The initial primary reason for creating PDF documents was to enable the viewing of files in read-only mode. However, the increased demand for editing these files led software developers to create tools like Adobe Acrobat to alter documents seamlessly. Still, Acrobat came with setbacks, such as high subscription costs, and this paved the way for other editing software alternatives to sprout.
As of now, there are many PDF editors out there that are cheaper than Acrobat. To put things into the right perspective, you’ll first need to understand the cost implications of using Adobe Acrobat.
How much does Acrobat PDF cost?
Price is a crucial factor in choosing an editor package. The Adobe company offers packages for students and teachers and individuals and businesses. Therefore, depending on the composition of your team, you can choose the pricing that best serves your needs.
Apart from these groups, Acrobat has two PDF editing packages: Acrobat Pro DC and Standard PC. The difference between these two is the range of features they offer. In essence, ProDC has the most features.
For an individual account, Acrobat Pro goes for USD$14.99 per month. On the other hand, the standard DC price is USD$12.99 per month. (1)
For a business account, the Acrobat Pro for teams of as few as five goes for USD$15.70 per month. Note that, as the team number grows, so does the price. The usual Pro DC price for enterprises is negotiated via calls where you specify the composition of your enterprise. (1)
The student and teacher package is offered with the inclusion of cloud applications at a price of USD$19.99 per month. (1)
The subscription fee can be paid monthly or prepaid for a year, and the product provided is always the current release of Adobe Acrobat. Conventionally, paying for the whole year saves you a few dollars compared to paying monthly. Nevertheless, you’ll agree that not everyone can manage such amounts every other month, especially those who don’t edit PDF files daily. That’s why many people out there are looking for cheaper PDF alternatives.
Are there cheaper alternatives?
The PDF editor market is vast, and dozens of products are cheaper than Acrobat PDF editor. Furthermore, some are free, and you can download and install them on your PC or use them online. These alternatives include:
1. Foxit PDF editor
Foxit is a PDF reader and editor that allows you to view your document and apply changes without modifying the original format—not to mention it’s up to 30% cheaper than Adobe Acrobat. Additionally, this feature-rich reader offers an extensive range of editing capabilities that includes:
- Sharing and collaborating live: The editor allows you to connect with teammates at work or home remotely. Essentially, all users can easily work on a document together in real-time and use the data for decision-making.
- All in one editing features: Foxit offers an array of editing features, allowing you to add text, delete sentences, insert images, and correct typos, among other everyday editing capabilities. In addition, it will enable you to add your signature electronically without having to print the document and then scan it for upload.
- Exporting to popular formats: The editor allows you to share the PDF content in word easily, excel, HTML, and several other formats. Thus, anyone who needs the document can receive it in the format they prefer. The editor also allows you to edit the page setup and print the document.
- It has enterprise-ready solutions: This can seamlessly integrate into your system with no hassle. To learn more about these Foxit features, watch this video:
Why Foxit?
Evidently, Foxit editor is among the leading alternatives to Adobe Acrobat, and this is based on the following factors:
- It’s easy to buy: Foxit offers a huge range of useful editing features at a fraction of Acrobat’s cost. The reader chooses between a cloud solution and an on-premise solution. The cloud solution is offered at USD$14.99 per month for the Foxit PDF editor, USD$16.99 for Foxit PDF editor pro, and USD$29.95 per year for the Foxit PDF editor pro-education edition. The on-premise fee for a perpetual license goes for USD$159.00 for Foxit PDF editor and USD$179.00 for Foxit PDF editor pro. (2)
- Easy migration: Foxit features a user-friendly, easy and clear toolbar that resembles the Microsoft Office interface, which you’re most probably already conversant with, making editing tasks easy. It makes users learn easily and shortens the learning curve.
- It provides great user support: You can use your phone, chat, or email to communicate with customer care. Furthermore, the editor enables you to address your issues directly without exiting the application using the inbuilt chat support.
- Regulating the access permissions and tracking the modification history of a file: Foxit allows you to add security controls on aspects such as access, printing, and copying of your document. This is important especially for sensitive data, like patient records, confidential research, family secrets, or business finances, which you wouldn’t want unauthorized persons to view. (3)
- Storing and sharing information on the cloud: Foxit seamlessly integrates with some of the most popular cloud storage platforms, enabling your team to access documents from anywhere at any time.
