Sometimes you may not have access to a scanner machine at your workplace, but you still need to scan various documents. In such cases, you can use a third-party scanner app on your computer. However, this also means that you have to organize the scanned files, fix their orientation and crop any unwanted parts. do. Thankfully, you can use the goodness of scanner software for Windows PC. Here are some great options you can consider.
Top Software Reviews | Rating | |
---|---|---|
1.PaperScan | ||
2.VueScan | ||
3.Systweak PDF Editor | ||
4.NAPS2 | ||
5.ExactScan | ||
6.Adobe Acrobat Pro DC | ||
7.ABBYY FineReader | ||
8.Windows Scan | ||
9.ScanSpeeder | ||
10.SilverFast |
What is A Scanning Software?
A paid or free scanner software for Windows is a utility that enables you to scan physical documents and photos. It then lets you convert them to digital files. The utility makes it easy for you to configure and control various scanner settings such as resolution, color, the area that you intend to crop, switching between flatbed or document feeder, and various such settings. It makes it easier for you to store, edit and share scanned documents digitally and in a hassle-free manner.Why Use a Scanner Application On A Windows PC?
We’ll take examples of some of the renowned scanner software for Windows PC and explain why a scanner application can be a great tool -- Compatibility With Various Scanner Brands - Scanner software programs for Windows like VueScan are well compatible with scanners from major brands like Epson, Brother, HP, Cannon, etc.
- Intuitive and Easy-To-Use User Interface - There are many scanners whose native software is complex and not so easy to understand. Applications like NAPS2 provide a more intuitive and straightforward interface.
- Advanced features - Scanner software like SilverFast offers advanced scanning enhancing and customization capabilities.
- Cross-Device Support - The majority of scanning software for Windows such as PaperScan offer cross-device compatibility in order to ensure consistent workflow.
Best Free and Paid Scanner Software for Windows 10
- 1
- PaperScan
- Supports over 100 formats.
- Scan documents in batches using separator sheets.
- You can select an area, crop, or even resize it.
- Information about the size, resolution, and color mode of an image is comprehensively shown.
- $79 / year Download Here
- 2
- VueScan
- Auto color detection.
- Works with thousands of scanners.
- Supports both flatbed scanners as well as automatic document feeders.
- Supports different types of scanning – slides, films, photos, and various others.
- $24.95 / year Download Here
- 3
- Systweak PDF Editor
- Edit text and images in PDF documents.
- Combine PDF files.
- Convert PDF files to various formats and vice versa.
- Protect PDFs with a password.
- $69.95 / year
- 4
- NAPS2
- Choose between WIA and TWAIN drivers.
- Configure settings like paper source, page size, resolution, and bit depth.
- Rotate, crop, and rearrange images.
- OCR functionality with which you can search through text.
- FreeDownload Here
- 5
- ExactScan
- Auto paper size detection.
- Deskew options.
- Auto black and white customization.
- Barcode recognition.
- FreeDownload Here
- 6
- Adobe Acrobat Pro DC
- Robust encryption & security tools.
- Password-protect PDFs.
- Supports e-signing documents
- Allows removing metadata as well
- $14.99 / year Download Here
- 7
- ABBYY FineReader
- AI-based OCR technology.
- Digitize, edit, retrieve, share, protect, and collaborate on documents.
- Convert documents to multiple formats.
- Manage documents both on iOS and Android devices and computers using the FineReader iOS and Android app.
- $16 / month Download Here
- 8
- Windows Scan
- Choose in which format you want to save the scanned document.
- Preview the area of the image that you want to scan when choosing a flatbed scanner.
- Select where you want to save the files.
- Choose a color mode.
- FreeDownload Here
- 9
- ScanSpeeder
- Scan multiple photos at once.
- Auto-crop individual photos.
- Customize files with personalized names for better organization.
- Enhance image quality.
- $29.95 / year Download Here
- 10
- SilverFast
- Auto adaptive contrast optimization.
- ExpressScan recognizes the arrangement of images and minimizes the number of scan passes.
- Automatically calibrates for consistent output.
- HDRiRAW is optimal for archiving images
- $49 / year Download Here
1. PaperScan

