Genius Scan vs Smallpdf

Genius Scan turns a phone into a document scanner, with access also offered through a web app. Its free Basic plan is fully functional, supports high-resolution scanning, and has no scan or document-count limit. Users can create multipage PDFs, archive documents, organize them with tags, and search for them. Ultra adds on-device OCR, which places searchable and indexable text in PDFs. Documents are processed and stored on the phone unless explicitly exported, and access can be protected with Face ID, Touch ID, or a PIN. Export options include Dropbox, Box, Google Drive, OneDrive, Evernote, WebDAV, FTP, and others. Genius Cloud offers unlimited cloud storage, backup, syncing, storage savings, and web access. Automatic export can run in the background and route documents according to rules. Ultra costs $39.99 a year. Team features include centralized license management and consolidated annual billing; a BAA is available with Genius Scan Team for organizations needing HIPAA-aligned handling. The maker, The Grizzly Labs, is based in Paris, France.

Smallpdf is a PDF service with tools for editing, converting, compressing, organizing, sharing, protecting and scanning documents. Users can add text, shapes, images and freehand annotations, create forms and use OCR. It supports electronic signatures, including signing, requesting signatures and tracking documents. Files can be stored, managed and shared across devices, and the mobile app supports PDF scans, document organization and file sharing. Smallpdf is available on the web, Windows, iOS and Android, and also supports a Chrome extension. Integrations include Google Workspace and Dropbox. Thirty PDF tools are available for free, and the free trial lasts seven days. Pro costs $12 a month, billed monthly per user. Team costs $10 a month per user and covers 2 to 100 users, with a minimum of two seats. Smallpdf says it uses 256-bit TLS encryption for information transfer and is ISO/IEC 27001 certified and compliant with GDPR, CCPA and nFADP. Customer support is available around the clock.