When available, I used any auto-scanning features in the app that were relevant to that particular text. I used each app in the same natural light conditions against the same background, a wood floor. The apps on this list all work on iOS or Android, but I tested each app on an iPhone 12 running on iOS 15.4.1. Having different scanning mode options can help with this kind of variety. You're likely going to be scanning a variety of documents-from IDs and passports to books and receipts. If your goal is to add more text, a signature, or watermarks, or to password-protect your documents, having customization options is also important. Scanning and digitizing a document may just be the beginning for you. A phone scan app doesn't need to have lots of bells and whistles, but I did take into account how effective each app was at organizing, saving, sharing, printing, and exporting digitized files.Ĭustomization. An OCR app needs to be accurate, so I paid attention to how accurately each app produced digitized text from my scans.įile management. This included testing how well each app focused on the document, how accurately the sensor detected borders, and how long it took to capture a scan.Īccuracy. Every app on this list includes some kind of scanning feature, but I paid attention to which apps made the process as painless as possible. Not every app on this list meets all of these criteria, but if you're going to scan with your phone, these are the features you'll want to look for-and it's what I was looking for as I tested.Īuto-scanning.

With that in mind, the best OCR software with mobile scanning should excel in a few key areas. That's what will turn your mobile scans into editable digital documents. But if you need to turn your pages into a file you can edit, you'll want optical character recognition (OCR) as part of your mobile scan app. If you don't own a scanner, you can still digitize documents quickly with a mobile scanning app-all of the apps on this list will do the trick. Google Lens for all the Google bells and whistles Microsoft Lens for quick scanning (and Microsoft users) The best mobile scanning and OCR softwareĪdobe Scan for the best free OCR software But after spending a few weeks with OCR scanner software, I will never again underestimate just how capable the technology behind these apps is.Īfter a rigorous process of testing about 30 mobile scanning and OCR tools, I narrowed it down to the best options. I used to think of mobile scanning and OCR software as being primarily used for 'official' documents-applications, ID cards, things like that.

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