Free Adobe Acrobat DC Alternatives for Windows

There are many alternatives to Adobe Acrobat DC for Windows if you are looking for a replacement. The best free Windows alternative is PDF-XChange Editor. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to Adobe Acrobat DC and loads of them are free and available for Windows so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting free Windows alternatives to Adobe Acrobat DC are PDF24 Creator, PDFgear, Master PDF Editor and Stirling PDF.

filter to find the best alternatives

Adobe Acrobat DC alternatives are mainly PDF Editors, but if you're looking for PDF Readers or PDF Printers you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Free, Open Source, Windows + PDF Editor, Windows + Free, Windows, Linux and Android. You can also filter by region, for example EU-based alternatives if you prefer software developed in the European Union. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Adobe Acrobat DC.
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Alternatives list

  1. PDF-XChange Editor icon

    PDF-XChange Editor

     176 likes

    Feature-rich PDF editor offering direct content editing, ABBYY OCR, viewing, annotation, form filling, PDF merging, compression, and encryption. Operates efficiently offline, requiring no registration and no ads, while providing privacy-focused features and convenient portability.

    174 PDF-XChange Editor alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • PortableApps.com
    • Wine
    Version 10 (2024)
     
    |
    15
    PDF-XChange Editor vs Adobe Acrobat DC Comments
    Top Positive Comment
    munteanzeno
    3

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

    Top Negative Comment
    Guest
    0

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

    Alternative User
    Positive
    0

    Adding signature and adding text is available for free.

    3 of 15 comments
    • PDF-XChange Editor is Freemium and ProprietaryAdobe Acrobat DC is Paid and Proprietary
    • PDF-XChange Editor is a PDF Editor Adobe Acrobat DC is a PDF Reader
    • PDF-XChange Editor is Customizable, Lightweight and Privacy focusedAdobe Acrobat DC is not according to our users
  2. PDF24 Creator icon

    PDF24 Creator

     153 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.

    199 PDF24 Creator alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Main window
     
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    3
    PDF24 Creator vs Adobe Acrobat DC Comments
    zlelmefs
    Positive
    0

    It's actually free and has done everything I've needed it to do.

    G Downs
    Positive
    0

    PDF Creator is a great alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC. It has all the tools that the Adobe has but does it without trying to put a hole in your head! A great piece of work!

    Guest
    Positive
    3

    PDF editing features also available!

    • PDF24 Creator is Free and ProprietaryAdobe Acrobat DC is Paid and Proprietary
    • PDF24 Creator is a PDF Editor Adobe Acrobat DC is a PDF Reader
    • PDF24 Creator is LightweightAdobe Acrobat DC is not according to our users
  4. PDFgear icon

    PDFgear

     73 likes

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

    82 PDFgear alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    PDFgear screenshot 1
     
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    4
    PDFgear vs Adobe Acrobat DC Comments
    Shaz Shah
    Positive
    0

    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

    Ahmed Gamal
    Negative
    0

    The app does not support the Arabic language.

    Guest
    Positive
    0

    Professional standard pdf editors & tools.

    3 of 4 comments
    • PDFgear is Free and ProprietaryAdobe Acrobat DC is Paid and Proprietary
    • PDFgear is LightweightAdobe Acrobat DC is not according to our users
  5. Ad
    Screenshot
    Icecream PDF Editor icon
    Icecream PDF Editor

    Excellent powerful tool to edit PDF, annotate PDF, redact, protect and more.

    PRO Version includes: Remove default watermark Combine PDF files Lifetime license - Windows Commercial use Priority Support.

    https://icecreamapps.com
    Learn More
  6. Master PDF Editor icon

    Master PDF Editor

     74 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...

    157 Master PDF Editor alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    Master PDF Editor screenshot 1
     
    |
    4
    Master PDF Editor vs Adobe Acrobat DC Comments
    Guest
    Negative
    24

    Free version for windows will include watermark on saved documents.

    Guest
    Positive
    4

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

    Guest
    Positive
    -1

    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.

    3 of 4 comments
    • Master PDF Editor is Freemium and ProprietaryAdobe Acrobat DC is Paid and Proprietary
    • Master PDF Editor is a PDF Editor Adobe Acrobat DC is a PDF Reader
  8. Stirling PDF icon

    Stirling PDF

     63 likes

    Locally hosted web application offering an interactive GUI to merge, split, reorganize, convert, compress, watermark, secure, sign, flatten, repair, extract images, detect blanks, apply OCR, set permissions, and enable file processing or API integration for PDFs.

