The Best Adobe Acrobat DC AlternativesTop PDF Readers & PDF Editors like Adobe Acrobat DC

Adobe Acrobat DC is described as 'Create and edit PDFs. Collaborate with ease. E-sign documents and collect signatures. Get everything done in one app, wherever you work. Acrobat’s got it. Stay on top of your documents with powerful features for desktop, mobile, and web' and is a very popular PDF Reader in the office & productivity category. There are more than 100 alternatives to Adobe Acrobat DC for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Mac, Linux, iPad and Web-based apps. The best Adobe Acrobat DC alternative is PDF-XChange Editor, which is free. Other great apps like Adobe Acrobat DC are PDF24 Creator, Nitro PDF , PDF Arranger and Master PDF Editor.

filter to find the best alternatives

Adobe Acrobat DC alternatives are mainly PDF Editors but may also be PDF Readers or E-signature Tools.  Other popular filters includes Mac + Free and Windows + Open Source. Filter by these or use the filter bar below if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of Adobe Acrobat DC.
  • ...

Create and edit PDFs. Collaborate with ease. E-sign documents and collect signatures. Get everything done in one app, wherever you work. Acrobat’s got it. Stay on top of your documents with powerful features for desktop,...

More about Adobe Acrobat DC
Adobe Acrobat DC alternatives page was last updated Feb 4, 2025
  1. PDF-XChange Editor icon
     158 likes

    Compact and fast loading PDF viewer and editor.

    144 PDF-XChange Editor alternatives
    Version 10 (2024)

    License model

    • FreemiumProprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • PortableApps.com
    • Wine

    Properties

    1.  Customizable
    2.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  PDF annotation
    2.  PDF OCR
    3.  Add/remove pages
    4.  Edit PDF
    5.  Portable
    6.  Split PDF files
    7.  Stamps
    8.  OCR
    9.  Split and merge PDF files
    10.  Create PDF files
    11.  No registration required
    12.  Dark Mode
    PDF-XChange Editor iconAdobe Acrobat DC Icon

    PDF-XChange Editor VS Adobe Acrobat DC

    Is PDF-XChange Editor a good alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC?
     
    Comments about PDF-XChange Editor as an Alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC
     
       
    Comment summary: PDF-XChange Editor is praised for its customizable interface, speed, affordability, and extensive features, often compared favorably to Adobe Acrobat DC. Users appreciate its lifetime license and lower cost, but some find its OCR capabilities lacking, and a few struggle with features like text editing that Adobe handles better.
    munteanzeno

    Can make small edits for free (comments, extra text). Search bar is simple and works well.

    Top positive commentMay 13, 2020
    3
    Guest

    A lot of things that you can't do. Didn't worked well enough for me at all.

    Top negative commentJul 9, 2024
    0
    Alternative User

    Adding signature and adding text is available for free.

    Positive commentOct 27, 2024
    0
    Show more comments
    3 of 15 comments
    Adobe Acrobat DC Icon
    PDF-XChange Editor icon
    • Most users think PDF-XChange Editor is a great Adobe Acrobat DC alternative.

    • PDF-XChange Editor is the most popular Windows alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC.

    • PDF-XChange Editor is the most popular free alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC.

    • PDF-XChange Editor is Freemium and ProprietaryAdobe Acrobat DC is Paid and Proprietary
    • PDF-XChange Editor is Customizable and LightweightAdobe Acrobat DC is not according to our users
  2. PDF24 Creator icon
     134 likes

    PDF24 Creator is free and feature-filled PDF creation, merging and conversion tool for Windows. Its unique feature among the free PDF printer tools is an editor, which allows to easily assemble, create and modify PDF files with Drag & Drop.

    146 PDF24 Creator alternatives
    Main window

    License model

    • FreeProprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Combine PDF
    2.  Convert PDF to image
    3.  PDF OCR
    4.  Print to PDF
    5.  Split and merge PDF files
    6.  Create PDF files
    7.  Add/remove pages
    8.  Works Offline
    9.  PDF compression
    10.  PDF annotation
    11.  Convert images to PDF
    12.  Split PDF files
    PDF24 Creator iconAdobe Acrobat DC Icon

    PDF24 Creator VS Adobe Acrobat DC

    Is PDF24 Creator a good alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC?
     
