Adobe Acrobat Reader vs. Foxit PDF SDK

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Adobe Acrobat Reader
Score 8.6 out of 10
N/A
Acrobat Reader is a PDF viewer and converter, available as a free download from Adobe. Users can view, sign, collaborate on and annotate PDF files, or edit and convert PDFs into file formats like Excel and Word.N/A
Foxit PDF SDK
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
Foxit PDF SDK offers high performance pdf libraries to help developers build pdf technology. According to the vendor, key features include: Render PDFs: High performance PDF libraries to render PDF pages, page objects, annotations, and forms the way they were intended to be viewed: sharp, clear, accurate, and easy to read. Allows applications to view, zoom in, zoom out, and print PDF documents and forms. Reflow: PDF is a fixed-layout flat document format, it cannot…
$3,000
per platform/per year
Pricing
Adobe Acrobat ReaderFoxit PDF SDK
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Licensing PDF SDK
$3,000.00
per platform/per year
Foxit.NET PDF SDK
Contact sales team
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Adobe Acrobat ReaderFoxit PDF SDK
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeRequired
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Adobe Acrobat ReaderFoxit PDF SDK
Features
Adobe Acrobat ReaderFoxit PDF SDK
PDF Editors
Comparison of PDF Editors features of Product A and Product B
Adobe Acrobat Reader
9.1
2 Ratings
7% above category average
Foxit PDF SDK
-
Ratings
Edit Text and Images9.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Merge or Split PDFs9.52 Ratings00 Ratings
Add Annotations9.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Text Recognition (OCR)8.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Page Management8.52 Ratings00 Ratings
Form Creation and Editing10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Secure PDFs10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Convert to Different Formats9.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Comment and Review Tools9.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Undo and Redo Actions8.52 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Adobe Acrobat ReaderFoxit PDF SDK
Small Businesses
Tungsten Power PDF
Tungsten Power PDF
Score 9.8 out of 10
Tungsten Power PDF
Tungsten Power PDF
Score 9.8 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
PDF Xchange Viewer and Editor
PDF Xchange Viewer and Editor
Score 9.4 out of 10
MSB Docs
MSB Docs
Score 9.4 out of 10
Enterprises
Bluebeam
Bluebeam
Score 9.0 out of 10
Tungsten Capture
Tungsten Capture
Score 9.4 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Adobe Acrobat ReaderFoxit PDF SDK
Likelihood to Recommend
9.5
(75 ratings)
7.9
(17 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
7.2
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.5
(3 ratings)
8.0
(2 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(3 ratings)
Implementation Rating
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
7.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
Adobe Acrobat ReaderFoxit PDF SDK
Likelihood to Recommend
Adobe
After creating a document, converting it into Adobe Acrobat Reader is usually very easy for storage in my computer, sending/sharing via emails, etc. This also saves a significant amount of unnecessary printing and paper waste, which is great for reducing waste. I don't have to worry about not having the right software/app to view, edit, and share with anyone.
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Foxit Software
Where FoxIt suites best is if you need an alternative to the big-name PDF editors. It's pretty easy to use and it's comparable to Adobe or any other document editor. It is best used when mocking up proposals for work, creating employee handbooks, putting together offer letters, and essentially any other important document. This is not suitable for creating brochures or pamphlets.
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Pros
Adobe
  • It has all the tools that individuals need for reading/doing light editing of PDF files.
  • It is the most secure PDF reader on the market, and it tends to get patched with timely updates on a regular basis.
  • It usually works very well, as far as the software itself. It doesn't crash a lot, or is particularly an error prone software platform.
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Foxit Software
  • It is a very cool development kit to integration different PDF functions.
  • It is user-friendly and convenient to work with.
  • It has great functionality for text. For example: adding quick markup, highlighting the text, underlining, and doing strikethrough, and adding signatures is pretty easy.
  • It offers to do encryption and add passwords for security.
  • Great search capability that helps finding the text without hassle.
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Cons
Adobe
  • Being able to add image "stamps" to a document is a little tricky as the stamp has to already be in PDF format (at least on Mac) to work. This mean you have to convert the image to PDF before you can use it as a stamp.
