Readers have bought the older version of this scanner, the CanoScan Lide 300, 463 times since 2019, making it our eighth-most-sold scanner. Unlike our best-rated pick, the CanoScan is a flatbed scanner, which means you can open the lid, place documents or photos right on the glass, and scan multiple pieces at once. Scanner type: Single-side | Scan speed: 8 ppm | Size: 9.9” x 14.4” x 1.7” | Image transfer: USB-C file transfer (PDF, JPEG, png, TIFF), cloud storage (Microsoft OneDrive, Dropbox) And because it’s so small, it won’t cost you an arm and a leg to buy, making it a high-quality starter scanner for almost anyone. If you need to scan to multiple destinations, you can use Brother’s free desktop app to select multiple. Many reviewers say it’s easy to set up (less than 15 minutes, according to one reviewer) and connect with both PCs and Macs (Brother’s scanners are also the only ones we recommend that support Linux ). Its size makes it especially convenient, as you can bring and use it pretty much anywhere, and the included USB 3.0 cable lets you charge it from your laptop if there’s no outlet nearby. Even though it’s less than a foot in length and weighs about 1.5 pounds, it works quickly and accurately - it can scan at speeds up to 16 ppm. With nearly 2,700 five-star reviews on Amazon, this scanner is equally well-liked by Strategist shoppers, who have purchased this scanner nearly 2,981 times since 2019, making it our most-sold scanner. This scanner is small, but it doesn’t sacrifice quality. Scanner type: Single-side | Scan speed: 16 ppm | Size: 11” x 2” x 1.4” | Image transfer: USB 3.0 file transfer (PDF), cloud storage (Brother’s cloud service, OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox) We also spoke with Robert Kern, a photo-scanner specialist at B&H, and included a model below that can handle large volumes of photos. To find the best scanners for your needs and budget, we looked at the models that can get the job done as well as tested document-scanning apps that offer many of the same capabilities as a standard scanner.
Some are flatbed scanners, others have automatic feeds. Others are foot-long devices you can store on your desk for quick scans when the need arises. Some are huge machines made to scan up to 4,000 pages a day. But not every scanner is right for every task.
Whether you’re working from home, helping your in-laws archive their family photos, or just trying to turn your stack of receipts and bills into zero-footprint digital files, a document scanner is a great way to save and share files quickly.