    Comments about PDF24 Creator as an Alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC
     
    Guest

    PDF editing features also available!

    Positive commentJan 15, 2020
    3
    Adobe Acrobat DC Icon
    PDF24 Creator icon
    • Most users think PDF24 Creator is a great Adobe Acrobat DC alternative.

    • PDF24 Creator is Free and ProprietaryAdobe Acrobat DC is Paid and Proprietary
    • PDF24 Creator is LightweightAdobe Acrobat DC is not according to our users
  3. Nitro PDF  icon
     71 likes

    Nitro PDF Pro offers comprehensive PDF solutions for editing, creating, and converting, alongside OCR and e-signature tools. Supports Mac, Windows, and iOS, providing a user-friendly interface with industry-standard security features. Ideal as an Adobe Acrobat alternative.

    167 Nitro PDF alternatives
    Nitro PDF  screenshot 1

    License model

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • iPhone
    • iPad

    Top Nitro PDF Features

    1.  Edit PDF
    2.  Convert PDF to Excel document
    3.  Text to Speech
    4.  Sign PDF files
    5.  PDF encryption
    6.  OCR
    7.  Scan to PDF
    8.  PDF Redaction
    9.  PDF OCR
    10.  Batch conversion
    11.  Convert PDF to Word document
    12.  Create PDF files
    Nitro PDF  iconAdobe Acrobat DC Icon

    Nitro PDF VS Adobe Acrobat DC

    Is Nitro PDF a good alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC?
     
    Comments about Nitro PDF as an Alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC
     
    Bob Henry

    This is by far the worst software purchase I can remember making. OCR sucks and is hardly useable. Reorganizing and merging documents are confusing and difficult.

    Stay well away from this one is my advice.

    Negative commentSep 27, 2022
    -1
    chrisrosetech

    I have been using NitroPDF for several years. I think it is the best alternative to Adobe Acrobat software.

    The software has almost all the features, if not better features than Acrobat itself.

    I can create form fill documents, place stamps, edit and do much more with NitroPDF.

    The OCR function has worked really well for me on a second generation scanned document.

    I highly recommend NitroPDF and feel it's well worth the money.

    Positive commentDec 10, 2022
    0
    Adobe Acrobat DC Icon
    Nitro PDF  icon
    • Most users think Nitro PDF is a great Adobe Acrobat DC alternative.

    • Nitro PDF is the most popular Mac, iPhone & iPad alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC.

    • Nitro PDF is the most popular commercial alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC.

    • Nitro PDF is Paid and ProprietaryAdobe Acrobat DC is also Paid and Proprietary
  4. PDF Arranger icon
     83 likes

    Small python-gtk application, which helps the user to merge or split pdf documents and rotate, crop and rearrange their pages using an interactive and intuitive graphical interface.

    64 PDF Arranger alternatives
    Export selection only. Export each selected page to a file. Export all pages to files.

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Split and merge PDF files
    2.  Visual Organization
    3.  Split PDF files
    4.  Combine PDF
    5.  Rotate pages
    6.  Edit PDF
    7.  Works Offline
    8.  Image sorting
    9.  Portable
    10.  Ad-free
    11.  No Tracking
    12.  Dark Mode
    PDF Arranger iconAdobe Acrobat DC Icon

    PDF Arranger VS Adobe Acrobat DC

    Is PDF Arranger a good alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC?
     
    Comments about PDF Arranger as an Alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC
     
    Shaz Shah

    It may not be anywhere near the full offering of Adobe Acrobat but if all you want is to arrange pages and merge PDFs into one doc this would definitely be recommended for your toolkit. PDF Arranger helped me recently when I was scanning double-sided documents but my scanner does not scan both sides in one go. I flipped the pages without re-arranging the papers - oops - but was able to quickly rectify it using this app.

    Positive commentDec 10, 2024
    0
    thealphahelix

    This is excellent for page removal, rearrangement etc tasks. It's a program you can just use! Not a SaaS account nightmare.

    Positive commentJun 5, 2024
    0
    Adobe Acrobat DC Icon
    PDF Arranger icon
    • Most users think PDF Arranger is a great Adobe Acrobat DC alternative.

