Comparison

Acrobat Reader vs Document Scanner & PDF Editor

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Acrobat Reader

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
Read full description

Major new updates: Collaborate and share your files in PDF Spaces, and turn your document summaries into podcast-style audio in Acrobat Studio. The world’s most trusted PDF reader, PDF editor, and PDF maker with more than 635 million installs. View, share, annotate, add comments, and sign documents - all in one app. You can store your files online and read documents anywhere. Get your 7-day free trial and try all the features of Acrobat Reader. Paid features: Adobe Acrobat AI Assistant • Work across multiple files in one place with PDF Spaces. Collaborate, store, and use AI Assistant across files • Use voice or text prompts with AI Assistant chatbot • Ask questions and get cited answers about details in your document, including charts, graphs, and tables with Figures Q&A • Easily share the responses you get • Try voice support to ask queries and have answers read aloud. • Use new Hands-free to keep the conversation flowing with voice only • Instantly generate summaries from your PDFs with Generative AI Summaries • Get content for emails, text, study notes, blogs, and more [Adobe Acrobat AI Assistant is a paid feature*, free for a limited time] Edit PDFs • With our PDF editor, edit text and images directly in your PDF (mobile only) • Fix typos or add paragraphs with the PDF editor • Easily add, delete, or rotate any image • Use this PDF signer and PDF viewer to get your docs just right Recognize text • Optical Character Recognition (OCR) turns scanned PDFs into searchable, editable text to use in other formats Merge & organize PDFs with PDF Converter • Split or combine multiple files into one PDF with PDF converter • Use the PDF editor to insert, delete, rotate, crop & reorder pages in your PDF file Create, convert & export PDFs • Easily convert to PDF from any file type including Microsoft, Google Docs, and images • Export and convert PDFs to Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or various image files • Convert web pages to PDFs Compress & highly secure PDFs • Compress PDF files for easy saving and sharing • Password Protect PDF documents Have your PDF read aloud • Listen to your PDFs on the go, great for reading support • Choose free voices or upgrade for high-quality options Subscribe now to access all these features and use Acrobat across mobile and web platforms. Free-to-use features: PDF signer: Fill & Sign Adobe Fill & Sign is free & available in Acrobat Reader. A form filler and PDF signer that lets you fill, sign, and send Liquid mode in the optimal PDF viewer • Get the best PDF reading experience with this PDF viewer • Search, navigate & adjust font size or spacing to fit your screen Annotate PDFs • Add sticky notes, comments, and highlight text Store & manage files • Link online storage accounts like Microsoft OneDrive, Dropbox, or Google Drive • Star files to quickly open important documents Connect the PDF viewer and reader to Google Drive • A PDF creator that lets you edit, compress, and export Google Drive files with a subscription Work with scanned documents • Access scanned PDFs from Adobe Scan in Acrobat to fill, sign, and share The Acrobat Reader mobile app is designed to work with customers who have Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) enabled. *An Adobe Acrobat AI Assistant add-on plan is available to Acrobat Individual customers. iOS 16 or above required. Terms & Conditions: Your use of this application is governed by the Adobe General Terms of Use http://www.adobe.com/go/terms_linkfree_en and the Adobe Privacy Policy http://www.adobe.com/go/privacy_policy_linkfree_en Do not sell or share my personal information www.adobe.com/go/ca-rights-linkfree

About

Document Scanner & PDF Editor

Easily scan documents, receipts, and business cards into high-quality PDFs. Enhance images with filters, convert scanned text to over 110 languages with OCR, and digitally sign documents. Secure your scans with biometric authentication and sync them to iCloud.

Highlights
  • Document scanning
  • Automatic border detection
  • Image filters
  • OCR with 110+ languages
  • Electronic signatures
  • Cloud integration (iCloud)
  • QR code scanning
Features
Read full description

