# Acrobat Reader vs PDF Converter

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Acrobat Reader at 654K against PDF Converter's 336. Acrobat Reader also leads on update cadence (every 9 days vs monthly) and chart position (#2 vs unranked). PDF Converter's advantage is review sentiment (60% 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 Converter sells 7 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 Converter. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Acrobat Reader has 654K ratings behind it against 336, 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 60% of PDF Converter's.

Acrobat Reader ships an update every 9 days, PDF Converter monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Acrobat Reader | PDF Converter |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (654K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/acrobat-reader-pdf-editor/id469337564/reviews) | [4.6 (336 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-converter-pdf-scanner-24/id1564698746/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **654K** | 336 |
| Positive reviews | 49.1% of reviews | **60.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 9 days** | Monthly |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#2** | — |
| Size | 522 MB | 76 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.3 | **15.6** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Adobe Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/331646274) | [Cleaner LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1521796987) |

## 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, #98 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 Converter

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-converter-pdf-scanner-24/id1564698746)

Transform your iPhone into a powerful portable scanner. Digitize important documents, receipts, and books into multipage PDFs. Utilize intelligent OCR to extract editable text and add electronic signatures.

**Highlights:** Scan documents with camera, Import images from cloud storage, OCR text recognition and extraction, Add electronic signatures, Export as JPG or PDF, Organize files into folders

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

**In-app purchases (7)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| PDF Scanner Plus | $2.99 | per 7 days |
| PDF Scanner Monthly | $2.99 | per month |
| PDF Scanner Plus | $4.99 | per 7 days |
| PDF Scanner Plus | $19.99 | per year |
| PDF Scanner Yearly | $23.99 | per year |
| PDF Scanner Plus | $49.99 | per year |
| Lifetime Membership | $35.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Acrobat Reader free?

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

### Is PDF Converter free?

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

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

Acrobat Reader and PDF Converter are both rated 4.6 out of 5 on the App Store, from 654K and 336 ratings respectively.

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

Neither Acrobat Reader nor PDF Converter shows ads.

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

Acrobat Reader ships an update every 9 days, and PDF Converter monthly. Most recently, Acrobat Reader was updated on September 27, 2026 and PDF Converter on September 26, 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.*