Adobe Acrobat vs. Square 9 Softworks

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
Square 9 Softworks
Score 9.1 out of 10
N/A
For document-intensive companies looking to improve business efficiency, Square 9 Softworks develops solutions for process automation that aim to drive increased productivity across all business applications.
$50
per month per user (5 User Minimum)
Pricing
Adobe AcrobatSquare 9 Softworks
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
Square 9 Process Automation Essentials
$50
per month per user (5 User Minimum)
Square 9 Digital Transformation Essentials
$68
per month per user (5 User Minimum)
Square 9 Enterprise Essentials
$75
per month per user (10 User Minimum)
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Adobe AcrobatSquare 9 Softworks
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalOptional
Additional DetailsOffered via a three-tier pricing model that allows customers to scale their solution up or down based on the changing needs of their organization. Pricing excludes professional services and implementation fees
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Adobe AcrobatSquare 9 Softworks
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
Square 9 Softworks
Chose Square 9 Softworks
Laserfiche could not even complete their installation. Square 9 Softworks was able to come in and rescue the failed project. We have hardly scratched the surface of what we believe we can do in terms of more implementations of the Square 9 Softworks program in other business …
Chose Square 9 Softworks
Unfortunately, I have no experience with any other software used at Harrison REMC besides Square 9.
Chose Square 9 Softworks
This is the only product that I can think of that we use so far. But we are willing to explore other options, such as automating the invoices being directly uploaded into our accounting software. It would definitely cut down on the time our accounts payable has to input all the …
Chose Square 9 Softworks
We've been with Square 9 for many years so have not been in the market for some time so not familiar with the competition out there
Chose Square 9 Softworks
Square 9 Softworks is very different from other software that I have used. It acts more of a file box than anything else.
Chose Square 9 Softworks
I have used Agris in the past, and the filing cabinet ability that was implemented was at the end of my time using it, so I never learned it as well as I have been able to with Square 9 Softworks. As, for the last 3 years, I have used it on a daily basis. I personally didn't …
Chose Square 9 Softworks
I like the Square 9 Softworks platform because it is simple to use and visually simple.
Chose Square 9 Softworks
Square 9 Softworks is very easy to setup, use, and maintain, when compared with SharePoint from Microsoft. Also, support is extremely easy to work with, more so than Microsoft. They are easy to reach, and easy to work with. Square 9 Softworks is a niche software company and a …
Chose Square 9 Softworks
We reached out to Iron Mountain but did not pursue this option since we had an established relationship with Square 9 Softworks that could be expanded and not a complete restart.
Chose Square 9 Softworks
Features look similar but the price point is much more affordable for my current employer. Square 9's training material could use an update but works overall.
Chose Square 9 Softworks
We chose to leave ImageSilo and go with Square 9 Softworks because 1) ImageSilo was inconsistent and buggy and 2) Square 9 Softworks was streamlined and had a lot of helpful features. It seemed easier to maintain.
Chose Square 9 Softworks
Square 9 Softworks met the needs of what was needed.
Chose Square 9 Softworks
Square 9 was a better fit for our organization due to the costs and features that it offers. With Square 9, we were able to get 3 years of licensing for about 1 year of the competitors licensing costs.

