Architecture comparison
Scanned paper is a claim.
Sealed records are proof.
Scanned paper claims to read your history. MyLogbook seals it so nobody can quietly change it. Yours is searchable. Ours is provable.
Different models. Here is the architecture, side-by-side — respectful, specific, and verifiable. No smack-talk.
Don't take our word for it — verify a real record.
Paste a hash on the public verifier. No login. Ten seconds. Proof, not a claim.
Side-by-side comparison
| Scanned paper logbook | MyLogbook | |
|---|---|---|
| How records are made | Photos of paper, read by AI | Typed once, sealed forever |
| Can a record be edited after signing? | Yes — it is a database row | No — SHA-256 + Ed25519, anchored |
| Can a buyer verify a record? | No public verification | Free public verify link, no login |
| Handwriting OCR | Gemini — fails on real logbooks | Not needed — born digital |
| Free tier | 1-month trial | Free — sealed & verifiable* |
| Aircraft-sale proof | A scan of a page | Sealed export + chain of custody |
| Flight schools / fleet | None | Fleet — RBAC, unlimited aircraft, 1TB |
How records are made
Scanned paper logbook
Photos of paper, read by AI
MyLogbook
Typed once, sealed forever
Can a record be edited after signing?
Scanned paper logbook
Yes — it is a database row
MyLogbook
No — SHA-256 + Ed25519, anchored
Can a buyer verify a record?
Scanned paper logbook
No public verification
MyLogbook
Free public verify link, no login
Handwriting OCR
Scanned paper logbook
Gemini — fails on real logbooks
MyLogbook
Not needed — born digital
Free tier
Scanned paper logbook
1-month trial
MyLogbook
Free — sealed & verifiable*
Aircraft-sale proof
Scanned paper logbook
A scan of a page
MyLogbook
Sealed export + chain of custody
Flight schools / fleet
Scanned paper logbook
None
MyLogbook
Fleet — RBAC, unlimited aircraft, 1TB
Scanned paper logbook pricing per their site (2026-08) · MyLogbook pricing per current plans.
The three screens that win the demo
Proof beats search when the sale is on the line.
The seal
You type the entry, sign it, and it is cryptographically sealed — SHA-256 hash plus Ed25519 signature. If anyone changes even one character after the fact, the chain breaks and the verifier says no match. Scanned paper logbook photographs a page, AI guesses the text, it goes in a database. Anyone with write access could change it and no one would know.
The verify link
A public link — no login, no account, no paywall. Anyone, anywhere, checks the hash against the chain in ten seconds. Your FSDO. Your insurance auditor. The A&P doing your prebuy. Scanned paper logbook gives you a picture of your logbook page. If the underlying row was edited, the picture is worth nothing and there is no way to tell.
The search
Search over sealed, signed entries — the index is only as wrong as the mechanic’s typing, and every result links back to its public verify proof. Scanned paper logbook searches over AI-transcribed text that frequently fails on mechanic shorthand and faded ink. Search is only as good as the record behind it.
The aircraft-sale moment — where they cannot follow.
At prebuy, the buyer's A&P asks: “Is this record real?”
With Scanned paper logbook
“Here's a photo of a page we scanned.” — a claim, not proof.
With MyLogbook
“Here's the verify link. Check the hash. Check the anchor. No login.” — proof.
Logbooks hold 40–60% of an aircraft's value. Buyers and their A&Ps are increasingly asking for verifiable digital records. MyLogbook is the only logbook where the answer to “prove it” is a link, not a screenshot.
Pricing — same job, different economics.
| Scanned paper logbook | MyLogbook | |
|---|---|---|
| Free | 1-month trial | Free — sealed & verifiable* |
| Personal | $119/yr | Pro $14.99/mo · Annual $149 |
| Schools / fleets | none | Fleet $100/mo — unlimited aircraft, 1TB, business and schools |
* Free tier limits apply — see pricing. Scanned paper logbook pricing per their public site.
Objections — answered.
But Scanned paper logbook reads my old handwritten logbooks.
So can we — as a service. We seal what we transcribe. Scanned-paper workflows photograph your history and hope the AI got the shorthand right; everything we seal is verifiable after. The difference is not scanning — it is whether anyone can prove the record later.
Isn’t scanned better than typed?
A scan is a picture of a record. A sealed entry is a record with proof. If a scan’s underlying database row gets edited, the picture is worth nothing. After signing, any alteration is detectable — the tamper-evident SHA-256 + Ed25519 chain breaks and the verifier shows NO MATCH. Designed to support the FAR 43.9 data elements; compliance remains the mechanic’s responsibility.
Do you have all of Scanned paper logbook’s features?
We have the ones that matter for a maintenance logbook — sealing, verification, AD/SB & due-item tracking (FAR 43.9 data elements), co-sign, and export. And we have what they do not: integrity you can prove to anyone, and Fleet $100/mo — unlimited aircraft, 1TB, business and schools.
Why is MyLogbook free when scanned-paper tools charge $100+/yr?
Scanned-paper tools pay per-page AI transcription for every photo — that cost gets passed to you. MyLogbook is born-digital; marginal cost per user is near zero, so the personal tier stays free. We make money from Pro features, Fleet, and the network.
See it for yourself.
Open the logbook, seal a record, and check it on the public verifier. No credit card. The verifier never asks for one.