Comparison · Dext
Looking for a cheap Dext alternative? ScanToExcel is $4.99/mo flat
Dext starts at $31.50/month for 5 users with a 250-document monthly cap. If you're a solo bookkeeper or small practice, ScanToExcel delivers unlimited daily document conversions for $4.99/month flat — no seats, no credits, no annual contract.
Verified: May 12, 2026
Why look for a Dext alternative?
Most people searching for a Dext alternative hit the same three walls: the $31.50/month entry tier feels steep when you don't need 5 seats, the 250-document monthly cap pushes you into the $65/mo tier faster than expected, and the separate sub-caps on bank and supplier statements throttle the documents you actually need extracted. ScanToExcel removes all three — flat $4.99/month, unlimited daily conversions, no document-class throttling and no per-user multipliers. The trade-off is honest: no ledger auto-publish to Xero or QuickBooks (you import a pre-mapped CSV instead) and no multi-year document vault. If those two things aren't deal-breakers, the typical Dext-to-ScanToExcel switch saves roughly $720/year versus Dext's realistic mid-tier.
Side-by-side comparison
| ScanToExcel | Dext | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing & commitment | ||
| Cheapest paid plan | $4.99/mo | $31.50/mo |
| Per-user or flat? | Flat rate | Per-user (5 user min) |
| Monthly document cap | Unlimited daily conversions | 250 docs/mo on entry plan |
| Annual discount | No | Yes (~20%, ~$25.21/mo annual) |
| Contract length | Month-to-month, cancel anytime | Monthly or annual minimum |
| Documents supported | ||
| Receipts | ✓ | ✓ |
| Invoices | ✓ | ✓ |
| Bank statements | ✓ | ~ |
| Credit card statements | ✓ | ~ |
| Paystubs | ✓ | ✕ |
| Image of tables (screenshots, photos) | ✓ | ✕ |
| Multi-page PDFs | ✓ | ✓ |
| Scanned PDFs (image-based) | ✓ | ~ |
| Output & integrations | ||
| Native Excel export (.xlsx) | ✓ | ✕ |
| CSV export | ✓ | ✓ |
| Xero / QuickBooks CSV templates | ✓ | yes (direct API) |
| Direct Xero / QuickBooks / Sage sync | ✕ | ✓ |
| Bulk upload (parallel processing) | yes (up to 50 files) | ✓ |
| Practical & UX | ||
| Can test without account? | yes (10/day free) | ✕ |
| Data residency / GDPR | EU processing, zero retention | Global servers, persistent vault |
| Time to first export | Under 60 seconds, no install | Onboarding + chart of accounts mapping |
What Dext does better than ScanToExcel
Dext is the right tool when your workflow needs an accounting system, not just a spreadsheet. Three real advantages it holds over ScanToExcel: first, native ledger publishing — Dext drafts bills directly into Xero, QuickBooks Online and Sage with two-way sync, so an approved invoice posts straight to the chart of accounts; ScanToExcel produces a pre-mapped CSV you import manually. Second, multi-user firm accounts — Dext's entry tier supports 5 seats with per-user permissioned mailboxes and admin roles; ScanToExcel is single-user. Third, a multi-year document vault with attachment links inside Xero that satisfies audit-trail requirements; ScanToExcel processes documents in EU memory and discards them within minutes. Add Dext's mobile receipt-snap app and per-user @dext.cc email-in addresses for field staff, and the gap is concrete. If your practice has three or more active seats, publishes bills daily, and faces an annual audit, Dext is the correct tool — not the alternative.
The verdict
Pick Dext if:
you're a firm with 20+ clients on Xero, QuickBooks or Sage, needing multi-user approval workflows and a persistent audit-trail vault.
Pick ScanToExcel if:
you need clean, immediately usable Excel output from complex documents — paystubs, bank statements, image tables — without per-seat firm pricing.
Neither if:
you're a 5+ accountant practice billing clients per Dext seat with dozens of supplier portals in active use. Dext's deeper Sage Accounting bundle, or AutoEntry's per-credit firm pricing, will be more cost-effective than rebuilding client onboarding inside a single-user spreadsheet tool.
Frequently asked questions
What does Dext actually cost for a 3-person bookkeeping practice?
Dext's $31.50/mo entry tier covers 5 users with a single 250-document cap shared across them. The realistic floor for an active practice is the next tier (~$65/mo for 1,000 docs) — roughly $780/year versus $60/year for ScanToExcel Premium. The crossover point is approximately three active client seats; below that, ScanToExcel's flat unlimited model is dramatically cheaper.
Does ScanToExcel handle Dext's separate sub-caps on bank and supplier statements?
Those sub-caps don't exist in ScanToExcel. Dext's entry plan limits bank-statement extraction to 10/month and supplier-statement extraction to 5/month regardless of the overall 250-document quota. ScanToExcel processes both under the same unlimited daily conversion allowance with no class-based throttling.
Can ScanToExcel auto-publish drafts to Xero, QuickBooks or Sage like Dext does?
No. Dext maintains certified ledger integrations that draft bills directly into the chart of accounts. ScanToExcel produces pre-mapped Xero and QuickBooks CSVs designed for one-click manual import. The trade-off: no per-publication API costs, no integration drift, and you keep manual review of every draft before it touches the ledger.
What about Dext's mobile receipt-snap and per-account email-in inbox?
ScanToExcel's web upload accepts mobile photos and bulk drops, but does not provide a dedicated receipt-snap mobile app or a personal email-in address per user. If field receipt capture by non-finance staff is the primary use case, Dext or Expensify remain stronger; if the documents already live on a desktop, ScanToExcel is faster.
Does ScanToExcel preserve a multi-year audit trail like Dext's vault?
No, intentionally. ScanToExcel processes documents in EU memory and discards them within minutes — the spreadsheet you download is the only artifact. Dext stores every document indefinitely with attachment links inside Xero. A strict audit-trail requirement is the one place ScanToExcel deliberately does not compete.
Will paystubs and credit-card statements work in ScanToExcel where Dext stalls?
Yes. Dext explicitly treats paystubs as out-of-scope and credit-card statements as a partial use case. ScanToExcel was built around the long-tail document set: paystubs, multi-page credit-card statements, scanned bank statements and image tables are first-class inputs alongside invoices and receipts.
Is the $4.99 plan really unlimited or are there hidden caps?
Unlimited daily conversions with parallel batch uploads up to 50 files at a time. There are no per-document credits, no per-page surcharges, no per-user multipliers and no annual lock-in. The trade-off is a single-user account model — multi-seat pricing is not offered.
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