You scan a contract, a receipt, or your ID — and the app you just downloaded stamps "Scanned by" branding across the page. The free tier of most big scanner apps isn't really free; the watermark is the price. The good news: several genuinely free options produce clean, branding-free PDFs. Here is an honest comparison of how the popular scanner apps handle watermarks, verified against current information, plus the option that skips the app download entirely.
| App | Watermark on free tier? | Account needed? | Catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| CamScanner | Yes — "Scanned by CamScanner" on every PDF and image export | Account unlocks full features | Watermark removal needs a paid plan (around $5/month or $50/year per third-party comparisons); ads on the free tier |
| Adobe Scan | No watermark | Yes — free Adobe ID required | Free OCR included, but some features (combining files, certain export formats) need a subscription |
| Microsoft Lens | No watermark | — | Retired: removed from app stores on 9 February 2026 and scanning stopped on 9 March 2026. Microsoft points users to the scanner in OneDrive, which saves to cloud storage rather than locally |
| Apple Notes (iPhone) | No watermark | No | iPhone/iPad only; no automatic straightening controls as strong as dedicated scanners |
| Google Drive (Android) | No watermark | No (Google account) | Android only; basic filters |
| Scanner.cam (browser) | No watermark | No — no account at all | None on watermark policy; it's web-based, so it needs a browser and camera permission rather than an install |
The key takeaway: CamScanner is the well-known name, but it is also the one most likely to stamp your documents on the free tier. Adobe Scan remains the strongest free app option, though it requires a free Adobe account and stores scans in the Adobe Document Cloud by default.
If the scan is a one-off task — a form, a receipt, an ID — installing an app just to discover its watermark policy is backwards. Scanner.cam runs entirely in your phone's browser: camera capture, edge detection, filters, and a watermark-free PDF export, with no account and no signup. All processing happens on your device, so the images never upload anywhere.
Which free scanner app has no watermark?
Adobe Scan's free tier exports without a watermark (it does need a free Adobe account), Apple's Notes scanner and Google Drive's scanner are watermark-free for iPhone and Android users, and browser-based tools like Scanner.cam produce clean PDFs with no account at all. CamScanner's free tier adds a watermark to every export.
Can I remove a CamScanner watermark for free?
The reliable route is to re-scan the document in a watermark-free tool. Cropping or blurring the stamp works for your own documents, but re-scanning gives a cleaner result.
Is Microsoft Lens still a good free scanner?
Microsoft Lens was retired in early 2026 — removed from the app stores on 9 February and no longer able to create scans after 9 March. Microsoft's suggested replacement is the scanner built into OneDrive, which saves files to cloud storage rather than your device.
Are browser-based scanners safe?
A client-side one like Scanner.cam is — all processing happens on your device and nothing uploads. Be wary of browser tools that send your documents to a server by default, especially for identity documents.