Best Portable Document And Receipt Scanners in 2022

There is nothing worse than a wallet or car console full of receipts or a filing cabinet that's bursting with unsorted documents. If you find yourself on the road a lot, you're probably looking for a scanner that can come with you, whether it's in your luggage or right in your laptop bag. In any case, I've rounded up some of the best portable scanners and apps you can get right now.

Office Lens

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When it comes to portable scanning, adding a function to a product you already carry around every day is a no-brainer. In this case, it's as easy as downloading the Office Lens app. It's completely free, and it has a 4.5-star rating on the Microsoft Store with more than 15,000 reviews.

All you have to do is snap a picture of a document, crop out the background, trim the edges, and choose where to save the file. With upload options straight to OneDrive, OneNote, and Dropbox, Office Lens makes scanning about as easy as possible. It's also available for iOS and Android.

CamScanner

As suggested by more than a few of our readers, CamScanner is an alternative to Office Lens that's available for Windows 10 Mobile, Android, and iOS. It's completely free and has plenty of useful features, including auto-crop, PDF conversion, keyword search and custom tags, compatibility with OneDrive and OneNote, and document syncing.

Like Office Lens, all you have to do is point and shoot with your camera and CamScanner will take care of the rest.

Epson ES-300W

If you're looking for a physical scanner that you can take with you on the road, the Epson ES-300W (about $250) is a fine choice thanks to Wi-Fi connectivity and several power options, such as battery, USB or AC. The Wirecutter chose this portable scanner as its top overall pick, stating:

In our tests it delivered (along with its sister model, the ES-200) the fastest scans we've seen from a portable unit, with flawless text recognition with fonts as small as 6 points when using the bundled ABBYY software.

There is a 20-page feeder for when you're scanning multiple documents, yet the whole thing folds down to fit in your bag when you're on the go. When scanning, choose to save your files in a number of services, including OneDrive and Dropbox, or convert them into Word, Excel or PDF files.

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Canon imageFormula P-215II

Weighing in at about two pounds, this portable scanner from Canon (about $222) works well both on your desk and on the road. It has a feeder for scanning multiple documents at once, and it can also handle double-sided scans. In its review, PCMag was so impressed it awarded the device an Editor's Choice, going on to say:

In addition to offering an advantage in size and weight compared with the Kodak model, the P-215II matches the Kodak i940's 20-sheet ADF capacity, its ability to duplex, and its ability to scan thick plastic cards, like embossed ID cards and driver's licenses.

High scanning speeds are achieved whether you're scanning to PDF or to a Word document, but note that this scanner does not have Wi-Fi capabilities. Instead, it connects to your PC via USB, from which it also draws power. If you need a scanner that works well both at home and while traveling, check out the Canon imageFormula P-215II.

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Visioneer RoadWarrior X3

Not everyone can afford to pay a couple hundred dollars for a portable scanner, which is why Visioneer created the RoadWarrior X3. It starts at about $32, yet despite the budget price, this scanner has impressive speeds and is relatively compact.

The lack of a feeder might be a deal-breaker for some people, but anyone who doesn't plan on scanning a large amount of documents at once should be fine. This scanner connects to your PC with USB, over which it also gets its power. No AC adapter is required. Weighing in at less than a pound, this is a great device for anyone who primarily operates from the road.

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Epson ES-200

If the Epson ES-300W mentioned above seemed like a tempting option if not for the price, its little sibling, the ES-200, might be just right for you. No, it doesn't have Wi-Fi capabilities or a battery, but it costs $50 less at about $200.

With the ability to save your scans to Dropbox and OneDrive, and convert documents straight into PDF, Word, or Excel files, the ES-200 makes your life easy. Scan speeds are a bit slower when connected solely via USB, but plugging in with the AC adapter seems to fix that problem. If you want a portable scanner that can handle virtually everything and don't see a need for Wi-Fi or a battery, have a look at the Epson ES-200.

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Doxie Go SE

There are several different Doxie Go models, but the SE (about $178) seems to offer the best combination of price and performance. It can scan color pages at 600 dpi in about eight seconds, and it has a built-in battery that should last through about 400 scans.

If you're not close to a PC, an included SD card will hold up to about 4,000 pages, letting you stay mobile for quite some time. Once you do connect to a PC, sync with your favorite cloud storage service or handle scans with included Doxie software.

See at Amazon

More scanners

Need something a bit more permanent? We also rounded up the best affordable scanners and the best photo scanners.

Updated June 25, 2018: I've refreshed this list to ensure you're still getting a collection of the best options when it comes to portable scanning.

Cale Hunt
Senior Editor, Laptop Reviews

Cale Hunt is formerly a Senior Editor at Windows Central. He focuses mainly on laptop reviews, news, and accessory coverage. He's been reviewing laptops and accessories full-time since 2016, with hundreds of reviews published for Windows Central. He is an avid PC gamer and multi-platform user, and spends most of his time either tinkering with or writing about tech.