Adobe Acrobat vs. DocuSign

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
DocuSign
Score 8.3 out of 10
N/A
DocuSign supports transactions with document sharing and electronic signature, as well as automated and guided data collection and entry, record updating across disparate systems and payment collection upon agreement, as well as analytics and reporting.
$15
per month
Pricing
Adobe AcrobatDocuSign
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
Personal
$15
per month
Real Starter
$15
per month
DocuSign for Realtors
$35
per month
Standard
$40
per month
Business Pro
$60
per month
Advanced Solutions
Custom Pricing
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Adobe AcrobatDocuSign
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Adobe AcrobatDocuSign
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
DocuSign
Chose DocuSign
Very similar but did not have the backing of SAP SuccessFactors in terms of Integration. The Developer Environment allowed us to test and practice on very easily compared to Adobe Acrobat Sign. Both products can be connected to via Microsoft Power Platform to aid automation …
Chose DocuSign
Adobe was not a good experience despite the lower cost. Constant crashing, slow to load and a simple feature like copy and pasting the same fields across pages was non existent. Our team celebrated the decision to move back to Docusign from Adobesign. We have never looked back …
Chose DocuSign
Adobe Acrobat Sign is less user-friendly and more suited to small scopes, or one-off documents. It lacks the use of templates that DocuSign has, which is what ultimately streamlines and delivers the consistency and efficiencies for the business.
Chose DocuSign
Deal hub is a relatively complicated software, my company requirement was limited to getting the document verifed and then get it signed from the right set of designation after the verification The evaluation process of DocuSign was also smooth and it was very simple to …
Chose DocuSign
No other documents like DocuSign have I had experience with or have I used.
Chose DocuSign
HelloSign was like a breath of fresh air compared to the corporate feel of DocuSign. Their salespeople were not pushy, their pricing is fantastic, and the features are just what we need.
Chose DocuSign
There has never been anything that we could really compare to Docusign. We have tried sending documents in a PDF version, but that was not nearly as efficient. DocuSign saves your signature in the system and uses that as it goes through your documents.
Chose DocuSign
I actually have both. Docusign has better features. Signnow was a little cheaper so I kept them.
Chose DocuSign
DOcusign is quite old and reliable in respect of other vendors available in the market. There is no complexity in signing which is generally faced while using Authetisign and also it has no problem in inserting big text which other apps have this issue.
Chose DocuSign
I prefer DocuSign to Adobe Sign because of the workflow process. To me, DocuSign flows much easier and the interface is easier for me to locate the things I need. I also appreciate the templates that DocuSign allowed, especially because Egnyte had a direct integration with …
Chose DocuSign
DocuSign is pretty much the only signing product that I have used to complete paperwork and have them signed over to our customers. It is a great product and is very efficient.
Chose DocuSign
DocuSign is so much more widely used and I think reliable. Who knows where HelloSign will be in a few years and I don't think they have nearly the funding to compete with DocuSign. Also, everyone uses DocuSign and it makes clients feel secure knowing the name of software …
Chose DocuSign
When viewing other competing products they didn't have the superior functionality that DocuSign had, nor the admin control. However, it should be noted that since making the selection, competing products have greatly improved.
Chose DocuSign
I would say that DocuSign's biggest competitor and a most similar product is Adobe Sign. They both offer almost identical features with Adobe offering a slightly better interface. Adobe sign is also less costly than DocuSign while offering templates that can be useful for …
Chose DocuSign
I've used Hellosign and DocuSign at the company. DocuSign has an easier UX and ability to use with multiple users. Also links and partners with a lot more external tools.
Chose DocuSign
We used home grown electronic signatures and were not pleased with the maintenance required.
Chose DocuSign
I didn't make the decision myself on why we selected DocuSign so hard to say but bottom line is a lot of them do the same thing... e-signature. Pretty straightforward stuff! I think it really comes down to personal preference, perhaps user interface, and what just feels most …
Chose DocuSign
I have not used any alternatives. DocuSign is the leader in this space from my opinion.
Chose DocuSign
DocuSign is the one we went with because of the majority of people who use it regularly. It's the first one that comes to mind when you think of electronic signatures. We do use AdobeSign with our HR platform because that is the one that is integrated with it, but standalone …
Chose DocuSign
I have not used any other but I know there are other cheaper tools out there but it depends how many documents a company is dealing with and need signatures. We use it both for our own use with our employees and for any contracts we handle with consultants and customers.
Chose DocuSign
Adobe Sign has closed the gap between it and DocuSign in recent years. I still think DocuSign outclasses Adobe's offering in ease of use, and it makes less sense to go with Adobe Sign unless you are already steeped in the Adobe Creative Cloud ecosystem (e.g., Adobe Acrobat, …
Chose DocuSign
Adobe Sign makes it harder to edit documents unless you have upgraded administrative accounts. It’s also harder to go in and cancel Adobe Sign documents.
Chose DocuSign
DocuSign is provided by my company. It's a very well-known program that is used throughout the industry if I have any issues trying to figure something out, it's very easy to get a hold of someone who have experience with the program
Best Alternatives
Adobe AcrobatDocuSign
Small Businesses
Square 9 Softworks
Square 9 Softworks
Score 9.1 out of 10
Foxit eSign
Foxit eSign
Score 9.8 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
MSB Docs
MSB Docs
Score 9.4 out of 10
MSB Docs
MSB Docs
Score 9.4 out of 10
Enterprises
Tungsten Capture
Tungsten Capture
Score 8.0 out of 10
Conga Sign
Conga Sign
Score 7.8 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Adobe AcrobatDocuSign
Likelihood to Recommend
9.1
(0 ratings)
4.7
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.7
