Adobe Acrobat Reader vs. Adobe Express

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Adobe Acrobat Reader
Score 8.6 out of 10
N/A
Acrobat Reader is a PDF viewer and converter, available as a free download from Adobe. Users can view, sign, collaborate on and annotate PDF files, or edit and convert PDFs into file formats like Excel and Word.N/A
Adobe Express
Score 8.8 out of 10
N/A
Adobe Creative Cloud Express (formerly Adobe Spark) is a task-based, web and mobile product used to create and share rich multimedia content – from social media posts and stories to invitations to marketing materials like logos, flyers and banners.
$0
Pricing
Adobe Acrobat ReaderAdobe Express
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Free
$0.00
Premium
$9.99 / $99.99
per month
Teams
$9.99
per month per user
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Adobe Acrobat ReaderAdobe Express
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsContact Adobe directly for Enterprise pricing plan details.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Adobe Acrobat ReaderAdobe Express
Best Alternatives
Adobe Acrobat ReaderAdobe Express
Small Businesses
Tungsten Power PDF
Tungsten Power PDF
Score 9.4 out of 10
Pexels
Pexels
Score 10.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
pdfFiller
pdfFiller
Score 9.0 out of 10
Pexels
Pexels
Score 10.0 out of 10
Enterprises
Bluebeam
Bluebeam
Score 9.1 out of 10
Pexels
Pexels
Score 10.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Adobe Acrobat ReaderAdobe Express
Likelihood to Recommend
9.2
(0 ratings)
8.8
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
7.2
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(0 ratings)
9.4
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
7.9
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Adobe Acrobat ReaderAdobe Express
Likelihood to Recommend
After creating a document, converting it into Adobe Acrobat Reader is usually very easy for storage in my computer, sending/sharing via emails, etc. This also saves a significant amount of unnecessary printing and paper waste, which is great for reducing waste. I don't have to worry about not having the right software/app to view, edit, and share with anyone.
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I needed to create quarterly safety training posters. In the past, I have used Canva. But in Canva's free version, your options are limited. So off to AE I went. I was able to find four templates to help me create my four posters. I found templates that looked like a movie poster, and the results were so professional looking. It was easy to add my own pictures from my computer to further personalize the posters. I loved them so much I made them into movie poster size printouts, sprayed some liquid glue on a styroboard, and hung them up around our offices. Our employees loved them too, and it drummed up more people to attend my sessions.
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Pros
  • Edit PDFs. One of the biggest challenges faced in document heavy workflows is editing a PDF. Adobe Reader DC does a fantastic job of allowing you to edit pdfs on the fly without having to go back to the original form and reconverting it.
  • Sign PDFs. I spend a lot of time signing contracts and approval forms. Adobe Reader DC allows me to do that quickly without having to use my mouse or another third party platform. I can do all I need right in the Adobe Reader DC workflow.
  • Merge PDFs. I find quite often that I need to put two or more documents together in one form. I can do that with just a few clicks in the Adobe Reader DC merge workflow.
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  • Out-of-the-box templates save a lot of time and effort for designers and new users.
  • Collaboration to share resources and monitor task status centrally.
  • Great design elements bring a wow factor to digital content.
  • Single design tool for all types of content design.
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Cons
  • Accurately exporting all fields correctly (including UI design) of a PDF into various formats. There tend to be quirks with some exports.
  • Choosing the right encryption type. This can get a little tricky.
  • Getting picky with Acrobat custom fields when you're trying to do something out-of-the-box (during PDF creation).
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  • Canva has a better interface, in my opinion... I like that this one is friendly to Adobe users, but I would likely recommend Canva to someone who's never used design software for a complete beginner.
  • Removing the background from images doesn't always work well. I almost always need to switch to Photoshop for this.
  • The touch screen interface could be better; graphics on mobile apps are tough in general but specifically, the iPad interface could use some improvement.
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Likelihood to Renew
To be honest, I do not have any say in the renewal of Adobe Acrobat Reader DC. It is managed at an enterprise level, and the decision to renew or not renew is handled well above my pay grade as an external consultant.
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I use it daily for almost all my marketing needs. So far it is the program that has the most and best to offer for what I need and is the easiest to use
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Usability
Again, Adobe Creative Suite is widely used and backed by an industry leader, making the experience very familiar and common for anyone who has used a PDF and wants more features to interact with it. It also makes copy text a lot easier than just previewing the file.
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The overall usability of the software was strong. The application, especially relative to other Adobe services like Photoshop that can demand a lot of knowledge and skill, was highly easy to use. At the same time, that also speaks to the somewhat limited amount of customization opportunities that allow content designers to truly create content that is dynamic, engaging, and different than the standard stuff that floods our vision every day.
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Support Rating
No answers on this topic
Because adobe is so widespread the community support is amazing. I have never actually used adobe support short of their website, but I go to youtube a lot to get my questions answered. You can google any problem you have and not have any issues finding an answer. In my opinion, community support is much more meaningful and helpful than support directly from the company
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Implementation Rating
The application is pretty much "plug and play"
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No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
The Word app included with Office 365 offers similar collaboration functionality when compared to Adobe reader but with the option to fully change the original document while reviewing. This is both an advantage and disadvantage when compared with the Adobe reader app. Documents left in the Microsoft Word format also have a tendency to appear different depending on screen size and device used and this can be frustrating for some users. Basically, if you need what you have created and formatted to stay put and to appear as you intended and be printed as you intended if needed, use the Adobe PDF format.
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For users already in the Adobe ecosystem, Adobe Express is a great tool to consider for it's modern, professional templates, impressive stock image library and the easy drag-and-drop tools. I mostly do most of my work on desktop, but I know Canva is generally better for mobile usability and its got more third-party integrations that may be important to some users.
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Return on Investment
  • It has had positive impact in that it has save considerable costs vs. investing in cloud-based/subscription based software.
  • In terms of security, it also has had a positive impact, in that it doesn't really require IT staff to take the time to patch the software or work on issues with the software.
  • It has also had a positive impact in that it has not required formal training for users to be able to use the software.
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  • It has allowed us to complete more demos and projects in less time by being so flexible.
  • It has positively impacted our efficiency in delivering creatives such as YouTube thumbnails, event poster designs, Instagram story posts, etc to clients in a timely manner no matter where work takes us.
  • I would say the ROI has been seeing more projects completed and invoiced per month. I would estimate overall a 20% increase in volume on deliverables.
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ScreenShots

Adobe Express Screenshots

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