Comparison

Acrobat Reader vs PDF Reader & 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 allows users to open, read, fill, sign, and comment on PDF documents. It offers advanced features like PDF creation, editing, conversion to other formats, and AI-powered assistance for a fee.

Highlights
  • Open and read PDFs
  • Fill and sign forms
  • Add comments and highlights
  • Create PDFs from photos/files
  • Convert PDFs to Word/Excel/PowerPoint
  • AI Assistant for summaries and Q&A
Features
Read full description

Adobe Acrobat Reader is the free PDF reader for opening, reading, filling in, signing and commenting on PDFs on your iPhone or iPad. It’s the world’s most trusted PDF reader, PDF editor and PDF maker, with more than 635 million installs and an App Store Editors’ Choice award. You also don’t need a subscription to read, fill in or sign PDFs. Need to do more? With Acrobat Premium, you can create PDFs from photos and files, edit text, convert PDFs to Word, Excel or PowerPoint, combine PDFs into one file and reorder pages. Free in Acrobat Reader: PDF viewer and PDF signer • Open and read any PDF, and use Liquid Mode to fit the text to your screen • Highlight text and add comments and sticky notes to your PDF • Fill in PDF forms and sign them with your finger using Fill & Sign • Share PDFs straight from the app • Open files and PDFs from your iPhone, email, Google Drive, OneDrive or Dropbox • Store and manage files, and star important docs for quick access • Open scans from the free Adobe Scan app to fill in, sign and share • Listen to PDFs read aloud with free voices With Acrobat Premium: PDF editor and PDF converter Start with a 7-day free trial. • Create a PDF from photos, Microsoft Office files, Google Docs or web pages • Edit text and images, fix typos and add paragraphs • Convert PDFs to Word, Excel, PowerPoint or image files, keeping fonts and formatting • Merge or combine PDFs into one file, like a resume and cover letter for a job application • Make a PDF smaller so it fits an email or upload limit • Insert, reorder, rotate, delete, extract or crop pages, or split a PDF into several files • Turn scanned docs into searchable, editable text with OCR • Password-protect PDFs • Edit, compress and export files and PDFs from Google Drive • Listen with higher-quality read-aloud voices Who Acrobat Reader is made for: • Students: merge notes into one file, highlight and comment on PDFs, listen to notes, and chat with AI Assistant • Mobile pros: open contracts and forms from email, fill and sign them, and send them back • Small businesses: create PDF invoices, sign contracts, convert PDFs to Word files, create PDF Spaces for projects • iPhone and iPad users: open PDFs from Files, Mail or your browser, set Acrobat Reader as your default PDF app, and go beyond viewing with comments and more • Get PDFs read aloud through Apple CarPlay for hands-free listening on the road Adobe Acrobat AI Assistant: Paid feature*, free for a limited time. • 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 and have answers read aloud • Ask questions and get cited answers about info in your PDF docs, including charts, graphs and tables • Use Hands-free to keep the conversation flowing with voice only • Instantly generate summaries from your PDFs • Get content for emails, text, study notes, blogs and more What’s new in Acrobat Reader: Collaborate and share your files in PDF Spaces, and turn your document summaries into podcast-style audio in Acrobat Studio. Frequently asked questions: Is Acrobat Reader free? Yes. You can open, read, fill in and sign PDFs for free. Do I need an Adobe account? No. You can read PDFs without one. Sign in with a free Adobe account to store files in Adobe Document Cloud storage, access them across devices and use more tools. Can I turn off AI features? Yes. AI Assistant features are optional, and you can turn them off in Preferences. The Acrobat Reader mobile app is designed to work with EMM enabled. *An Adobe Acrobat AI Assistant add-on plan is available to Acrobat Individual customers. iOS 18.316 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

PDF Reader & PDF Editor

This app is a comprehensive tool for managing PDF documents. It allows users to quickly view, annotate, edit, and organize PDFs, as well as convert images to PDF. Advanced features like merging, splitting, and password protection are also available.

Highlights
  • Fast PDF viewing
  • PDF annotation and markup
  • Add e-signatures
  • Image to PDF conversion
  • Merge and split PDFs
  • File management and sorting
  • Password protection for files
Features
Read full description

Looking for a simple and easy-to-use document reading app? PDF Reader is exactly what you need! It’s an ultimate PDF Viewer that allows you to fast open, read and manage your files in one place. Work with this powerful PDF Reading tool to complete your document tasks effortlessly and boost your productivity. This ultra-fast PDF Reader lets you view and annotate PDFs in just a few seconds. It is not only a reading app, you can also use it to add signatures, bookmark PDF pages, convert images to PDFs, merge/split PDF files and organize your files. It’s also a handy PDF editor for students, allowing you to edit and share your paper anytime, anywhere. Download this superior office app to support your work and study, you will have both a PDF viewer, ebook reader, and PDF editor at the same time. Simple, convenient, and lightweight, really worth a try! Handy PDF Viewer • Fast open and view documents • Directly go to the desired page • One-click switch between light and dark mode Easily Read PDF • Page by page and continuous scrolling mode • Horizontal and vertical viewing mode • Quickly search files and texts by keywords • Zoom in and zoom out pages Annotate and Edit PDF • Markup paragraphs with highlight colors • Take notes with underline, strikethrough, etc. • Add e-signatures to PDF files (coming soon) • Doodle on PDF files • Edit text & add images to PDFs Rich PDF Tools • Image to PDF - Easily convert images to PDF files • Merge - Merge multiple PDF files into one • Split - Split and extract PDF pages to multiple PDF documents • Manage pages - Add, delete, and reorder with ease • Print - Print PDF files quickly from your phone • Compress - Compress PDF files to reduce their size to meet your needs • Create - Create blank PDFs with one tap Manage Files • Lock - Set password to lock PDF files and protect them from prying eyes • Sort - You can sort PDF files by file name, size, and last modified time • Delete/Rename/Favorite - You can rename files, delete files, and add files to Favorite • Share - Share files with others and collaborate conveniently #Features coming soon# 1. Fill PDF forms 2. Recognize and extract text from images (OCR) 3. Fast conversion between PDF and Word, Excel, PPT, etc. 4. AI assistant for instant chat, summarization, and translation … Subscription Terms and Details - Get unlimited access to all features: ① USD $9.99/month ② USD $29.99/year with 7-day trial - The payment will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase. - The subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. - Subscription may be managed and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to Account Settings after purchase. - The account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. - Any unused portion of a free trial period will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication. Privacy policy: https://pdfreader.abishkking.com/privacypolicy.html Term of use: https://pdfreader.abishkking.com/terms.html We will keep working hard to optimize the app and improve the user experience. Please feel free to contact us at pdfreaderiosfeedback@gmail.com if you have any suggestions.

