Document Scanning Price Calculator

How much does document scanning cost?

We understand that it can be difficult to estimate the cost of a document scanning project upfront, as there are a number of additional factors that will affect the final price to scan documents. That's why we created this free to use document scanning quote calculator. Our scanning calculator helps you to determine how many documents need to scanned based on your method of storage, and provides you with document scanning prices based on your specifications and industry standard costs.

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Common Questions

Get answers to our most frequently asked document scanning quote questions.

When you’re ready to start your document scanning project, it can be difficult to visualize the number of documents that need to be converted, especially when stored in various containers and filing cabinets around your office.

In order to simplify this estimation, we created this tool to help you determine how many documents you need to scan based on your current storage method.

Each available container type is mapped to an estimated document count ( as you will see when you add a single item in the calculator ) which is multiplied by the industry-standard rate of $.09 per sheet scanned. This makes it easy to take inventory of each storage container you have to get an estimated total cost for your scanning project.

For example, assume you have a 18″ W4 Drawer File Cabinet. Simply input 4 into the matching filing cabinet ( 4 drawers at 18″ each ) to get a rough estimate of (12,800 documents * $.09) = $1,152.00 cost.

Depending on how full your filing cabinets are, you may find that the estimate in our calculator is higher than what you’ll actually pay, assuming that some boxes or drawers are naturally only partially full. You may also receive discounts for bulk scanning which are not accounted for in this tool.

 

 

The national average cost to scan a paper document ranges from $0.07 to $.0.12 per page.  There are a number of other factors that can affect the price, including the condition of the documents and discounted rates applied for bulk scanning (large volumes = reduced price per page).

The chart below shows the average document scanning prices per page based on the type of material scanned.

 

Document Category Average Cost
Paper Scanning $0.07 to $.0.12 per page
Large Format Scanning $1.25 – $1.75 per page
Microfiche Jacket(16mm and 35mm) $0.75 to $1.25 per sheet
COM Microfiche $1.25 to $3.00 per sheet
COM Fiche $3.00 to $.5.00 per image scanned

Whether you keep files on hand at home or in the office, there are a ton of options when it comes to file cabinet sizing. The number of documents that can fit inside a filing cabinet varies depending on the dimensions of each drawer (capacity) and the total number of drawers on the cabinet, as well as the make and model of the cabinet.
Below are some simple calculations you can use to estimate the number of sheets of paper that fit into the most common types of filing cabinets.

Filing Cabinet Type Number of Documents
18″ Vertical File Drawer Cabinet 3,200 sheets per drawer
24″ Vertical File Drawer Cabinet 4,200 sheets per drawer
36″ Lateral Drawer Cabinet 6,300 sheets per drawer
48″ Drawer File Cabinet 8,400 sheets per drawer

In cases where documents are kept loose or stored in non-standard storage containers, it may be easier to calculate the amount of paper to be scanned based on a ruler measurement.

The average sheet of paper is 0.05 to 0.10 millimeters thick depending on the gauge, but a good rule of thumb is approx 175 sheets of paper per inch. That means for every foot of paper, you will have approx. 2,100 documents. If your documents are tightly packed, you could have up to 200 sheets per inch, or 2,400 documents per foot.

A standard banker’s box stores around 2500 documents. The average cost for document scanning is .09 per document. Scanning a standard box of records typically costs about $225.

The number of documents that fit inside a bankers box varies depending on the type of paper stored, the presence of file folders and spacers, and the density of documents inside the box.

On average, you will find approximately 2,200 to 2,500 sheets of paper inside a standard bankers box (12″ x 15″ x 10″). You can multiply this number by the number of boxes you have to get a rough estimate of the total number of documents you need to scan.

A long bankers box (24 x 15 x 10), sometimes referred to as a transfer file box can store approximately 4,500 – 5,000 documents.