Adobe Acrobat Reader vs Adobe Acrobat

by Gralio Feb 27, 2025

Acrobat Reader is suitable for users who need to view, sign, and annotate PDFs. Acrobat is better for users who need to create, edit, and extensively manage PDFs, particularly in professional settings.

At Gralio.ai we help to simplify your decision-making process by offering detailed, side-by-side software comparisons like this one, to help you confidently choose the tool that aligns with your business goals.

This comparison was created by analysing 9006 reviews and 60 websites, saving 2 days, 2 hours, 32 minutes of reading.

About

Adobe Acrobat Reader is the standard program for viewing, printing, signing, and sharing PDF documents. It's free to use and allows you to fill out forms, add comments, and use digital signatures. While you can't edit the content of a PDF with Reader, you can collaborate with others and ensure everyone is viewing the document in the correct format. For additional features like editing PDFs, you'll need a paid Adobe Acrobat subscription.
Adobe Acrobat is a software solution that lets you create, edit, convert, share, sign, and combine PDF documents. Popular with large companies, Acrobat offers robust security features to protect your documents and ensures compliance with industry standards. You can integrate Acrobat with Microsoft 365, Teams, Outlook, Google Workspace, and other popular apps to streamline your workflows. It also offers mobile functionality so you can work from anywhere.

Summary

Main difference
Adobe Acrobat Reader is a free PDF viewer for basic tasks like viewing, signing, and annotating PDFs. Adobe Acrobat is a paid software for creating, editing, and managing PDFs, offering advanced features and integrations.

Relative strengths of Adobe Acrobat Reader (compared to Adobe Acrobat)

  • Free to use for basic PDF tasks.

  • Easy to use interface for viewing, signing, and annotating.

  • Widely accessible and compatible across various devices.

Relative weaknesses of Adobe Acrobat Reader (compared to Adobe Acrobat)

  • Limited editing capabilities.

  • Cannot create or convert PDFs.

  • Fewer advanced features compared to Acrobat.

Who is using Adobe Acrobat Reader and Adobe Acrobat?

Who should use Adobe Acrobat Reader VS. Adobe Acrobat

Adobe Acrobat Reader is the free standard for viewing, signing, and sharing PDFs. Users love its seamless PDF management and user-friendly interface. However, some have reported recent performance issues and file size restrictions. It's ideal for anyone needing to interact with PDF documents, from filling forms to adding comments.

Adobe Acrobat is a robust PDF solution for creating, editing, and managing documents. Users praise its e-signature options and visual editing features but note occasional issues with scanned image conversion and formatting. Ideal for businesses of all sizes across various industries, Acrobat seamlessly integrates with popular platforms like Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace.

  • Ideal for individuals and businesses of all sizes.

  • Suitable for most industries needing to work with PDFs.

  • Excellent fit for small, medium, and large businesses.

  • Suitable for businesses across all industries.

Adobe Acrobat Reader and Adobe Acrobat features

Supported
Partially supported
Not supported
Type in the name of the feature or in your own words tell us what you need

  • Document Template Creation
    Not supported

    Acrobat Reader does not support creating document templates.

    Partially supported

    Acrobat Sign supports templates with form fields, but advanced features like calculations and conditional logic are not explicitly mentioned.

  • PDF Management
    Supported

    Acrobat Reader enables viewing, sharing, and storing PDFs locally or via cloud services.

    Supported

    Adobe Acrobat supports viewing, storing, and sharing PDFs, especially with cloud integration.

  • PDF Fill and Sign
    Supported

    Acrobat Reader lets you fill, sign, and share PDFs using the Fill & Sign tool.

    Supported

    Adobe Acrobat lets you fill, sign, and share PDF documents, including forms.

  • Annotate PDF
    Supported

    Adobe Acrobat Reader lets you add annotations, comments, and highlights to PDFs.

    Supported

    Adobe Acrobat allows adding annotations, comments, and highlights to PDF documents.

  • Sign document
    Supported

    Acrobat Reader lets you sign PDFs electronically using the Fill & Sign tool.

    Supported

    Adobe Acrobat supports electronic signatures through its integration with Acrobat Sign.

  • Zooming and Scrolling
    Supported

    Zooming and scrolling are supported.

    Supported

    Zooming and scrolling are supported.

