Adobe Acrobat Reader

Score8.5 out of 10

257 Reviews and Ratings

What is Adobe Acrobat Reader?

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.

Categories & Use Cases

PDF Editors

Daniel Berry View profile

Copywriter in Marketing at James Avery Artisan Jewelry (201-500 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Adobe Acrobat Reader for sharing design mockups, turning in directions, and creating strategy decks and moodboards. We annotate and comment on these files from Adobe as needed, addressing common business problems associated with having a team of remote and in-office employees who need to collaborate often.

Pros

UX/UI
Comments/Annotations.
Low Learning Curve.
Number of Features.

Cons

Integrations with more products.
Additional features.
Easier-to-use password protection.

Return on Investment

Improved efficiency.
Less frustration.
Faster reporting.

Usability

Alternatives Considered

GIMP and Canva

Other Software Used

GIMP, Canva

Verified User

Manager in Finance and Accounting (1-10 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Adobe Acrobat Reader to view documents, send files via email, and combine multiple pages into a single file for easy categorization and both long-term/short-term storage. Adobe Acrobat Reader also makes it convenient to share the documents with practically anyone without worrying about the document format since it has become almost a standard format.

Pros

Universal format of the documents.
Condensing size of the documents.
Convenience of editing digitized documents.

Cons

There are too many software versions and apps. Confusing sometimes to choose the right software for me.
More compatibility/edit-ability with popular softwares in the market.
More free trials!

Return on Investment

Reduce paper waste.
Efficiency of sharing documents across different users.
Efficiency of storing documents in standardized format.

Usability

Other Software Used

Microsoft 365, Adobe Illustrator CC, Adobe PhotoShop

Jeff Montgomery

CTO in Manufacturing at Animal Necessity (11-50 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Adobe Acrobat Reader DC for a variety of different reasons, including PDF document creation, security protocols (passwords and encryption), signature authorization, exporting to various formats (from PDF), and more. Adobe is the standard in the industry when it comes to graphic creation tools, and so we use the entire Adobe Suite. [Adobe Acrobat Reader] DC (being a part of that paid suite) has been instrumental in helping us create and organize our documents.

Pros

Creating PDF documents from scratch, including creating various field types
Enhancing a document's security with passwords and encryption
Exporting a PDF document into other file types, including Microsoft Word
Quickly and easily combining documents to create a single PDF

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).

Most Important Features

PDF Creation, including custom fields
Basic E-Sign abilities
Exporting PDF documents into various file formats

Return on Investment

Saves time managing PDFs with existing clients (since Adobe is the standard)
Allows us to quickly export to other file formats without too much hassle or quirks
Allows us to combine documents into a single PDF very quickly

Alternatives Considered

DocuSign

Other Software Used

Adobe PhotoShop, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator CC

Dr Gardiner Jones View profile

Engineer, IT Operations in Quality Assurance at DaVita (1001-5000 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

DaVita, a Fortune 200 company, uses Adobe Acrobat Reader DC across its enterprise. As a consultant to DaVita, I use this product on a daily basis to open and read PDF files. It is also used to reduce printing costs by printing documents to PDF files for electronic sharing instead of hard copy. I find it saves time when needing to send a document because I do not have to print a document, scan it, and then send it. It also enables me to send an essentially universal file format to others who may not have the applications needed to open other file formats, i.e., Visio drawings.

Pros

Adobe Acrobat Reader DC will easily convert other file formats to PDF for general distribution. For example, if I need to send a Visio diagram to a person who does not have Visio software, I simply "print" the drawing to a PDF using Adobe Acrobat DC.
Acrobat is a good tool for document collaboration. PDF files can be shared, edited, merged and signed all within the application.
Visual presentation of PDF files is quite versatile. For example, if the initial display is too small for one's eyes, one can zoom out the display to make details more easily seen. Other options include pagination, thumbnails of pages, and so on. In short, it is very robust in offering display options.

Cons

I'm not a fan of needing to connect to Adobe in order to work with PDF files. While Adobe claims its systems are secure, there is always a doubt in my mind about exposing documents with sensitive data in them to another potential source of vulnerabilities.
The licensing for DC is not something I care for. I don't like the transition from buy it once and own it, to paying an annual licensing fee. Seriously, I really don't like that aspect of Adobe's approach to licensing their software.
I have experienced sporadic issues with form field drop-down menus after resizing forms for display. This problem has been around for a while, and I have yet to see a solution for it. For example, I may have a drop-down with four options, but when I resize the display for the entire page, I may be able to see only one and a half options.

Most Important Features

If used properly, there is a potential for cost savings by avoiding the need to print hard copies. Files can be easily shared electronically.
I prize Acrobat Reader's ability to convert file formats to PDF. For example, I create a lot of infrastructure diagrams using Visio, and not everyone in my IT world has Visio. Simple solution: open my Visio diagram and "print" it to a PDF file.
Display options are important to me, and this is one area that Adobe Acrobat Reader DC shines. Make it bigger, smaller, single page, double page, scrolling, etc. Acrobat Reader handles them all, and does so admirably.

Return on Investment

I've mentioned a couple of times in this review how Adobe Acrobat can potentially save a considerable amount of money by reducing or eliminating the need to printing to paper. Many have no idea how much money is spent not only on paper and toner, but on the cost of the printers themselves - especially when there are fees for the number of pages printed. Print to PDF is a huge cost savings.
On the other hand, in a very large enterprise the licensing of Adobe Acrobat Reader DC can become quite large in a hurry. If you have four or five people using the software, the cost can be easily justified. On the other hand, if you have 2,000 - 3,000+ seats using it, then licensing can become quite cost prohibitive -- annually.

Alternatives Considered

Readdle PDF Expert

Other Software Used

Readdle PDF Expert, Microsoft Visio, OmniGraffle

LAURIE GRZEJKA

Payroll Manager in Human Resources at BC International Group, Inc. (51-200 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We constantly use Adobe. Many forms are sent in PDF, so Adobe is our go-to program. We keep many files in PDF format and Adobe is the way we view, sign and add notes to documents in this format. Plus, Adobe works hand in hand with our payroll software. I would highly recommend Adobe to any business.

Pros

Signing documents in pdf format
Some editing, as in adding notes on pdf's.
Usually converts well to Word Doc format.

Cons

Doesn’t always function if I’m not the administrator
Many features are not available without upgrading to more expensive versions - especially the lack of more editing available in this version.
Frequent spam notifications on updates and other Adobe-affiliated products can get quite persistent and annoying.

Most Important Features

Signing Docs
Adding notes and/or editing Docs
Converting to Word.

Return on Investment

Higher ups do not want to pay for the upgrade, not cost effective.
Able to store many docs, small amt of space
Able to open and read most pdf's sent to us.

Alternatives Considered

Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)

Other Software Used

Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365)