Document Digitization Services Pricing Guide 2025

Do you know document scanning prices and digitization services cost? Discover the real cost of managing digital files for your business. 

Document scanning services and digitization are essential to maintaining important records over time. Digital environments protect the longevity and usability of documents more so than a hard copy. Working with many boxes of documents can be challenging, so many organizations outsource document scanning projects to external agencies and providers.

Document digitization isn’t something every company can handle on-site. For this reason, it often makes more sense to seek services externally. However, it’s important to note that not every digitization effort looks or costs the same.

As you can see, document scanning & digitization services prices can range pretty widely. Digitization and scanning services reviewed on Clutch vary by many thousands of dollars.

This can easily seem like too wide of a range to plan for, but there are standout factors that dictate the final cost of a project that we will cover in detail throughout the guide.

Associated Document Scanning & Digitization Services Costs

The scope of service is one factor that determines the cost of a digitization project.The scope of work encapsulates expectations as well as any or all additional services provided (outside of the digitization itself).

Additional services generate additional costs, so it can be helpful to understand associated services that may pop up in your work with a document digitization company.

What is the Real Cost of Document Digitization Companies?

The average cost of hiring a document digitization company on Clutch is less than $25 per hour. This places general document management services well within the realm of affordability for services.

Different types of scanning solutions will provide clients with varying levels of service, so it’s critical to communicate clearly with potential providers about expectations upfront.

Document Scanning & Digitization Pricing Models Vary

Because there are various types of document digitization, companies opt to use differing pricing models for their services. For instance, a digital conversion focused on access may have different requirements than a project centered around asset management and storage.

While types of projects differ, you can count on most digitization companies adhering to one of these popular pricing models:

• Per-Unit Pricing: The charge is determined by the number of pages that need to be digitized. Projects may also be charged by the number of boxes of paper records that need to be converted. Regardless of the unit of measure, price transparency is a big benefit of per-unit models.
  
• Hourly Rate: Providers charge a flat hourly rate, meaning the end cost will be determined by the amount of time spent on the project. Note that fragile or damaged paper documents will need more time to convert than high-quality hard copies.
  
• Project-Based Pricing: Long-term projects aren’t super typical in the digitization world, which means that many companies can offer free quotes to potential clients with pricing estimates that represent the end cost of the project. Taking into account the complexity of the project and additional services like data extraction and indexing, companies can determine the final price of work with pretty strong accuracy.
  

Look Out for Extra Fees & Seek Volume Discounts With Scanning Services

While the digitization itself may simply require a document scanning process, there are other services that companies can provide that will incur additional fees.

For instance, document management companies charge extra for specialized services like document preparation, indexing, data entry, document imaging, OCR (optical character recognition) processing, or data extraction.

However, the cost of these services should be communicated within a quote or proposal. Companies won’t surprise you with these fees so long as they’re listed within the original scope of work.

Further, some document digitization companies give volume discounts for large-scale digitization projects or clients with a significant number of documents to be digitized.

The discount is generally based on how many boxes of records must be digitized. This incentivizes digitizing larger amounts of documents and results in cost savings for clients.

Thoroughly discuss pricing details with document digitization companies. Being on the same page with your chosen provider from the beginning will keep both parties in the loop on pricing models, added fees, and the overall scope of work. Upfront transparency makes for smooth working relationships.

What Services Can Document Digitization Companies Deliver?

The key output of document digitization services is the conversion of physical documents into electronic documents for storage and accessibility. However, there are a number of services that go into ensuring these benefits for their clients.

• Document Scanning and Imaging: conversion of physical documents, such as paper files, photographs, or microfilm, into digital formats.
  
• Optical Character Recognition (OCR): converts digital images or PDF files into searchable and editable text for the enhancement of documents’ functionality and usability.
  
• Data Extraction and Indexing: data capture and extraction of key data from digitized documents to create searchable indexes or metadata. This service enables clients to locate specific information within their document repository using index fields like dates, names, and important keywords.
  
• Document Management Systems: software solutions organize and store digitized documents with features such as categorization, version control, access control, and collaboration tools.
  
• Document Destruction and Shredding: secure destruction of all sensitive or confidential information in accordance with data protection regulations.
  
• Document Conversion: conversion of documents between different file formats, such as PDF to Word or TIFF to JPEG.
  
• Workflow Automation: streamlining of document-related workflows by automating repetitive tasks, integrating document management systems with other business applications, and creating custom workflows for certain business processes.
  

Why Do Client Companies Value Document Digitization Services?

Document digitization companies offer numerous benefits to organizations seeking to convert physical documents into digital formats and streamline document management processes.

• Accessibility and Searchability
  
• Document Security and Disaster Recovery
  
• Streamlined Document Management
  
• Regulatory Compliance and Auditing
  
• Preservation and Environmental Sustainability
  

Rather than digging through file boxes, companies can reimagine how documents are stored, accessed, and searched. Digitization makes it easier to share information securely and manage documents over long periods of time.

In addition to its convenience, digitization is also environmentally friendly as it reduces paper records in circulation. Further, digitized documents ease compliance and auditing processes as compared to operations using paper-backed systems.

Factors That Influence Document Digitization Costs

As mentioned earlier, digitization and scanning services range widely in cost based on certain key factors. While type of service and pricing approach have an impact on cost, the following elements are the true needle-movers on the final cost of a collaboration.

• Document Volume: because many companies already charge based on the number of pages to process, the larger the volume, the higher the cost.
  
• Types of Documents: fragile or delicate documents can require special handling, additional equipment, or more time for digitization, leading to higher costs.
  
• Scanning Resolution and Quality: higher scanning resolutions, such as 300 or 600 dots per inch (DPI), are often required for documents with fine print, images, or intricate details. Higher-quality scans may result in larger file sizes and require more storage space, which can bump up the cost.
  
• Document Preparation: additional charges can be incurred due to hefty documentation prep activities like removing staples, paperclips, or sticky notes. Prepping documents yourself is an easy way to lessen the cost of a project.
  

Document Digitization Firms Ensure Easy Records Management

Say goodbye to clunky filing cabinets full of paper documents. Make your business more accessible and secure by digitizing important paper records. Document digitization companies are here to help, providing wide-ranging scanning and document management services such as OCR, data extraction, shredding, and automation. 

Keep in mind that costs for these services will always vary depending on the document volume, type, and preparation requirements.