    120 Stirling PDF alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    • Cloudron
    • Docker Hub
    Stirling PDF screenshot 1
     
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    1
    Stirling PDF vs Adobe Acrobat DC Comments
    KimiBCN
    Negative
    0

    It lacks many features and has bugs. The PDF open button sometimes disappears.

    • Stirling PDF is Freemium and Open SourceAdobe Acrobat DC is Paid and Proprietary
    • Stirling PDF is a PDF Editor Adobe Acrobat DC is a PDF Reader
    • Stirling PDF is Privacy focusedAdobe Acrobat DC is not according to our users
  9. PDF-XChange Viewer icon

    PDF-XChange Viewer

     371 likes

    PDF-XChange Viewer is an alternative viewer for PDF files that enables you to view and annotate PDF files. You can add text, sticky notes, and other annotations and save them to the file, which will be compatible with the standard Adobe Acrobat Reader.

    81 PDF-XChange Viewer alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • PortableApps.com
    PDF-XChange Viewer screenshot 1
     
  10. Smallpdf icon

    Smallpdf

     63 likes

    Smallpdf is the first PDF Software you will actually like. The perfect gateway to productive, portable and cost-efficient document management solutions in your everyday life.

    212 Smallpdf alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Online
    • Android
    • Software as a Service (SaaS)
    • iPhone
    • iPad
    • Android Tablet
    Desktop app home
     
  11. LEKTRA icon

    LEKTRA

     19 likes

    High-performance viewer for documents and images offering split tabs, customizable single or book layouts, portals for side-by-side sections, instant search, line highlight, annotation tools, link hints, searchable highlights, session management, and TOML config.

    56 LEKTRA alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    LEKTRA screenshot 1
     
  12. Sejda icon

    Sejda

     39 likes

    Sejda helps with your PDF tasks: edit existing text, split, merge, extract, compress, export to other formats and more.

    163 Sejda alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Google Chrome
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    Sejda screenshot 1
     
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    1
    Sejda vs Adobe Acrobat DC Comments
    Interstellar_1
    Positive
    2

    You get a limited amount of file edits per day, and the app is just an electron wrapper of the website, but it works well.

    • Sejda is Freemium and ProprietaryAdobe Acrobat DC is Paid and Proprietary
    • Sejda is a PDF Editor Adobe Acrobat DC is a PDF Reader
  13. GImageReader icon

    GImageReader

     75 likes

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

    108 GImageReader alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    GImageReader screenshot 1
     
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    1
    GImageReader vs Adobe Acrobat DC Comments
    KimiBCN
    Negative
    1

    It's not an alternative to Acrobat Pro; it lacks many features.

    • GImageReader is Free and Open SourceAdobe Acrobat DC is Paid and Proprietary
    • GImageReader is a Screenshot Capture Adobe Acrobat DC is a PDF Reader
  14. JOPDF icon

    JOPDF

     8 likes

    JOPDF is a 100% free PDF editor for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Edit, compress, merge, convert and annotate PDFs with no watermark or signup required.

    54 JOPDF alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Mac
    • Linux
    JOPDF screenshot 1
     
    |
    1
    JOPDF vs Adobe Acrobat DC Comments
    Guest
    Positive
    0

    JOPDF is working good with PDF files, better than most free alternatives.

    • JOPDF is Free and ProprietaryAdobe Acrobat DC is Paid and Proprietary
  15. iLovePDF icon

    iLovePDF

     28 likes

    iLovePDF is an online service to work with PDF files completely free and easy to use. Merge PDF, split PDF, compress PDF, office to PDF, PDF to JPG and more!

    170 iLovePDF alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    Homepage
     
    |
    3
    iLovePDF vs Adobe Acrobat DC Comments
    Álvaro Ayres
    Positive
    0

    100% online. Lots of tools to edit your PDF.

    Guest
    Positive
    0

    Intuitive, fast and reliable.

    katekopnysheva
    Positive
    0

    very easy to use online service with lots of pdf tools

    • iLovePDF is Freemium and ProprietaryAdobe Acrobat DC is Paid and Proprietary
12 of 104 Adobe Acrobat DC alternatives