Phone scanning apps are great for one-off instances, but there are moments in life, like applying for a mortgage or navigating major legal situations, where having a small document scanner makes life way easier. We’ve spent more than 160 hours researching and testing portable document scanners since 2013, and after our latest round of testing we’re convinced that the Brother ADS-1250W provides the best balance of usability, performance, and portability you can find. It accurately recognizes text, produces good-looking results, works wirelessly with computers and mobile devices alike, and scans quickly.
Our pick
The Brother ADS-1250W is fast, accurate, and reliable, but what really sets it apart from the competition is how easy it is to use.
Thanks to intelligently designed software and reliable hardware, the Brother ADS-1250W is more pleasant to use than the other document scanners we tested. It offers more accurate text recognition, cleaner-looking scans, and a reliable Wi-Fi connection, and in our tests it scanned just as quickly as the other models we tried. It’s bigger and heavier than some of the competition, and it doesn’t include a battery, but we think it’s still portable enough for most people.
Runner-up
Aside from a touchscreen and a few additional scanning destinations, the ADS-1700W is identical to our top pick. Get it if the ADS-1250W is unavailable.
In terms of performance, the Brother ADS-1700W is identical to our top pick, but it typically costs more. For the premium, it adds a mediocre 2.8-inch touchscreen and the ability to scan directly to cloud storage services, FTP and email servers, and network drives. If those features speak to you, or if our top pick is out of stock, the ADS-1700W is a fine choice. We just don’t think its extras are necessary for most people.
Also great
Best for people who want a small, lightweight scanner that can do duplex scanning.
The Brother DS-940DW scanner is a smaller, lighter version of our pick but scans only one document at a time. It scans quickly and accurately, and can do duplex scanning, also known as double-sided scanning. It has a built-in rechargeable battery and can send scans via Wi-Fi. It’s good for people who don’t have a high-quality camera on their phone or those who need to scan pages in poor lighting.
Upgrade pick
The FastFoto FF-680W costs more, weighs more, and takes up more space than our top pick, but it can quickly deliver solid scans of both photos and business documents.
Traditional document scanners aren’t designed for photos—they bend documents as they scan them, and the rollers can damage photo paper’s delicate finish. The Epson FastFoto FF-680W is different because it can safely archive treasured snapshots in as little as one second per photo. It’s expensive for a convenience item, but if you have shoeboxes full of old shots, it’ll make short work of an otherwise annoying task.
