Software Alternatives & Startups

Adobe Scan VS KeptPDF

Compare Adobe Scan VS KeptPDF and see what are their differences

Adobe Scan

Scan anything into a PDF using your mobile device.

Rating
0 reviews
KeptPDF

Redact, edit, OCR, and sign PDFs entirely in your browser. The file never leaves your device. Free, no account needed.

Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Freemium $29 / Monthly (Pro, 1 user)

Which is more popular?

Based on our record, Adobe Scan seems to be more popular. It has been mentioned 3 times since March 2021.

social mentions
3 vs 0
OCR popularity
94% vs 6%
alternatives listed
169 vs 20

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

Adobe Scan
KeptPDF
Website adobe.com keptpdf.com
Pricing —
Freemium $29 / Monthly (Pro, 1 user) Official pricing
Company — Startup from the United States · 2026
Listed in

About Adobe Scan and KeptPDF

In their own words, as submitted to SaaSHub.

Adobe Scan
KeptPDF

No description of Adobe Scan yet.

KeptPDF is a PDF toolkit that runs entirely in your browser. Nothing uploads: every tool runs on your own device, so the document never touches a server. What it does: Redaction that auto-detects names, SSNs, phone numbers, addresses, and dates, then removes the underlying text instead of drawing...

Read more about KeptPDF

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

Adobe Scan 5 features
KeptPDF 5 features
  • High-Quality Scanning
    Adobe Scan uses advanced imaging technology to deliver high-quality scans, ensuring that text and images are captured clearly and accurately.
  • Integrated OCR
    The app includes Optical Character Recognition (OCR) capabilities, which allow scanned text to be converted into editable and searchable content.
  • Integration with Adobe Ecosystem
    Adobe Scan easily integrates with other Adobe products like Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Cloud, making it seamless to manage and edit documents.
  • Auto-Detection Features
    The app automatically detects boundaries, adjusts perspective, and enhances the clarity of scanned documents, reducing the need for manual adjustments.
  • Cloud Storage
    Documents scanned using Adobe Scan can be automatically saved to Adobe Document Cloud, ensuring they are backed up and accessible from anywhere.

Possible disadvantages

  • Requires Adobe Account
    Users need an Adobe account to access all features, which could be a hindrance for those looking for a more straightforward, no-sign-up-required option.
  • Subscription Costs
    While the app is free to use, accessing advanced features may require a subscription to Adobe Acrobat Pro DC, which can be costly.
  • File Size
    Scanned documents can result in relatively large file sizes, which could be an issue for users with limited storage space on their devices.
  • Occasional OCR Errors
    Although the OCR feature is generally reliable, it can occasionally make errors, especially with handwritten text or unusual fonts.
  • Device Compatibility
    Certain features may not be available on all devices or operating systems, potentially limiting its usability for some users.
  • Simple PDF Editing
    KeptPDF offers straightforward tools for editing, merging, splitting, and converting PDF files, making it accessible for users who need quick document management without a steep learning curve.
  • Web-Based Accessibility
    Being a web-based tool, KeptPDF can be accessed from any device with an internet connection, eliminating the need for software installation and allowing use across different operating systems.
  • Multiple File Format Support
    The platform supports conversion between PDF and various other file formats, offering flexibility for users who work with documents in different formats.
  • No Installation Required
    Since it operates in a browser, users can save storage space on their devices and avoid compatibility issues that sometimes arise with desktop software installations.
  • Quick Processing
    KeptPDF is designed to process PDF tasks efficiently, allowing users to complete common document tasks like compression or conversion in a relatively short amount of time.

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

Adobe Scan 3 videos + Add
KeptPDF 0 videos + Add

Adobe Scan vs Office Lens - Comparing Features and Quality

More videos

  • - How to Use the Adobe Scan App
  • - Adobe Scan vs CamScanner (2020) - Which One is for You?

No KeptPDF videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
Adobe Scan
KeptPDF
94% 94%
OCR
6% 6%
0% 0%
100% 100%
85% 85%
15% 15%
100% 100%
0% 0%

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing Adobe Scan and KeptPDF.

What makes your product unique?

