Foxit PDF Reader vs Adobe Acrobat

by Gralio Feb 20, 2025

Foxit PDF Reader and Adobe Acrobat are PDF software solutions catering to different user needs. Foxit offers a budget-friendly, user-friendly option for essential PDF tasks. Adobe Acrobat provides a comprehensive suite of tools and integrations suitable for enterprise-level document management.

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 5897 reviews and 60 websites, saving 1 day, 9 hours, 15 minutes of reading.

Foxit PDF Reader

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Adobe Acrobat

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About

Foxit PDF Reader is a popular alternative to Adobe Acrobat. It lets you view, annotate, fill out, and sign PDF documents. You can also collaborate on documents with colleagues. Foxit offers a cloud-based version for easy access and sharing and integrates well with other tools like Microsoft Office 365. Many businesses find it to be a faster and more affordable option than Adobe.

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

Foxit PDF Reader is a cost-effective PDF editor prioritizing speed and ease of use, ideal for businesses and individuals seeking a straightforward solution. Adobe Acrobat offers advanced features, robust security, and broader integration capabilities, making it suitable for larger enterprises with complex document workflows and high security needs.

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

Cost-effective solution with competitive pricing.
Lightweight and fast, known for its speed and efficiency.
Easy-to-use interface suitable for basic PDF editing needs.

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

Limited advanced features compared to Adobe Acrobat.
Occasional bugs and errors reported by users.
Mobile app functionality is less comprehensive than Adobe Acrobat.

Who should use Foxit PDF Reader VS. Adobe Acrobat

Foxit PDF Reader is a robust, user-friendly, and cost-effective PDF solution. Users praise its speed, intuitive interface, and comprehensive features, especially the annotation capabilities. While some experience occasional bugs or slow performance with large files, many find it a strong alternative to Adobe Acrobat.

Adobe Acrobat is a versatile PDF solution for creating, editing, and managing documents. Users praise its e-signature features and visual editing capabilities, while some note occasional issues with scanned images and pricing. Acrobat integrates with popular platforms like Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, making it suitable for businesses seeking streamlined document workflows.

Ideal for small, medium, and large businesses.
Suitable for various sectors, including healthcare, finance, and education.

Best for small, medium, and large businesses.
Ideal for various sectors, including Healthcare, Finance, and E-commerce.

Foxit PDF 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

Convert to PDF

Not supported

Foxit PDF Reader does not convert to PDF. Foxit PDF Editor does.

Supported

Adobe Acrobat converts various file formats, including Word, Excel, and images, to PDF.
Manage PDF pages

Not supported

Foxit PDF Reader can rotate pages for viewing but not permanently. Other page management features require Foxit PDF Editor.

Supported

Adobe Acrobat supports organizing, inserting, extracting, replacing, splitting, rotating, and cropping PDF pages.
Document Template Creation

Not supported

Foxit PDF Reader does not support dynamic templates.

Partially supported

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

Supported

Foxit PDF Reader allows adding annotations, comments and highlights.

Supported

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

Supported

Foxit PDF Reader allows electronic signatures with various options.

Supported

Adobe Acrobat supports electronic signatures through its integration with Acrobat Sign.
Zooming and Scrolling

Supported

Foxit PDF Reader supports zooming in and out and scrolling through pages.

Supported

Zooming and scrolling are supported.

Qualities

Value and Pricing Transparency

+0.56

Rather positive sentiment

-0.62

Rather negative sentiment
Customer Service

+0

Neutral sentiment

+0.2

Neutral sentiment
Ease of Use

+0.87

Strongly positive sentiment

+0.78

Strongly positive sentiment
Reliability and Performance

+0.67

Rather positive sentiment

+0.33

Rather positive sentiment
Ease of Implementation

+0.64

Rather positive sentiment

+0.41

Rather positive sentiment
Scalability

No data

+0.11

Neutral sentiment

Foxit PDF Reader and Adobe Acrobat Pricing

Foxit PDF Reader offers tiered subscription pricing with two main plans: PDF Editor and PDF Editor+. A free trial is available for each product. The PDF Reader is the only completely free product they offer.

