# Acrobat Reader vs PDF Tools

The clearest difference is review sentiment: PDF Tools at 100% against Acrobat Reader's 49%. PDF Tools also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 18.3). Acrobat Reader's advantage is update cadence (every 9 days vs every 16 months) and ratings volume (654K vs 11). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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 Tools sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

PDF Tools holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Acrobat Reader has 654K ratings behind it against 11, 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 100% of PDF Tools's.

Acrobat Reader ships an update every 9 days, PDF Tools every 16 months. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 13, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Acrobat Reader | PDF Tools |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (654K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/acrobat-reader-pdf-editor/id469337564/reviews) | **[5.0 (11 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-tools-sign-and-edit-pdf/id6444650684/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **654K** | 11 |
| Positive reviews | 49.2% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 9 days** | Every 16 months |
| Monetization | Freemium | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | **#2** | — |
| Size | 522 MB | 66 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.3 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Adobe Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/331646274) | [SVG Apps](https://appshunter.io/developer/1154426191) |

## What reviewers say

### Acrobat Reader

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/acrobat-reader-pdf-editor/id469337564)

**Currently charting:** #2 Top Grossing · Business, #14 Top Free · Business, #85 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 Tools

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-tools-sign-and-edit-pdf/id6444650684)

Easily organize, edit, and secure your PDF documents. Add or remove passwords, reorder or delete pages, convert images to PDF, and merge or split files. Sign and annotate documents, then share them instantly.

**Highlights:** Add/remove PDF passwords, Reorder and delete pages, Convert images to PDF, Export PDF pages to images, Sign and annotate PDFs, Merge and split PDF documents, Import/export from cloud services

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

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Subscription | $1.99 | per month |
| Annual Subscription | $19.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Acrobat Reader free?

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

### Is PDF Tools free?

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

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

PDF Tools is rated higher. Acrobat Reader averages 4.6 out of 5 from 654K ratings, while PDF Tools averages 5.0 from 11 ratings.

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

Neither Acrobat Reader nor PDF Tools shows ads.

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

Acrobat Reader ships an update every 9 days, and PDF Tools every 16 months. Most recently, Acrobat Reader was updated on September 25, 2026 and PDF Tools on September 13, 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.*