Screenshots

Acrobat Reader4 screens
PDF Reader & PDF Editor4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Acrobat Reader at none against PDF Reader & PDF Editor's shown. Acrobat Reader also leads on update cadence (every 10 days vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (665K vs 836). PDF Reader & PDF Editor's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.3). On price, rating, review sentiment and in-app purchases 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 9 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month and PDF Reader & PDF Editor sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Acrobat Reader against 4.6 for PDF Reader & PDF Editor. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Acrobat Reader has 665K ratings behind it against 836, 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 51% of PDF Reader & PDF Editor's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Acrobat Reader ships an update every 10 days, PDF Reader & PDF Editor every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Acrobat Reader versus PDF Reader & PDF Editor: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAcrobat ReaderPDF Reader & PDF Editor
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (665K ratings)4.6 (836 ratings) — better
Positive reviews49.1% of reviews51.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings665K — better836
Update frequencyEvery 10 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#2 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS18.315.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size556 MB113 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAdobe Inc.ABISHKKING LIMITED.

Customer experience

Acrobat Reader

All ratings663,810 ratings
Positive91.3%
Neutral2.4%
Negative6.3%
Written reviews3,318 reviews
Positive49.1%
Neutral4.3%
Negative46.6%

PDF Reader & PDF Editor

All ratings777 ratings
Positive91.1%
Neutral1.8%
Negative7.1%
Written reviews86 reviews
Positive51.2%
Neutral0.0%
Negative48.8%

User reviews

Acrobat Reader

From 665K App Store ratings

What we love

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

Room to improve

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

PDF Reader & PDF Editor

From 836 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Quick PDF editing and responsiveness
  • 👍 Image to PDF conversion is useful
  • 👍 Handles large files seamlessly
  • 👍 Option to sort and lock PDFs
  • 👍 Merge, split, and manage files effortlessly

Room to improve

  • 👎 Aggressive premium push with popups
  • 👎 Not intuitive outside of basic PDF editing
  • 👎 Charges are costly compared to free apps
  • 👎 Free trial is misleading, charged immediately
  • 👎 Billing errors and unexpected charges

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

PDF Reader & PDF Editor

Reported bugs

15 issues
  • Popups for premium are hard to close
  • Free trial is deceptive, charged immediately
  • Merge/split functions stopped working after one use
  • App crashes when opening documents
  • App crashes after a minute of use
Show 10 more
  • Does not find or open saved PDFs
  • Does not use iPad screen size
  • Persistent navigation bar is unsightly
  • Gets stuck in interminable loops
  • Cannot navigate hyperlinks in documents
  • Does not remember the last reading position
  • Text cannot be edited or written
  • Nothing happens when clicking editing buttons
  • Cannot open large files like blueprints
  • Freezes on opening files

Requested features

10 requests
  • Add bookmark functionality
  • Add dark mode
  • Add ability to view file outlines
  • Add ability to add bookmarks
  • Add text selection for copying in edit mode
Show 5 more
  • Add PDF compression feature
  • Add iPad version
  • Allow text editing
  • Improve drawing tools (multiple colors/thicknesses)
  • Improve navigation bar

In-app purchases

9 purchases

Acrobat Reader

Subscriptions9
  • AI Assistant for Acrobat$6.991 Month
  • Acrobat Premium - Weekly$9.997 Days
  • PDF Pack - Doc Creator$9.991 Month
Show 6 more
  • 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 Premium - Yearly7 Days trial$48.991 Year
  • Acrobat Premium - Yearly7 Days trial2 variants$69.991 Year
4 purchases

PDF Reader & PDF Editor

Subscriptions4
  • Monthly Premium$9.991 Month
  • Annual Premium$29.991 Year
  • Annual Premium7 Days trial$29.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Annual Premium14 Days trial$29.991 Year

Questions

Is Acrobat Reader free?
Acrobat Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PDF Reader & PDF Editor free?
PDF Reader & PDF Editor is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Acrobat Reader or PDF Reader & PDF Editor?
PDF Reader & PDF Editor is rated higher. Acrobat Reader averages 4.6 out of 5 from 665K ratings, while PDF Reader & PDF Editor averages 4.6 from 836 ratings.
Do Acrobat Reader or PDF Reader & PDF Editor have ads?
PDF Reader & PDF Editor shows ads; Acrobat Reader does not.
Which is updated more often, Acrobat Reader or PDF Reader & PDF Editor?
Acrobat Reader ships an update every 10 days, and PDF Reader & PDF Editor every 2 months. Most recently, Acrobat Reader was updated on November 5, 2026 and PDF Reader & PDF Editor on November 3, 2026.

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