Qualities

  • Value and Pricing Transparency
    -0.43
    Rather negative sentiment
    -0.61
    Rather negative sentiment
  • Customer Service
    No data
    +0.33
    Rather positive sentiment
  • Ease of Use
    +0.96
    Strongly positive sentiment
    +0.71
    Strongly positive sentiment
  • Reliability and Performance
    +0.33
    Rather positive sentiment
    +0.2
    Neutral sentiment
  • Ease of Implementation
    +1
    Strongly positive sentiment
    +0.29
    Neutral sentiment
  • Scalability
    No data
    +0.6
    Rather positive sentiment

Adobe Acrobat Reader and Adobe Acrobat Pricing

Adobe Acrobat Reader is free. Paid plans offer additional features like editing PDFs.
Plans

User sentiment

Rather negative
-0.43

See full Pricing page

Adobe offers a free tier for their PDF Services API with 500 free document transactions per month. For higher volume needs, they offer enterprise pricing with custom quotes. Adobe PDF Embed API is free to use with unlimited access.
Plans

See full Pricing page

Adobe Acrobat Reader and Adobe Acrobat review insights

Users love

  • Seamless PDF management.
  • User-friendly interface.
  • Easy document signing.
  • Document accessibility and organization features are highly appreciated.
  • Easy to use electronic signature options
  • The visual options and editing features are great
  • The convenience of saving to the Adobe Document Cloud and accessing files from all devices
  • Long trial period

Users dislike

  • File size restrictions can be frustrating for users.
  • Recent updates have introduced performance issues and complexity in usage.
  • Customer service is not consistently available for support.
  • The new version of the platform is considered more complicated to use.
  • Scanned images sometimes don't get converted well in Acrobat Pro
  • The software is lagging and requires high system configuration
  • It can be difficult to incorporate certain features and third party features
  • The cost is a bit higher than what I like
  • Recent document editing issues with format changes

Adobe Acrobat Reader and Adobe Acrobat Ratings

  • G2
    4.5/5
    (1693)
  • Capterra
    4.7/5
    (2424)
  • Glassdoor
    4.3/5
    (10097)
  • G2
    4.5/5
    (2513)
  • Capterra
    4.7/5
    (2384)
  • Glassdoor
    4.3/5
    (10097)

Company health

Employee growth

4% increase in the last year
4% increase in the last year

Web traffic

1% decrease in the last quarter
1% decrease in the last quarter

Financing

June 1984 - $3M
June 1984 - $3M

How does Acrobat's PDF editing compare to Reader's annotation features?

Acrobat allows full PDF editing (changing text, images, formatting, etc.), while Reader focuses on annotation features (adding comments, highlights, sticky notes, etc.) without changing the original PDF content. Reader's annotation tools are designed for feedback and collaboration, whereas Acrobat offers more extensive modification capabilities.

Which product best integrates with existing cloud storage solutions?

Adobe Acrobat (Product B) integrates better with existing cloud storage solutions. Its description explicitly mentions integration with popular platforms like Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and other apps, suggesting more robust cloud integration capabilities compared to Adobe Acrobat Reader (Product A), which only mentions local or cloud storage via unspecified services.

What are the advantages of Adobe Acrobat Reader?

Adobe Acrobat Reader's main advantage is its free access to essential PDF functionalities like viewing, printing, signing, and sharing. This makes it highly accessible for individuals and businesses of all sizes. It also boasts a user-friendly interface praised for ease of use and seamless PDF management.

What are the disadvantages of Adobe Acrobat Reader?

Adobe Acrobat Reader's main disadvantages include limited editing capabilities, occasional performance issues and complexities introduced by updates, file size restrictions, and inconsistent customer service availability. Some users find the newer versions more complicated than previous iterations. While it excels at viewing, signing, and sharing PDFs, the free version lacks the robust editing features found in paid software like Adobe Acrobat.

Alternatives to Adobe Acrobat Reader and Adobe Acrobat

Logo of PDF Reader Pro
PDF Reader Pro
Edit, annotate, convert, and sign PDFs. Powerful, yet affordable.
Read more
Logo of Nitro Pro
Nitro Pro
Effortless PDF editing, signing, and securing. A robust Acrobat alternative.
Read more
Logo of UPDF
UPDF
Edit, annotate, convert, and manage PDFs. Cross-platform, AI-powered.
Read more
Logo of PDF Page Editor Pro Edition
PDF Page Editor Pro Edition
Edit, rearrange, and organize PDF pages with powerful tools.
Read more
Logo of iLovePDF
iLovePDF
Easy online PDF tools: edit, convert, merge, and more.
Read more
Logo of PDF Studio
PDF Studio
Powerful, affordable PDF editor for all your document needs.
Read more
Page co-authored by
MK
Michal Kaczor
CEO at Gralio

Michal has worked at startups for many years and writes about topics relating to software selection and IT management. As a former consultant for Bain, a business advisory company, he also knows how to understand needs of any business and find solutions to its problems.

TT
Tymon Terlikiewicz
CTO at Gralio

Tymon is a seasoned CTO who loves finding the perfect tools for any task. He recently headed up the tech department at Batmaid, a well-known Swiss company, where he managed about 60 software purchases, including CX, HR, Payroll, Marketing automation and various developer tools.

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