Managing receipts can be challenging, but the right app can simplify the process.
We’ve researched 25+ free and paid receipt apps to offer you the best options based on pricing and plans, key features, user ratings, and more.
Whether you’re a freelancer seeking a free tool or a business needing advanced functionalities (like OCR, expense reporting, accounting integration, etc.), our curated list will help you find the perfect app to streamline your receipt management.
Here’s a comparative overview of the top 13 receipt scanner apps in 2024:
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*Plans, pricing, and app ratings are per the information on the company website/app store description as of 1st September 2024.
What is a receipt scanner app?
A receipt scanner app is a powerful tool that scans paper receipts and turns them into digital records.
These apps use optical character recognition (OCR) technology to capture key information from receipts, such as date, amount, tax, vendor name, invoice number, description, category, and currency.
There are various receipt scanner applications. They can be used for different purposes, such as categorizing and tracking business expenses, scanning receipts for cashback and rewards, and managing personal expenses.
These receipt apps remove the hassle of manual data entry, simplify expense tracking and tax preparation, streamline financial record-keeping, and improve overall financial management.
Here’s the list of best receipt apps we’ve finalized and reviewed in this article grouped by the categories or use cases they are popular for:
Looking for a free AI-powered receipt scanner to extract data from a receipt in a CSV format? Try Nanonet’s AI-powered receipt OCR and extract data from upto 500 receipts for free.
Receipt scanner apps with integrated expense management
Expense management software companies such as Zoho, Abukai, SAP Concur, and Expensify provide receipt scanner apps or a receipt scanning feature in their flagship expense app for filing and tracking business expenses.
These apps handle basic receipt scanning and have features like automated expense reporting, approval workflows, duplicate receipt detection, and integration with bank accounts and credit cards for seamless corporate travel management and reimbursements.
These tools also provide dashboards for expense analytics, enabling businesses to gain insights into their spending patterns and optimize financial management.
Here are our two best picks:
Zoho Expense Receipt Scanner
Zoho Expense, a part of the Zoho suite, is an integrated expense management tool companies use to report and track employee and business expenses on the go.
While Zoho doesn’t have a designated receipt scanner app on the app store, its Zoho Expense provides a great receipt scanning feature that allows you to scan, upload, and process receipts.
It uses OCR to extract key details from receipts, such as date, amount, and merchant name. Employees can collect receipts, convert them into detailed expense reports, and submit them for further approval.
What we liked about the Zoho Expense app
- Simple, user-friendly app that takes only seconds to scan receipts
- Accurate OCR extraction to populate fields such as Expense Date, Merchant, Description, and Invoice number
- Automatic expense categorization of receipts
- Accepts receipts from emails
- Automated expense policy compliance check to flag non-compliant expenses
- Duplicate receipt detection
- Free plan includes 20 receipt autoscans
- Available on both Android and iOS (available in India too)
What we did not like
- Limited usage as a standalone app
- Expensive for small teams that process few bills from dealers
- Limited integration options with third-party tools
- Reporting dashboard interface can be hard
- Difficulty in data extraction from non-standard templated receipts
Plans and pricing*
Free trial for 14 days
Standard plans start from $5 per user per month with a minimum of 3 users
Abukai Expense
Abukai Expense is a receipt scanner and expense management app that simplifies expense capture and submission. The app allows users to snap photos and upload receipts from the gallery, which are then automatically processed and entered into expense reports.
What we liked about Abukai Expense app
- Features like scanning multi-page receipts and adding receipts from the gallery
- The single-step expense reporting process
- Automated emails with scanned receipt PDF and expense reports in various Excel formats (CSV, XLS, IIF, OFX)
- Unlimited report capability
- Various integration capabilities like Quickbooks, Exact, Sage Intacct, Oracle, etc.
- Available on both Android and iOS (available in India too)
What we did not like
- Poor web and app UI
- The download option from the Previous Expense Reports feature did not work
- Only annual billing, no option to pay monthly
- Long wait for an email of a simple receipt scan
- There is no option to download the scanned receipt directly
Plans and pricing*
Free trial up to 12 report submissions/year with up to 10 receipts each.
