Managing receipts can be a challenge, but the right app can simplify the process.
We’ve researched 25+ free and paid receipt apps to bring you the best options based on cost, advanced features, user ratings, and more.
Whether you’re a freelancer seeking a free tool or a business in need of advanced functionality, our curated list will help you find the perfect app to streamline your receipt management.
Overview of best receipt scanner apps
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, and vendor name from receipts.
Receipt scanner applications can be of different types and can be used for different purposes such as categorizing and tracking business expenses, receipt scanning for cashback and rewards, and personal expense management.
These receipt apps remove the hassle of manual data entry, simplify expense tracking and tax preparation, and make your overall financial management more efficient.
Best receipt scanner apps as per use case
Here’s the list of best receipt apps we’ve finalised and reviewed in this article grouped by the categories or use cases they are popular for:
Receipt scanner apps with integrated expense management
Expense management software companies such as Zoho, Abukai, SAP Concur, Expensify also provide receipt scanner apps for filing and tracking business expenses. Here are our two best picks:
Zoho Expense Receipt Scanner
Zoho Expense, part of the Zoho suite, is an integrated expense management tool that allows you to scan, upload, and manage employee and business expenses on the go.
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 Zoho Expense app
- A 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
- 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
Receipt management is important for accountants or businesses who need a tool with accounting integration. Here are our two best picks:
Dext Prepare Receipt App
Dext Prepare (formerly known as Receipt Bank) is a robust receipt scanner app that simplifies bookkeeping with advanced features including receipt scanning, expenditure reporting, and analytics. Its mobile app lets you 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
- 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 are 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 that includes a receipt scanning feature.
While the app is not primarily focused on receipt scanning, it provides small businesses a great 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 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 receipt scanning feature
- Require upgrade plans to add extra users
- More costly than its direct competitors
- No variance examination for estimated and real costs
- 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 deal with thousands of receipts, invoices and other important financial documents. Such companies need a receipt app with advanced OCR.
Adobe Scan
Adobe Scan is a popular scanner application that works on a variety of documents. It converts your phone into a great 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 that are integrated with 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 format like JPEG directly on the app
- Can set 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 the process of 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 making 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 a robust receipt scanner to process receipts on a daily basis. These are the three most popular receipt tracking apps:
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 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
- 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
- Smart scan feature fails frequently
- The web experience can be better
- 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 start 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 comes with a dashboard and provides features like creating customized invoices, mobile invoicing, 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 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 the process of 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 receipts straight out of inbox
- Quick upload from 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 type of 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 app (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 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 are looking for a free receipt scanner app for ocassional use, here are two apps to consider:
Evernote Scannable
Scannable is a simple receipt scanning app developed by Evernote to quickly capture paper receipts, invoices, and other documents using a smart phone. If you are integrated in 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 directly opens up with camera to scan receipts
- Can scan business cards and auto create contacts in your directory
- Can export and share scanned file through
- Scans can directly be saved on Evernote app
What we did not like
- Available only on iOS
- Lacks specific receipt-scanning and expense management features
- Can’t upload receipts from Gallery in the free version
- Simple feature like Export/Share requires Scannable Pro
- Poor UI making 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 both individuals and small businesses to manage expenses. 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 pption to change 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 in Email, receipt layouts
- Can change camera settings and define pixel format
- Gives a 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 form 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 that includes OCR costs $29.99
Free receipt scanner apps for cashback and free rewards
While we covered traditional receipt scanner apps for professional expense management or personal receipt scanning and tracking, there’s another category of receipt scanner apps that are popular among users (specifically in the US and Canada).
These receipt scanner apps are used to earn cashback or free rewards. Here are the top 3 free receipt scanners for cashback:
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 with to pull receipts directly
- Works with popular US brands 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 a 7-day period
Ibotta
Ibotta is a popular cashback and receipt scanning app that rewards users for shopping both online and in-store. Users can earn cash back on eligible purchases by scanning their 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 effective alternatives and ways to scan, organize and store receipts in digital formats:
Paper receipt scanners
Paper receipt scanners are physical scanning devices that can quickly scan and digitize receipts, invoices, and other documents. These scanners are often equipped with OCR to extract text and data from scanned images. They can cost anywhere between $150-500 depending on the type of scanner and can even go higher for advanced scanners.
Here are the two best paper receipt scanners for 2024:
Fujitsu ScanSnap iX1600: This is a high-speed, efficient wireless scanner that can handle multiple receipts at once. It offers wireless or USB-connectivity for PC/Mac and allows for 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 is a popular office scanner that automatically extract data from receipts and invoices, and exports 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 kind of document.
Google’s in-built OCR can scan documents like receipts, invoices and convert them into searchable PDFs.
Browser extensions
Chrome extensions such as Get My Receipts by cloudHQ and Clyr.io are two 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, NetSuite as well as 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. Receipt apps are a highly crowded space and the market is 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 the 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 app store. Best tool providers bring frequent updates to fix glitches and keep up with user requirements.
- User ratings: Look for recent user ratings on Google Play Store/App Store before installing an app.
- Third-party reviews: Have a look at user ratings on G2, Capterra and PCMag who specialize in user ratings. 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 are looking for personal or business expense tracking, ensure the tool comes with customiable expense categories like meals, entertainment, insurance, travel, etc.
- Expense reporting: Check if the app offers a dashboard and in-depth analysis. Best receipts 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 are looking for receipt scanning for business purposes.
- Device support: Before investing in a paid receipt scanner app, verify whether it works on different current 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 compiance 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, it’s important to carefully research and compares your options. Consider your business’s specific needs and requirements, and choose a software 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 tools are better suited for companies that process hundreds or thousands of receipts, invoices and bills.
Nanonets is one such highly advanced intelligent document processing tool that offers an AI-powered OCR receipt scanner.
Try this free receipt scanner to extract key data from a receipt in a CSV format. With Nanonets starter plan, you can extract data from up to 500 receipts or any financial documents for free. Sign up on Nanonets app to start scanning and data extraction from receipts.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Are receipt scanning apps safe?
Receipt scanning apps are generally safe to use as receipts don’t usually contain sensitive financial data. However before uploading receipts on any free expense app, ensure that the receipt doesn’t contain any data that stands the risk of potential misuse.
What is the best receipt scanner app?
While there are many receipt scanner apps in the market, the best receipt scanner app for you depends entirely on your requirements, use case and budget. Zoho, Expensify, Adobe Scan, Ibotta, Wave apps are some of the most popular receipt scanners available.
What is the best free receipt app?
Fetch, Ibotta, Swagbucks, ReceiptHog 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?
Using hardware receipt scanner, browser/chrome extensions, 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 that 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. Some of the popular receipt scanner apps that reward rewards points that can be encashed are Ibotta, Receipt Hog, Amazon Shopper Panel (invite-only).
