NAPS2 vs PaperStream Capture

NAPS2 is free, open-source software for scanning documents and saving them as PDF, TIFF, JPEG, or PNG. It runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, and supports WIA and TWAIN drivers with flatbed or automatic document feeder scanners, including duplex scanning. Users can reorder, interleave, rotate, crop, deskew, and adjust scanned pages’ brightness and contrast. OCR makes scans searchable, supports more than 100 languages, and can add text recognition to imported PDFs. NAPS2 can share scanners across a local network using ESCL, including with compatible Android and iPhone apps, but it must remain running on the server for sharing to work. It can send email through Gmail and Outlook, with the email address and secure sending token kept on the user’s computer and sent only to the relevant provider. Optional developer tools include a command-line interface for automation and a .NET scanning library. The free plan has no ads or restrictions, though OCR results cannot be saved directly to a text file.

PaperStream Capture is Windows software for digitizing, capturing, and indexing documents through scanning workflows. Users can scan, sort, separate, and save documents as searchable PDFs or other selected file types. Separation can be based on page count, blank pages, barcodes, patch codes, OCR, keyboard input, document form, or file size. The software includes default settings and lets advanced users configure profiles; administrators can lock profiles for consistency and use Scanner Central Admin to manage and deploy fleet updates and profiles. Its AIQC function helps select images for data capture and quality control. Listed output formats include PDF, PDF/A, searchable PDF, TIFF, JPEG, BMP, and others, while listed integrations include FTP and SharePoint. PaperStream IP TWAIN or ISIS driver connectivity is required. The manufacturer says it works with current fi Series scanners and may run on an unlimited number of computers. ARM-based Windows 11 support is limited to specified scanner models and the 32-bit PaperStream IP TWAIN driver. The free download is listed for compatible current fi Series scanners.