Paid plans start from $99/year with unlimited expense reports.
Receipt scanner apps for accountants and bookkeepers
Effective receipt management is vital for accountants and businesses that rely on seamless accounting integration. Tools like Dext Prepare and QuickBooks Online offer robust integrations with popular accounting software, allowing receipt import through digital uploads and emails.
Features like automated data extraction and customizable fields (e.g., Supplier, Due Date, Taxes, and Line items) make tasks like PO-matching and expense categorization more efficient and accurate. These features ensure that accountants and bookkeepers can maintain precise financial records with minimal manual effort.
Here are our top two picks:
Dext Prepare Receipt App
Dext Prepare (formerly Receipt Bank) is a robust receipt scanner app that simplifies bookkeeping with advanced features, including receipt scanning, expenditure reporting, and analytics. Its mobile app allows you to scan bills, invoices, and bank statements.
The built-in OCR technology classifies data by tax and location, seamlessly integrating it with your accounting software.
What we liked about Dext App
- Great UI with neat, step-by-step instructions
- Can upload PDF files (up to 50) and images, both
- Reliably extracts data from receipt line items
- Automatic expense categorization
- Integrates with Quickbooks and Xero accounting software
- Capture receipts and create expense reports using the app
- Captures Supplier, Currency, Total, Tax Total and Line items
- Can add a list of customers and also mark as Paid
- Categories documents as to cost, sales, and expense claims
- Options to upload single, multiple, and combined receipts
- Accesible on desktop, web, and mobile app (Android and iOS, both)
- Extract by email option
- Available in India too
What we did not like
- Minimum 5 users required on the paid plan
- Costly for small business owners
- Not a complete accounting software
- No built-in cloud storage
Plans and pricing*
Free trial for 14 days
Paid plans start from $24/month with up to 5 users and 250 scans per month.
Quickbooks Receipt Scanner
Intuit QuickBooks provides a Quickbooks Online Accounting app with a receipt scanning feature.
While the app is not primarily focused on receipt scanning, it provides small businesses with an excellent tool for managing receipts, profit, and bookkeeping. It integrates seamlessly with third-party accounting software, captures receipt images, centralizes them for easy organization, and automatically generates detailed financial, tax, and inventory reports.
What we liked about Quickbooks Online app
- Multiple optional fields like Payee, Customer, Location, Ref no, etc.
- Mobile dashboard to track Profit and Loss (PnL), expenses, and bank balance
- Auto populates expense category
- Can attach receipts directly to bills and invoices created on Quickbooks to send/receive
- Tracks profit and loss by location, class, or project
- Access to a substantial network of autonomous QuickBooks ProAdvisors
- Comprises mileage, expense tracking, and receipt scanning through the app
What we did not like
- The app can’t be used as a standalone receipt scanner app and requires Quickbooks Online subscription
- Expensive for small business owners who want only a receipt-scanning feature
- Require upgrade plans to add extra users
- More costly than its direct competitors
- Not available in India
Plans and pricing*
No free trial or plan
Paid plans start with Simple Start plan at $35/month
Receipt scanner apps with advanced OCR
Finance and AP teams handle hundreds of receipts, invoices, and other critical financial documents. Such companies need a receipt app with advanced OCR.
Apps like Adobe Scan and Veryfi excel in these environments by extracting precise text from complex documents, including multi-page invoices and receipts with multiple line items.
These tools also provide seamless integration with accounting systems, support for PDF and image uploads, and the ability to scan and categorize documents in real time.
Adobe Scan
Adobe Scan is a popular scanner application that works on various documents. It converts your phone into an excellent receipt scanner with advanced OCR capabilities. It can capture and convert receipts into digital files that can be stored, organized, and shared.
Adobe Scan is best suited for users who are integrated with the Adobe ecosystem and have access to Adobe Document Cloud for easy management and storage.