  • Being only able to save one signature and one set of initials is a bit of a pain but you can actually use stamps if you need different versions frequently used scribbles for various reasons. The stamp won't secure the document and prevent future changes the same way the signature would though.
  • All of the other features you might want to use are only included with Acrobat Pro but the options are all displayed in the Reader app. When clicked they will offer the free trial that leads to a paid subscription. This is more of an annoyance but you can't fault Adobe for trying to make a sale.
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Foxit Software
  • Combine multiple PDFs into one PDF
  • File explorer preview is not good
  • In the C# SDK, which is a wrapper of native C++ code. We need to be extra careful in coding and protecting the calls, because it can be very easy to crash the application in case of errors.
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Likelihood to Renew
Adobe
To be honest, I do not have any say in the renewal of Adobe Acrobat Reader DC. It is managed at an enterprise level, and the decision to renew or not renew is handled well above my pay grade as an external consultant.
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Foxit Software
No answers on this topic
Usability
Adobe
Again, Adobe Creative Suite is widely used and backed by an industry leader, making the experience very familiar and common for anyone who has used a PDF and wants more features to interact with it. It also makes copy text a lot easier than just previewing the file.
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Foxit Software
Our whole takeoff department uses the Foxit PDF SDK. To read plan files, produce pdf files, and take notes, we utilize it in conjunction with other tools. We may utilize the Foxit PDF SDK to read, edit, markup, print, and produce PDF files for internal use or to distribute to clients. Some of our users adore the software, but others choose to use alternative programs because they believe Foxit PDF SDK is too restrictive.
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Performance
Adobe
No answers on this topic
Foxit Software
I rated this software very high on performance because it is really very quick on my Windows system. It can create any type of PDF files in seconds. It also gives good upload speed when I try to modify my documents for inserting digital signature space. It also gives very good encryption speed to secure my documents.
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Support Rating
Adobe
No answers on this topic
Foxit Software
I would give it this rating because I personally have never had to contact support regarding Foxit PDF SDK or anything I am trying to do within the program. As I mentioned before, it is very user-friendly and easy to navigate. I think the program in itself lends support to the user because it is so user-friendly and has an easy to use interface.
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Implementation Rating
Adobe
The application is pretty much "plug and play"
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Foxit Software
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Adobe
We have reviewed DocuSign in comparison to [Adobe] Acrobat Reader [DC's] e-sign capabilities. We found that DocuSign has more robust options when creating contracts and consent capabilities. DocuSign's online UI is much more suited to this type of task as well. However, we decided to stick with [Adobe] Acrobat Reader DC because of the price (DocuSign is more expensive) and we felt we didn't need all of the bells and whistles for contract signature and consent.
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Foxit Software
Adobe Sign can be really frustrating and difficult to log into, renew subscription, and other background functions. Tech support is between useless and non-existent. On the other hand, there is better control over when recipients have been contacted. Overall, Foxit PDF SDK is a much better product, especially for smaller businesses or ones which don't use it consistently every day, year-round (if that's you, you will get used to Adobe, and it will be less annoying.)
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Return on Investment
Adobe
  • It's available for free, so there is no excuse to not install
  • Contains features that you would normally have to pay for in competitor software, so it has a positive impact on ROI
  • Reduces the amount of printing
  • Decreases the amount of time spent on regulatory and governance documentation
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Foxit Software
  • Saves time by being able to edit text in pdf instead of copy/paste into a .doc and then re-formatting the whole thing
  • Able to create fillable forms that are easy to use and to send out to customers
  • Bargain compared to Adobe product
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ScreenShots

Foxit PDF SDK Screenshots

Screenshot of Foxit PDF SDK for AndroidScreenshot of Foxit PDF SDK for iOSScreenshot of Foxit PDF SDK for UWPScreenshot of Foxit PDF SDK for WindowsScreenshot of Foxit PDF SDK for Linux