KeptPDF's answer:

KeptPDF runs entirely in your browser. Your file, and the text inside it, never leaves your device. Not to an AI, not even to us. You can open your browser's network tab and watch: the document bytes never go out.

Most online PDF tools upload your file to a server first, and some "AI redaction" services quietly send your document text to a third-party model. That is the exact risk people are trying to avoid when they redact something.

KeptPDF also does true redaction. The text is removed from the file, not covered with a black box you can copy out later. Every redaction produces a verification certificate you can share with the file.

Why should a person choose your product over its competitors?

KeptPDF's answer:

Three reasons.

Privacy you can verify, not just a promise. Processing happens locally in the browser, so there is no upload step to trust. We do send anonymous usage counts for quota, and we say so plainly, but never your document.

Real redaction with proof. Removed text is permanently gone, and you get a certificate showing the file was checked for leftover extractable text. Automated detection cannot catch everything, so a final human review is still your job, and the tool says that too.

It works on a phone. Most PDF suites assume a desktop. KeptPDF was built and used on a phone first, so redacting a document while you are standing in a hallway actually works.

How would you describe the primary audience of your product?

KeptPDF's answer:

Anyone who has to hand a document to someone else and needs the sensitive parts gone first.

In practice that is solo attorneys and small law firms, accountants and tax preparers, healthcare and records staff handling requests, HR teams, and individuals dealing with their own medical, legal, or financial paperwork.

The common thread is not an industry. It is a person who cannot upload a confidential file to a random website, and who does not have an enterprise IT budget to solve it.

What's the story behind your product?

KeptPDF's answer:

A family member got seriously ill. We spent most days at the hospital, and straight answers were hard to come by, so we leaned on AI tools to make sense of the records, notes, and lab results.

But you cannot paste a medical record into an AI chat. You have to strip the names, the ID numbers, the diagnoses first. And almost every tool we found either wanted to upload the whole file to a server, or "auto-redacted" by sending the document text to an online AI. That was the exact thing we were trying to avoid.

Most of this was happening on a phone, at a bedside. So I built the tool I needed: redaction that runs on the device, works on mobile, and never sends the file anywhere. That turned into KeptPDF, which is now a full PDF suite with over 20 tools, all local-first.

Which are the primary technologies used for building your product?

KeptPDF's answer:

The app is plain JavaScript with no front-end framework, which keeps it fast and keeps the code auditable.

PDF work happens in the browser using pdf.js for rendering and pdf-lib for writing. Text recognition uses Tesseract running as WebAssembly. Password and encryption handling uses a WebAssembly build of qpdf. It is a Progressive Web App, so it installs and works offline.

The thin server side is Node on Vercel, with Postgres for accounts, Stripe for billing, and Resend for email. None of those ever see a document.

Who are some of the biggest customers of your product?

KeptPDF's answer:

KeptPDF is early and independent, and we do not publish customer names. The product is privacy-first by design: we never see your documents, and we do not track who our users are or what they work on. Publishing a client list would sit badly next to that.

The user base today is mostly solo attorneys, small firms, accountants, and individuals handling their own records.

User comments

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Reviews and articles

External articles and on-site reviews we used to compare the two products.

Adobe Scan no reviews yet
KeptPDF no reviews yet

We have no reviews of KeptPDF yet. Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.

Adobe Scan 3 mentions
KeptPDF 0 mentions
  • In search of a tool to digitize my handwriting
    I use Adobe Scan to scan stuff: receipts, handwritten notes, mail to save, etc. Source: over 5 years ago
  • PSA: How to Have Hand-Drawn Art Look as Computerized as Computer Art
    Use a PDF scanner app on your phone. However, do NOT use iOS Notes' scanning function. I recommend Adobe Scan, as it eases the process of converting the PDF into an image file. Source: over 5 years ago
  • The best way to store these cards is in an acid-free envelope or pouch. They allow gases to disperse freely.
    Both the Adobe Scan and Microsoft Lens scanner apps work really well: https://acrobat.adobe.com/us/en/mobile/scanner-app.html. Source: over 5 years ago

Tracking KeptPDF since Aug 2026.

Alternatives to Adobe Scan and KeptPDF

When comparing Adobe Scan and KeptPDF, you can also consider the following products.