# Acrobat Reader vs Distmar

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Distmar at none against Acrobat Reader's 18. Distmar also leads on iOS requirement (16.4 vs 18.3). Acrobat Reader's advantage is update cadence (every 10 days vs every 11 months) and chart position (#2 vs unranked). On price, ads 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. Distmar asks for nothing beyond the download.

Acrobat Reader ships an update every 10 days, Distmar every 11 months. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Acrobat Reader | Distmar |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.6 (658K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/acrobat-reader-pdf-editor/id469337564/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **658K** | — |
| Positive reviews | 49.2% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 10 days** | Every 11 months |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Best chart rank | **#2** | — |
| Size | 527 MB | 1 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.3 | **16.4** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Adobe Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/331646274) | [Alvaro Vazquez Luna](https://appshunter.io/developer/1117448586) |

## What reviewers say

### Acrobat Reader

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

**Currently charting:** #2 Top Grossing · Business, #12 Top Free · Business, #72 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


### Distmar

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/distmar/id980832208)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Acrobat Reader free?

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

### Is Distmar free?

Distmar is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Acrobat Reader or Distmar have ads?

Neither Acrobat Reader nor Distmar shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Acrobat Reader or Distmar?

Acrobat Reader ships an update every 10 days, and Distmar every 11 months. Most recently, Acrobat Reader was updated on October 16, 2026 and Distmar on October 2, 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.*