Adobe Acrobat vs Foxit PDF Editor
We give Adobe Acrobat a 2.6 GPA and Foxit PDF Editor a 2.8, out of 4.0. Foxit PDF Editor grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Adobe Acrobat
Adobe's PDF editor for desktop, web and mobile, with an AI tier
Foxit PDF Editor
PDF editor for Windows, Mac and web, yearly or as a one-time license
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAAdobe AcrobatGood | 2.8GPAFoxit PDF EditorGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DStandard, the cheapest plan that edits, is $14.99 a month on a yearly plan, and OCR, redaction and compare need Pro at $19.99. That's the top of what PDF editors charge. Acrobat Pro 2024 is sold once for three years of desktop use, but no price for it is on record. | C$129.99 a year for PDF Editor, the plan that edits text on Windows, Mac and web. That's the dear end of normal for PDF editors, not a bargain. Spread over three years, the $209.99 perpetual license works out cheaper, but still middling. |
| Free plan and trial | CAcrobat Reader is free for good and views, comments on and signs PDFs. Nice. But it won't edit or convert, which is the job here. The 7-day trial covers Pro or Studio, and Standard has no trial at all. | CNo free plan. There's a 14-day trial of PDF Editor+ with no card needed, which is plenty of time to see if it suits you. After that you pay or stop. |
| Features | BEdits text with reflowing layout, converts Office files, OCRs scans, compares versions, redacts, runs batch actions and sends documents to sign in bulk. It covers the whole job, though a lot of that sits on Pro rather than Standard. | BEdits text and images, converts to and from Office, OCRs scans, builds forms with JavaScript, redacts, compares versions and adds Bates numbers. It covers the whole job. Smart Redact and the phone apps wait for PDF Editor+, and heavy AI use costs extra. |
| Ease of use | B4.64 from 661,119 App Store ratings for the Acrobat Reader app, just shy of the top grade. Most people have opened a PDF in it already, so there's not much to learn. | B4.5 from 4,763 App Store ratings for the Foxit PDF Editor app. On a computer it's an editor you install and start using, with nothing to set up first. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWindows, Mac, web, iPhone, Android and a browser extension, plus Microsoft 365, Teams, Outlook, OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox and Box. It's everywhere. | AWindows, Mac, web, iPhone and Android, with Microsoft 365, SharePoint, Google Drive, Dropbox, Box and Salesforce. Just note the phone apps come with PDF Editor+, not the base plan. |
| Best for | the complete PDF toolkit, if the price is fine | an Acrobat-style editor you can still buy outright |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Adobe Acrobat and Foxit PDF Editor. How we grade
Price against what you get
Adobe Acrobat starts at $14.99 a month and scores 3.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Foxit PDF Editor starts at $10.83 a month when paid by the year for each person and scores 3.3.
They score the same, and Foxit PDF Editor starts $4.16 a month lower. Of the other PDF editors on the chart, none scores higher than Adobe Acrobat for less, and none scores higher than Foxit PDF Editor for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Adobe Acrobat starts at $14.99 per month on an annual plan, billed monthly. Foxit PDF Editor starts at $129.99 per user / year.
- Adobe Acrobat has a free plan. Foxit PDF Editor does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Adobe Acrobat lists a browser extension.
- Foxit PDF Editor can be bought with a one-time purchase.
At a glance
| Adobe Acrobat | Foxit PDF Editor | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $14.99 per month on an annual plan, billed monthly | $129.99 per user / year |
| Free plan | Acrobat Reader is free: view, print, share and comment on PDFs and sign them, without editing, converting or the paid tools. | None |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial of Acrobat Pro or Studio; 14 days on the team plans | 14-day free trial of PDF Editor+, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Adobe | Foxit Software Incorporated |
| Price read from | adobe.com | foxit.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Adobe Acrobat
- Offices that exchange PDFs with clients who also use Acrobat
- People who need OCR, redaction and e-signatures in one desktop app
- Users who read and sign PDFs for free with Acrobat Reader
Foxit PDF Editor
- Offices replacing Adobe Acrobat on Windows and Mac machines
- Buyers who prefer to pay once: a perpetual license is still sold
- Teams that also send documents for signature through Foxit eSign
Worth knowing
Adobe Acrobat
- OCR, redaction, comparing PDFs and bulk e-signatures need Pro; Standard has no free trial.
- AI Assistant comes with Studio, or as an add-on at $4.99 a month on an annual plan for Reader, Standard and Pro users.
- Month-to-month billing costs $10 a month more than the annual plan on each individual tier.
- Adobe no longer sells perpetual licenses; Acrobat Pro 2024 is a one-time purchase for three years of desktop use without online services.
