Foxit vs Adobe Acrobat: A No-BS Comparison for Business Users

If you're comparing Foxit vs Adobe Acrobat, you're probably trying to figure out whether paying the Adobe premium is worth it—or if Foxit can do everything you need at a lower price point. Having used both extensively, here's my honest take.

The short answer: Foxit is the better choice for most small to mid-sized businesses that need solid PDF editing without breaking the bank. Adobe Acrobat is worth it if you need the absolute best document security, advanced compliance features, or you're already embedded in the Adobe ecosystem.

Pricing Comparison: The Real Numbers

Let's cut to what matters most—what you'll actually pay.

Foxit PDF Editor Pricing

• PDF Editor: $10.99/month (annual, billed monthly) or $129.99/year paid upfront
• PDF Editor+: $13.99/month (annual, billed monthly) or $159.99/year paid upfront
• Perpetual License: Around $159-$210 one-time payment (available but somewhat hidden on their site)

Foxit also offers volume discounts of up to 30% for larger teams and education pricing for students and teachers. One thing I appreciate: they still offer a perpetual license option if you hate subscriptions.

Want to see the latest pricing? Check out Foxit here.

Adobe Acrobat Pricing

• Acrobat Standard: $12.99/month (annual commitment)
• Acrobat Pro: $19.99/month (annual) or $29.99/month (month-to-month)
• Acrobat Pro for Teams: $23.99/month per license
• Perpetual License (Acrobat Classic): $324 for a 3-year term

Adobe's team pricing includes a 7.5% discount when you purchase 5+ licenses. Students can get 66% off Creative Cloud All Apps (which includes Acrobat Pro), bringing it to $19.99/month for the first year.

Price Verdict

Foxit wins on price, hands down. At the entry level, Foxit starts at $10.99/month compared to Adobe's $12.99/month. But the real savings show up at the Pro level—Foxit's PDF Editor+ at $13.99/month vs Adobe Acrobat Pro at $19.99/month saves you about $72/year per user. For a team of 10, that's $720/year.

For a deeper dive into Foxit's pricing structure, check out our Foxit pricing breakdown.

Features: What Each Tool Actually Does Well

Both are full-featured PDF editors. The basics—editing text, adding images, merging PDFs, filling forms, adding signatures—work great in both. The differences show up in the details.

Where Foxit Wins

• Interface: Foxit uses a Microsoft Office-style ribbon interface that feels familiar immediately. If you've used Word, you'll pick up Foxit in minutes.
• Speed: Foxit runs lighter and faster, especially on older machines. Adobe Acrobat is notorious for being slow and resource-heavy.
• Mobile editing: Foxit's mobile app has more actual editing capabilities, while Adobe's mobile app is primarily a reader and signature tool.
• OCR: Multiple users report Foxit's OCR (optical character recognition) performs better than Adobe's for scanned documents.
• Drag-and-drop editing: Foxit lets you drag and drop text and image elements around your PDF. Surprisingly, Adobe doesn't support this well.
• Batch processing: Foxit can convert, merge, or compress multiple PDFs at once with batch processing.

Where Adobe Acrobat Wins

• Document security: Adobe scores higher (9.0 vs 8.9) on document protection features. For industries handling sensitive information, this matters.
• Document signing: Adobe's signature workflow is more robust (9.3 vs 9.1), making it preferred for secure business transactions.
• Document management: Adobe has superior tools for organizing and managing documents, essential for larger teams handling multiple files.
• Industry standard: Adobe invented PDF. Some compliance and legal departments specifically require Adobe for document review and redlining.
• AI features: Adobe's AI Assistant can summarize documents and let you chat with multiple documents to find information faster.
• Creative Cloud integration: If you're using Photoshop, Illustrator, or other Adobe tools, Acrobat integrates seamlessly.

The Learning Curve Reality

Foxit has a clear edge in ease of use, scoring 9.0 on G2 compared to Adobe's 8.7. Adobe Acrobat is known for its steep learning curve—powerful tools, but expect to spend time getting comfortable with the layout.

This isn't just about preference. If you're rolling out PDF software to a team, Foxit's familiar interface means less training time and faster adoption.

What Users Actually Complain About

Foxit Complaints

• The perpetual license is hard to find (buried at the bottom of their shopping page)
• Some advanced features require add-ons that increase the total cost
• Cannot convert files to ePub format
• OCR can struggle with complex, image-heavy documents
• Limited to one device per user with no multi-device option on perpetual licenses

Adobe Acrobat Complaints

• Expensive—users consistently cite cost as a major pain point
• No month-to-month option without significant price increase ($29.99 vs $19.99)
• Software is slow, freezes, and requires frequent updates
• Annual subscriptions are hard to cancel without early termination fees
• Adding accessibility features (alt-text, tags) is clunky and frustrating

Platform Support

Both tools work across Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android. Foxit also offers a browser-based version, so you can access PDFs with just an internet connection. Both integrate with cloud storage services like Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive.

One notable difference: Foxit integrates smoothly with Microsoft Office 365, Google Drive, and Salesforce. Adobe integrates with the broader Creative Cloud and Document Cloud ecosystem.

Who Should Choose Foxit

• Budget-conscious businesses: You'll save 30-40%+ compared to Adobe while getting comparable features
• Teams switching from Adobe: The learning curve is minimal, and migration is straightforward
• Small to mid-sized businesses: You probably don't need Adobe's enterprise-grade features
• Anyone who hates subscriptions: Foxit still offers a perpetual license option
• Users on older hardware: Foxit runs faster and lighter

Try Foxit PDF Editor - they offer a free trial so you can test it before committing.

Who Should Choose Adobe Acrobat

• Legal and compliance teams: Adobe is still the industry standard for document review
• Enterprise organizations: When you need maximum security and audit trails
• Adobe ecosystem users: If you're already using Creative Cloud, Acrobat fits naturally
• Heavy e-signature users: Adobe Sign integration is more mature
• Students: The 66% discount on Creative Cloud All Apps makes Adobe actually affordable

The Free Reader Option

Both companies offer free PDF readers. Foxit PDF Reader is lightweight, fast, and includes basic annotation features. Adobe Acrobat Reader is also free for viewing, printing, signing, and annotating PDFs. For basic viewing needs, either works—but Foxit Reader is generally faster and less annoying about upselling you.

If you're exploring free options, check out our guide to free PDF editor software or our roundup of the best PDF editor software.

My Recommendation

For 80% of business users, Foxit is the better choice. You get professional-grade PDF editing at a significantly lower cost, with an interface that your team can learn quickly. The 40%+ savings vs Adobe adds up fast, especially for teams.

Choose Adobe Acrobat if you specifically need industry-standard compliance, you're already invested in the Adobe ecosystem, or your legal/compliance team requires it. Otherwise, Foxit does the job.

For more details on Foxit, read our full Foxit review or check the Foxit pricing page.