Adobe Acrobat vs. Autodesk AEC Collection

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Adobe Acrobat
Score 8.8 out of 10
N/A
Adobe Acrobat DC is the current version of the well-established document / PDF management solution, part of the Adobe Document Cloud (the other part being Adobe's eSign services based on technology acquired with EchoSign in 2011).
$29.99
per month per seat
Autodesk AEC Collection
Score 8.5 out of 10
N/A
The AEC Collection provides a set of BIM and CAD tools supported by a cloud-based common data environment that facilitates project delivery from early-stage design through to construction. The bundle includes popular Autodesk tools such as Revit, AutoCAD, FormIT, and Navisworks Manage, with access to 12 integrated CAD and BIM tools.
$435
per month
Pricing
Adobe AcrobatAutodesk AEC Collection
Editions & Modules
Acrobat Pro for Individuals
$19.99
per month
Acrobat Pro for Teams
$23.99
per month per user
Acrobat Studio for Individuals
$24.99
per month
AEC Collection - Monthly Subscription
$435
per month per user
AEC Collection - Yearly Subscription
$3,465
per year per user
AEC Collection - 3-Year Subscription
$10,395
3 years per user
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Adobe AcrobatAutodesk AEC Collection
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Adobe AcrobatAutodesk AEC Collection
Considered Both Products
Adobe Acrobat