What we liked about Adobe Scan app
- High-quality scan with accurate OCR extraction
- Not restricted to only receipts
- Can scan books, documents, ID cards, business cards
- Bulk upload and scanning option
- Can edit text directly on the scanned receipt, while most other major products don’t offer
- Can save as different image formats like JPEG directly on the app
- Can set a password to the file to protect information (paid plan)
- Available on both Android and iOS (available in India too)
What we did not like
- Limited receipt scanning features
- Lacks expense management features like expense categorization
- Requires Adobe Acrobat subscription to use advanced features like Fill & Sign
- High dependency on other Adobe tools
Plans and pricing*
7-day free trial
Paid plan starts from $9.99/month
Veryfi
Veryfi is a dedicated receipt scanner app designed to automate capturing, organizing, and reporting expenses using receipts and invoices. It uses advanced OCR and machine learning technology to extract data from invoices and receipts in real time, making it a preferred choice among businesses.
What we liked about Veryfi app
- Accurate and reliable data extraction
- Single-click export options like Gmail, SMS, AirPrint
- Uncommon import options like Uber, Shoeboxed
- Multiple accounting integration options like Quickbooks, Xero, and FreshBooks
- Cloud storage export options like Dropbox, Google Drive, Evernote
- Side-by-side comparison of the virtual scanned document with the original receipt image
- Easy option to edit different line items
- Available on both iOS and Android
What we did not like
- The app kept crashing and had to be restarted
- Gets slow on many advanced features
- Too many advanced features make the app interface complex and overwhelming for people looking for a simple receipt scanner app
Plans and pricing*
Free 14-day trial
Paid plan starts from $25/month
Receipt scanner apps for freelancers and small businesses on a budget
Freelancers and small businesses need affordable and efficient receipt scanner apps to manage daily expenses.
Popular options like Expensify, Shoeboxed, and Wave provide essential features for tracking and organizing receipts without a large financial investment. These apps help streamline the expense management process, making it easier for users to stay on top of their finances while keeping costs low.
Here are our top three picks:
Expensify receipt scanner
Expensify is a popular expense management app with a powerful receipt scanner feature. It simplifies receipt management by quickly extracting information from photos, saving you time.
Ideal for small teams and low volumes, It simplifies the process of capturing receipts, tracking expenses, generating reports making it a great solution for small businesses and freelancers for efficient financial management.
What we liked about Expensify app
- Accurate data extraction from paper and digital receipts
- Real-time expense reporting, tracking, and reconciliation
- GPS-accurate mileage tracking
- Can connect with a bank account for reimbursement
- Secure two-factor authentication (2FA) option
- Offline mode available
- Can import expenses directly from credit card
- Pre-built 15+ expense categories like Advertising, Car, Insurance, Meals and Entertainment, etc.
- Effortlessly syncs with financial software like Netsuite, Xero, Quickbooks
- Easy to split payments between departments
- Available on iOS, Android, and desktop
What we did not like
- The Smart Scan feature fails frequently
- The web experience can be better
- The wide range of features can be overwhelming for users looking for simple receipt scanning
Plans and pricing*
Free upto 25 scans monthly
Paid plan with unlimited scans starts at $5/user/month
Wave Receipt Scanner
Widely popular in the US and Canada, Wave is a small business tool that offers a great receipt and invoice management app. Known for its affordability, the app allows users to scan, upload, and track receipts and invoices.
Wave app has a dashboard and provides features like creating customized invoices, mobile invoicing, and creating and sending estimates. It can be directly integrated with Wave’s accounting software.
What we liked about Wave app
- Clean, intuitive, and easy to use
- Affordable pricing with unlimited receipt scanning in the $8/month plan
- Bulk-upload upto 10 receipts
- Upload from mobile, web, or scan a paper receipt directly
- Can pull receipts directly from email
- Option to accept online payments (paid plan)
- Live-person chat and email support
- Can add additional users to the account
- Can create unlimited invoices and estimates on the free plan
What we did not like
- Receipt scanning feature is not available in the free $0 Starter plan
- OCR struggles with non-standard or handwritten receipts
- No option for automated expense categorization or policy compliance checks
- Not available in India
Plans and pricing*
No free trial for the receipt scanning feature
Paid plans start from $8/month
Shoeboxed
Shoeboxed is a popular receipt and invoice scanner tool with mileage-tracking features. Particularly known for its tax reporting features, it simplifies organizing receipts and helps small businesses, freelancers, and contractors manage expenses better.