- Supports over 100 formats.
- Scan documents in batches using separator sheets.
- You can select an area, crop, or even resize it.
- Information about the size, resolution, and color mode of an image is comprehensively shown.
- Encrypt PDF or read encrypted PDFS
- Available in multiple languages.
- Image quality selection.
- Duplex reordering.
- Drag and drop functionality.
- No cloud-based feature.
2. VueScan

- Auto color detection.
- Works with thousands of scanners.
- Supports both flatbed scanners as well as automatic document feeders.
- Supports different types of scanning - slides, films, photos, and various others.
- Rearrange or delete pages.
- Scan PDF as a single document or multiple-page document.
- Automate the renaming of files.
- You can integrate VueScan with Adobe Photoshop.
- High scan quality.
- Lacks many templates.
3. Systweak PDF Editor

- Create searchable text using OCR.
- Batch editing options.
- Various options to digitally sign PDFs.
- Split and merge PDF documents.
- Encrypt using a password.
- Convert PDFs to multiple formats and vice versa.
- Compress PDFs to smaller sizes for easy shareability.
- Several viewing options; open various PDFs side by side in tabs.
- Efficient organizational tools for managing PDFs.
- Occasional crashes.
4. NAPS2

- Choose between WIA and TWAIN drivers.
- Configure settings like paper source, page size, resolution, and bit depth.
- Rotate, crop, and rearrange images.
- OCR functionality with which you can search through text.
- Supports multiple languages.
- Free and open source.
- Batch scanning capabilities.
- Command-line interface.
- Some users have reported occasional lags.
5. ExactScan

- Auto paper size detection.
- Deskew options.
- Auto black and white customization.
- Barcode recognition.
- Auto rotation and batch processing.
- Inbuilt scanner drivers.
- Efficient file renaming.
- Blank page detection.
- Support for various formats.
- Some scanner models may be incompatible.
6. Adobe Acrobat DC

- View and edit PDF documents.
- Access scans from the interface itself.
- Enjoy Adobe Cloud storage.
- Great shareability.
- Various organization features.
- Quick searchability.
- Advanced collaboration features.
- Add digital signature.
- Cross-platform functionality.
- The free version offers a limited set of features.
7. ABBYY FineReader

- AI-based OCR technology.
- Digitize, edit, retrieve, share, protect, and collaborate on documents.
- Convert documents to multiple formats.
- Manage documents both on iOS and Android devices and computers using the FineReader iOS and Android app.
- Comparison feature where you can compare two versions of a document.
- Edit scanned documents.
- High accuracy.
- PowerfuI age processing tools to further maintain the layout of the document.
- MRC or mixed raster content compression method to reduce file size up to 20 times.
- Slightly dated UI.
8. Windows Scan

- Choose in which format you want to save the scanned document.
- Preview the area of the image that you want to scan when choosing a flatbed scanner.
- Select where you want to save the files.
- Choose a color mode.
- Compatible with scanners from renowned brands.
- Minimalist interface.
- Crop the area that you want to be scanned. You can even opt for auto-crop functionality.
- Select a source - feeder or flatbed.
- Some users have faced occasional crashes.
9. ScanSpeeder

- Scan multiple photos at once.
- Auto-crop individual photos.
- Customize files with personalized names for better organization.
- Enhance image quality.
- Organize photo collections.
- Fast scanning.
- Sharp and accurate results.
- Works well with all major scanner brands.
- User-friendly interface.
- Restrictions in the free version.
10. SilverFast
It is touted as one of the best scanners and digital imaging software and we totally agree to the claims. While the other scanner software on the list caters to documents, SilverFast is a tool that has a repute of exceptional scanning when it comes to photographs. Notable Features -- Auto adaptive contrast optimization.
- ExpressScan recognizes the arrangement of images and minimizes the number of scan passes.
- Automatically calibrates for consistent output.
- HDRiRAW is optimal for archiving images.
- Manual focus control.
- Comes with WorkFlowPilot feature that guides users through the steps of processing.
- Batch scanning capabilities.
- Restores color when needed.
- You can also try out this tool as a free scanner software for Windows.
- There are other software on the list which are better for document scanning.