired
Clear Scan
$17.97
Pro yearly at $5.99 × 3 ($19.99 once) only removes ads; it adds no features
Feature by feature
59 features in 9 groups. ScanMaven's free version includes everything with a green check in its column; items marked Pro need the one-time $14.99 upgrade.
Included freePro ScanMaven Pro, $14.99 oncePaid Needs that app's paid plan Free with a limit Works against you Not offered
Swipe sideways to see every app →
Feature
ScanMaven
CamScanner
Adobe Scan
TapScanner
Genius Scan
Clear Scan
Plans and price
Free versionCan you use it without paying
Free forever, unlimited scans
Free with ads, a watermark and caps
Free with an Adobe account
Free with ads and a 5-saves-a-day limit
Genius Scan Basic
Free with ads
Paid plan priceEvery plan the app sells
Pro: $14.99 once. No weekly, monthly or yearly plans
$9.99/week, $9.99/month or $59.99/year (U.S. App Store)
Premium $9.99/month or $69.99/year; Plus $4.99/month or $19.99/year; or an Acrobat plan
$6.99/week (main offer), $9.99/month, $29.99 to $49.99/year, plus add-on subscriptions
Ultra $39.99/year (about $4.99/month)
Pro $0.99/month, $5.99/year or $19.99 once; it only removes ads
One-time purchasePay once, keep it forever
Yes. Pro is a single $14.99 purchase, kept forever
Subscriptions only
Subscriptions only
Subscriptions only
Genius Scan+ retired for new users
$19.99, removes ads only
Free trial that bills youTrials that turn into a charge
Never. No trials, nothing converts to a charge
3-day trial, often turns into a yearly charge
7-day trial on the yearly plan turns into a yearly charge
Trial turns into the $6.99 weekly plan
7-day Ultra trial turns into a paid plan
No trial
AdsIn the free version
None, ever
Yes. Full-screen and video ads between scans
No ads, but upgrade prompts
Yes. Full-screen ads between steps
None
Yes. Full-screen ads after saving or sending
Watermark on free scansA logo stamped on your files
None
Yes. "Created by CamScanner" plus a QR code
None
Yes. "Scanned by TapScanner"
None
None
Limits on the free versionSaves, pages or scans per day
No limits on scans, pages or saves
10 text readings, 3 folders, about 10 book pages a day
Text reading only on scans of 5 pages or fewer; 5 GB cloud
5 saves a day
No limits on scans or saves
No limits
Cost of all features for 3 yearsCheapest way to unlock everything
$14.99 total (free features cost $0)
$179.97 (yearly × 3)
$209.97 (Premium yearly × 3)
$89.97 for the yearly plan × 3, plus add-ons
$119.97 (Ultra yearly × 3)
$17.97 (yearly × 3) just to remove ads
Privacy and your data
Account requiredSign-in to scan or save
No account, ever
Sign-in needed for cloud sync and most features
Yes. Adobe, Google, Facebook or Apple sign-in
Not to scan; needed for cloud documents
No; only for its cloud
No
Works offlineScan and save with no internet
Yes, after Google's scanner downloads once
Basic scanning only; cloud text reading needs the internet
No. Text reading and exports need the internet
Text reading and AI tools use its servers
Yes
Yes
Scans sent to the company's cloudBy default
Never. The app has no internet permission
Yes, once signed in
Yes. Every scan uploads to Adobe Document Cloud
Only images sent for cloud processing
No, stays on the phone
No, stays on the phone
Google Play data safetyWhat the app reports it collects and shares
ScanMaven collects and shares nothing. Google's built-in scanner may send anonymous diagnostics to Google
Collects personal and financial info plus 4 more; shares device IDs; 13 trackers found in a 2025 audit
Collects personal info and app activity; shares app info and performance
Collects personal info, app activity and device IDs; 11 tracking tools found in a 2024 audit
Collects personal info, photos and 2 more; shares app info and performance
Collects location, app activity and 2 more; shares your ad ID with 6 ad networks; data can't be deleted
Security or privacy incidentsPublicly reported
None
2019: malware found in its ad code, app pulled from Google Play
2013 Adobe breach exposed customer IDs and encrypted passwords
