Comparison

Acrobat Reader vs eSign App

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

eSign App

Transform your device into a powerful tool for signing PDF documents and other file types. Easily import, scan, sign, and share documents locally, or send them to others for their signatures. Integrates with popular cloud services for seamless workflow.

Highlights
  • Sign documents anywhere
  • Fill and edit documents
  • Create custom e-signatures
  • Import documents
  • Send documents for signing
  • Cloud service integration
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

eSign App will turn your iPhone or iPad into a powerful instrument for e-signing PDF documents and other formats, and it also allows you to send documents for signature to another party. Quickly import or scan, add a signature, and share any document as a PDF or JPG file. You don’t need an Internet connection because all documents are stored locally on your device. FEATURE HIGHLIGHTS: — Easily Sign Documents Anywhere — Fill and Edit Documents — Create Your e-Signature — Import Your Documents — Send Documents for Signing — Invite the Other Party to Sign — Work seamlessly with cloud services thanks to integrations with iCloud, Dropbox, Evernote, Box, OneDrive, Google Drive, and others. Subscription plans: • 1-week subscription with a 3-day trial version for $4.99 • 1-month subscription for $9.99 • 12-month subscription for $49.99 Note: Prices may vary by location. Subscription auto-renewal information: — A free trial period is available. — Payment will be charged to your iTunes account upon confirmation of purchase. — Your free trial subscription will automatically renew to a paid subscription unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the free trial period. — The subscription will automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current subscription. — The account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours before the end of the current subscription. The cost depends on the selected plan. — Users can manage their subscriptions, and auto-renewal can be turned off by going to the user’s Account Settings after purchase. — Any unused portion of the free trial will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription. Privacy Policy: https://e-sign.co/privacy Terms of Use: https://e-sign.co/terms For any questions or inquiries, please contact us at support@e-sign.co.

Screenshots

Acrobat Reader4 screens
eSign App4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Acrobat Reader at freemium against eSign App's subscription. Acrobat Reader also leads on ratings volume (654K vs 1.5K) and chart position (#2 vs #83). eSign App's advantage is review sentiment (85% vs 49%) and rating (4.8 vs 4.6). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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 eSign App sells 9 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

eSign App holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Acrobat Reader has 654K ratings behind it against 1.5K, 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 85% of eSign App's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Acrobat Reader ships an update every 9 days, eSign App every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Acrobat Reader versus eSign App: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAcrobat ReadereSign App
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (654K ratings)4.8 (1.5K ratings) — better
Positive reviews49.2% of reviews84.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings654K — better1.5K
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium — betterSubscription
Best chart rank#2 — better#83
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.316.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size522 MB109 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAdobe Inc.Municorn Limited

Customer experience

Acrobat Reader

All ratings654,141 ratings
Positive91.4%
Neutral2.4%
Negative6.2%
Written reviews3,096 reviews
Positive49.2%
Neutral4.4%
Negative46.4%

eSign App

All ratings1,494 ratings
Positive95.1%
Neutral0.9%
Negative3.9%
Written reviews364 reviews
Positive84.9%
Neutral1.6%
Negative13.5%

User reviews

Acrobat Reader

From 654K 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

eSign App

From 1.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to use
  • 👍 User-friendly interface
  • 🚀 Efficient signing process
  • 🚀 Convenient for on-the-go document signing
  • 🔒 Secure document handling

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Difficulty canceling subscription
  • 🐛 Unexpected charges/subscription renewals
  • 🐛 Limited functionality in free version
  • 🐛 Unresponsive customer support

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

eSign App

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • App crashes when uploading certain file types
  • Syncing issues between devices

Requested features

3 requests
  • Option to easily cancel subscription
  • More customization options for signatures
  • Ability to add dates and annotations to signed documents

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
9 purchases

eSign App

Subscriptions9
  • Premium features3 Days trial$4.997 Days
  • Premium features3 Days trial$5.997 Days
  • Premium features$9.991 Month
Show 6 more
  • Premium features3 Days trial$9.997 Days
  • Premium features$14.991 Month
  • The Documents Bundle 1 week3 Days trial$14.997 Days
  • The Documents Bundle 1 month3 Days trial$39.991 Month
  • Electronic Signature Creator$49.991 Year
  • Premium features$69.991 Year

Questions

Is Acrobat Reader free?
Acrobat Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is eSign App free?
eSign App is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Acrobat Reader or eSign App?
eSign App is rated higher. Acrobat Reader averages 4.6 out of 5 from 654K ratings, while eSign App averages 4.8 from 1.5K ratings.
Do Acrobat Reader or eSign App have ads?
Neither Acrobat Reader nor eSign App shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Acrobat Reader or eSign App?
Acrobat Reader ships an update every 9 days, and eSign App every 3 weeks. Most recently, Acrobat Reader was updated on September 25, 2026 and eSign App on September 24, 2026.
Which is more popular, Acrobat Reader or eSign App?
Acrobat Reader currently peaks at #2 in the App Store charts, and eSign App at #83. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

Other comparisons