(0 ratings)
7.0
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.3
(0 ratings)
4.0
(0 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.1
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
7.8
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Online Training
9.0
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.6
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Configurability
8.5
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
10.0
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
4.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
5.5
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Adobe AcrobatDocuSign
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.
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I am going to speak of a personal experience- on multiple occasions: I need my husband to sign documents during the day and I don't need him here- physically. He sometimes works in different parts of the state as well at his own company. There is no problem at all, as long as he has access to his cell phone, email, and cell phone service- he can sign the documents I need him to. It is AMAZING- I can't speak highly enough of Docusign.
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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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  • Ease of sending the same document out to multiple recipients, at multiple locations, for multiple signatures
  • Quick turnaround - once the recipient signs the document, we receive notification and the document back immediately
  • Can resend, alter, change, and/or add to the email and/or document that is sent out very easily
  • The recipient can save the document after signing, so they too have their own electronic copy for their records
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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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  • You have to purchase a subscription and unless you really need to originate a lot of documents, it's not cost-effective to maintain the subscription. It would be better to have a subscription that allows you to purchase a bundle of say, ten documents and then use them as needed for the occasional user.
  • You'll be hard-pressed to find anything negative from users other than the price.
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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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The product is a great tool for a remote workforce. As the company gets bigger, adding users to the account can be rather expensive. We considering providing read/sign only access for certain individuals and providing full access to other users as necessary to reduce costs.
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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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As an Administrator of the system, its ease of configuration and the guidance around doing it is second to none. The screens are broken down into manageable segments and easy to navigate to the area that needs to be looked at. Our Process Delivery teams, after initial training are using the system without any problems and find it easy to operation. We get minimal if any, requests for support.
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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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It does not go down. I have had zero issues with DocuSign, approaching 4 years.
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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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Everything loads quickly. Reports are generated in a reasonable time. No noticeable difference in integrated software processing speeds.
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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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I'd give them a 10, but there has been 1 or 2 small cases that seemed to fall to the wayside, but I was able to call them up and get them resolved. We were having a bad implementation night (after midnight) and we needed assistance from Docusign. They were able to get an engineer to help us in the early morning hours
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Online Training
Easy to follow and understand
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Docusign is super easy to use, and apart from a few administration details, there was really nothing to train on. Post implementation, there were issues with configuration of auto-filled documents with the integrating 3rd party. That training required some time, because the DocuSign expert took the time to walk me through the 3rd party's configuration (how often does that happen?) so I could see how DocuSign should be best used to overcome weaknesses in the 3rd party platform. 10/10 expert care.
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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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Until you get the hang of it, I recommend doing several internal tests before sending a document to a client. As I mentioned earlier, you have to go through a bit of trial and error at first to verify that the workflow works as expected.
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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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Adobe Acrobat Sign is less user-friendly and more suited to small scopes, or one-off documents. It lacks the use of templates that DocuSign has, which is what ultimately streamlines and delivers the consistency and efficiencies for the business.
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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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In my years of using DocuSign, I have never had an outage. I haven't even encountered a bug.
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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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  • Less paper use, faster signature times, less time standing at the printer/scanner to send documents to yourself
  • Security over your signature! Security over your company's signature and authorization to approve projects, cash flow etc
  • Love audit trails and the seamless tracking of the status of the document
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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.

DocuSign Screenshots

Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of