FrontBack Scanner · Free on Mac & Windows
Both of the big photo splitters stop at the platform line: Windows only, by their own system requirements, and $25 to $40. FrontBack Scanner does the job natively and free on a Mac, where neither can run at all, and on Windows, where they charge for it.
By Spencer Baker, founder of Timeline Scan · Last updated: August 30, 2026 · platform and price facts checked on each vendor’s site August 3, 2026There is no ScanSpeeder for Mac and no AutoSplitter for Mac, and on Windows both charge $25 to $40. FrontBack Scanner is free on both platforms; it splits at the scanner or from scans you already have, and adds two things neither program does: automatic back pairing and oversized stitching.
FrontBack Scanner came out of digitizing our own 8,000-photo family archive on a flatbed; the features on this page exist because that shoebox needed them.
Trial capped at 10 scans · backs become typed captions[3]
Trial watermarks output · no back handling
Splits at the scanner or from existing scans · pairs backs · stitches oversized prints
Side by side
Platform and pricing from each vendor’s own pages, checked August 3, 2026. See the sources.
| Feature | ScanSpeeder | AutoSplitter | FrontBack Scanner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Windows onlyVista through 11; no Mac version[1] | Windows onlyMade for Windows 10 and 11[2] | Mac & WindowsNative macOS 14+ and Windows 10+, free on both |
| Price | $29.95 Standard / $39.95 Pro one-time; trial limited to 10 scans[1] | $24.99 Basic / $34.99 Gold one-time; trial watermarks output[2] | $0Free forever, no trial limits, no watermark |
| Splits several photos per pass | YesScan-time split + deskew[1] | YesScan-time or from existing files[2] | YesScan-time, incl. tilted, nearly-touching, white-bordered prints |
| Turns photos right-side up | Manual rotation tools | Deskews; rotation largely manual | AutomaticOn-device neural network, 99.8% accurate in our benchmarks |
| Backs of photos | Typed captions: you transcribe the back into metadata[3] | NoNo back handling | Scanned & pairedFlip the pile, scan again: every back saves beside its front as scan_0001_b.jpg |
| Photos bigger than the glass | No | No | YesOversized mode stitches overlapping passes (how it works) |
| Splits existing composite files | Pro tier batch-processes files | YesA core feature | YesDrag in one file or a whole folder; each print is cut from the original pixels (how it works) |
Files, not just the flatbed
Since version 1.5, FrontBack Scanner splits scans it did not make. Drag one image, several, or a whole folder onto the window, and Split & Next cuts every print out of the original full-resolution pixels, cropped, straightened, upright, and numbered, then loads the next scan in the queue. Your originals are only ever read, never modified. ScanSpeeder Pro and AutoSplitter batch-process files too, on Windows, for $25 to $40; these are the other tools people try:
Local AI batch cropping; rectangles only per reviews
You upload your family photos to a cloud service
Crop and Straighten has zero options and merges close prints
Splitting, orientation, naming, and back pairing all work on existing scans; if the prints survive, re-scanning is even better
Then put the shoebox back in order
However you split them, every scan thinks it was taken this year. Timeline Scan, the service behind this free app, estimates when each photo was really taken and writes the date into the file, so the collection sorts chronologically in Google Photos, Apple Photos, or Immich. Try it free.
Put my scans in orderSee it before you download it
Four short looping clips on the product page show detection, naming, back pairing, and oversized stitching.
See it in actionCommon questions
No. ScanSpeeder’s own system requirements list Windows only (Vista through Windows 11)[1]; there is no Mac version. On a Mac, FrontBack Scanner covers the same job free: lay several prints on the flatbed and each one is detected, cropped, straightened, turned upright, and saved as its own named file. It is free on Windows too, so the license is optional there as well.
No. AutoSplitter is made for Windows 10 and 11 only[2]; searching “autosplitter for mac” mostly finds speedrun timing tools that share the name. On a Mac or a PC, FrontBack Scanner does the same job free, both at the scanner and on composite scan files you already have: drag files or a whole folder onto the window and it splits each one.
Yes. FrontBack Scanner is free on Windows 10 and 11 as well as on the Mac, so the license is optional on the platform ScanSpeeder and AutoSplitter were built for. It splits while it scans, driving the scanner through its Windows (WIA) driver, and since version 1.5 it also opens composite scan files you already have and splits those the same way, one file or a whole folder at a time.
Scan or split with FrontBack Scanner: it is completely free, native, and handles both jobs with automatic cropping, straightening, orientation, sequential naming, and front/back pairing. If you still have the prints, scanning fresh gives the best files: each photo is cropped from a full-resolution single-exposure master instead of a flattened JPEG. If all you have are composite scans, drag them (or a whole folder) onto the window and Split & Next cuts every print out of the original pixels, one scan after another.
Yes. Since version 1.5, FrontBack Scanner opens scans it did not make. Drag one image, several, or a whole folder onto the window (or use File ▸ Open Bed Scan…), and every print in the current scan is detected and boxed; Split & Next cuts each one out of the original full-resolution pixels, saves it cropped, straightened, upright, and numbered, then loads the next scan in the queue, so a folder of hundreds of old whole-bed scans is worked through one after another. Your source files are only ever read, never modified or overwritten. Back-pairing works on files too: split a sheet of fronts, then the sheet of backs, and each back saves as _b beside its front.
ScanSpeeder’s approach to backs is typed captions: you read the back and type what it says into metadata[3]. FrontBack Scanner scans the backs themselves and pairs them automatically: flip each photo where it lies, scan the bed again, and every back saves beside its front as scan_0001_b.jpg, handwriting preserved as an image. The full mechanics are on the front-and-back scanning guide.
Show your work
ScanSpeeder, AutoSplitter, SnipTag, AutoCropper, Adobe®, and Photoshop® are trademarks of their respective owners. FrontBack Scanner and Timeline Scan are made by Timeline Scan LLC, which is not affiliated with any of them. Details on this page were checked against each vendor’s public pages on August 3, 2026; if something here has gone out of date, tell us and we’ll correct it.
Your computer and your flatbed can split the whole shoebox today, free.
Related: the full multi-photo workflow · what Image Capture can and can’t do · Epson ScanSmart alternative