    • PDF Arranger is the most popular Linux alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC.

    • PDF Arranger is the most popular Open Source alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC.

    • PDF Arranger is Free and Open SourceAdobe Acrobat DC is Paid and Proprietary
    • PDF Arranger is Privacy focusedAdobe Acrobat DC is not according to our users
  5. Master PDF Editor icon
     69 likes

    Master PDF Editor is complete solution for editing PDF and XPS files. You can insert, edit, remove, copy, add images or graphics. Export, import, remove and change page layouts. Also Master PDF Editor provides full functionality for changing PDF information, including author...

    135 Master PDF Editor alternatives
    Master PDF Editor screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreemiumProprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub

    Top Master PDF Editor Features

    1.  Multiple languages
    2.  PDF annotation
    3.  Dark Mode
    4.  Ad-free
    5.  Sign PDF files
    6.  Split PDF files
    7.  Combine PDF
    8.  Works Offline
    9.  No registration required
    10.  PDF compression
    11.  Fill PDF Forms
    12.  PDF encryption
    Master PDF Editor iconAdobe Acrobat DC Icon

    Master PDF Editor VS Adobe Acrobat DC

    Is Master PDF Editor a good alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC?
     
    Comments about Master PDF Editor as an Alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC
     
       
    Guest

    Free version for windows will include watermark on saved documents.

    Negative commentMar 8, 2017
    24
    Guest

    Has all the basic features such as merge, split, delete and it is in active development and it is available for LINUX :)

    Positive commentDec 6, 2018
    4
    Guest

    It has more festures in the payed version and thus suites my usecase and it actually works on linux and does not just say it does and then it doesnt, at least that was the case with pdfsam in the extended version.

    Positive commentMay 1, 2017
    -1
    Show more comments
    3 of 4 comments
    Adobe Acrobat DC Icon
    Master PDF Editor icon
    • Most users think Master PDF Editor is a great Adobe Acrobat DC alternative.

    • Master PDF Editor is Freemium and ProprietaryAdobe Acrobat DC is Paid and Proprietary
  6. PDFgear icon
     35 likes

    Read, edit, convert, merge, and sign PDF files across devices, for completely free and without signing up.

    25 PDFgear alternatives
    PDFgear screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeProprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • iPhone
    • iPad
    • Android
    • Android Tablet

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Ad-free
    2.  Combine PDF
    3.  Split PDF files
    4.  OCR
    5.  No registration required
    6.  Works Offline
    7.  PDF annotation
    8.  Dark Mode
    9.  PDF compression
    10.  Sign PDF files
    11.  Full-Text Search
    12.  PDF encryption
    PDFgear iconAdobe Acrobat DC Icon

    PDFgear VS Adobe Acrobat DC

    Is PDFgear a good alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC?
     
    Comments about PDFgear as an Alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC
     
    Shaz Shah

    It does an excellent job of converting my M$ docs. The OCR capabilities are really good and the ability to arrange pages (including splitting and merging with other PDFs) is another bonus. The install is lightweight in comparison to Adobe Acrobat and I've not had any stability issues... yet

    Positive commentDec 10, 2024
    0
    Guest

    Faster. No pop-ups trying to sell add ons.

    Positive commentJan 15, 2025
    0
    Adobe Acrobat DC Icon
    PDFgear icon
    • Almost everyone thinks PDFgear is a great Adobe Acrobat DC alternative.

    • PDFgear is the most popular Android & Android Tablet alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC.

    • PDFgear is Free and ProprietaryAdobe Acrobat DC is Paid and Proprietary
    • PDFgear is LightweightAdobe Acrobat DC is not according to our users
  7. GImageReader icon
     71 likes

    gImageReader is a simple Gtk/Qt front-end to the Tesseract OCR Engine.

    80 GImageReader alternatives
    GImageReader screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux

    GImageReader Features

    1.  OCR
    2.  Image to text
    3.  PDF OCR
    4.  Annotate Screenshot
    GImageReader iconAdobe Acrobat DC Icon

    GImageReader VS Adobe Acrobat DC

    Is GImageReader a good alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC?
     
7 of 294 Adobe Acrobat DC alternatives