Foxit PDF Editor
- The iOS and Android apps, AI Smart Redact and the 150 eSign envelopes a year come only with PDF Editor+; PDF Editor covers Windows, macOS and web.
- Both subscriptions are annual; the $10.99 and $13.99 monthly figures are an annual plan billed monthly, not a monthly plan.
- More AI use costs extra: the AI Assistant add-on is $49.99 a year for 2,000 credits a month and access to Foxit Workspace.
- Unlimited e-signature sending needs Foxit eSign, a separate product sold per user by the year.
Key features
Adobe Acrobat
- Editing and conversion
- Edit text and images with reflowing layout, add, delete and reorder pages, combine files and convert to and from Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
- OCR, compare and redaction
- Pro turns scans into searchable, editable PDFs, shows the differences between two versions and permanently removes sensitive content.
- E-signatures built in
- Every paid plan can request signatures and track them; Pro adds branded requests, web forms, reusable templates and bulk sending.
- Batch actions
- Pro's Action Wizard runs saved sequences such as OCR, redaction, watermarking and conversion across many PDFs at once.
- AI Assistant and PDF Spaces
- Studio summarizes and answers questions about documents with citations, and PDF Spaces gathers PDFs, Microsoft 365 files and links into one workspace.
- Shared review
- Share a PDF by link, collect comments from several reviewers in one place and get notified as they respond, including from Teams and Outlook.
Foxit PDF Editor
- Editing and page tools
- Edit text and images, add, delete and reorder pages, merge and split files, compare two versions, add Bates numbering and reduce file size.
- Conversion and OCR
- Converts PDFs to and from Word, Excel and PowerPoint, exports images, turns scans into searchable text and checks PDF/A and accessibility.
- Forms and signing
- Create fillable forms with JavaScript, fill and sign, and add certificate signatures; PDF Editor+ can also send for e-signature through Foxit eSign.
- Redaction and protection
- Password protection, copy and edit restrictions and manual redaction on both plans, with AI Smart Redact to find personal data on PDF Editor+.
- AI Assistant
- Summarizes, translates, rewrites and answers questions about documents, with 300 credits a month included in every subscription.
- Foxit DMS
- Every subscription includes Foxit's document management system with unlimited cloud storage, shared workspaces, check-in and check-out and version history.
Plans
Adobe Acrobat
Acrobat Reader$0
Free app for viewing, printing, commenting on and signing PDFs.
Acrobat Standard$14.99
per month on an annual plan, billed monthly ($24.99 month to month)
Edit and organize PDFs, convert to and from Office files, fill and sign forms, request e-signatures and password-protect files.
Acrobat Standard for teams$16.99
per license / month on an annual plan, billed monthly
Standard for several people, managed from one admin console.
Acrobat Pro$19.99
per month on an annual plan, billed monthly ($29.99 month to month)
Adds OCR for scans, comparing PDFs, redaction, branded e-signature requests, web forms, reusable templates and bulk sending.
Acrobat Pro for teams$23.99
per license / month on an annual plan, billed monthly
Pro for several people with admin console license management; 14-day free trial.
Acrobat Studio$24.99
per month on an annual plan, billed monthly ($34.99 month to month)
Pro plus AI Assistant, PDF Spaces for asking questions across many files, and Adobe Express Premium; $29.99 per license for teams.
Foxit PDF Editor
PDF Editor$129.99
per user / year ($10.99 a month on an annual plan billed monthly)
Windows, macOS and web apps: editing, conversion, OCR, forms, compare and security, with Foxit DMS and 300 AI credits a month.
PDF Editor+$159.99
per user / year ($13.99 a month on an annual plan billed monthly)
Everything in PDF Editor plus the iOS and Android apps, AI Smart Redact and Foxit eSign Essentials with 150 envelopes a year.
Foxit PDF Editor 14 (Perpetual)$209.99
one-time purchase per user
A perpetual license for version 14 of the editor, paid once instead of a subscription.
Volume LicensingCustom
Quoted for 30 or more licenses, subscription or perpetual, with discounts of up to 30% and one renewal date.
Ways to pay less
Adobe Acrobat
- Annual discount
Lower price on an annual plan
Adobe's plans page lists Standard at $14.99, Pro at $19.99 and Studio at $24.99 a month on an annual plan, against $24.99, $29.99 and $34.99 month to month.
Foxit PDF Editor
- Other savings
Volume discounts from 30 licenses
Foxit's pricing page gives discounts of up to 30% on orders of 30 or more licenses, for subscriptions or perpetual licenses, quoted by its sales team.