None reported; years of trial-billing complaints
None reported
None reported
Scanning
Automatic edge finding and crop
Free
Free
Free
Free
Free
Free
Many pages in one goBatch scanning
No page limit
Free
High-speed scan is Premium
Saves count toward the daily limit
Free
Free
Import photos from the gallery
Free
Free
Free
Free
Free
Free
Import an existing PDF
Free
Free
Only by uploading the PDF to Adobe's website first
Saves count toward the daily limit
Free
Free
Cleanup looksBlack and white, grayscale, shadow removal
Clean paper, grayscale, black and white, faded ink, whiteboard
Free
Auto color, grayscale, light text, whiteboard
Black and white, shadow removal
Black and white, color, shadow removal
Black and white, shadow removal
Remove stains and marksEraser for spots, fingers, pen marks
Free
Free
PaidMagic eraser is Premium
Eraser
Automatic cleanup only, no eraser
Eraser
Book modeSplits two facing pages
Free
About 10 pages a day free
Free
Not offered
Not offered
Not offered
Whiteboard mode
Free
Free
Free
Not offered
Not offered
Not offered
ID card modeFront and back on one page
Free
PaidPremium
Free
PaidSeparate ID Scanner subscription
Not offered
ID card and passport
Long receipt modeStitches a long receipt into one page
Pro
Mega Scan, select phones
Not offered
Not offered
Not offered
Not offered
Choose the PDF page sizeLetter, Legal, A4
Letter, Legal, A4, with margins
Free
Free
A4, Letter, Legal
Letter, A4, Legal and more
Letter, Legal, A4 and more
Saving and exporting
Multi-page PDF
Free
Watermarked on the free version
Free
5 saves a day, watermarked
Free
Free
JPEG pictures
Free
Free
Free
5 saves a day
Free
Free
Save as WordEditable .docx
ProKeeps paragraphs, bold, columns and tables
PaidPremium, 20 a month
PaidPremium, online
PaidSeparate Word converter subscription
Not offered
Not offered
Save as ExcelTables to .xlsx
Pro
PaidPremium
PaidPremium, online
Web version only
iPhone only
Not offered
Password-protected PDF
ProAES-256
Free
PaidPremium
Counts toward the daily limit
PaidUltra
Not offered
Choose where files are savedA folder on your phone
Any folder you pick
Through the share menu
Saves to Adobe's cloud; copy to the phone afterward
Kept inside the app; share out
Free
Free
Reading the words (OCR)
Searchable PDFsInvisible text layer you can search
Every page, no page limit
PaidPremium
Scans of 5 pages or fewer; 100 on Premium
About 10 free credits, then paid
PaidUltra
Text can only be pulled out
Copy text from a scan
Free
10 free text readings
Only on scans of 5 pages or fewer
Uses free credits
PaidUltra
Free
Handwriting
Neat handwriting
Neat handwriting, uses the free quota
Printed text; handwriting tool still in beta
Not offered
Typed text only
Not offered
Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Hindi
Read on the phone
Online, uses the free quota
Free
110+ languages, uses free credits
PaidUltra
Not offered
Read aloudBuilt-in voice reads the page
Picks the voice from the scan's language
Not offered
Relies on Android's screen reader
Not offered
Not offered
Not offered
Ask questions about a documentAI answers and summaries
ProOn the phone, nothing uploaded
In CamScanner's cloud
PaidPremium, in Adobe's cloud; a few free questions
PaidPremium, in the cloud
Not offered
Not offered
Editing and signing
Signatures
Free
PaidPremium
Through Fill & Sign
PaidSign & Share subscription, $19.99
Not in the Android app
Insert a signature image
Fill in formsType text, checkmarks, dates
Free
Text boxes only
Through Fill & Sign
PaidPDF Editor subscription
Not offered
Text boxes only
Pen, highlighter and notes
Free
Free
Freehand markup
PaidPaid editor
Not offered
Draw and text; no highlighter
StampsPaid, Approved, date stamps
Pro
Free
Not offered
PaidDate stamp only, paid editor
Not offered
Not offered
Permanent black-outRedact private details
ProRemoved from the picture and the hidden text
Brush and mosaic
Needs Acrobat Pro
Web version only
Not offered
Not offered
Find private info automaticallyAccount and Social Security numbers
