Adobe Acrobat vs. Affinity Publisher

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).
$19.99
per month
Affinity Publisher
Score 8.2 out of 10
N/A
Affinity Publisher replaces the former PagePlus desktop publishing application, from Serif Europe headquartered in Nottingham.
$24.99
Pricing
Adobe AcrobatAffinity Publisher
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
Affinity Publisher
$24.99
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Adobe AcrobatAffinity Publisher
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Adobe AcrobatAffinity Publisher
Considered Both Products
Adobe Acrobat
Chose Adobe Acrobat
Both read documents through Adobe, which is better for security and because the service is more optimized.
Chose Adobe Acrobat
Adobe Acrobat is the gold standard and you pay for it. It is easy to use and works how you expect it to. The alternatives are cheaper, but don't offer as many features, and require retaining everyone to switch applications.
Chose Adobe Acrobat
In comparison to Smallpdf and iLovePDF, inevitably, Adobe Acrobat is the most popular and higher marketed software. Additionally, Smallpdf and iLovePDF are online conversion software, so your document needs to be uploaded to a cloud where it is converted and then you need to …
Chose Adobe Acrobat
This isn't really a good comparison, but Adobe Acrobat is more of a program that works among all of these, and I'll keep using it as long as it's a part of Adobe CC. Otherwise, I see DocuSign as suitable for secure/private documents, and Dropbox file previews allows a pretty …
Chose Adobe Acrobat
It offers functionality that the office suite just doesn't really seem to dabble in e.g. locking down documents or proper redaction abilities.
Chose Adobe Acrobat
Adobe Acrobat is light-years beyond GIMP. Not only is it a better way to view photos for documents, it is far easier to use at it is visually pleasing and easy to navigate. Adobe is more robust than Canva. Though Canva has more creative capabilities, Adobe has more …
Chose Adobe Acrobat
Adobe stacks up very well against Microsoft 365. In addition, it also integrates well with many of the tools offered through our Microsoft 365 subscription and in many cases increases the value and functionality of those tools and programs. Adobe Acrobat serves to fill out our …
Chose Adobe Acrobat
There's no comparison; Adobe does it better, faster and more reliable. It's interface is simpler, more intuitive and easier to use. Acrobat is an industry go to solution for business needs. We value its solid foundation, limited issues and dependability.
Chose Adobe Acrobat
I don't use any of the aforementioned anymore, so that pretty much says it all. They don't stack up. I use Salesforce, but not for document saving. Only for it's other CRM features. Microsoft 365 Business I use, but there is always a needed add on when it comes to document …
Chose Adobe Acrobat
The team has been able to streamline patient management using Cerner’s practice management tools. As a result, scheduling, billing, and documentation have become more efficient, reducing administrative burden and improving overall patient care. The team has been able to enhance …
Chose Adobe Acrobat
Adobe Acrobat stands out because its more powefull and feature rich as compared to these free tools. and it offers more compatibilty, security and many other editing options in a single software. which is much suitable for professional work rather than these cheap alternatives. …
Chose Adobe Acrobat
Not applicable. Acrobat is a legacy product for us.
Chose Adobe Acrobat
I have never used another product other than Adobe Acrobat and there is a reason for it. Adobe Acrobat is the best and it works with every system globally.
Chose Adobe Acrobat
Adobe Experience Manager and Asset Data Manager
Chose Adobe Acrobat
Adobe Acrobat has more functions that a lot of the PDF converters and editors that are web based. It's also easier to use than the Microsoft one.
Chose Adobe Acrobat
Adobe PhotoShop, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Illustrator CC and Adobe InDesign
Chose Adobe Acrobat
It was provided as a tool by company so no evaluation was done personally by me
Affinity Publisher
Chose Affinity Publisher
Only useful on the Windows platform. Perhaps it is just fine, but the plug-in style function of the Affinity photo and designer attached to Publisher makes the Affinity solution more robust. The Microsoft product is also attached to a subscription platform, where the Serif …
Chose Affinity Publisher
I used to use Adobe FrameMaker for similar tasks. Affinity Publisher is easier to use with similar functionality (excluding mathematics).
