Adobe Acrobat vs. Google Workspace

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).
$12.99
per month
Google Workspace
Score 9.1 out of 10
N/A
Google Workspace enables teams of all sizes to connect, create and collaborate. It includes productivity and collaboration tools for work: Gmail for custom business email, Drive for cloud storage, Docs for word processing, Meet for video and voice conferencing, Chat for team messaging, Slides for presentation building, and shared Calendars.
$6
per month per user
Pricing
Adobe AcrobatGoogle Workspace
Editions & Modules
Acrobat Standard for Individuals
$12.99
per month
Acrobat Standard for teams
$14.99
per month per user
Acrobat Pro for Individuals
$19.99
per month
Acrobat Pro for Teams
$22.19
per month per user
Acrobat for Enterprise
Contact sales team
Business Starter
$6
per user/per month
Business Standard
$12
per user/per month
Business Plus
$18
per user/per month
Enterprise
Contact sales team
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Adobe AcrobatGoogle Workspace
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Adobe AcrobatGoogle Workspace
Considered Both Products
Adobe Acrobat
Chose Adobe Acrobat
Because of its manyfeatures, intuitive interface, sophisticated functionalities, and wellestablished industry standing, Adobe Acrobat is the program of choice for managingdocuments in our company when compared to other programs.
Chose Adobe Acrobat
I think Adobe Acrobat is better designed, has better and more robust options and is more secure than the cloud services that those sites provide. Acrobat also is already integrated in the Adobe Creative Cloud Suite, so is cheaper to use it, because in those tools above you have …
Chose Adobe Acrobat
The user awareness of the product stands out always and the fact that all the users are already aware of its usage.
Chose Adobe Acrobat
DocuSign has more features than Adobe Acrobat DC but it costs more and we don't need those features. HelloSign is not as robust as Adobe Acrobat DC. We have yet to use a program that we were as satisfied with the results of converting documents into PDF files as we are with …
Google Workspace
Chose Google Workspace
Google Drive [(formerly G Suite)] is so much better for collaboration than Microsoft Office. But Office is still used by so much of the world, it's necessary as well. Having Azure Active Directory for Windows is a nice addition to an onsite active directory, and offers many …
Chose Google Workspace
Overall, Google has been my go-to for all online office files and for sharing and collaborative projects: from meeting notes to shared documents. This has been easy to use and managed by admin.
Chose Google Workspace
G-suite has been the preferred solution, particularly compared to Microsoft, particularly because of cost, ease of administration and users general familiarity with Google applications since so many of our folks use the same apps and services personally as well as …
Chose Google Workspace
For ease of use, collaboration, and reduced expense.
Top Pros
Top Cons
Best Alternatives
Adobe AcrobatGoogle Workspace
Small Businesses
Square 9 Softworks
Square 9 Softworks
Score 9.8 out of 10
Microsoft 365 Business Premium
Microsoft 365 Business Premium
Score 8.8 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
MSB Docs
MSB Docs
Score 9.5 out of 10
Microsoft 365 Business Premium
Microsoft 365 Business Premium
Score 8.8 out of 10
Enterprises
Kofax Capture
Kofax Capture
Score 4.9 out of 10
Microsoft 365 Business Premium
Microsoft 365 Business Premium
Score 8.8 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Adobe AcrobatGoogle Workspace
Likelihood to Recommend
8.9
(473 ratings)
9.3
(116 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(11 ratings)
9.1
(4 ratings)
Usability
8.5
(232 ratings)
9.1
(5 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
9.9
(7 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.0
(52 ratings)
2.5
(12 ratings)
Online Training
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
7.5
(4 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
Ease of integration
10.0
(6 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
9.9
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Adobe AcrobatGoogle Workspace
Likelihood to Recommend
Adobe
If your organization uses PDFs frequently, then Adobe Acrobat feels like must-have. I could not imagine our organization not using it. The ability to create, organize, and edit PDFs easily and intuitively are the main reasons my organization uses it. The other additional functions and features are "nice to haves", but ultimately, don't impact our day-to-day
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Google
Since our company is structured around Google Workspace at the moment, it is well suited for our entire workflow. I do have concerns though, for when it comes time for our company to have our own intranet built and how well the data migration will be from Google Workspace to that intranet that gets built.
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Pros
Adobe
  • Easy to understand- the program has a very intuitive layout that is great for people who doesn't use the product very much
  • Includes all features you might need. There are many features I didn't even think we would need that they have included.
  • They have a very recognizable name so my clients feel they can trust what they are being asked to open/sign since the Adobe name is next to it.
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Google
  • Google's service integration is seamless. Sharing files and documents with team members and clients couldn't be simpler. We can limit file sharing and access as needed.
  • As expected, Google Workspace integrates perfectly with Android phones allowing for a seamless mobile experience. Integration with iOS is also good.
  • Spam protection is second to none. I cannot remember ever finding a spam message in my inbox!
  • Google has a good reputation for email deliverability making it less likely your outbound mail ends up in someone's spam folder.