No answer on this topic

Autodesk AEC Collection
Chose Autodesk AEC Collection
Each of these pieces of software has a different use and focus. Some overlap with each other and some are components of Autodesk AEC Collection, such as Autodesk Fabrication CADmep. They are all well designed and powerful applications that help us with everything from planning …
Features
Adobe AcrobatAutodesk AEC Collection
Computer-Aided Design Software
Comparison of Computer-Aided Design Software features of Product A and Product B
Adobe Acrobat
-
Ratings
Autodesk AEC Collection
9.4
1 Ratings
24% above category average
3D Modeling00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
2D Drafting00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Rendering and Visualization00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Parametric Design00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Collaboration and Sharing00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Compatibility with other software and formats00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Assembly Design00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Simulation and Analysis00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Documentation and Annotation00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Customization and Extensions00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
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Adobe AcrobatAutodesk AEC Collection
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MSB Docs
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Score 9.4 out of 10
Onshape
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Score 7.5 out of 10
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User Ratings
Adobe AcrobatAutodesk AEC Collection
Likelihood to Recommend
8.8
(811 ratings)
10.0
(4 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.1
(45 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Usability
9.2
(254 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Availability
9.1
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
5.6
(10 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.3
(63 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.8
(15 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
7.9
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
4.5
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
8.0
(8 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
7.0
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
1.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
1.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Adobe AcrobatAutodesk AEC Collection
Likelihood to Recommend
Adobe
If your work involves a lot of received PDFs, be it contracts, scanned docs, or multi-part files that need reorganizing before they go anywhere useful, Acrobat fits there well. It's basically what we use it for, and it does that job reliably enough. Where it gets less appropriate is anything collaborative or when you are on a tight budget: paying this much for a tool that slows down on heavy files and doesn't do real-time editing is hard to justify unless you genuinely need the OCR and format editing on the side. For a lighter use case, there are cheaper options that cover most of what people actually need.
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Autodesk
If you are a commercial contractor or subcontractor, Autodesk AEC Collection, along with other Autodesk software is a must. There is no other way to design estimate and plan large construction. For residential construction, It may not be as necessary but it could still be useful if your primary construction projects are new builds rather than renovations.
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Pros
Adobe
  • ISO standard PDF creation is critical for print production, so that there are no surprises on press.
  • Adobe Acrobat's security features are simple to use, and effective.
  • Most clients have no difficulty with the commenting features in Adobe Acrobat, which makes review quick and simple.
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Autodesk
  • Collaboration with multiple users and
  • Software for Computer Assisted Design
  • Saving and Documentation of Plans and Blueprints
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Cons
Adobe
  • For as amazing as Adobe Acrobat is, a lot of the time it does feel like one of the more clunky and slow Adobe programs.
  • Ability to edit text! Adobe Acrobat sometimes struggles with fonts and editing the text ends up messing with the text in weird ways.
  • It would be cool to have multiple versions of the same preflight single fixups! I use the same single fixup but need to adjust it for multiple sizes! I'd like to be able to save another version of it with the different sizes.
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Autodesk
  • Revit is limited in its use for civil engineering and landscape architecture.
  • There are bugs due to the complex nature of the software.
  • Use of software requires the latest high-tech computers.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Adobe
Adobe Acrobat works seamlessly with the other Adobe products we use that are industry-standard. We will certainly continue to use Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator, meaning it will always be convenient to work seamlessly with Adobe Acrobat for our organization. We are happy with the performance of Acrobat and it's meets our expectations.
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Autodesk
I gave a rating of 10 because, thus far, Autodesk AEC Collection Seems to be on the leading edge for what is required for the construction planning, implementation, and continued of real-world assets. Autodesk has been a great benefit for our organization and has allowed us to continue to improve not only ourselves but the people we work with. We have been using Autodesk AEC Collection for a number of years and hope to continue for a long time coming.
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Usability
Adobe
It’s a very easy app to learn and software is essential. I feel like the app could load a bit faster but overall, is one of my go to apps. Makes reading and editing pdfs easy and I enjoy the usability of the app. It is definitely something I make sure to have downloaded on any computer I’m working from
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Autodesk
The software has a significant learning curve. You also must know and understand construction standards and codes. Each member of our BIM team has spent 10+ years in construction and has had years of software training. The software also requires powerful computers to render the models. Without a BIM focused gpu and processor, the software will seem less usable when in reality, the computer is not capable of running the software properly
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Reliability and Availability
Adobe
We have not had availability issues with Adobe Acrobat, or at least none that I am personally aware of. Some may encounter crashes of the software during outages of electricity in their city or neighborhood, which no one can plan for, but with generators in our organization, we have been lucky not to have outages
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Autodesk
No answers on this topic
Performance
Adobe
One of the best features of Adobe Acrobat is its speed and stability. When dealing with massive multi-page files, having to reload a crashed program over and over again would slow down progress unnecessarily. And expanding on that, having the table of contents generated allows me to skip to different pages with ease, a necessary feature with exceptionally long files. word searches are even more helpful with text recognition.
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Autodesk
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Adobe
For a while, Acrobat DC crashed pretty frequently. I contacted Adobe Acrobat support about the problem. At first support was unable to provide a solution. After about a month Adobe's software engineers provided a fix. I just wish it had taken less than a month to solve the problem.
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Autodesk
No answers on this topic
Online Training
Adobe
Answered basic questions.
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Autodesk
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Adobe
I was not involved with the implementation process, so I cannot answer this question. However, when it was installed on my computer system, they did so virtually. I just sat there while they took control of my computer over the network and watch them install it, lickety split
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Autodesk
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Adobe
In my opinion, both complement each other. Microsoft clearly has with Copilot the AI Edge. However, the visual dynamics of Adobe Creative are Outstanding and provide a balanced approach to creativity, utilizing both Excellent, user-friendly Tools.
Read full review
Autodesk
Other products that have been used include Civil Designer and Model Maker for civil services. Other products for structural designs include aq product called "SEDA" These products are not included in the listings.
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Contract Terms and Pricing Model
Adobe
I am not responsible for sales or purchasing
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Autodesk
No answers on this topic
Scalability
Adobe
I find that many users aren't aware of many features of the software they use, nor may they be comfortable with learning multiple-step processes. For the simplest of PDF purposes (scanning, downloading, exporting), it gets a thumbs-up. For anything involving electronic signatures, meh--causes eyes to glaze over, or forgetting what all is involved.
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Autodesk
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Adobe
  • Adobe Acrobat has saved us time in managing documents. In this day, everything is fast, moves fast, and keeping up with that pace demands software that functions at the same level. Adobe Acrobat does that. It has streamlined the steps I need to take to edit and create documents we need to manage our customers.
  • Adobe Acrobat removes the worry and stress associated with managing a large influx of documents. Something as simple as a document featuring an image that was sent to us upside down. Using the old method, I would have to open other software, click 'Edit', find the 'Rotate Image' button, click it a couple of times, save it as a JPEG, then attach it to Word, and finally save it as a PDF. It was a grueling process that consumed a great deal of time. Now, I simply open the image, and Adobe automatically recognizes it is upside down and fixes it for me. I can save and move on; it literally takes me seconds. Amazing.
  • Adobe Acrobat is intuitive and easy to use, and the additional apps are relevant to the needs that come up. If I have an idea, I can go to the available apps and find exactly what I need. Impressive and speaks to the years of experience this company has had to fine-tune its product and make it obvious that it is aggressive in staying on top.
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Autodesk
  • Positive impact on collaboration between disciplines.
  • Products are the industry standard, which allows for collaboration with other firms.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Adobe Acrobat Screenshots

Screenshot of where to create, edit, convert, and share PDF files all from within Microsoft Teams – as part of Acrobat integrations with Microsoft 365 apps.Screenshot of Liquid Mode in Adobe Acrobat Reader mobile app, where users can read PDFs on phones and tablets without having to pinch and zoom. Navigate lengthy documents with intelligent outline and search tools, while maximizing readability and comfort with font size and line spacing that are adjustable.Screenshot of where to fill and sign PDF forms from anywhere and on any device. Here, users can collect signatures, digitally track progress, and automatically archive the signed document.Screenshot of the Adobe Scan mobile app, used to capture and convert documents into high-quality, interactive PDF documents that can be filled out, signed, and shared. This eliminates the hassle of finding a printer, filling a form by hand, and scanning it again.