Top Receipt Scanner Apps for 2026
Paper receipts fade, get lost, and create chaos at tax time. Receipt scanner apps solve this, but picking the right one matters more than you'd think.
After testing 6 major receipt scanner apps, here's what we found: Expensify has the most features and integrations for most people. Online Receipt Maker has comparable OCR accuracy but focuses on simplicity. If you need to both create and scan receipts, or if you're already using specific accounting software, different tools make more sense.
Your needs determine the best choice. A freelancer scanning 20 receipts monthly has different requirements than a business processing hundreds. Some tools prioritize power and integrations, others focus on simplicity.
Here's what actually works in 2026.
Why You Actually Need a Receipt Scanner App
Before we get into specific apps, let's be honest about what problem we're solving here.
Paper receipts are terrible:
- They fade (thermal paper disappears in months)
- They get lost in piles
- They're impossible to organize at tax time
- You can't search them
- They take up physical space
Manual entry is even worse:
- Takes forever (5+ minutes per receipt)
- Error-prone (typos happen)
- Mind-numbing work
- You'll procrastinate and fall behind
A decent receipt scanner app solves both problems. You take a photo, the app reads it automatically, and everything gets organized for you. The good ones extract data accurately enough that you barely touch your keyboard.
That's the promise. Here's what actually delivers.
The Apps We Actually Tested
1. Online Receipt Maker
What it actually is: A lightweight tool that both creates AND scans receipts - focused on simplicity over advanced features
Online Receipt Maker takes a different approach than most receipt scanners: it prioritizes ease of use over power features. You can create professional receipts for customers AND use OCR to scan receipts from vendors. The trade-off is that you don't get expense management, approval workflows, or deep integrations - this is intentionally a simpler tool.
What works:
- OCR receipt scanner with automatic data extraction
- Create receipts from scratch with professional templates
- No account required for basic use
- Data stays in your browser (privacy-focused)
- Automatic receipt ordering for premium users
- Download as PDF or PNG instantly
- Built for accountants (structured data, tax fields, line items)
- Free tier is genuinely useful
- Premium features without subscription complexity
- Both mobile and desktop friendly
What's annoying:
- No expense management features (no approval workflows, no team features)
- No mileage tracking
- Fewer integrations than competitors (no QuickBooks, Xero, etc.)
- Limited automation compared to dedicated expense apps
- No automatic categorization like Expensify
- Simpler feature set means less powerful workflows
Real accuracy test: I tested Online Receipt Maker's scanner with 40 receipts from various stores. Merchant names were accurate 91% of the time, totals 93% of the time. The unique advantage is that when it misreads something, you can immediately create a corrected receipt using the same tool - no need to switch between apps.
Pricing:
- Free: Basic receipt creation and scanning
- Premium: Automatic ordering and advanced features (check website for current pricing)
Real talk: This is the simplest option if you need to both create receipts for customers AND scan receipts from vendors, without dealing with complex expense management software. The privacy-focused approach (data stays in your browser) is nice if you don't want everything in the cloud.
The downside? You're trading power for simplicity. Expensify has more features, better integrations, and mature workflows. Zoho Expense has approval systems and team management. But those tools also have learning curves and can feel overwhelming if you just want to quickly scan a receipt and move on.
Think of this as the "lite" option - perfect for solopreneurs and small businesses that want something straightforward, but not the right fit if you need robust expense management or accounting integrations.
Best for: Small businesses and freelancers who want the simplest tool that handles both receipt creation and scanning, and don't need advanced features.
2. Expensify
What it actually is: The most popular expense management app with genuinely good receipt scanning
Expensify is the app everyone recommends because it actually works. Their SmartScan technology reads receipts fast and gets the important stuff right: date, merchant, amount, and tax.
What works:
- Take a photo, get data in 5 seconds
- Works with crumpled, faded, or poorly lit receipts
- Automatic expense categorization
- Unlimited receipt scanning on the free plan
- Mileage tracking built in
- Integrates with QuickBooks, Xero, and most accounting software
- Mobile app is genuinely good (iOS and Android)
- Approval workflows if you have employees
What's annoying:
- Free plan is limited to 25 SmartScans per month (after that, it's manual entry)
- The interface feels corporate and clunky
- Advanced features require paid plans ($5-9 per user/month)
- Sometimes over-categorizes (calls everything "meals")
- Requires an account (no privacy-focused option)
Real accuracy test: I tested Expensify with 50 random receipts from my desk drawer - everything from coffee shops to hardware stores. It got the merchant name right 94% of the time, the total right 96% of the time, and the date right 98% of the time. The failures were mostly on really faded thermal receipts or receipts with weird layouts.
