# Acrobat Reader vs PDF Editor

The clearest difference is ads: Acrobat Reader at none against PDF Editor's shown. Acrobat Reader also leads on review sentiment (49% vs 22%) and ratings volume (654K vs 330). PDF Editor's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs every 9 days) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.3). On price, rating, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Acrobat Reader sells 16 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and PDF Editor sells 13 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Acrobat Reader against 4.6 for PDF Editor. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Acrobat Reader has 654K ratings behind it against 330, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 49% of Acrobat Reader's written reviews are positive against 22% of PDF Editor's.

Acrobat Reader ships an update every 9 days, PDF Editor every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Acrobat Reader | PDF Editor |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (654K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/acrobat-reader-pdf-editor/id469337564/reviews) | [4.6 (330 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-editor-edit-everything/id1356865117/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **654K** | 330 |
| Positive reviews | **49.2% of reviews** | 22.3% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days | **Every 3 days** |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#2** | — |
| Size | 522 MB | 191 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.3 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Adobe Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/331646274) | [Desygner Pty Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/1121127855) |

## What reviewers say

### Acrobat Reader

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/acrobat-reader-pdf-editor/id469337564)

**Currently charting:** #2 Top Grossing · Business, #15 Top Free · Business, #78 Top Grossing, #200 Top Free (US App Store)

This app is a powerful PDF tool for viewing, editing, annotating, and signing documents. It offers AI-powered features for summarizing and interacting with PDFs, along with robust conversion and security options. Collaborate on files and access your documents from anywhere.

**Highlights:** View, edit, and annotate PDFs, Sign and fill PDF forms, Convert files to and from PDF, AI-powered document summarization, Collaborate in PDF Spaces, Compress and secure PDFs, Optical Character Recognition (OCR)

**Features:** iMessage stickers, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (16)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Acrobat Premium - Monthly | $3.99 | per month |
| Adobe Acrobat Premium | $4.99 | per month |
| AI Assistant for Acrobat | $6.99 | per month |
| Acrobat Premium | $7.49 | per 7 days |
| Acrobat Premium - Monthly | $9.99 | per month |
| Acrobat Premium - Weekly | $9.99 | per 7 days |
| PDF Pack - Doc Creator | $9.99 | per month |
| Premium - Edit & Create PDF | $9.99 | per month |
| PDF Edit and Convert Monthly | $12.99 | per month |
| Acrobat Premium - Monthly | $12.99 | per month |
| Acrobat Premium - Monthly | $14.99 | per month |
| Acrobat Reader Plus - Yearly | $19.99 | per year |
| Adobe ExportPDF | $23.99 | per year |
| Adobe Acrobat Pro | $24.99 | per month |
| Acrobat Premium - Yearly | $48.99 | per year |
| Acrobat Premium - Yearly | $69.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Fast and efficient
- 🔒 Secure document storage
- 👍 Convenient for reading and annotating PDFs
- 👍 Useful for students and professionals

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Buggy and unreliable
- 🔒 Overly intrusive login requirements
- 💰 Expensive subscription model
- 👎 Counterintuitive user interface changes
- 🔍 Poor search and organization features

**Reported bugs**

- Frequent crashes and freezes
- Inconsistent behavior when editing PDFs
- Inability to open or save certain file types
- Sync issues between mobile and desktop versions

**Requested features**

- Add erase tool for annotations
- Improve palm rejection for Apple Pencil
- Allow direct text editing in PDFs
- Provide better cloud integration and sync
- Offer more customization options


### PDF Editor

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-editor-edit-everything/id1356865117)

Edit text, images, and layout in PDF files without altering formatting. Convert PDFs to various formats, merge documents, and secure them with passwords. Offers cloud integration and user-friendly navigation for efficient document management.

**Highlights:** Edit text and images, Convert to multiple formats (Word, PPT, JPG, PNG), Resize PDFs, Merge PDF files, Secure with password encryption, Add watermarks, headers, footers, Cloud integration

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (13)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Weekly | $2.99 | per 7 days |
| Pro+ Weekly Subscription 2 | $4.99 | per 7 days |
| Pro+ Weekly Subscription | $6.99 | per 7 days |
| Pro+ Monthly Subscription | $9.95 | per month |
| Monthly | $9.99 | per month |
| Pro+ Monthly | $9.99 | per month |
| Pro+ Annual Subscription 2 | $83.99 | per year |
| Annual | $89.99 | per year |
| Pro+ Annual Subscription | $99.99 | per year |
| Credit pack: 5 credits | $4.99 | one-time |
| Credit pack: 10 credits | $7.99 | one-time |
| Special credit pack | $7.99 | one-time |
| Credit pack: 30 credits | $19.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- ✏️ Comprehensive PDF editing capabilities
- 🎨 Advanced image editing features (logos, backgrounds, signatures)
- ⚡ Fast processing speed for document editing
- 👍 User-friendly interface for most users
- 🔧 Multiple editing tools and options available

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Expensive subscription pricing ($7-99/month)
- 🚫 Limited free trial (3 days, not 7 as advertised)
- 📏 Output files are extremely small and illegible after export
- 🐢 Very slow file uploads and processing
- ❌ Text editing features unavailable in trial version

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes when importing PDFs
- Exported PDFs render at extremely small, unreadable sizes
- Text editing causes font changes and formatting loss
- Duplicate function creates multiple unwanted copies or deletes originals
- App won't open or gets stuck on logo screen

**Requested features**

- Better zoom functionality without distorting document sections
- Ability to edit files across multiple devices with same account
- Improved text editing capabilities
- Document rotation (not just flip) functionality
- Better font compatibility and handling


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Acrobat Reader free?

Acrobat Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is PDF Editor free?

PDF Editor is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Acrobat Reader or PDF Editor?

Acrobat Reader and PDF Editor are both rated 4.6 out of 5 on the App Store, from 654K and 330 ratings respectively.

### Do Acrobat Reader or PDF Editor have ads?

PDF Editor shows ads; Acrobat Reader does not.

### Which is updated more often, Acrobat Reader or PDF Editor?

Acrobat Reader ships an update every 9 days, and PDF Editor every 3 days. Most recently, Acrobat Reader was updated on September 24, 2026 and PDF Editor on September 21, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*