Chose Affinity Publisher
The features in Affinity Publisher easily stack up against the much more expensive Adobe suite of products. With the ability to open all file types it is a bit of a workhorse for all things. We have been using it for social media template designs as well as client booklets and …
Chose Affinity Publisher
It's just as full-featured. It's nice to not be locked into the Adobe Creative Suite. We also use Affinity Photo, so we knew Affinity was a reputable company making some incredible software worth looking into. It took us a while, but very glad we gave it a chance. It can do …
Chose Affinity Publisher
Affinity Publisher has a comparable feature set to Adobe InDesign, but for a fraction of the cost. You can technically create print graphics in Illustrator and Sketch (and some of our people still do), but you have to worry about converting pixels to inches pretty regularly to …
Chose Affinity Publisher
Affinity Publisher is a more cost effective way to achieve the same goals as InDesign and Quark. I'm sure there are various differences that Affinity may lack, however we have yet to run into one that our business has needed, or even recognized. It has completely replaced any …
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User Ratings
Adobe AcrobatAffinity Publisher
Likelihood to Recommend
9.1
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.7
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.3
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
7.8
(0 ratings)
8.6
(0 ratings)
Online Training
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.6
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
8.5
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
4.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
5.5
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Adobe AcrobatAffinity Publisher
Likelihood to Recommend
Adobe Acrobat is well-suited for editing documents and combining them into a single document if you have such a need. It is super easy, and you can even rearrange the order in which you combine them by simply dragging the documents into the desired order. Adobe Acrobat is great for adding contact documents to your website that customers fill out and complete. Adobe sends it to your email and alerts you so you can then manage the contact from there.
Read full review
Honestly, I thought our department would use this more for creating documentation for our staff and doing some mock-ups and layouts to envision future projects. I also run the social media for us, and I didn't expect to come to rely on Publisher for some of my social media layouts. There are other apps and subscription services that can streamline some social media posts, but with a bit of usage I've come to like using Publisher, as well.
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Pros
  • The edit PDF tool is a game changer for our business. There is no other tool that is as easy to use for small, quick PDF edits.
  • Adobe Acrobat makes adding, deleting, and combining PDFs very simple and seamless.
  • The comment tools, and the function to share for my comments with my colleagues, makes it easy to collaborate with my team on the same PDF document.
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  • Supports just about any format you'll need for your project.
  • The variety of templates makes startign projects simple.
  • The program is just really powerful and fairly priced.
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Cons
  • Maintain the layout when converting; sometimes, it loses the layout, and things are misaligned.
  • This makes it easier to write in custom text on a PDF, but sometimes I have to convert it from a PDF to a doc to achieve.
  • Menu could be easier to find things.
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  • Menu differences can be an impediment to new users from other softwares
  • Some functions are not in places I would expect
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Likelihood to Renew
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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No answers on this topic
Usability
The features on the desktop version are all toolbar based, which makes it a little more cumbersome on a smaller device (and much simpler on a large screen). The web forms adjust well to different screen size so work well on mobile, tablet and computer
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It offers a user-friendly interface and powerful design tools that make creating high-quality graphics and layouts straightforward. However, some features can feel complex, especially for new users, which may require a bit of a learning curve. The integration between desktop and iPad is excellent, but improving compatibility with other popular software could enhance collaboration and efficiency even further. Overall, it’s a robust tool that balances functionality and ease of use quite well.
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Reliability and Availability
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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No answers on this topic
Performance
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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No answers on this topic
Support Rating
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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So far, when we've needed support, it has been top tier. However, I rate it an 8 because sometimes searching for things within the application hasn't yielded answers I've hoped for, so I've had to turn to YouTube or other outside sources. Thankfully there's a fantastic community that surrounds Affinity and their various apps that's been quite beneficial
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Online Training
Easy to follow and understand
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No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
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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No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
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.
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The features in Affinity Publisher easily stack up against the much more expensive Adobe suite of products. With the ability to open all file types it is a bit of a workhorse for all things. We have been using it for social media template designs as well as client booklets and case studies. It's a very versatile program.
Read full review
Scalability
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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No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
  • Automation of contract offer generation enabled the HR team to reduce the time to process contracts by 97%.
  • The automated workflow is more accurate and decreased document errors by up to 90 percent.
  • The signature collecting process was cut from a minimum of 30 minutes to only 2 minutes.
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  • The one-time purchase model has saved us approximately 50% compared to subscription software, freeing up budget for other critical business needs.
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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.