Square 9 is also much easier to manage and use on a day-to-day basis than …
Chose Square 9 Softworks
I have not used any other document storage besides Square 9.
Chose Square 9 Softworks
We did not research other product offerings so I have nothing to compare the program to. I can only share why we selected Square 9 Softworks to use as our document management system. Square 9 Softworks was amazing to work with from day 1 - we worked with Xerox initially for …
Chose Square 9 Softworks
The main thing we liked was the ease of use of GlobalSearch. Also, the people doing the demo were able to answer somewhat technical questions without having to get back to us a day later from one of their more technical people.
Chose Square 9 Softworks
I have not used other document management software. Prior to Global Search we manually entered metadata through Adobe Acrobat. This was extremely time consuming and not exactly user friendly. Global Search cut the indexing time to less than 1/4 the time we were spending on each …
Chose Square 9 Softworks
Never used another similar product
Chose Square 9 Softworks
Our company has been using this product for 20+ years. Since it was Fortis, then SmartSearch, to GlobalSearch, and for every transition the Square 9 team has been a great asset to making the change go smoothly
Chose Square 9 Softworks
We only looked at and ultimately chose Square 9 Softworks as our solution.
Chose Square 9 Softworks
We actually had installed IBM FileNet and ended up switching to Square 9 Softworks due to an issue with the IBM reseller. In the end, we're happy it worked out this way because Square 9 Softworks was more suited for our small business. It was not only easier to use but required …
Chose Square 9 Softworks
From an HR standpoint, it seems like other solutions stack up better than Square 9, but it may just be because we don't have it set up right. For example, with filing a document for an employee...I have to manually type (and get correct) ALL of the information related to that …
Chose Square 9 Softworks
At my last job we used Square 9 for document storage but chose AvidXChange for Accounts Payable processing because of price and because also paid the invoices. At my current job, we chose Smart Search because it was more customizable, our invoice approvals were less …
Best Alternatives
Adobe AcrobatSquare 9 Softworks
Small Businesses
Square 9 Softworks
Square 9 Softworks
Score 9.1 out of 10
PowerDMS by NEOGOV
PowerDMS by NEOGOV
Score 7.0 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
Tungsten Capture
Tungsten Capture
Score 8.0 out of 10
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User Ratings
Adobe AcrobatSquare 9 Softworks
Likelihood to Recommend
9.1
(0 ratings)
9.2
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.7
(0 ratings)
4.9
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.3
(0 ratings)
6.5
(0 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(0 ratings)
7.3
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.1
(0 ratings)
7.3
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
7.8
(0 ratings)
7.9
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(0 ratings)
Online Training
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.6
(0 ratings)
6.4
(0 ratings)
Configurability
8.5
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.0
(0 ratings)
4.5
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
10.0
(0 ratings)
7.3
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
4.0
(0 ratings)
7.3
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
5.5
(0 ratings)
7.3
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Adobe AcrobatSquare 9 Softworks
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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Square 9 Softworks is well suited for unique needs within companies. We have built, renovated, and optimized custom workflows within our archives, designed highly specific interfaces with our ERP platform, and Square 9 Softworks has answered the bell through it all.
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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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  • The software is very flexible, and the technicians were great at implementing our customizations for the PO project.
  • While indexing fields in Global Search, the Key Free tool works great.
  • Global Search is well-organized. It's easy to navigate and find your documents.
  • The process for completing your project was well done. Communicating with individuals at Square 9 who were responsible for different aspects of the project was easy.
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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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  • Overall, it is not as stable as other software. Some errors could not be fixed, such as a form going forward without approval because a user pressed "enter" twice in a row.
  • I probably only use 20% of the functionality. Beyond that, I'd have to pay for development. We did that once, and the project that we paid for never was implemented. They allowed us to request a design before my time that was so complicated that they never got it to work. Once I came on board, I implemented a much simpler solution.
  • Our upgrade took much, much longer than expected, and was disrupted by so many software issues.
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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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We are definitely renewing our SmartSearch. This is the only place all of our companies contracts and regulatory filings are kept. Our company would lose track of all expiring contracts if we did not renew. We would also need to spend many hours figuring out a new organizational system for all of our files, as well as savings the documents from SmartSearch onto the computer.
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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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The items I am searching for are easily found. They are found in at least 95% of the searches. The failure rate generally is related to another employees user error or a template error set up by our Square 9 team in house.
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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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Square-9 can get this product out to you in almost the same hour your order it. We got ours very fast.
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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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With the PDF projected viewer, the document retrieval-to-display can drag for a second more than some systems, and the capture workflow if you overload a server array can also drag, but those are the only two issues we've ever seen with this product, and they are not serious issues at all.
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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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Support is always extremely helpful and responsive. Whenever we have a question, it is simple contacting them and also setting-up an appointment, if necessary. Scheduling the appointment is easy and they are willing to talk on the phone, which is not always true with software companies. Their report support tools are also really east to use.
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In-Person Training
No answers on this topic
It would have been higher, but the training is a bit muted for the lesser qualified office equipment vendors who signed up as partners to sell and support it. The more experienced ECM vendors and customer end-users will find the training very good, but a bit slow.
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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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I think the implementation could have gone a little smoother than it did. Now that I know how to use the software, I could do it myself. I feel that as an organization, we could have been a little better prepared. If the consultant was more aware of what we were looking for, they could have assisted in setting up some workflows for us as per the contract. But because we were not prepared, the initial implementation process was a little painful. That said, adding a document management system to ANY business kinda means everyone has to re-think the way they do their work which can be difficult for some staff.
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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.
Read full review
SharePoint and Square 9 Softworks are similar in some ways and totally different in others. They both do workflow, although Square 9 Workflow gives administrators more options. They both have a repository, although Square 9 GlobalSearch is more structured in terms of customization. Using field values allows for more exact search capabilites. Square 9 AI tools allows administrators to get the correct data off the page more precisely with less effort.
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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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The scale-ability is quite good actually, but you need competent sales/support folks providing it to you, so the scale is set right for the demands of your system use. Some resellers are not good at doing this, some are fantastic. If you are scaled correctly at first implementation, you'll be very happy with this system.
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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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  • Reduction in human error through manual data entry process now being automated
  • Reduction in cost due to automation allowing the function to not require a full time employee
  • Reduction in time spent performing the previous manual tasks. Example: on our consolidated shipment days, it could take doc clerk 2-3 hours to prepare master document package. This has been reduced to 30 minutes or less (depending on size of shipment and time needed for OCR to complete)
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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.

Square 9 Softworks Screenshots

Screenshot of GlobalSearch, which allows users to organize and sort documents based on extracted dataScreenshot of automated data extraction from documents using Square 9's AI-powered extraction tool, TransformAI.Screenshot of GlobalCapture, which is used to build workflows and automatically assign tasks to users.Screenshot of a front-facing Portal for new hires and applicants. This lets them fill out important employee documents such as job application, Direct Deposit and W-4 forms.Screenshot of the hiring and onboarding portal, where new hire documentation is completed.Screenshot of GlobalForms, which has new hire government forms such as I-9 and W-4 forms.