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.

Adobe Acrobat Reader

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Adobe Acrobat

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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 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

No data

No data
Customer Service

No data

No data
Ease of Use

No data

No data
Reliability and Performance

No data

No data
Ease of Implementation

No data

No data
Scalability

No data

No data

Adobe Acrobat Reader and Adobe Acrobat Pricing

No data

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

Web traffic

1% decrease in the last quarter

Financing

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

Foxit PDF Editor Suite

Foxit PDF Editor Suite is a software solution for businesses to create, edit, manage, and securely share PDFs. It offers e-signature capabilities, integrates with popular platforms like Microsoft Office 365 and Google Workspace, and boasts AI-powered features for document analysis and generation. Foxit is known as a cost-effective alternative to Adobe Acrobat, recognized for its speed and innovative features.

Soda PDF Anywhere

Soda PDF Anywhere is a software solution that makes it easy to work with PDF files. It's available both as a desktop app and online, so you can access it from your computer, phone, or tablet. With Soda PDF Anywhere, you can edit, merge, convert, compress, sign, and secure your PDF documents. You can also use it to create PDFs from scratch or from other file formats. It integrates seamlessly with cloud storage services like Dropbox and Google Drive. Soda PDF Anywhere is designed to be easy to use, with a simple interface and helpful features.

Xodo Sign

Xodo Sign (formerly eversign) is a cloud-based e-signature service designed for individuals, small and medium businesses, and large enterprises. It allows you to securely sign, send, approve, and manage documents online. Xodo Sign prioritizes data security and offers features like document automation, in-person signing, and integrations with popular platforms like Dropbox and Google Workspace. Its goal is to streamline document workflows, cut down on paper, and help you close deals faster.

Adobe Reader Mobile

Adobe Reader Mobile is a free app for iPhones, iPads and Android devices. It allows you to open, view, and interact with PDF documents on the go. With it, you can fill out forms, add your signature, make comments, and share PDFs. While some features are basic, like highlighting and adding notes, a paid subscription unlocks more advanced features. Adobe Reader Mobile is a product of Adobe, a large, established software company.

PDF Reader Pro

PDF Reader Pro is a software application for viewing, editing, and manipulating PDF files. It offers a range of features, including AI-powered tools for summarizing, translating, and proofreading documents, as well as standard functions like editing text and images, converting between formats, annotating, signing, and securing PDFs. Geared towards businesses of all sizes, PDF Reader Pro aims to be a cost-effective alternative to Adobe Acrobat, providing a comprehensive suite of tools to enhance productivity and streamline document workflows.

Adobe Document Cloud

Adobe Document Cloud is a suite of online tools that lets you create, edit, sign, and share documents from any device. It includes popular applications like Acrobat Pro for editing PDFs, and Adobe Sign for electronic signatures. With a focus on document productivity and collaboration, it's a good fit for businesses of all sizes that want to go paperless and streamline their workflows. Adobe Document Cloud promises a secure and reliable way to manage important documents while simplifying common tasks.

Page co-authored by

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.

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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