# Acrobat Reader vs PDF Office Pro, Acrobat Expert

The clearest difference is ads: Acrobat Reader at none against PDF Office Pro, Acrobat Expert's shown. Acrobat Reader also leads on ratings volume (654K vs 52) and update cadence (every 9 days vs every 3 weeks). PDF Office Pro, Acrobat Expert's advantage is iOS requirement (14.0 vs 18.3). On price, rating, review sentiment 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 Office Pro, Acrobat Expert sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. 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 4.5 for PDF Office Pro, Acrobat Expert. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Acrobat Reader has 654K ratings behind it against 52, 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 44% of PDF Office Pro, Acrobat Expert's.

Acrobat Reader ships an update every 9 days, PDF Office Pro, Acrobat Expert every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Acrobat Reader | PDF Office Pro, Acrobat Expert |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.6 (654K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/acrobat-reader-pdf-editor/id469337564/reviews)** | [4.5 (52 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-office-pro-acrobat-expert/id1519099937/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **654K** | 52 |
| Positive reviews | **49.2% of reviews** | 44.1% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Every 9 days** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#2** | — |
| Size | 522 MB | 149 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.3 | **14.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Adobe Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/331646274) | [Heytopia LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1516736112) |

## 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, #71 Top Grossing (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 Office Pro, Acrobat Expert

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-office-pro-acrobat-expert/id1519099937)

Edit, sign, and organize PDF documents with this comprehensive tool. Features include text and image editing, OCR, real-time collaboration, and unlimited cloud syncing. Convert PDFs to editable Word documents.

**Highlights:** Edit PDF text and images, Sign PDF forms, OCR image to text conversion, Real-time collaborative editing, Unlimited iCloud syncing, Convert PDFs to Word (.docx)

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Upgrade to Max | Free | one-time |
| Upgrade to Pro Max | Free | one-time |
| Upgrade from Max to Pro Max | Free | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Acrobat Reader free?

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

### Is PDF Office Pro, Acrobat Expert free?

PDF Office Pro, Acrobat Expert is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Acrobat Reader or PDF Office Pro, Acrobat Expert?

Acrobat Reader is rated higher. Acrobat Reader averages 4.6 out of 5 from 654K ratings, while PDF Office Pro, Acrobat Expert averages 4.5 from 52 ratings.

### Do Acrobat Reader or PDF Office Pro, Acrobat Expert have ads?

PDF Office Pro, Acrobat Expert shows ads; Acrobat Reader does not.

### Which is updated more often, Acrobat Reader or PDF Office Pro, Acrobat Expert?

Acrobat Reader ships an update every 9 days, and PDF Office Pro, Acrobat Expert every 3 weeks. Most recently, Acrobat Reader was updated on September 24, 2026 and PDF Office Pro, Acrobat Expert on September 19, 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.*