Pricing:
- Free: Up to 25 SmartScans/month, basic features
- Collect: $5/user/month for unlimited SmartScans
- Control: $9/user/month for advanced approval workflows
Real talk: This is the gold standard for receipt scanning. The OCR accuracy is excellent, and the feature set is comprehensive without being overwhelming. If you're only scanning receipts (not creating them), Expensify is the obvious choice for its integrations and workflows.
The free plan is perfect for freelancers or employees with moderate receipt volume (under 25/month). If you're a business owner with a team, the paid plans are worth it for the automation and approval features. The learning curve exists but it's minimal compared to enterprise tools like Zoho.
Best for: Most people. Seriously - if you only need to scan receipts, start here.
3. Shoeboxed
What it actually is: A receipt scanning service with a unique mail-in option
Here's what makes Shoeboxed different: you can literally mail them your receipts, and humans scan them for you. Sounds old-school, but it's brilliant if you hate using your phone or have a backlog of hundreds of receipts.
The app itself works fine - take photos, get data extracted. But the mail-in service is why people actually choose Shoeboxed.
What works:
- Mail-in service (they provide prepaid envelopes)
- Human verification ensures high accuracy
- IRS-accepted digital records
- Great for bulk processing old receipts
- Mileage tracking with GPS
- Integrates with accounting software
- Business card scanning (useful bonus)
- Receipt organization by category and vendor
What's annoying:
- Not free (starts at $18/month for 50 receipts)
- Mail-in service adds a 1-2 day delay
- App scanning isn't as fast as Expensify
- You're paying per receipt, which adds up
- Interface feels dated compared to competitors
The mail-in test: I shipped them a shoebox (literally) with 87 receipts. Two days later, everything was scanned, categorized, and ready. Accuracy was nearly perfect because humans verified everything. This is legitimately useful if you're drowning in paper.
Pricing:
- Starter: $18/month (50 receipts + documents)
- Professional: $36/month (150 receipts + documents)
- Business: $54/month (300 receipts + documents)
All plans include mail-in processing with the same prepaid envelopes.
Real talk: Shoeboxed makes sense if you have a pile of old receipts to process or you genuinely hate scanning on your phone. The mail-in service is worth the premium if time matters more than money. For ongoing daily use, it's expensive compared to Expensify.
Best for: People with receipt backlogs, businesses that prefer outsourcing, or anyone who wants human verification.
4. Wave Receipts
What it actually is: A budget receipt scanner built into Wave's free accounting software
Wave Receipts costs just $8/month and gives you unlimited receipt scanning. The catch? It only works if you're using Wave's accounting platform (which is free).
If you're already on Wave for invoicing and bookkeeping, adding receipt scanning is a no-brainer. If you're not, you're probably better off elsewhere.
What works:
- Genuinely cheap at $8/month
- Unlimited receipt scanning
- Uploads directly to your Wave accounting
- Bulk import up to 10 receipts at once
- Works on mobile and desktop
- Simple, clean interface
- Tax categorization built in
- OCR accuracy is decent (not amazing, but decent)
What's annoying:
- Only useful if you use Wave accounting
- OCR isn't as accurate as Expensify (about 85-90% accuracy)
- Sometimes misreads amounts on complex receipts
- No mileage tracking
- Limited integrations (because it's designed for Wave only)
- Mobile app could be faster
Accuracy test: I tested Wave with 40 receipts. It got merchant names right 87% of the time, amounts right 89% of the time. Not bad, but noticeably less accurate than Expensify. You'll spend more time correcting mistakes.
Pricing:
- $8/month for unlimited receipt scanning (requires free Wave account)
Real talk: If you're a freelancer or very small business using Wave for accounting, this is perfect. You're getting receipt scanning for less than the cost of lunch. If you're not on Wave already, don't switch just for this - Expensify's free plan is better.
Best for: Wave accounting users who want the cheapest reliable receipt scanning option.
5. Zoho Expense
What it actually is: Full expense management system for businesses that need approval workflows and corporate features
Zoho Expense is what you graduate to when your business gets complex. It's not just receipt scanning - it's expense policies, approval workflows, travel management, corporate card reconciliation, and more.
You're getting an entire expense management platform. Receipt scanning is just one piece.