  • Google Workspace allows you to host multiple domains and alias domains on your account.
  • There is a robust set of tools to allow routing of mail to different mailboxes.
  • Collaboration is so easy with Workplace. Real time editing of documents is flawless. When chatting with collaborators, I can see their changes as they make them with no delay.
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Cons
Adobe
  • It would be good if Adobe Acrobat could utilize less system resources. I have had crashes due to memory and CPU load this week
  • Quicker load times from a cold launch
  • Easier collaborative commenting for offline documents - knowing where and who wrote what
  • Ensuring documents don't have issues where text cannot be copied before publishing
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Google
  • I have several Workspace accounts, and it can be kind of annoying to switch between them. For example, if I click in my work email but my Chrome defaults to my personal Workspace, I have to open the file differently or log in and out of the other account.
  • Meet is my least favorite feature. I find it very subpar to Zoom in both ease and picture resolution. It's harder to tell when you're sharing your screen and you can't see comments if you're presenting.
  • Google My Business can be difficult to navigate. I frequently forget where features are and have to hunt around for them.
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Likelihood to Renew
Adobe
I bought a perpetual license to Acrobat some time ago, but if the software ever stopped being supported in my version of windows or other solution that makes me need to buy another license I would not hesitate to do so since it saves me a lot of headaches. There are workarounds to merge files and edit pdfs with an online interface but I dont think those are a good usage of time when Acrobat exists.
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Google
There is no better solution for cloud storage and real time collaboration. The amount of features included in G Suite is unmatched and out of other things we’ve tried over the years, nothing comes close to being as great of a tool.
Read full review
Usability
Adobe
My overall experience with Adobe is great because because the it has almost all of the tools in one place and it can be used it for most of my work without going anywhere else. Because the tools are available right there in the main interface, it makes it very easy to use.
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Google
On the user end, it's great, probably some of the most user friendly products out there. On the admin side, it can get a little more arcane, but it's still better than a lot of other services. At worst I wrangle some CSVs to perform mass changes, but it's a far cry from the days of Powershell scripts or purely manual entry.
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Reliability and Availability
Adobe
Pretty much always there for my business and personal needs.
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Google
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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Google
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Adobe
Because I don't need it. Used it years ago for account management/billing issues but they have changed the user experience so more of that can be managed online. If I have a question the knowledge base or a video that Adobe has posted answers
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Google
My experiences of getting support have been positive. Calling in is not overly difficult, but it does require getting a PIN. The knowledge of those responding to the calls has been impressive. I have managed to work with them to fix two Google bugs that I had identified. These bugs required a some technical expertise and the support staff were able to understand the issue and forward the concerns to the appropriate persons. The first bug was fixed with 24 hours. The second bug took a little longer, but it was also more complicated to reproduce.
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Online Training
Adobe
Answered basic questions.
Read full review
Google
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Adobe
Works well with JamF and SmartDeploy. These are our Enterprise imaging solutions for Mac's and PC's. The Enterprise installer is required when pushing out this app.
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Google
nothing to say
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Alternatives Considered
Adobe
There really is no comparison. Although we use other PDF programs, we mainly utilize Adobe. Not only because we find it to be a better program but also because everyone is more familiar with it. However, the other products are implemented for various reasons, such as a feature or 2 that we find necessary to use at times.
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Google
They are different. Over the years, one has had better support than the other. Google support is good, there have been times Microsoft support was awful, and times when it was significantly better. For me, Outlook is just a drain on resources. Word is that my primary word processor anyway, so I don't feel like I'm losing much. SharePoint seems capable of a lot, and exchange certainly is capable of a lot, but it requires so much configuration, even for a small business, that return on investment seems quicker and easier with Google Workspace. For those who absolutely need a completely Microsoft environment, Office 365 has that, Google Workspace does not. Still, I prefer Google Workspace over Office 365.
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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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Google
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Adobe
  • Adobe Acrobat has improved the security of our documents, resulting in less risk, as protecting documents is essential to ensure compliance with privacy laws.
  • It saves our company money, as the product makes it easier for our employees to complete their jobs.
  • The product assists our employees with providing quality work product.
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Google
  • Zero to no time managing tools allows us to focus on work saving us time and money
  • Google Workspace allowed us to seamlessly transition to a fully remote workforce when the Coronavirus pandemic started - no lost time or productivity.
  • Easily able to extend our workspace and add features, e.g. Voice, saving us time implementing other services.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Adobe Acrobat Screenshots

Screenshot of Create, edit, convert, and share PDF files all from within Microsoft Teams – as part of Acrobat integrations with Microsoft 365 apps.Screenshot of With Liquid Mode in Adobe Acrobat Reader mobile app, 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 Fill and sign PDF forms from anywhere and on any device.  Collect signatures, digitally track progress, and automatically archive the signed document.Screenshot of With Adobe Scan mobile app, capture and convert documents into high-quality, interactive PDF documents that can be filled out, signed, and shared.  Eliminates the hassle of finding a printer, filling a form by hand, and scanning it again.