# Acrobat Reader vs PDF Pencil

The clearest difference is monetization model: Acrobat Reader at freemium against PDF Pencil's subscription. Acrobat Reader also leads on update cadence (every 10 days vs every 3 months) and ratings volume (664K vs 141). PDF Pencil's advantage is review sentiment (83% vs 49%) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.3). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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 Pencil sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 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 Pencil. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Acrobat Reader has 664K ratings behind it against 141, 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 83% of PDF Pencil's.

Acrobat Reader ships an update every 10 days, PDF Pencil every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Acrobat Reader | PDF Pencil |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.6 (664K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/acrobat-reader-pdf-editor/id469337564/reviews)** | [4.6 (141 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-pencil-fill-out-form/id1462463852/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **664K** | 141 |
| Positive reviews | 49.1% of reviews | **82.6% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 10 days** | Every 3 months |
| Monetization | **Freemium** | Subscription |
| Best chart rank | **#2** | — |
| Size | 552 MB | 27 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.3 | **15.6** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Adobe Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/331646274) | [Warif Rishi](https://appshunter.io/developer/992104775) |

## What reviewers say

### Acrobat Reader

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

**Currently charting:** #2 Top Grossing · Business, #13 Top Free · Business, #88 Top Grossing, #199 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 Pencil

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-pencil-fill-out-form/id1462463852)

Easily sign, annotate, and scan PDF documents. This app allows you to create vector signatures, add text and notes, and convert images or camera scans into PDFs. It offers features like password protection, page rearrangement, and iCloud synchronization for seamless document management.

**Highlights:** Vector signature creation, PDF annotation and form filling, Camera-based PDF scanning, Image to PDF conversion, Password protection for PDFs, Page rearrangement, iCloud synchronization

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium Weekly | $3.99 | per 7 days |
| Premium Monthly | $9.99 | per month |
| Premium Yearly | $49.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Acrobat Reader free?

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

### Is PDF Pencil free?

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

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

Acrobat Reader is rated higher. Acrobat Reader averages 4.6 out of 5 from 664K ratings, while PDF Pencil averages 4.6 from 141 ratings.

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

Neither Acrobat Reader nor PDF Pencil shows ads.

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

Acrobat Reader ships an update every 10 days, and PDF Pencil every 3 months. Most recently, Acrobat Reader was updated on October 29, 2026 and PDF Pencil on October 24, 2026.

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