******************************************* Best Document Scanner & Editing App ******************************************* • Scan documents, receipts, QR and business cardsUse App to scan any type of document and save the scan to PDF! • Document Scanner app - Automatically detects borders App automatically detects document borders when you scan a document • Fine tune the image with many filters to reach perfection App has many filters to help you get the best image quality when you scan a document! • Easily manage your documents App lets you easily manage your scanned documents. • With a high-quality PDF Scanner App lets you export your document scan to PDF formats • OCR - Convert image to text - supporting +110 Languages - enables output of text from scanner. App has built in OCR with over 110 languages! • Sign & Send documents to others for signing with an electronic signature. App lets you sign your scanned documents before sending them! • Cloud integration - backup and sync content to the iCloud. App lets you upload your scanned documents to iCloud • Simplify document scanning & signing by adding custom fields to documents. App even lets you add custom fields to your scanned document! • QR Scanner app - scan QR codes, and convert them to email, text and links seamlessly. App can scan QR codes as well! • Protect App - Secure App with your biometric touch id or face id Subscription Policy - Subscriptions are billed monthly or annually at the rate selected depending on the subscription plan. Payment models for Premium subscription: - Yearly Subscription : 29.99 / year which comes with 3 Day Free Trial - Monthly Subscription: $9.99/month - Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase - Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal - Subscriptions auto-renew at the cost of the chosen package, unless cancelled 24-hours in advance prior to the end of the current period. Subscriptions may be managed by going to your iTunes Account Settings after purchase. You may manage your subscription and turn off auto-renewal by going to your Account Settings after purchase. Privacy Policy -https://docs.google.com/document/d/19xAQaUqhzufcmoUhRytfCxsZYqD0UFYSp37sEc_pCck/edit?usp=sharing Service Terms - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iidUEZGzSgPH89kLjn-EVwoPwsCKaD6-UdEWC-w1HfM/edit?usp=sharing

Screenshots

Acrobat Reader4 screens
Document Scanner & PDF Editor4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Document Scanner & PDF Editor at 100% against Acrobat Reader's 49%. Document Scanner & PDF Editor also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 18.3). Acrobat Reader's advantage is update cadence (every 9 days vs every 14 months) and ratings volume (654K vs 7). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Acrobat Reader sells 16 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and Document Scanner & PDF Editor sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Acrobat Reader holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Acrobat Reader has 654K ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 49% of Acrobat Reader's written reviews are positive against 100% of Document Scanner & PDF Editor's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Acrobat Reader ships an update every 9 days, Document Scanner & PDF Editor every 14 months. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Acrobat Reader versus Document Scanner & PDF Editor: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAcrobat ReaderDocument Scanner & PDF Editor
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (654K ratings) — better4.3 (7 ratings)
Positive reviews49.1% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings654K — better7
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 14 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFreemium
Best chart rank#2 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.313.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size522 MB136 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAdobe Inc.Jignesh Thakkar Huf

Customer experience

Acrobat Reader

All ratings654,141 ratings
Positive91.4%
Neutral2.4%
Negative6.2%
Written reviews3,158 reviews
Positive49.1%
Neutral4.4%
Negative46.6%

Document Scanner & PDF Editor

All ratings7 ratings
Positive85.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative14.3%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Acrobat Reader

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • 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

5 requests
  • 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

Document Scanner & PDF Editor

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

16 purchases

Acrobat Reader

Subscriptions16
  • Acrobat Premium - Monthly$3.991 Month
  • Adobe Acrobat Premium$4.991 Month
  • AI Assistant for Acrobat$6.991 Month
Show 13 more
  • Acrobat Premium$7.497 Days
  • Acrobat Premium - Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Acrobat Premium - Weekly$9.997 Days
  • PDF Pack - Doc Creator$9.991 Month
  • Premium - Edit & Create PDF$9.991 Month
  • PDF Edit and Convert Monthly7 Days trial$12.991 Month
  • Acrobat Premium - Monthly$12.991 Month
  • Acrobat Premium - Monthly$14.991 Month
  • Acrobat Reader Plus - Yearly$19.991 Year
  • Adobe ExportPDF$23.991 Year
  • Adobe Acrobat Pro$24.991 Month
  • Acrobat Premium - Yearly7 Days trial$48.991 Year
  • Acrobat Premium - Yearly7 Days trial2 variants$69.991 Year
3 purchases

Document Scanner & PDF Editor

Subscriptions3
  • Doc Scanner Premium Weekly$4.997 Days
  • Doc Scanner Premium Monthly3 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Doc Scanner Premium Yearly7 Days trial$34.991 Year

Questions

Is Acrobat Reader free?
Acrobat Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Document Scanner & PDF Editor free?
Document Scanner & PDF Editor is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Acrobat Reader or Document Scanner & PDF Editor?
Acrobat Reader is rated higher. Acrobat Reader averages 4.6 out of 5 from 654K ratings, while Document Scanner & PDF Editor averages 4.3 from 7 ratings.
Do Acrobat Reader or Document Scanner & PDF Editor have ads?
Neither Acrobat Reader nor Document Scanner & PDF Editor shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Acrobat Reader or Document Scanner & PDF Editor?
Acrobat Reader ships an update every 9 days, and Document Scanner & PDF Editor every 14 months. Most recently, Acrobat Reader was updated on October 2, 2026 and Document Scanner & PDF Editor on September 24, 2026.

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