What we liked about Shoeboxed app
- Has a business card scanning feature
- Includes expense tracking and mileage reporting
- Gmail Receipt Sync feature to pull digital receipts straight from inbox
- Quick upload from the gallery
- Unique mail-in feature to send receipts to your Shoebox account email
- Multiple expense categories like Reimbursable, Deductible, Mileage, Insurance, etc
- Great app for tax filing with 15 tax categories (paid plans)
- Can add bookkeeper/accountant for tax reporting (paid plans)
- Claims to scan any document that other receipt scanning apps, such as Wave, Evernote, Neat, Zoho Expense, etc., do not offer
- Unlimited cloud storage option
- iOS and Android mobile apps (available in India)
What we did not like
- Accuracy of data capture from low-quality scans could be better
- Sometimes needs manual intervention to fix inaccurate extraction
- Users report delays in receipt processing via the mail-in service feature
Plans and pricing*
30-day free trial (DIY plan)
Paid Startup plan with 50 digital scans and 25 physical scans per month starts at $29 per month
Free receipt scanner apps
If you need a free receipt scanner app for occasional use, Evernote Scannable and Smart Receipts App are great options to consider. These apps offer essential receipt scanning features without cost, making them perfect for users who require basic functionality without a subscription.
Here are our top two picks:
Evernote Scannable
Scannable is a simple receipt-scanning app developed by Evernote to quickly capture paper receipts, invoices, and other documents using an iPhone. If you are integrated into the Evernote ecosystem, this can be a great tool to scan physical documents and store them as digital files on the Evernote cloud.
What we liked about Scannable app
- Simple app that focuses on creating digital receipts
- Can scan business cards and auto-create contacts in your directory
- Can export and share scanned files through
- Scans can be saved directly on the Evernote app
What we did not like
- Available only on iOS
- Directly opens up with the camera to scan receipts (and turns on the Flash automatically)
- Lacks specific receipt-scanning and expense management features
- Can’t upload receipts from Gallery in the free version
- Simple features like Export/Share requires Scannable Pro
- Poor UI makes the app difficult to navigate
- Can’t bypass Evernote route for cloud storage
Plans and pricing*
Free app
Paid Scannable Pro plan starts at $2.99/week
Smart Receipts
Smart Receipts is a simple receipt-scanning app for managing expenses for individuals and small businesses. The app allows users to generate detailed expense reports by scanning and capturing receipts, tracking mileage, and organizing expenses.
What we liked about Smart Receipts app
- Supports multiple currencies and provides the option to change currency while editing the receipt data
- Automated expense categories and easy option to create new
- Can choose to make the expense reimbursable directly
- Can generate expense reports in different formats like PDF, CSV, and Zip files
- 30+ customizable features
- Can change camera settings and define pixel format
- Gives detailed pie-chart graphs on expenses
- Affordable premium features
- Available on both Android and iOS (in India too)
What we did not like
- No direct integration with any accounting software
- Ads on free plan
- Automatic scan (OCR) and pre-fill expense forms is only available on Paid plan
Plans and pricing*
Free trial for 3 days. All new users get 2 free OCR scans
Smart Receipts Plus includes OCR and costs $29.99
Free receipt scanner apps for cashback and free rewards
While we’ve explored traditional receipt scanner apps for professional expense management and personal receipt tracking, there’s another popular category among users, particularly in the US and Canada.
These are receipt scanner apps designed to earn cashback or free rewards. Apps like Fetch, ReceiptPal, Ibotta, and Receipt Hog allow users to accumulate points or earn money by simply scanning their shopping receipts.