ProFinds them for you
Not offered
Not offered
Not offered
Not offered
Not offered
Combine, split and move pagesBetween documents
Free
Some PDF tools are Premium
PaidCombining files is Premium; reorder and delete are free
PaidCombining scans is paid
Move, merge and split
Reorder and delete; no split
Organizing
Folders
Free
3 folders free
Free
Free
Free
With subfolders
Tags
Free
Free
Not offered
Free
Free
Not offered
Smart foldersFill themselves by rule
Pro
Not offered
Not offered
Not offered
Not offered
Not offered
Favorites and sorting
Free
Sorting; no favorites
Sort by name or date; no favorites
Sort by name or date; no favorites
Sort by title or date; no favorites
Sorting; no favorites
Select many documents at once
Free
Free
Free
Free
Free
Free
RemindersDue dates tied to a document
Pro
Not offered
Not offered
Not offered
Not offered
Not offered
Automatic file namesNames from the date or the content
ProDate-and-time names are free
Default names only
Naming template
Names from the first words, using its servers
PaidName templates and AI renaming are Ultra
Date and time names
Security and backup
App lockFingerprint, face or PIN
Free
Passwords on single files and folders
Not offered
Not offered
PaidUltra
Not offered
Private vaultHidden documents
ProTaking scans out is always free
Not offered
Not offered
Not offered
Not offered
Not offered
Backup and restoreMove everything to a new phone
Password-locked file to your own Drive, Dropbox or USB
Through its own cloud, 200 MB free
Through Adobe's cloud only, 5 GB free
PaidPremium cloud sync
Manual backup file; automatic sync is Ultra
Backup file or your own cloud drive
Extra tools
Receipts to an expense listSpreadsheet of your receipts
Pro
Not offered
Not offered
Not offered
iPhone only
Not offered
Business card to a contact
Free
Sold as a separate app
Free
Not offered
iPhone only
Not offered
QR code and barcode reader
Free
Free
QR codes only, no barcodes
Free
Not offered
Not offered
Print
Free
Free
Free
Free
Free
Free
Home-screen widget
Free
Not offered
Not offered
Not offered
Not offered
Not offered
App menu languages
16 languages
58 languages
19 languages
8 languages
19 languages
47 languages
App by app
What each app does well, what its users complain about, and where ScanMaven comes out ahead.
ScanMaven vs. CamScanner
INTSIG · 500M+ installs on Google Play · 4.6 stars from 5.0M reviews
CamScanner is the most-installed scanner on Google Play, and its free version is built to push you into paying. Free users get full-screen and video ads between scans, a "Created by CamScanner" watermark and QR code on every export, only 3 folders, 10 text readings (OCR) and about 10 book-mode captures a day. CamScanner Premium is sold weekly, monthly, quarterly or yearly. In the U.S. App Store that's $9.99 a week, $9.99 a month or $59.99 a year, up from $4.99 a month and $49.99 a year in older listings. A 3-day trial turns into a paid plan, often the yearly one. There's no one-time purchase. CamScanner promised in 2022 that U.S. users could remove the watermark for free; its current FAQ says that now takes Premium.
What users complain about
Trial complaints throughout 2025 and 2026: users canceled a 3-day trial and were still charged, or saw it turn into a yearly plan without warning (Trustpilot, Sikayetvar).
Ads every 15 seconds or so, many that can't be closed (9/20/26), and ads still showing after paying for Premium (3/5/26).
"Places a visible watermark on exported documents unless you pay" (Capterra, 6/4/26).
Searchable, highlightable PDFs are Premium-only (Capterra, 8/13/25).
Where ScanMaven is better
No ads and no watermark on anything, ever; CamScanner's free version has both.
$14.99 once instead of $59.99 a year, $9.99 a month or $9.99 a week.
Unlimited text reading, searchable PDFs, signatures, ID cards and unlimited folders for free; CamScanner caps or charges for each.
No account and nothing leaves your phone; CamScanner syncs signed-in users' documents to its servers and shares device IDs.
