Adobe Acrobat Pro or PDF24

Free or Not So Free?

Published: 
comparison

Are you Windows Adobe Acrobot Pro user?  Do you have an annual license for $122.28? Do you want an alternative FREE PDF solution?

UVA Engineering is recommending that you consider a free PDF alternative PDF24 Creator if it meets your PDF functionality needs on a Windows only device. 

Listed below are some functionality comparison points.  Take a look and see if PDF24 will meet your needs, if so contact ENGR-IT@virginia.edu to assist with installation.

Please note data security needs to be considered in all circumstances. UVA Policy

Summary

  • Choose Adobe Acrobat Pro if you need professional-grade features like OCR, redaction, batch processing, advanced conversions, and strong security.
  • Choose PDF24 if you want a free, lightweight tool for basic PDF tasks like merging, splitting, and simple edits.

✅ PDF24 - Windows Only

  • Basic PDF Editing: Add text, shapes, images, annotations.
  • Merge & Split PDFs: Combine or separate documents.
  • Compression & Optimization: Reduce file size for sharing.
  • Basic Conversion: Limited to PDF creation and some format conversions (not as extensive as Acrobat).
  • No OCR or Redaction: Cannot process scanned documents or remove sensitive content.
  • No Batch Processing: Processes files individually.
  • Limited Header/Footer Options: Manual positioning for page numbers.
  • File Size Limit: Max 256MB for certain operations.
  • Free: Entirely free for most features, making it cost-effective for basic needs.

✅ Adobe Acrobat Pro - Windows and Mac

  • Advanced PDF Editing: Full text and image editing, reordering pages, adding headers/footers, Bates numbering.
  • OCR (Optical Character Recognition): Converts scanned documents into searchable and editable text.
  • Content Redaction: Securely removes sensitive information.
  • Batch Processing: Handles multiple files at once.
  • File Conversion: Converts PDFs to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and various image formats.
  • Template Library: Pre-made templates for forms and documents.
  • Cloud Integration: Access and share files across devices.
  • Security Features: Password protection, encryption, and e-signatures.
  • No File Size Limit: Works with large documents easily.
  • Pricing: Subscription-based $122.28/Annually