Best free document scanner for Android
The best free document scanner app for Android, compared fairly
Short answer: For most people who want a free Android scanner with no ads, no watermark and no account, Scanly is the best free choice: it is open source and keeps scans on your phone. Cloud-first apps such as Adobe Scan or the Google Drive scanner are a better fit if you want scans synced across devices.
Many apps call themselves the best free document scanner for Android, and most of them can be installed without paying. What matters is what the free version costs you: a watermark on your PDFs, ads between scans, a required account, or your documents being stored in a cloud. This page compares six options on those points: Scanly, the Google Drive scanner, Adobe Scan, CamScanner, Genius Scan and Microsoft Lens.
We make Scanly, so weigh our side of the comparison with that in mind. Where we could not confirm a detail for a competitor, we left that row out rather than guess. Check each app’s current terms before you decide, because free plans change.
Install Scanly free on Google Play (Android 10+, no account, no ads)
Free Android document scanners compared
| Feature | Scanly | CamScanner | Adobe Scan | Google Drive scanner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price model | Free, every feature | Free tier plus paid Premium | Free plan plus paid Premium | Built into the Google Drive app |
| Account needed | No | For cloud and sync features | Yes, a free Adobe ID | Yes, a Google account |
| Where scans are stored | On your phone | On your phone, with cloud sync to a CamScanner account | Adobe Document Cloud | Google Drive |
| Cloud sync | None | Yes, with an account | Yes, to Adobe Document Cloud | Yes, to Google Drive |
Ads, watermark and open-source status are covered in the notes above. Genius Scan and Microsoft Lens are not in this table because we could not confirm the same details for each. Competitor details can change; check current terms.
How we chose and what matters
- Price model: is every feature free, or is a core feature behind a subscription?
- Watermarks and ads on the free version, since they show up in every document you send.
- Account: can you scan without signing in to anything?
- Where your scans end up: only on your phone, or in a cloud account by default?
- Open source, so privacy claims can be checked by reading the code.
- Whether the app still exists. A retired app is not a safe choice for new scans, even if it was once the best.
The options at a glance
- Scanly: free, with no ads, no watermark and no account. Scanning, text recognition and storage stay on your phone. Requires Android 10 or later. Open source under AGPL-3.0.
- Google Drive scanner: built into the Google Drive app. It needs a Google account and saves scans to Google Drive.
- Adobe Scan: needs a free Adobe ID and syncs scans to Adobe Document Cloud. It shows no ads. The free plan has OCR and storage limits, and Premium is paid.
- CamScanner: the free plan adds a "Scanned by CamScanner" watermark to exported PDFs and shows ads. Premium is a paid subscription, and cloud features need an account.
- Genius Scan: a free version, with paid Genius Scan+ and Ultra versions. It is not open source.
- Microsoft Lens: retired. Microsoft removed it from the App Store and Google Play on February 9, 2026, and scanning stopped on March 9, 2026. Do not choose it for new scans.
Who should pick what
- Pick Scanly if you want a free app that keeps scans on your phone, has no ads or watermark, needs no account, and whose code you can read.
- Pick Adobe Scan if you already use Adobe tools, want your scans in Adobe Document Cloud on every device, and are fine with creating an account.
- Pick the Google Drive scanner if your files already live in Google Drive and you want scans saved there automatically.
- Pick CamScanner only if you accept ads and a watermark on the free plan, or you are ready to pay for Premium.
- Pick Genius Scan if you want a free starting point and may upgrade to its paid versions later.
- Do not start with Microsoft Lens. It has been retired, and Microsoft recommends the scan feature in the OneDrive app instead.
When another app is the better fit
Scanly is Android only. It has no cloud sync, no web app and no iPhone version. If you need the same scans on several devices or in a shared team folder, a cloud-based option such as Adobe Scan or the Google Drive scanner will suit you better. Scanly’s signatures are also visual rather than certificate-based, so if a contract needs a certified digital signature, use a service built for that.
Questions people ask
- What is the best free document scanner app for Android?
- It depends on what you need. Scanly is free, with no ads, no watermark and no account, and keeps scans on your phone. Adobe Scan or the Google Drive scanner are better if you want scans synced to a cloud account on every device.
- Is there a free document scanner for Android with no watermark?
- Scanly never adds a watermark to exported PDFs. The CamScanner free plan does add one. Check any app’s current free-plan terms before you rely on it.
- Does Microsoft Lens still work on Android?
- No. Microsoft has retired Microsoft Lens. It was removed from Google Play on February 9, 2026, and scanning stopped on March 9, 2026. Existing scans can be viewed only while the app stays installed.
- Do free scanner apps upload my documents?
- Some do. Adobe Scan syncs scans to Adobe Document Cloud, and the Google Drive scanner saves them to Google Drive. Scanly reads text on the phone and only sends a file somewhere when you export or share it.
- Is Scanly open source?
- Yes. Scanly is open source under the AGPL-3.0 license, and its code is published at github.com/c1ph3rj/Scanly.
Sources
Last checked 2026-10-22. Markdown version