- Advanced Optical Character Recognition features: With this, you can extract data from scanned documents and convert the text to an editable format. (4)
Other cheaper alternatives you could try out include:
2. Nitro
The major selling point of this editor is its ability to create PDFs and combine files. It also supports multi-party signing, document watermarking, task tracking, and multi-language skills to enable the creation of professional work in a short time.
Furthermore, the editor can be integrated into Microsoft applications, and you can use them at once. For all these features, you can get a subscription for a one-time cost of USD$159.9 or a monthly subscription of USD$9.99.
3. PDF-Xchange
This editor is among the most advanced editors in the market, with features such as the virtual printer for previewing documents, signature abilities, form adding, and document sharing. Aside from these, it supports other prominent PDF editing features, such as the e-signing feature, encryption which ensures document integrity, authentication and confidentiality, and file merging. However, it can only run on Windows operating systems. (5)
Also, the tool extends a free version and trial of its pro features to users. The editor offers a one-time fee package of USD443.50
4. SmallPDF
The editor is Swiss-based and provides a secure and simple PDF editing solution. It’s mainly focused on better user experience and hence its simple interface.
Overall, it’s best suited for businesses in need of offline and online PDF editing. It has two packages you can use: the team plan at USD$84 per year and the individual plans for pros at USD$108 per year for each user. It also offers a free trial, which you can use for practice and get the feeling of working with powerful editors before committing to purchase.
5. Sejda
This editor is well-known for its free version having premium features; however, you can only work on three tasks in an hour and one document after the other. Among the free features, you can use annotation, add hyperlinks, edit the text, and add images.
The paid-for version gives you most of the acrobat editing features. You can buy the web week pass at USD$5, which runs for seven days, or the monthly plan at USD$7.50. The editor also offers a web and desktop package at USD$63 that’s billed annually.
6. PDF Studio
This editor is among the most intuitive alternatives to the acrobat reader. The coolest PDF reader offers full compatibility with all the PDF standards, including PDF/A and PDF/E. Also, you can use it on Linux, Mac, and Windows OS. Moreover, it supports text search, management of forms, and annotations.
In light of this, it’s a robust editor that’s affordable, giving you a standard one-time fee package at USD$89 and a one-time pro package of USD$129.
7. SwifDoo
This lightweight editor has incredible features you can use to edit files without the need for technical knowledge. The tool enables you to add or remove digital signatures to increase transparency, include watermarks on your document, and add file encryption. It uses minimal resources in the system and can perfectly work even in low-spec computers, which may not be possible with Adobe. (6)
Notably, it’s constantly updated to fix bugs. SwifDoo also offers free trials and affordable plans of USD$8 per month.
Conclusion
Undeniably, Acrobat is a great application for PDF editing. However, it can be quite expensive given the high subscription fees. Also, it beats logic to subscribe for an entire month if you don’t frequently use the tool. That’s part of what may drive you to look for cheaper Acrobat alternatives.
In essence, a good PDF editor saves you money and allows you to edit your documents effectively. Therefore, depending on your budget, the editing requirements of your PDF, and the compatibility of your system, you can choose any among the listed applications above. These alternatives are worth considering, given their relatively low price and wide-ranging features. Analyze them individually and pick the one that best suits your PDF editing needs.
References
- “Adobe Acrobat DC Pricing,” Source: https://www.trustradius.com/products/adobe-acrobat-dc/pricing
- “Foxit PDF Editor (FoxitPhantom) Pricing,” Source: https://www.trustradius.com/products/foxit-pdf-editor/pricing
- “How to protect a document,” Source: https://www.wikihow.com/Protect-a-Document
- “OCR (optical character recognition)”, Source: https://www.techtarget.com/searchcontentmanagement/definition/OCR-optical-character-recognition
- “Encryption“, Source: https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/definition/encryption
- “Understanding Digital Signatures,” Source: https://www.cisa.gov/uscert/ncas/tips/ST04-018#:~:text=What%20is%20a%20digital%20signature,%2C%20or%20a%20digital%20document).