Adobe Reader vs Adobe Acrobat: Know the Difference [2024]

Adobe Reader vs Adobe Acrobat – Adobe Systems Incorporated develops and distributes the two most popular PDF readers, Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat. Both are critical tools in today's electronic workflow since they can convert nearly any document to PDF format whilst retaining the original document's information intact.

Both can easily browse, print, comment on, and search through documents, but the Acrobat is a more complex version of the Reader that allows you to create and modify documents. This article compares and contrasts the two PDF readers- Adobe Reader vs Adobe Acrobat on a number of levels.

Adobe Reader vs Adobe Acrobat: Difference

What is Adobe Reader, and how does it work?

Adobe Reader is a minor component of Adobe Acrobat that allows you to read and read PDF files (Portable Document Format). It is free cross-platform software that lets you produce PDF documents on one computer and view them using a PDF viewer like Adobe Reader on another.

It is available for free download from Adobe's website, or it may be purchased from other sources as long as they comply with Adobe license rules. Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat are not the same thing. It is really a minor part of a much broader Adobe family that is gone through several versions throughout time.

Along with reading and printing PDF files, it also allows you to complete forms, comment on documents, convert PDFs to Word or Excel, sign and certify forms, and more.

What is Adobe Acrobat, and how does it work?

Adobe Acrobat is a must-have PDF viewer that can convert nearly any document to PDF format while keeping the original's style and feel. You can get all of the capabilities of Adobe Reader plus a lot more with Adobe Acrobat, including the ability to generate and modify text and graphics in PDF documents.

It is a more advanced version of Adobe Reader with additional features such as scanning paper documents. Adobe Acrobat is available in two versions: Standard and Pro, as well as a cloud version called Adobe Acrobat DC.

The Standard edition of Acrobat has all of the required capabilities included in the Pro version, with the exception of preflighting documents, generating PDF portfolios, composing forms, and generating actions.

Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat Fundamentals

Adobe Reader is a free tool that allows you to view PDF or portable document format files. It was created and distributed by Adobe Systems. It is a cross-platform application, which means the PDF file will appear the same on Windows and Mac, and it also lets you search through PDF files.

Adobe Acrobat, on the other hand, is a more advanced and commercial version of the Reader that includes extra functionality such as the ability to produce, print, and modify PDF files. Adobe Acrobat is capable of accomplishing all the Reader can do, and then some.

Encouragement

Adobe Reader, formerly known as Reader, is a free and widely used application for viewing, printing, and commenting on PDF documents, as well as interacting with all forms of PDF content, including multimedia and files. Adobe Reader is available in almost 35 languages and supports a broad range of operating systems, including Linux, Mac, Windows, Android, and Solaris.

Adobe's proprietary Acrobat is only offered on a subscription basis for Windows and macOS. It is the industry standard for making, printing, managing, and commenting on PDF files, among other things.

History of Versions

Anyone may download and use the basic Adobe Reader for viewing PDF files for free from Adobe's website. The Adobe Reader Lite is a stripped-down version of Adobe's well-known PDF viewer, featuring only the most important functionality. There are two versions of Adobe Acrobat: Standard and Pro.

Adobe Acrobat Reader's premium services are available on a monthly or annual subscription basis. The regular version of Acrobat has basic functions such as reading, producing, editing, and converting PDF files, but the Pro version is designed for professional and business users and adds extra functionality to the Standard version.

Features of Adobe Reader vs Adobe Acrobat

Adobe Acrobat has all of the features of Adobe Reader, plus the ability to generate and edit PDF documents. It also allows you to incorporate interactive components such as multimedia into PDF documents. It also enables us to encrypt our documents for added protection.

Conclusion – Adobe Reader vs Adobe Acrobat

In a nutshell, both software products are required to view, print, and search PDF documents, with the exception that Adobe Acrobat is a more complex version of the Reader that includes the ability to generate, alter, and edit PDF documents. Adobe Acrobat can perform all that the Adobe Reader can do, plus a lot more.

Acrobat also comes with the DC version, which stands for Document Cloud and is an optional online service that lets users to save and share documents online for easy access. Adobe Reader is a free tool that allows you to interact with PDF files, however it only has a few capabilities.

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