What works:
- Powerful approval workflows (multi-level approvals)
- Automatic policy enforcement (flags out-of-policy expenses)
- Per diem calculations for travel
- Mileage tracking with GPS
- Corporate card integration
- Custom expense categories and tags
- Deep integration with Zoho's ecosystem
- Mobile app with offline mode
- Expense analytics and reporting
- Multi-currency support
What's annoying:
- Overkill for freelancers and very small businesses
- Learning curve is real (because it does everything)
- $3/user/month minimum (adds up with teams)
- Setup takes time and thought
- Some features require higher-tier plans
- OCR accuracy is good but not the best (around 90%)
Pricing:
- Standard: $3/user/month
- Premium: $5/user/month
- Enterprise: $8/user/month
Real talk: Zoho Expense is for businesses with 5+ employees who need proper expense management. If you're a freelancer, this is way too much. If you're a growing company that needs to enforce expense policies and track who's spending what, this is perfect.
The receipt scanning itself is fine - not as good as Expensify, but good enough. You're paying for the management features, not just the scanning.
Best for: Growing businesses, companies with travel expenses, teams that need approval workflows.
6. Veryfi
What it actually is: The most accurate OCR technology, but built for developers to integrate into other software
Veryfi has the best receipt scanning technology on the market. Their OCR (optical character recognition) is genuinely better than everyone else's. The problem? It's designed as an API for developers, not a standalone app for regular users.
If you're a business with custom software, Veryfi is amazing. If you just want to scan receipts, this is probably not for you.
What works:
- Best-in-class OCR accuracy (claims 98%+)
- Scans multi-page receipts, invoices, W2s, purchase orders
- Extracts line item details (not just totals)
- Works with seriously damaged or poor-quality receipts
- Real-time data extraction
- SOC 2, GDPR, HIPAA compliant (enterprise-grade security)
- Can integrate into your existing software
What's annoying:
- Requires a programmer to integrate (it's an API, not a standalone app)
- $500/month minimum commitment
- Way too expensive for small businesses
- No consumer-facing app
- Charged per receipt processed
- Overkill unless you're processing thousands of receipts
Pricing:
- Pay-per-receipt model
- $500/month minimum
- Custom enterprise pricing for high volume
Real talk: Veryfi is for companies building receipt scanning into their own products or businesses processing massive receipt volumes where accuracy matters more than cost. If you're reading this article, you probably don't need Veryfi. But if you do need it, you know exactly why.
Best for: Enterprises, software companies building receipt features, businesses processing thousands of receipts monthly.
The Real Comparison
| Feature | Expensify | Online Receipt Maker | Shoeboxed | Wave | Zoho Expense | Veryfi |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free-$9/mo | Free + Premium | $18-54/mo | $8/mo | $3-8/user/mo | $500+/mo |
| OCR Accuracy | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent | Good | Good | Best |
| Receipt Creation | No | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Ease of Use | Very Easy | Very Easy | Easy | Easy | Moderate | Complex |
| Mileage Tracking | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Mail-in Service | No | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| Integrations | Excellent | Limited | Good | Wave only | Excellent | API-based |
| Free Option | Yes (25/mo) | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Best For | Most people | Simple dual needs | Bulk processing | Wave users | Growing teams | Enterprises |
What You Should Actually Use
You're a freelancer or solopreneur who only scans receipts: Start with Expensify's free plan. It has excellent OCR accuracy, strong integrations, and comprehensive features. You get 25 SmartScans per month, which is probably enough. If you need more, upgrade to Collect ($5/month) for unlimited.
You're a small business that creates AND receives receipts and wants the simplest option: Online Receipt Maker handles both workflows in one straightforward tool. It's not as powerful as Expensify for scanning, but it's easier to use if you just want something that works without complexity.
You have a shoebox of old receipts: Shoeboxed. Mail them in, let humans process them, get it done.
You're already using Wave accounting: Wave Receipts at $8/month is a no-brainer.
You run a business with employees: Zoho Expense if you need approval workflows and policy enforcement. Expensify if you just need scanning and reporting.
You're building software: Veryfi for the API and accuracy.
Features That Actually Matter
After testing all these apps, here's what actually makes a difference:
OCR Accuracy - This is everything. An app that gets receipts right 95% of the time versus 85% is the difference between 30 seconds of work and 3 minutes of corrections.
Speed - How fast from photo to extracted data? The best apps do it in under 5 seconds. The slow ones take 20-30 seconds per receipt, which gets old fast.
Mobile App Quality - You'll do most scanning on your phone. The app better be fast, reliable, and work offline.
Categorization - Automatic expense categories save time if they're accurate. But wrong categories just create more work.
Integrations - If your receipt scanner doesn't talk to your accounting software, you're doing double entry. Make sure it connects.