If you’re looking to turn your receipts into rewards, here are the top two free receipt scanner apps that can help you earn extra cash and points:
Fetch
Fetch is a receipt-scanning app that rewards users for shopping. Users can earn points for every receipt they scan and can later redeem these points for gift cards, discounts, and other rewards.
What users like about Fetch Rewards app
- Easy receipt scanning feature.
- Can connect email to pull digital receipts directly
- Works with popular US retailers like Amazon, Apple, Walmart, Target
- Fetch with Friends referral to earn extra points for referrals
- Works with receipts from grocery stores, gas stations, and restaurants.
- Rewards at least 25 points on every receipt you scan
What users don’t like
- Mostly limited to popular consumer brands
- Can only redeem rewards for gift cards or to a prepaid Visa card.
- Frequent ads and promotions
- Occasional scanning issues, especially with slightly faded or crumpled receipts
- Can only upload 35 receipts in 7 days
Ibotta
Ibotta is a popular cashback and receipt-scanning app that rewards users for online and in-store shopping. Users can earn cash back on eligible purchases by scanning receipts, linking store loyalty accounts, or shopping through the Ibotta app.
What users like about Ibotta app
- Multiple ways to withdraw money like Paypal or bank account
- Browser plugin for online shopping
- More variety of brands available than Fetch
- Thousands of popular brands, including Target, Walmart, Rite Aid, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods Market, and Dollar General
What users don’t like
- Need to activate offers before shopping and only then scan receipts
- Some offers expire quickly if not redeemed fast
- Minimum $20-25 before money can be withdrawn
Alternatives to receipt scanner apps
While we’ve covered the best receipt scanner apps, here are some practical alternatives and ways to scan, organize, and store receipts in digital formats:
These solutions provide versatile options beyond traditional apps, catering to a variety of needs for both personal and professional receipt management.
Paper receipt scanners
Paper receipt scanners are physical scanning devices that quickly scan and digitize receipts, invoices, and other documents. They are equipped with OCR to extract text and data from scanned images. Depending on the type of scanner, the cost can range anywhere between $150-$500 and can even go higher for advanced scanners.
Here are the two best paper receipt scanners for 2024:
Fujitsu ScanSnap iX1600
This high-speed, efficient wireless scanner can handle multiple receipts at once. It offers wireless or USB connectivity for PC/Mac and allows easy scanning to cloud services like Google Drive, Dropbox, and Evernote.
Amazon Link to buy Fujitsu ScanSnap iX1600
Epson RapidReceipt RR-600W
Designed specifically for receipt and document scanning, this Epson scanner can scan 2-sided documents, receipts, invoices, business cards/IDs, and more. With premium accounting features, this popular office scanner automatically extracts data from receipts and invoices and exports it to QuickBooks Online or Excel.
Amazon link to buy Epson RapidReceipt RR-600W
Google Drive
Google Drive is a great free tool to scan any document.
Google’s built-in OCR can scan documents like receipts and invoices and convert them into searchable PDFs.
Browser extensions
Chrome extensions such as Get My Receipts by cloudHQ, and Clyr.io are popular browser extensions that easily capture images of receipts and invoices directly from emails.
They can also be integrated with major accounting platforms like Quickbooks, Xero, Sage, and NetSuite and popular CRMs and work management platforms such as Jobber, ServiceTitan, Buildium, etc.
How to select the best receipt scanner app
Choosing the best receipt scanner app entirely depends on your requirements. The receipt apps market is a highly crowded space and filled with many free and paid receipt scanner apps.
Here are the most important things to consider while exploring different receipt scanner apps:
- Paid vs Free: Depending on your frequency of usage, you can choose a free or a paid tool. Most paid tools offer a free trial version, which can help you make the right decision.
- Recent updates: Check the recent updates on the app store. The best tool providers release frequent updates to fix glitches and meet user requirements.
- App store ratings: Look for recent user ratings on Google Play Store/App Store before installing an app.
- Third-party reviews: Look at user ratings on G2, Capterra, and PCMag, which specialize in user ratings and reviews. This is important, especially if you are looking for a business receipt scanner with integrated expense management or accounting integration.
