Scanbot SDK vs VisionKit Document Scanner
VisionKit’s VNDocumentCameraViewController is free, but proprietary, with limited customizability. The Scanbot Document Scanner SDK delivers enterprise performance, features, and support across all platforms.
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Key differences
Here are the main factors to consider when choosing a mobile document scanning solution.
Scanning capabilities
VisionKit lets apps use Apple’s computer vision capabilities through simple APIs. This includes a built-in view controller for document scanning: VNDocumentCameraViewController. VisionKit offers core document capture functionality, but it lacks scanning features such as page limits and editing options.
Scanbot SDK builds commercial data capture solutions, including document scanning and OCR software. The Scanbot Document Scanner SDK features user guidance, image enhancement filters, and an image quality assessment tool. It is designed for real-world environments and runs 100% offline, providing maximum data security.
Customization & developer experience
As a system API, VisionKit is simple to integrate. However, customization is very limited. You cannot adjust the scanner’s interface or behavior. Additionally, while VNDocumentCameraViewController delivers document capture and a basic review screen, you still need to implement an editing screen.
With the Scanbot SDK, it’s also easy to get started. Its ready-to-use UI components are simple to integrate and customize, all with just a few lines of code. It offers a much wider range of configuration options: You can adjust the scanning modes, result screen, user guidance text, top and action bars, color palette, and viewfinder.
Maintenance & support
Apple doesn’t offer dedicated support for VisionKit. Developers can post questions in the Apple Developer Forums or file bugs through the Feedback Assistant, but responses are not guaranteed. Apple has not publicly shared a long-term roadmap for VisionKit.
In contrast, Scanbot SDK customers can rely on an experienced technical support team to assist them with any issues. The SDK is in ongoing development, including regular updates, new features, and continuous improvements. These are provided at no extra cost.
We were getting a lot of poor-quality document photos that our backend couldn’t process, and our attorneys couldn’t read. The Scanbot SDK solved this completely. In the five months since implementation, we’ve processed over 116,000 documents without a single complaint.
Detailed feature comparison
From features to platform support, pricing, and the integration experience, here’s how the Scanbot Document Scanner SDK and VNDocumentCameraViewController stack up against each other.
Native SDKs
Yes
- Android
- iOS
- Windows (UWP, WinUI 3)
Yes
- iOS
Web
Yes
- JavaScript + WebAssembly (WASM)
No
Cross-platform frameworks
Yes
- React Native
- Flutter
- Cordova
- .NET MAUI
- Xamarin & Xamarin.Forms
- Ionic Capacitor
- Compose Multiplatform
No
Yes
No
VisionKit returns scanned pages as UIImage objects, which just hold the decoded image data in memory. You must handle image export yourself.
JPG
Yes
No
TIFF
Yes
No
PNG
Yes
No
Scanning from live camera feed
Yes
Yes
Scanning from gallery image
Yes
No
Scanning from other image files
Yes
No
User guidance
Text instructions that guide the user through the scanning process
Yes
Yes, but limited
The text prompts are system-controlled and cannot be customized or removed
Automatic capture
Automatically captures the document when it is properly positioned
Yes
Yes
Automatic cropping
Automatically crops the image to the detected document edges
Yes
Yes
Scan review & editing
Lets users rotate, retake, and reorder scanned pages before exporting
Yes
Limited
VisionKit provides a basic review screen with the option to retake the scan. However, there is no option to crop, rotate or reorder scans.
Page limit configuration
Allows limiting the number of pages that can be scanned in a single session
Yes
No
Image cleaning capabilities
Removes artifacts like shadows, stains, and fingers
Yes
Yes
Image filters
Optimizes scan quality by adjusting color and contrast
Yes
- Color Document
- Grayscale
- Binarization
- Binarization Antialiased
Yes
- Color Document
- Grayscale
Image quality assessment
Analyzes the captured image to evaluate its clarity, lighting, and overall suitability for processing
Yes
The Document Quality Analyzer evaluates the image quality. It can display a review screen if the customizable quality threshold is not met.
No
CCPA and GDPR
Yes
Unclear
Apple has not published explicit information on GDPR and CCPA compliance yet
On-device processing
Yes, 100% offline
Unclear
Apple has not published explicit information on on-device processing yet
Usage tracking
No, zero tracking
No connection to our or any third-party servers
Unclear
Apple has not published explicit information on usage tracking yet
Third-party dependencies
Low risk
Transparent; clearly lists third-party dependencies with version used
Low risk
No dependencies
Pricing and licensing model
Fixed annual license fee
- Custom quote based on your use case and number of app integrations
- Unlimited scanning for one flat annual fee
- All features and future updates included at no extra cost
Check out Rimi Baltic’s success story to learn more.
Free, proprietary
Subject to Apple’s Developer Program License Agreement
Free trial options
Yes
- 7-day free trial: Self-service trial license, no login/email required
- Extended PoC license available upon request
Free from the start
Developers can access the API without any signup
In active development
Yes
Continuous feature additions and improvements
Uncertain
Apple controls long-term development
Enterprise support
Yes
Technical support team with years of experience
No
Documentation & sample projects
Yes
Comprehensive guides and sample projects for each supported platform
Yes
Documentation with short guides and code snippets
Pre-built UI components
Yes
Configurable Ready-to-Use UI screens for fast integration
Yes, but very limited
You get a scanner UI out of the box, but it has few configuration options
