A Genius Scan alternative with OCR, signing and editing in one app
Scanlio is an alternative to Adobe Scan, CamScanner, Genius Scan, Scanner Pro, Microsoft Lens and the built-in Apple Notes and Files scanner for people who want scanning, OCR, signing and PDF editing in one app without uploading their documents to a cloud.
Genius Scan, by The Grizzly Labs in Paris, is one of the longest-running scanner apps on iOS and one of the best regarded: a 4.9-star average over roughly 1.4 million ratings, no watermark, and an export list that covers almost every cloud service in use. People rarely leave it because it scans badly. They look for an alternative because the pieces they need are split across products: text extraction is a premium plan, signing is a companion app called Genius Sign, and multi-device sync is a separate Genius Cloud subscription with an account. This page compares that arrangement with Scanlio's single-app approach and explains how to move.
What Genius Scan does well
The listing describes precise capture with cropping and filters, merging and splitting of documents, and background auto-export to Box, Dropbox, Evernote, Expensify, Google Drive, iCloud Drive, OneDrive, OneNote, FTP, SugarSync and WebDAV. Business-card scanning with contact creation is available on a premium plan. There is no watermark mentioned anywhere, and the free tier is usable for straightforward scan-and-share work. The app requires iOS 17 and runs on iPhone and iPad, with an iMessage extension.
Where people look for an alternative
- OCR and searchable PDFs are premium. The listing says text extraction and searchable PDF creation are “available as part of a premium plan”. Genius Scan Plus is listed at $0.99 and $11.99 and Genius Scan Ultra between $4.99 and $49.99 at the time of writing; whether the Plus items are one-time purchases or subscriptions is not verified from the listing.
- Signing is a separate app. Digital signing is handled by the companion app Genius Sign rather than inside Genius Scan.
- No PDF text editing. Editing in Genius Scan means cropping, filters, merging and splitting. Adding a text box or whiting out a line on a scanned form is not listed.
- Sync needs an account and another subscription. Backup and multi-device sync come from Genius Cloud, sold separately, and require an account.
- No Mac app on the listing. The App Store page lists iPhone and iPad. A Mac version is not verified.
- ID and passport capture. A dedicated ID or passport mode is not listed; not verified.
How Scanlio compares
Scanlio puts the scanner, the OCR engine, the signature tool and the PDF editor in one app that runs on iPhone, iPad and Mac. OCR is available on the free tier within a shared allowance and unlimited with Pro; signing uses a signature you draw once and reuse; the editor adds movable text boxes, white-out, freehand drawing and highlights; and merge, split and page extraction are built in. Nothing is uploaded, so there is no sync service to subscribe to and no account. Your files live on the device and in whatever iCloud or device backup you already run.
| Scanlio | Genius Scan | |
|---|---|---|
| Price model | Free download; Pro as weekly, monthly or yearly subscription, or a one-time Lifetime purchase listed at $119.99 (App Store, at the time of writing) | Free download; Plus $0.99 / $11.99, Ultra $4.99–$49.99, Genius Cloud sold separately (App Store listing at the time of writing); one-time vs subscription not verified |
| OCR on the free tier | Yes, within a shared free allowance; unlimited with Pro | No: text extraction and searchable PDFs are on a premium plan |
| Sign PDFs | In the app, reusable signature | Via the companion app Genius Sign |
| Edit PDF text / white-out | Text boxes, white-out, freehand draw and highlight | Not listed (crop, filters only) |
| Merge / split / extract pages | Yes | Yes, merge and split listed |
| PDF to Word | Yes (Word/.rtf), images and plain text | Not listed; not verified |
| ID / passport mode | Guide frame, front-and-back capture, Face ID or PIN lock | Not listed; not verified |
| Where files are stored | On your device only; no upload | Device, plus auto-export to many cloud services; sync via Genius Cloud |
| Account required | No | Yes for Genius Cloud sync; not required for basic scanning (not verified) |
| Platforms | iPhone, iPad, Mac (iOS 17 / iPadOS 17 / macOS 14 or later) | iPhone, iPad, iMessage (iOS 17 or later); Mac not verified |
What Genius Scan has that Scanlio lacks: direct export to a dozen cloud and FTP destinations, business-card-to-contact scanning, and a decade of refinement. Scanlio was released in June 2026 and is at version 1.0.17; its free iPhone and iPad version shows non-personalised ads (the Mac version has none, Pro removes them).
Who should stay with Genius Scan
If your documents must land automatically in Dropbox, OneDrive, a WebDAV share or an FTP server without touching the share sheet, Genius Scan's auto-export is the reason to stay. If you already own Genius Scan Plus and only need clean scans without OCR, there is nothing to gain by moving. Expensify users and people who scan business cards into Contacts are also better served there.
How to switch from Genius Scan to Scanlio
- Export the documents you want to keep from Genius Scan as PDF into the Files app (or into iCloud Drive, which Genius Scan supports as an export target).
- Install Scanlio from the App Store; it opens directly on the library with no account step.
- Import from the “+” menu. Scanlio takes PDFs and PNG, JPG or HEIC images from Files or Photos.
- Run OCR on the imported files if you want them searchable and copyable; the text feeds Scanlio's full-text search.
- Delete the Genius Sign app if you only installed it to sign scans; Scanlio's signature tool covers that.
If you used Genius Cloud, remember that cancelling that subscription is a separate step in your App Store account settings.
Frequently asked questions
Is OCR free in Scanlio?
OCR is available on the free tier within a shared allowance across tools, and saving is never blocked. Scanlio Pro makes OCR unlimited. On Genius Scan, text extraction and searchable PDFs are listed as premium-plan features.
Can Scanlio sign PDFs without a separate app?
Yes. You draw a signature once with a finger or Apple Pencil and place it on any page inside Scanlio. Genius Scan hands signing to its companion app Genius Sign.
Does Scanlio sync between iPhone, iPad and Mac?
Scanlio has no sync service and no account; documents stay on each device. You can move a file between devices with AirDrop or by saving it to the Files app. The App Store listing also shows Scanlio Cloud items, but the listing does not describe them, so their scope is not verified.
Can Scanlio export straight to Dropbox or OneDrive like Genius Scan?
Not through a built-in integration. Scanlio shares through the standard iOS share sheet, so you can send a PDF to any cloud app you have installed, but it will not auto-export in the background.
Is there a one-time purchase in Scanlio?
The App Store listing shows a Lifetime in-app purchase at $119.99 at the time of writing, alongside weekly, monthly and yearly Scanlio Pro subscriptions.
Download Scanlio free on the App Store
Related guides
Sources: Scanlio on the App Store (v1.0.17, 26 Aug 2026), Genius Scan on the App Store (features, prices and premium-plan statements from its listing), Scanlio privacy policy. Prices are those listed on the US App Store on 6 September 2026 and can change.