Compare the Best ScannersSeptember 2021

Scanners are devices used for digitising physical material such as documents and photos, and turning them into digital images for archiving, sharing and editing. They are extremely helpful peripherals, since they allow you to easily digitise large amounts of paper very quickly, meaning less clutter and mess on your desk! This guide will look at the major considerations when choosing a scanner, so you can find the device that is right for you.

There are several different types of home scanners available, though they can be largely placed into two main categories: flatbed or sheetfed:

Automatic Document Feeder

An additional extra mostly commonly found in sheetfed scanners is an automatic document feed (ADF). This is a system that allows you to place a stack of paper into the scanner, and the scanner will automatically feed in the documents, scan them, then eject them from the machine. This is extremely helpful for anyone needing to digitise a lot of documents at once, since you can queue 50 pieces of paper at once, and the scanner will take care of the rest. Not all scanners have this system, but it is worth seeking out if you routinely find yourself bulk-scanning documents.

Resolution & Scan Speed

As mentioned above, not all scanners scan at the same quality. The scanning resolution is measured in dots per inch - the higher the dpi, the better the quality of the scan. Very high resolutions also allow you to expand small photos into larger prints - something that is not possible with low-resolution scanners. High resolution is also important for retaining fidelity when scanning photos. As a rule 300dpi is perfectly fine for black & white text, but won’t suffice for photos - you will need something with at least 1,200dpi or higher.

It’s also important to consider the scanning speed of the peripheral. Different models of scanners can have extremely varying scan speeds - with some taking twice as much time to scan a page as others. The scanners on our site are measured in the amount of pages they can scan per second, split out into colour, black & white, photo, etc. While the speed may not make a difference if you only scan a single document every once in a while, if you routinely scan large amounts of paper, this can add up to a substantial time saving.

Extras

Finally, there is a host of other considerations when choosing a scanner. These can include:

Flat-Bed Scanner Prices

In total we found 162 scanners ranging from $34 to $14,214. On average, a new flat-bed scanner costs $862 and 80% of flat-bed scanners are priced between $85 and $1,999. The Fujitsu fi-5950 is the most expensive flat-bed scanner that we found at $14,214, and the Epson DS80W is the cheapest at only $35.

Flat-Bed Scanner Brands - Price Range

The average price of Kodak scanners is $1,904 which is the highest average price of all flat-bed scanner brands. Kodak scanners start at $229 and their most expensive flat-bed scanner costs $10,056.

The second highest average flat-bed scanner price out of all brands is Fujitsu scanners with an average price of $1,724. Fujitsu scanners range in price from $110 to $14,214.

The third highest average flat-bed scanner price out of all brands is Canon scanners with an average price of $1,495. Canon scanners start at $51 and their most expensive flat-bed scanner costs $6,477.

Flat-Bed Scanner Brands - Average Ratings

We have evaluated 515 expert reviews and 5,840 user reviews for scanners and used this information to calculate the average rating for each brand of scanner. Epson is the top rated flat-bed scanner brand with an average rating of 87%. Fujitsu is the second best brand with 80% and Kodak is the third best brand with 79%.

Biggest Flat-Bed Scanner Retailers

We found 129 current offers for flat-bed scanners from eBay making it the biggest scanner retailer. That is significantly bigger than the second biggest retailer, Adorama for whom we found 103 current offers for flat-bed scanners. The third biggest retailer is Overstock with 50 current scanner offers.

When Are Most New Flat-Bed Scanners Released?

We looked at the release dates for new flat-bed scanners over the last 3 years, but couldn't see any evident trend. The biggest month last year for new flat-bed scanner releases was January, with four new scanners released that month. May was the biggest month in 2019 for new scanners, with nine new scanners released that month. 13 new scanners were released in August 2018 making it the biggest month that year for new scanner releases.

How Fast Do Flat-Bed Scanner Prices Drop After Release?

New flat-bed scanners drop in price by an average of 5% in the first 6 months after they were first released.

A typical new scanner costs on average $862. By waiting 6 months before buying you could save on average $43.

Optical Scanning Resolutions

'Optical scanning resolution' denotes the detail level of the image produced by the scanner, measured in dots per inch (DPI).

The most common optical scanning resolution amongst new scanners is 600 x 600 DPI. We found 244 scanners that are 600 x 600 DPI flat-bed scanners. We found 47 scanners that are 1200 x 1200 DPI flat-bed scanners, making this the second most common optical scanning resolution amongst new scanners.

Scanner Types

A scanner is a device that optically scans images, printed text, handwriting, or an object, and converts it to a digital image. Common examples found in offices are variations of the desktop (or flatbed) scanner where the document is placed on a glass window for scanning. There are different types of scanners e.g. flatbed, pen, sheet-feed.

The most frequently found scanner type amongst new flat-bed scanners is sheetfed / adf. We found 260 flat-bed scanners that are sheetfed / adf scanners. Flatbed is the second most common scanner type amongst new scanners. We found 77 scanners that are flatbed flat-bed scanners.

Colour Scanning

Colour scanning denotes whether the scanner has the ability to scan in colour, or whether it's limited to black & white scanning.

Of the 382 new flat-bed scanners currently listed on Kagoo, the vast majority are scanners which support colour scanning. 369 flat-bed scanners (97%) are scanners which support colour scanning.

Maximum Scan Sizes

Maximum scan size refers to the dimensions in millimetres of the largest document that the scanner can digitise.

We found 151 scanners that are scanners that have an A4 / us lettermm max scan size, which makes A4 / us lettermm the most popular maximum scan size amongst new scanners. We found 84 flat-bed scanners that are scanners that have an A4 (long)mm max scan size, making A4 (long)mm the second most common maximum scan size amongst new flat-bed scanners.

Which Are the Cheapest Retailers for Flat-Bed Scanners?

The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying flat-bed scanners. For each retailer it shows the total number of flat-bed scanners where they currently have a market leading price. The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying flat-bed scanners. For each retailer we took all of their prices and looked at what proportion of those prices where the cheapest on the market. The cheapest retailer that we found was eBay. 108 of their flat-bed scanner prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.

Proportion of Flat-Bed Scanners for Which Each Retailer is Cheapest?

Assessing how cheap each retailer is for flat-bed scanners by counting the number of cheapest prices for that retailer, makes the retailers that offer the greatest number of flat-bed scanner prices more likely to offer the greatest number of cheapest prices. The chart below considers the proportion of each retailer's flat-bed scanner prices that are the cheapest compared to other retailers. The cheapest retailer that we found using this approach was eBay. 83.7% of their flat-bed scanner prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.