# Acrobat Reader vs Adobe Acrobat Sign

The clearest difference is rating: Acrobat Reader at 4.6 against Adobe Acrobat Sign's 2.2. Acrobat Reader also leads on review sentiment (49% vs 11%) and update cadence (every 9 days vs every 2 months). Adobe Acrobat Sign's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 18) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.3). On price, ads, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Acrobat Reader sells 16 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Adobe Acrobat Sign asks for nothing beyond the download.

Acrobat Reader holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 2.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Acrobat Reader has 654K ratings behind it against 645, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 49% of Acrobat Reader's written reviews are positive against 11% of Adobe Acrobat Sign's.

Acrobat Reader ships an update every 9 days, Adobe Acrobat Sign every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Acrobat Reader | Adobe Acrobat Sign |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.6 (654K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/acrobat-reader-pdf-editor/id469337564/reviews)** | [2.2 (645 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/adobe-acrobat-sign/id481082197/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **654K** | 645 |
| Positive reviews | **49.1% of reviews** | 11.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 9 days** | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#2** | — |
| Size | 522 MB | 140 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.3 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Adobe Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/331646274) | [Adobe Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/331646274) |

## 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 (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


### Adobe Acrobat Sign

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/adobe-acrobat-sign/id481082197)

This app allows you to easily and securely get documents and forms signed electronically from anywhere. It enables you to sign documents yourself, send them to others for their signatures, track progress in real-time, and even scan paper documents into PDFs for signing.

**Highlights:** Sign documents on the go, Send documents for e-signature, Track agreement progress, Scan paper documents to PDF, Offline signing capability, In-person signing, Legally binding and secure

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Convenient to use
- 💡 Useful for business
- 👍 Easy to navigate
- 🚀 Saves time

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Buggy and crashes frequently
- 🔑 Difficult to login and stay signed in
- 👎 Poor user interface
- 🤔 Lacks key functionality
- 💰 Overpriced for the features

**Reported bugs**

- Documents fail to load or send
- App redirects to website instead of functioning in-app
- Inconsistent behavior across iOS and Android
- Signing process often does not work as expected

**Requested features**

- Integration with OneDrive and other cloud storage
- Ability to resize signature/initial boxes
- Offline signing capability
- Streamlined login process
- Improved notification system


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Acrobat Reader free?

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

### Is Adobe Acrobat Sign free?

Adobe Acrobat Sign is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat Sign?

Acrobat Reader is rated higher. Acrobat Reader averages 4.6 out of 5 from 654K ratings, while Adobe Acrobat Sign averages 2.2 from 645 ratings.

### Do Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat Sign have ads?

Neither Acrobat Reader nor Adobe Acrobat Sign shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat Sign?

Acrobat Reader ships an update every 9 days, and Adobe Acrobat Sign every 2 months. Most recently, Acrobat Reader was updated on October 1, 2026 and Adobe Acrobat Sign on September 29, 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.*