- OCR capability: Ensure the app can accurately scan and extract information with OCR technology.
- Expense categorization: If you want personal or business expense tracking, ensure the tool comes with customizable expense categories like meals, entertainment, insurance, travel, etc.
- Expense reporting: Check if the app offers a dashboard and in-depth analysis. The best receipt scanners for expense management generate detailed expense reports and allow exporting data to various formats.
- Integration capabilities: Compatibility with accounting software, expense management tools, or other apps is important to consider if you want to scan receipts for business purposes.
- Device support: Before investing in a paid receipt scanner app, verify whether it works on all your devices, such as smartphones or tablets. Ensure compatibility with your device’s operating system (iOS, Android, etc.).
- Data security and compliance: Ensure the app protects your sensitive financial data with robust security measures. Check the company’s privacy policy to verify compliance with regulatory mandates such as HIPAA for healthcare data, SOC2 for data security, and other industry-specific standards.
To select the best receipt scanner application for your business, research carefully and compare all your options. Consider your business’s specific needs and requirements, and choose an app that offers the features and support you need to manage your receipts effectively.
AI-powered OCR receipt scanning with Nanonets
While receipt scanner apps are great for scanning a few receipts, AI-powered document processing tools are better suited for businesses that process hundreds or thousands of financial documents, such as receipts, invoices, and POs.
Nanonets is a highly advanced, intelligent document processing tool that leverages AI, machine learning, and OCR to streamline receipt scanning and expense management.
You can use Nanonets’ pre-built Receipt Extractor or create an instant training model for complex receipts. With AI-based receipt scanning, you can:
- Extract data from a large number of receipts with 99.9% accuracy
- Automate receipt, invoice, and PO processing
- Save 10+ hours weekly by eliminating manual verification of receipts
- Reduce the cost of OCR scanning per receipt
With automation, you can:
- Automate expense submission, reporting, and approval by creating rule-based expense approval workflows
- Flag duplicate receipts and detect/prevent expense fraud
- Assign multiple reviewers and route receipts to the right person for approval
- Set up follow-up notifications with timely reminder alerts via Email and Slack
You can also import and export receipts from any tool by setting up integrations:
- Import from Email and cloud storage like Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox
- Integrate your accounting or ERP software like Quickbooks, Zoho Books, Sage, Netsuite, Xero
- Export receipt data to Excel or Google Sheets for further analysis
- Share extracted OCR data using CSV, JSON, XML, or even a shareable link
- Set up a customized import/export integration using Zapier or API with your existing ERP tools, financial software, and apps
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Are receipt scanning apps safe?
Receipt scanning apps are generally safe as receipts don’t usually contain sensitive financial data. These apps typically use strong encryption and secure servers to protect data. Read the privacy policy of a receipt scanner app to understand its regulatory compliance standard. Also, before uploading receipts on any free expense app, ensure that the receipt doesn’t contain any data that is at risk of potential misuse.
What is the best receipt scanner app?
While many receipt scanner apps are available in the market, the best one for you depends entirely on your requirements, use case and budget. Zoho, Expensify, Adobe Scan, Ibotta, and Wave apps are popular receipt scanners.
What is the best free receipt app?
Fetch, Ibotta, Swagbucks, Receipt Hog are some of the most popular and best receipt scanner apps for rewards and cashback. If you are looking for a free receipt scanner for expense scanning and tracking, Scannable by Evernote and Smart Receipts are highly rated free receipt scanner apps available on app store.
What is the easiest way to digitize receipts?
Hardware scanners, browser/chrome extensions, and Google Drive are some of the ways to scan and digitize receipts. However, using a receipt scanner app is the most convenient way to scan receipts in real-time, so you don’t have to save paper receipts.
How can I make money with my receipts?
You can make money using receipt scanner apps that give you cashback for scanning receipts. Ibotta, Receipt Hog, and Amazon Shopper Panel (invite-only) are some of the popular receipt scanner apps that reward points that can be encashed.