Read aloud, reminders, a private vault, automatic private-info finding, business cards to contacts, receipts to an expense list and a widget, none of which CamScanner's Android app offers.
Where CamScanner does something ScanMaven doesn't
58 app languages.
Syncing to its own cloud when you sign in.
ScanMaven vs. Adobe Scan
Adobe Inc. · 100M+ installs on Google Play · 4.6 stars from 3.0M ratings
Adobe Scan is free to download, but it only works with an Adobe account, and every scan is uploaded to Adobe Document Cloud. The paid features come from Adobe Scan Premium ($9.99 a month or $69.99 a year in the U.S. App Store list) or from an Acrobat subscription. The 7-day free trial applies only to the yearly plan and turns into a yearly charge. Since 2025 Adobe has moved more into the paid tier: the magic eraser, the AI Assistant, generative summaries and high-speed scanning, and free text reading (OCR) only works on scans of 5 pages or fewer. There is no one-time or lifetime purchase.
What users complain about
A Play reviewer (6/27/26) says the advertised 7-day trial disappeared when he picked monthly billing, and he was refused a refund; Adobe replied the trial only applies to the yearly plan.
A user who canceled during the 7-day trial says she was still billed for two subscriptions, about $30 (Adobe Community, 3/21/26).
Reviewers object that you can't scan even one page without signing in to an Adobe account, and to the Acrobat upsells and a Document Cloud that fills up.
Free text reading stops at 5 pages per scan, so longer documents need Premium.
Where ScanMaven is better
No account and no cloud upload: Adobe requires a sign-in and uploads every scan; ScanMaven has no account and no internet permission.
Searchable PDFs on every page for free; Adobe's free OCR stops at 5 pages per scan.
Word, Excel and password PDFs for $14.99 once instead of $69.99 every year.
Remove marks, combine documents, black-out, stamps, tags, app lock and a private vault, none of which Adobe's free version has.
Read aloud built in, and backups go to your own Drive or USB instead of Adobe's cloud.
Where Adobe Scan does something ScanMaven doesn't
A cloud copy of every scan through Adobe Document Cloud (5 GB free), if you want one.
19 app languages, three more than ScanMaven's 16.
ScanMaven vs. TapScanner
Tap AI · 100M+ installs on Google Play · 4.5 stars from 2.96M ratings
TapScanner is free to download, but the free version shows ads, stamps a "Scanned by TapScanner" watermark and allows only 5 saves a day. Everything else is sold as subscriptions: the main paywall pushes a weekly plan ($6.99 a week in the U.S. App Store, with a 1-week trial that turns into the weekly charge), alongside $9.99 a month or $29.99 to $49.99 a year. Signing, ID card scanning, the PDF editor and Word export are sold as separate add-on subscriptions. There is no one-time or lifetime purchase, and the free version has gotten tighter: users say the limit is now 5 pages a day, not 5 documents.
What users complain about
A Play reviewer (8/29/26) calls the free label misleading because the limit works out to 5 pages a day; the developer replied that free users get 5 saves a day.
A Play reviewer (6/22/26) got 10 credits, was then asked for card details, and found that combining scans needs payment.
An App Store reviewer (8/11/25) found exporting at all now needs a payment or a trial.
A 10/2025 reviewer sat through 2 or 3 full-screen ads only to be able to share 5 photos a day.
Where ScanMaven is better
Unlimited saves with no watermark; TapScanner allows 5 saves a day and stamps its name on free files.
No ads at all; TapScanner shows full-screen ads between steps.
No weekly plan and no trial: $14.99 once versus $6.99 a week, which is about $363 a year.
Signatures, form filling, notes, combining pages, handwriting and copy text are free in ScanMaven; TapScanner charges for them.
Read aloud, app lock, a private vault, backups to your own drive and a home-screen widget, none of which TapScanner offers.
Where TapScanner does something ScanMaven doesn't
Text reading in over 110 languages (ScanMaven reads Latin-alphabet languages plus Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Hindi).
Cloud syncing to Google Drive, Dropbox or OneDrive on its paid plan.
