Erin Wright Writing

Writing-Related Software Tutorials

Five Differences between Adobe Acrobat and Acrobat Reader

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Today’s post discusses five differences and one similarity between Adobe Acrobat and Acrobat Reader to help you decide which program is best for your PDF projects.

This isn’t an exhaustive list of differences and similarities. Instead, this list is based on the features I believe are most important to a general audience.

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What about Versions and Cost?

Acrobat Reader is Adobe’s free PDF display software.

Adobe Acrobat is a PDF creation and management software available as an annual subscription called Adobe Acrobat Pro. Adobe Acrobat Pro is periodically updated with new features and improvements.

Adobe Acrobat is also available in a non-subscription software currently called Adobe Acrobat 2020. This version is a one-time purchase and is not continually updated.

In addition, Adobe offers a streamlined version of Adobe Acrobat Pro called Acrobat Standard, which is currently only available for Windows.

This tutorial is available as a YouTube video showing all the steps in real time.

Watch more than 200 other writing-related software tutorials on my YouTube channel.

The features discussed here are based on the desktop versions of Adobe Acrobat Pro and Acrobat Reader, although many of the features are also available in the corresponding mobile applications.

Difference 1: Edit PDF Tools

Adobe Acrobat’s Edit PDF tools let you change text and images, such as adding, moving, deleting, and rewriting text boxes, as well as cropping pages, adding images, watermarks, and headers and footers (which includes page numbers). The Edit PDF tools also let you create external links and internal links. These tools aren’t available in Acrobat Reader.

Edit PDF toolbar in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 1. Edit PDF toolbar in Adobe Acrobat

Difference 2: Prepare Form Tools

Adobe Acrobat’s Prepare Form tools let you create forms that other people can fill and sign with a digital signature. Acrobat Reader doesn’t let you create forms. However, Acrobat Reader does offer limited capacity to fill and sign existing forms.

Prepare Form toolbar in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 2. Prepare Form toolbar in Adobe Acrobat

Difference 3: Organize Pages Tools

The Organize Pages tools in Adobe Acrobat let you rearrange the pages within your PDF, as well as insert files, extract pages, and split your PDF into multiple PDFs. The Organize Pages tools aren’t available in Acrobat Reader.

Organize Pages Screen in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 3. Organize Pages screen

Difference 4: Create PDF Tools

Adobe Acrobat’s Create PDF tools let you convert other types of files (e.g., Microsoft Word files, PowerPoint slides, web pages, scanned images) into PDFs, create blank PDFs, and add blank pages to existing PDFs. These options aren’t available in Acrobat Reader.

Create a PDF from any format screen in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 4. Create a PDF from any format screen in Adobe Acrobat

Difference 5: Export PDF Tool

Adobe Acrobat’s Export PDF tool lets you convert PDFs to Microsoft Word files and PowerPoint slides, as well as a variety of other formats. Acrobat Reader doesn’t include this functionality without purchasing an online service called Adobe Acrobat Export PDF. This is an important difference, particularly for writers and editors who need to convert PDFs to Word files in order to edit them with Word’s Track Changes tools.

Export your PDF to any format screen in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 5. Export your PDF to any format screen in Adobe Acrobat

Important Similarity: Comment Tools (Editing Tools)

What most of us think of as editing tools (e.g., comments, strikethroughs, insertions, highlights), Adobe calls Comment tools. These tools are included in Adobe Acrobat and Acrobat Reader.

However, only Adobe Acrobat lets you create and print comment and edit summaries and export comments and edits to Microsoft Word.

Additionally, Adobe Acrobat offers more options for selecting and copying text into comment pop-ups.

Comment toolbar in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 6. Comment toolbar in Adobe Acrobat
Comment toolbar in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 7. Comment toolbar in Acrobat Reader

Where Can You Find These Tools?

Many of the tools discussed here are available in the Tools Center, which you can access by selecting the Tools tab in both Adobe Acrobat and Acrobat Reader.

Tools Center in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 8. Tools Center in Adobe Acrobat (also available in Acrobat Reader)

If you are using Acrobat Reader, you may notice that several of the buttons in the Tools Center do not provide access to the tool. Instead, they open dialog boxes or webpages encouraging users to purchase Adobe Acrobat.

Additional Differences between Adobe Acrobat and Acrobat Reader

Here are several additional features only available in Adobe Acrobat:

As you can see, the choice to use Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader will depend on your needs.

If you are new to Adobe Acrobat or would like to finetune your skills, please visit my Adobe Acrobat page for a variety of entry-level and advanced tutorials.

Updated January 05, 2023