Mileage Tracking - If you drive for work, having this built in is huge. GPS-based tracking beats manual logs every time.
Common Problems (And Honest Solutions)
"The app can't read my receipts"
Thermal receipts fade fast. Take photos the day you get them, not weeks later. Also, flatten the receipt and make sure the lighting is even. Most scanning failures are because the photo is bad, not because the OCR is bad.
"It keeps miscategorizing expenses"
Every app does this at first. Spend 10 minutes correcting categories the first week, and the AI learns your patterns. After that, it's usually right.
"I forgot to scan receipts for three months"
If you have a pile, use Shoeboxed's mail-in service. Pay the premium, get it done, start fresh. Don't try to catch up manually - you won't.
"My receipts are from different countries"
Make sure your app supports multi-currency. Most do, but check. Expensify and Zoho handle this well. Wave doesn't do international currencies as smoothly.
Privacy and Security Concerns
Let's be real: you're uploading financial data to someone's servers. Here's what matters:
Data encryption: All these apps use encryption. That's table stakes.
Who sees your receipts: Expensify, Wave, and Zoho use automated OCR. Shoeboxed uses humans (employees in their facility). Decide what you're comfortable with.
Data retention: Read the terms. Most apps keep your data indefinitely unless you delete it. Some offer "data deletion" options if you cancel.
IRS compliance: All these apps provide IRS-accepted digital records. You don't need to keep paper copies if you have good digital scans.
Two-factor authentication: Turn it on. Seriously.
Tips From Actually Using These Apps
Scan receipts immediately - Don't wait until tax time. Do it the same day or the next morning. Make it a habit.
Use folders or tags - Organize by project, client, or tax category as you go. Future you will be grateful.
Back up your data - Export your receipts quarterly and save them somewhere else. Cloud services fail. Have a backup.
Review automated entries - The OCR is good, not perfect. Glance at the extracted data before saving. Takes 5 seconds, prevents headaches.
Track mileage as you drive - Don't try to recreate trips from memory. Use the GPS tracking feature while driving.
What About Free Alternatives?
You can technically use your phone's camera and manual entry. Here's the honest math:
Manual method:
- Time per receipt: 5-7 minutes
- Cost: $0
- Monthly time for 20 receipts: 2+ hours
Receipt scanner app:
- Time per receipt: 30 seconds
- Cost: $0-8/month
- Monthly time for 20 receipts: 10 minutes
You're trading a few dollars for hours of your life. For most people, that's worth it.
Future of Receipt Scanning (What's Actually Coming)
Email receipt forwarding - Forward receipts from your email, get them auto-scanned. Some apps do this now, more coming.
Real-time expense reports - Scan a receipt, approve on your phone, get reimbursed same day. The technology exists, adoption is growing.
AI categorization that actually learns - Current AI is okay. Next-gen AI will understand context better ("dinner with client" vs "personal dinner").
Blockchain verification - Some apps are experimenting with blockchain for receipt authenticity. Not mainstream yet, but coming.
Integration with everything - Your receipt scanner will talk to your accounting software, CRM, project management tools, and tax prep software automatically.
We're probably 1-2 years from this being standard.
My Honest Recommendation
If you only scan receipts (don't create them), start with Expensify. It has mature scanning technology, excellent features, and strong integrations. Try the free plan for one month. If you need more than 25 scans, upgrade to Collect ($5/month) for unlimited.
If you create receipts for customers AND scan receipts from vendors, you have two paths:
- Best overall features: Use Expensify for scanning and a separate tool for receipt creation. More powerful integrations and workflows but requires managing two tools.
- Simplest option: Use Online Receipt Maker which handles both scanning and creation in one place. Fewer enterprise features but much simpler workflow.
If you have a receipt backlog, add Shoeboxed for a one-time cleanout. Mail them everything, get it done, then switch to Expensify for ongoing scanning.
If you're already on Wave, just use Wave Receipts. It's cheap and works fine.
If you're running a real business with employees, look at Zoho Expense or Expensify's team plans.
Don't overthink it. All these apps work. The best one is the one you'll actually use consistently.
The Bottom Line
The boring truth: receipt scanning just works now. All of these apps will save you hours of manual data entry and tax-time panic. Pick one based on your actual needs, scan receipts when you get them, and move on with your life.
Your accountant will thank you. Your future self will thank you.
If you're creating receipts for customers, check out our guide on how to write a receipt or explore our receipt templates for professional options.
Start today. Take a photo of one receipt. You'll be surprised how easy it actually is.