Plans

User sentiment

Rather positive

+0.56

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

User sentiment

Rather negative

-0.62

See full Pricing page

Foxit PDF Reader and Adobe Acrobat review insights

5897 reviews analysed from and

Users love

Lightweight and fast.
Easy to use and intuitive interface.
Good annotation tools.
Feature-rich, even in the free version.

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

Occasional bugs and errors.
Sluggish performance with large files.
Mobile app has limited features.
Ads can be distracting in the free version.

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

Foxit PDF Reader and Adobe Acrobat Ratings

G2

4.5/5

(153)
Capterra

4.5/5

(855)

G2

4.5/5

(2513)
Capterra

4.7/5

(2384)
Glassdoor

4.3/5

(10097)

Company health

Employee growth

No data

4% increase in the last year

Web traffic

No data

1% decrease in the last quarter

Financing

No data

June 1984 - $3M

How do Foxit's and Adobe's cloud integrations differ?

Foxit integrates with Microsoft Office 365, providing a smoother experience for users working within that ecosystem. Adobe Acrobat integrates with a wider range of platforms, including Microsoft 365, Teams, Outlook, Google Workspace, and other popular apps, offering more flexibility for users working across diverse platforms. While both offer cloud-based functionality, Adobe emphasizes its Document Cloud for access across devices, whereas Foxit focuses on cloud storage for access and sharing.

Which product offers better performance with large files?

Foxit PDF Reader is reported to have sluggish performance with large files, while user reviews of Adobe Acrobat do not mention similar performance issues. Therefore, Adobe Acrobat is likely the better choice for working with large PDF files.

What are the advantages of Foxit PDF Reader?

Foxit PDF Reader is known for being lightweight and fast, offering a user-friendly interface, and providing a good selection of annotation tools. It's praised for its rich feature set, even in the free version, making it a cost-effective alternative to Adobe Acrobat. Users find it easier to use and more affordable.

What are the disadvantages of Foxit PDF Reader?

Foxit PDF Reader users have reported occasional bugs and errors, sluggish performance with large files, limited features in the mobile app, and distracting ads in the free version.

Is Foxit PDF Reader cheaper than Adobe Acrobat?

Foxit PDF Reader is cheaper than Adobe Acrobat. Foxit PDF Reader offers paid plans starting at GIP 107.36/year. While Adobe Acrobat offers a free version, the paid versions are typically more expensive than Foxit's offerings, with custom enterprise pricing for more advanced features. Therefore, for users needing the paid features of a PDF editor, Foxit is generally the more affordable option.

Alternatives to Foxit PDF 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.

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.

Adobe Acrobat Reader

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.

ClickUp

ClickUp is a comprehensive work management platform designed to consolidate various work processes into one centralized location. It offers a wide array of features including task management, project planning, document collaboration, communication tools, goal setting, and automation options. ClickUp aims to enhance team collaboration, improve visibility across projects, and streamline workflows for increased productivity regardless of team size or industry.

DocHub

DocHub is an online platform that makes it easy to edit, sign, and share PDF documents. It's especially useful for tasks like signing contracts, filling out forms, and collaborating on documents with colleagues. DocHub offers a free plan with basic features, as well as paid plans with more advanced options. It stands out for its seamless integration with Google Workspace, allowing you to work with documents directly from your Google apps. DocHub prioritizes security with features like encryption and audit trails to keep your documents safe.

pdfFiller by airSlate

pdfFiller by airSlate is a cloud-based software solution designed to streamline document workflows. It allows users to create, edit, convert, sign, and share PDFs. With features like form building, data extraction, and electronic signatures, pdfFiller aims to simplify document management for businesses of all sizes. Its intuitive interface and comprehensive functionality make it a suitable option for mid-sized companies looking to optimize document-related processes.

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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