Searchable PDF scanner
ScanWow is a searchable PDF scanner for iPhone and iPad. Scan a page, and ScanWow reads the text on your device. When you export, it adds that text to the PDF as an invisible text layer placed over the words, so you can search the PDF and select and copy its text. The page looks exactly the same. Searchable PDFs are in ScanWow from version 3.0.5. Free to download with 3 free documents. Pro is a one-time $4.99 in the US, with no subscription.
ScanWow reads the text with Apple's text recognition on your iPhone and builds the text layer on your device at export. Magic Enhance, the optional cloud cleanup, is never used for it. See the private scanner page for when a page does leave your phone.
A page with no recognized text, like a photo with no words or a page whose text recognition has not finished, is exported as the image only. Search finds what ScanWow recognized, so a clear, well-lit scan gives the best results.
Download is free. Your first 3 documents are free. A multi-page scan counts as one document, and so does a photo or PDF import. Text recognition, search, and searchable PDF export are included for everyone.
ScanWow Pro is $4.99 once in the US (the App Store shows your local price). Pro adds unlimited scans, Automatic iCloud Backup to your own iCloud, and 1,000 Magic Enhance credits. No monthly fee. See full pricing.
Yes, from version 3.0.5. When you export a PDF, every page where ScanWow recognized text gets an invisible text layer placed over the words. The page looks exactly the same, but apps that search inside PDFs, like Files and Google Drive, can find it by the words on the page, and you can select and copy the text.
Anywhere that searches inside PDFs: the Files app, Preview and Spotlight on a Mac once the file syncs through iCloud Drive, Google Drive, and Dropbox on plans with full-text search. Any PDF reader can search the text and let you select and copy it.
Yes. ScanWow reads the text on your iPhone with Apple's text recognition, and the PDF text layer is built on your device at export. Nothing is sent to us to make a PDF searchable, and Magic Enhance is never used for it.
No. Text recognition runs automatically after each scan, and every PDF export adds the text layer: sharing a page, exporting a document, Export All, Export Selected, and Secure API Export. A page with no recognized text, like a photo with no words, is exported as the image only.
ScanWow turns an imported PDF into page images and reads them like any scan. When you export it, each page gets one text layer, so search results are not doubled.
ScanWow is free to download, and your first 3 documents are free. Text recognition, search, and searchable PDF export are included for everyone. ScanWow Pro is an optional one-time $4.99 in the US for unlimited scans, automatic iCloud Backup, and 1,000 Magic Enhance credits. There is no subscription.
Free to download. 3 documents free. Pro is $4.99 once. No subscription.
Download on the App Store