# Acrobat Reader vs PDF to Word

The clearest difference is ads: Acrobat Reader at none against PDF to Word's shown. Acrobat Reader also leads on ratings volume (654K vs 72) and update cadence (every 9 days vs every 6 weeks). PDF to Word's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.3). On price, rating, review sentiment and in-app purchases 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 to Word sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Acrobat Reader against 4.5 for PDF to Word. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Acrobat Reader has 654K ratings behind it against 72, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 49% and 48% positive.

Acrobat Reader ships an update every 9 days, PDF to Word every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 10, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Acrobat Reader | PDF to Word |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.6 (654K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/acrobat-reader-pdf-editor/id469337564/reviews)** | [4.5 (72 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-to-word/id722686983/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **654K** | 72 |
| Positive reviews | **49.1% of reviews** | 48.2% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Every 9 days** | Every 6 weeks |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#2** | — |
| Size | 522 MB | 149 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) | [建伟 徐](https://appshunter.io/developer/331236205) |

## 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, #80 Top Grossing, #203 Top Free (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 to Word

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-to-word/id722686983)

Convert PDF documents into editable Microsoft Office Word files, preserving original formatting and layout. This utility offers fast, on-device processing without an internet connection, supporting various export formats and file management options.

**Highlights:** Convert PDF to Word (.docx), Preserves original layout and formatting, Fast conversion, on-device processing, Supports multiple export formats (PPTX, XLSX, Image, RTF, TXT, HTML), Convert specific pages, File manager with transfer and compression options, Import from various apps and cloud storage

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

**In-app purchases (5)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| PDF to Word - Pro Yearly | $19.99 | per year |
| PDF to Word +1 Times | $0.99 | one-time |
| PDF to Word +10 Times | $4.99 | one-time |
| PDF to Word +100 Times | $19.99 | one-time |
| PDF to Word - Pro Lifetime | $39.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Fast conversion speed
- 👍 Easy to use
- ✅ Good conversion effect
- 📄 Converts PDF to Word
- 🖼️ Retains image and text formatting

**What reviewers complain about**

- ❌ Premium version required for full functionality
- 💸 Paid and still doesn't work
- 🐛 Crashing issues
- 📄 Poor formatting after conversion
- ❌ Limited free version (2 pages)

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes when converting
- Paid version does not work
- Conversion results in uneditable images
- Formatting is lost or corrupted
- Upgrade button does not work

**Requested features**

- Support OCR function
- Improve conversion of scanned PDFs
- Fix crashing issues on iOS 8
- Allow conversion of full pages after upgrade
- Improve handling of complex formatting


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Acrobat Reader free?

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

### Is PDF to Word free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Acrobat Reader or PDF to Word?

Acrobat Reader is rated higher. Acrobat Reader averages 4.6 out of 5 from 654K ratings, while PDF to Word averages 4.5 from 72 ratings.

### Do Acrobat Reader or PDF to Word have ads?

PDF to Word shows ads; Acrobat Reader does not.

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

Acrobat Reader ships an update every 9 days, and PDF to Word every 6 weeks. Most recently, Acrobat Reader was updated on September 25, 2026 and PDF to Word on September 10, 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.*