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.
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Tungsten Power PDF
Score 9.4 out of 10
Small Businesses (1-50 employees)
Tungsten Power PDF (formerly Kofax) is a solution to manage PDFs for businesses
and individuals available with a one-time purchase with no subscription fees. It has a built-in eSignature integration with SignDoc and DocuSign for a complete end-to-end document…
$129
one-time fee per license
Pricing
Adobe Acrobat Reader
Tungsten Power PDF
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Power PDF Standard
$129
one-time fee per license
Power PDF for Mac
$129
one-time fee per license
Power PDF Advanced
$179
one-time fee per license
Power PDF Business
Get a Quote
per year per seat
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Adobe Acrobat Reader
Tungsten Power PDF
Free Trial
No
Yes
Free/Freemium Version
No
No
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
No
No
Entry-level Setup Fee
No setup fee
No setup fee
Additional Details
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Desktop licenses are buy once, own forever. No subscription fees.
Business server licenses are term-based or perpetual with optional maintenance & support contract.
Volume and upgrade discounts available.
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.
Tungsten does not handle movement of pages well inside of document. Small documents with under 10 pages is fine, but 100+ page documents are extremely difficult to move pages or groups of pages around. We replace Adobe with Tungsten and in general the reception has been fine. It is a little clunky with clicking on links instead PDF's as you have you click the hand, and then to copy text you have to go back and click the arrow.
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.
Typewriter functionality is great, although can take some time to load. This allows you to fill in text wherever applicable without turning the rest of the pdf into editable text.
Fast load times
Has autogenerated text feature so anything in the pdf can become editable
I find that quickly editing text within a document or adding a line of text is clunky and can snowball into things popping out of place. I prefer to export text, and then work on it elsewhere.
Sometimes it seems that text recognition is trying too hard and throws me paper punches as "O"s and wrinkles as shapes, so I have to get rid of those artifacts.
The "Update Available" popup which is usually not an actual update announcement but rather an offer to sell me something is annoying.
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.
It was very easy to learn the software and find the features I needed, and I was able to use the help menu for any questions I had. Staff was easily able to start using with no additional training. It easily works with things created in Adobe - handling field forms just fine.
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.
It is fast and easy to get the hang of. It really didn't take a lot of effort to learn how to use this program and I appreciated that it was pretty "plug and play" and there wasn't a long learning curve.
Other that a PDF partially disappearing if left up for a long period of time - no issues. (If you close it and reopen it, it is all there. We have some PDFs that are 400-600 pages long.)
Pages nearly always load at the expected rapid speed. Some documents that print quickly from Adobe Reader print much more slowly from Power PDF. I have never generated a report - that's a feature I didn't know existed until now and do not know what it's for
I haven't had much interaction with support for this product as it is relatively easy for me to use and intuitive. When Kofax acquired the program it rewrote some of the features and I think I reached out for help at one point but tech support provided a quick answer. I did have a very positive experience with the sales staff who helped me get a discount on the current version because I'm a long-time user.
I got an overview of the product from my predecessor who was about to retire from the job I now hold. He did not go into very many of the features and probably only knew about the ones he used most frequently.
We watched the training videos and tested out the features and functionality side by side. Some features are not used on a regular basis is it is convenient to go back and review training on that particular functionality when needed.
It was simple and we were using the program the same day. It was as easy as downloading the program and getting in there and playing around. We felt comfortable with it within the first few hours of use.
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.
I initially selected Tungsten Power PDF because it was more affordable; however, I soon discovered the features and stability of the Tungsten product was comparable to working directly within the Adobe environment. I feel very confident now, that I would select Tungsten Power PDF ABOVE any of the Adobe products and not just because of the price point!
Not really familiar since I'm the only person who uses it. But in the past it has been my understanding that Power PDF was offered only on a single-license basis, so it's been expensive for me to use it at home and at work because I had to pay for it on my own. In my current position management supports it so I at least only have to pay for it once.
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.
I save hundreds every month by not sending documents to outside editors.
On a monthly basis, I have received files that would be very limited in use, but the PDF software allows me to work with them, saving hours of human power otherwise wasted.
The software is worth the money, but it can be more competitively priced.