ScanMaven vs. Genius Scan
The Grizzly Labs · 10M+ installs on Google Play · 4.9 stars from 621K reviews
Genius Scan is the most user-friendly of the big scanners: no ads, no watermark and no limits on how much you scan. But the free version (Genius Scan Basic) stops at scanning and saving. Text reading (OCR), searchable PDFs, copying text, password PDFs, the app lock, cloud export and name templates all need Genius Scan Ultra at $39.99 a year, with a 7-day trial that turns into a paid plan. The one-time Genius Scan+ purchase that users praised for years is no longer sold to new users. On Android there is no signing, no form filling and no annotation at all, and business cards and expense reports are iPhone-only.
What users complain about
Reviewers call paywalled text reading (OCR) the main gap in an otherwise generous free version.
Users object to subscription-only pricing now that the one-time Genius Scan+ is gone, and to cloud sync being paid.
A Play reviewer (6/23/26) finds the default file names unhelpful.
A Play reviewer (6/26/26) reports more than a dozen failed sends through Yahoo Mail.
Where ScanMaven is better
Searchable PDFs, copy text and handwriting are free in ScanMaven; Genius Scan charges $39.99 a year for text reading and doesn't read handwriting.
Signatures, form filling, pen, highlighter and notes, none of which the Android version of Genius Scan has.
Book, whiteboard and ID card modes, a stain eraser and a QR reader, which Genius Scan doesn't offer.
Word and Excel export, business cards to contacts and receipts to an expense list on Android.
A one-time $14.99 price instead of $39.99 every year, plus read aloud, a private vault, black-out and reminders.
Where Genius Scan does something ScanMaven doesn't
Automatic cloud sync between devices through Genius Cloud on its paid plan.
19 app languages, three more than ScanMaven's 16.
ScanMaven vs. Clear Scan
Indy Mobile App · 10M+ installs on Google Play · 4.7 stars from 478K ratings
Clear Scan is a simple, genuinely free scanner that pays for itself with ads: Google Play marks it "Contains ads", and its privacy policy names six ad networks that receive your advertising ID. Paying for ClearScanner Pro ($0.99 a month, $5.99 a year or $19.99 once in the U.S. App Store) removes the ads but doesn't add features. It's light on tools: it can't make searchable PDFs, add passwords, read handwriting, export to Word or Excel, lock the app or read QR codes, and its text reading only pulls text out of a page.
What users complain about
A Play reviewer (4/25/26) calls the free version's ads "unbearable", bought Pro to get rid of them, and asked for small banners instead.
A user who paid to remove ads still saw them; the developer blamed multiple Google accounts on the phone (4/24/24).
Emailing scans stopped working for an iPhone user (11/25/25).
Google Play's data safety section says its data "can't be deleted".
Where ScanMaven is better
No ads at all; Clear Scan shows full-screen ads after you save or send a PDF and shares your advertising ID with ad networks.
Searchable PDFs, handwriting, and Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Hindi text reading, which Clear Scan doesn't offer.
Word and Excel export, password PDFs, app lock, private vault, black-out and stamps, none of which Clear Scan has.
Tags, smart folders, reminders, QR codes, read aloud, business cards to contacts and receipts to an expense list.
For a one-time $14.99, ScanMaven Pro adds real features; Clear Scan's $19.99 Pro only removes ads.
Where Clear Scan does something ScanMaven doesn't
47 app languages.
Optional syncing to your own Google Drive, Dropbox or OneDrive.
Where ScanMaven doesn't compete
To be fair: Adobe Scan, CamScanner and Genius Scan can keep a copy of your scans in their own clouds, some have more menu languages (CamScanner 58, Clear Scan 47), and TapScanner reads more than 110 languages. ScanMaven leaves out the cloud on purpose: your scans never leave your phone unless you send them somewhere yourself.
Prices are U.S. prices as listed on October 25, 2026. App stores show different prices in other countries, and apps sometimes test different prices with different users.
"Not offered" means the feature isn't in the app's Google Play listing, its official help pages or its pricing page.
3-year costs use each app's cheapest yearly plan, or its one-time price where it sells one.
CamScanner, Adobe Scan, TapScanner, Genius Scan and Clear Scan are trademarks of their owners. ScanMaven is not affiliated with them.