Adobe Acrobat vs. HotDocs by CARET

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
HotDocs by CARET
Score 4.0 out of 10
N/A
HotDocs is a document automation and assembly software product, acquired and now supported by AbacusNext since 2017.
$25
per user/per month
Pricing
Adobe AcrobatHotDocs by CARET
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
Basic
$25
per user/per month
Enterprise
Contact sales team
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Adobe AcrobatHotDocs by CARET
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 AcrobatHotDocs by CARET
Top Pros
Top Cons
Best Alternatives
Adobe AcrobatHotDocs by CARET
Small Businesses
Square 9 Softworks
Square 9 Softworks
Score 9.8 out of 10
Conga Composer
Conga Composer
Score 9.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
MSB Docs
MSB Docs
Score 9.5 out of 10
Conga Composer
Conga Composer
Score 9.1 out of 10
Enterprises
Kofax Capture
Kofax Capture
Score 4.8 out of 10
Conga Composer
Conga Composer
Score 9.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Adobe AcrobatHotDocs by CARET
Likelihood to Recommend
8.9
(473 ratings)
1.3
(10 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(11 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.5
(232 ratings)
1.0
(2 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
10.0
(7 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.0
(52 ratings)
8.5
(2 ratings)
Online Training
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
7.5
(4 ratings)
4.0
(1 ratings)
Ease of integration
10.0
(6 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
9.9
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Adobe AcrobatHotDocs by CARET
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
Read full review
CARET (Abacus Data Systems, Inc. )
It is well suited in the organisations which deals with lots of paper work like legal, teaching, research, etc as they need similar kind of documents again and again. In a typical office set up it is of great use by human resource, marketing and legal department. Hot docs is not suitable if you have a proprietary or solo business as it do not caters to them.
Read full review
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.
Read full review
CARET (Abacus Data Systems, Inc. )
  • Personalized training. We were able to get an expert on a video call who walked us through solutions to each of our unique problems (i.e. all fifty states have different notary blocks, how can we auto-populate it when the state of the deal is selected?).
  • Team access. Multiple people can work with the templates at once, thus allowing the members of our team who deal with financials to work on their documents while others focus on the organizational and legal documents.
  • Once you have successfully drafted your templates, it runs incredibly smooth (barring any minor hiccups that happen with software updates) and efficiently.
Read full review
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
Read full review
CARET (Abacus Data Systems, Inc. )
  • Most HotDocs templates demand high-level code. This includes complicated Word codes
  • Using HotDocs is incredibly user-friendly. Creating and maintaining templates is a programming task
Read full review
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.
Read full review
CARET (Abacus Data Systems, Inc. )
No answers on this topic
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.
Read full review
CARET (Abacus Data Systems, Inc. )
If I cannot get tech support (especially at the supervisory level) during my work hours, then what good is their program?
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
Adobe
Pretty much always there for my business and personal needs.
Read full review
CARET (Abacus Data Systems, Inc. )
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.
Read full review
CARET (Abacus Data Systems, Inc. )
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
Read full review
CARET (Abacus Data Systems, Inc. )
The support is fine, but make no mistake it is PAID support because you have to purchase it each year in order to keep the updates.
Read full review
Online Training
Adobe
Answered basic questions.
Read full review
CARET (Abacus Data Systems, Inc. )
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.
Read full review
CARET (Abacus Data Systems, Inc. )
If you use WordPerfect X9 - choose"no word-processing software."
Read full review
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.
Read full review
CARET (Abacus Data Systems, Inc. )
I haven't evaluated other products. We are so used to HotDocs that it would be difficult for us to switch to something else. We continue to use HotDocs because switching cost is high once you have already started. Be careful before beginning to use this program, as it is hard to breakaway.
Read full review
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.
Read full review
CARET (Abacus Data Systems, Inc. )
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.
Read full review
CARET (Abacus Data Systems, Inc. )
  • Positive - Quicker turn around on producing standard documents tailored to the client's specific needs.
  • Negative - Long learning curve. Not an "out of the box" program. It has to be customized.
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.