Acrobat Reader: PDF Editor

Productivity

6.8~~/10~~

Our score

★ 4.5 Google Play·500M+ installs

Reviewed by Editorial Team, ScoredApps editorial · updated 2026-10-06

Screenshots

Red promo frame with the headline All that paper? Gone., a blue Share PDF Spaces bar with three avatars and four document thumbnails over floor-plan pages

AI Assistant panel over a PDF with a list of three files in a collection and a prompt asking to summarise them, with a Subscription label in the corner

AI Assistant answer about pickleball benefits with a Copy and Share menu open over the reply and a Subscription label in the corner

AI Assistant spoken-answer view with a pickleball scoring reply, a playback bar at 1.0x, three suggested follow-up questions and a Subscription label

About Acrobat Reader: PDF Editor

Acrobat Reader is free for reading, highlighting, commenting, filling and signing PDFs on a phone. Editing the text inside a PDF is not free: that needs an Adobe subscription, which also unlocks Word export, page organising and passwords. The reader itself is dependable, and Adobe's AI Assistant sits on top as a further paid layer. The price of the free tier is attention, because upgrade prompts follow you through the app.

App information

DeveloperAdobe Inc.

Version26.9.1.49959 (Android) · 26.08.50 (iOS)

Size240 MB (Android) · 548 MB (iOS)

Price / In-appFree

Contains adsYes

In-app purchasesYes

Content rating4+

Requires (Android)Android 9.0+

Requires (iOS)iOS 18.3+

Offline modeFiles saved on the device open offline; Liquid Mode needs a connection

Interface languagesCS, DA, NL, EN, FI, FR + 13 more

Store rating (Google Play)4.5 from 8,014,936 ratings

Installs500M+

Updated by developer2026-09-21

Data checked2026-10-06

Specs come from the official store listings and were last checked on 2026-10-06. Developers change pricing and requirements — check the store page before installing.

Acrobat Reader Review: Free to Read and Sign, Paid to Edit

What the free tier covers, and the $69.99-a-year line it stops at

The free tier is wider than the store icon suggests. Opening, searching, sticky notes, highlights, comments and Fill & Sign cost nothing, and a drawn signature can be saved to an Adobe online profile for reuse. Files can also be linked from Google Drive, OneDrive and Dropbox. The paywall sits at anything that rewrites the file: text and image editing, OCR, creating PDFs, exporting to Word, Excel or PowerPoint, page organising, compression and passwords. Adobe sells these as Acrobat Reader Plus, a limited mobile-only bundle, or as Acrobat Premium. The US App Store lists Premium at $69.99 a year or $12.99 to $14.99 a month; prices are regional and change, so check your own store.

Liquid Mode under the microscope: what it reflows and what it refuses

Liquid Mode is the reason to open a long document on a phone. It reflows a fixed page into text you can resize, with adjustable font size and spacing. Its limits are documented and strict: Adobe's help says files over 200 pages or 10 MB are not supported, nor are scanned files, password-protected files, presentations converted to PDF, or layouts such as invoices, tickets and receipts. A 300-page textbook therefore stays in the fixed page view. Processing happens on Adobe's servers, so the document leaves the phone, and Adobe says it is deleted once the view is generated. A few 2026 reviews also complain that files open in Liquid view by default and stay there.

The 7-day trial, the prompts and the data behind the free app

The seven-day trial is the sharpest edge. Adobe says annual trials trigger an email as they end, after which the card is charged automatically, and a run of 2026 Play reviews, mostly one-star, describe unexpected charges after a trial. Subscriptions bought in the app are managed through Google Play or the App Store, so cancel there before the trial ends. Then there is the clutter: Google Play labels the app as containing ads, reviews describe feature pop-ups on opening a file, and one says the Ask AI button stays after AI is switched off. The Data safety section lists optional collection of contacts, installed apps, photos, voice recordings and files, and sharing of device IDs for analytics and advertising.

Pros

Fill & Sign is free, with drawn signatures saved to an Adobe online profile
Liquid Mode reflows PDFs of up to 200 pages into resizable text
Sticky notes, highlights and comments are all in the free tier
Files link from Google Drive, OneDrive and Dropbox without a subscription
Can read PDFs aloud, including through Android Auto while driving
Scanned PDFs from Adobe Scan open in the same app to fill and sign

Cons

Editing text and images needs a subscription, listed at $69.99 a year in the US
Several 2026 Play reviews report charges after a trial the user says they cancelled
Liquid Mode refuses scanned, password-protected and 200-plus-page files
Upgrade pop-ups and an AI button crowd the reader, according to recurring reviews

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Verdict

The 6.8 rewards a reader that does the free jobs well and pushes the paid ones hard. Take it if you read, comment on and sign PDFs, link cloud files, or want Liquid Mode on documents under 200 pages. Pay only after the seven-day trial proves the editor copes with your file, and set a cancel reminder. Skip it if you want text editing without a subscription, since PDF Gear lists it free, or if you want a plain reader without prompts.

Core function8.0Free viewing, comments, Fill & Sign and Liquid Mode work well; text editing is paid, and some reviewers report saves failing mid-edit.

Ease of use6.5Toolbars, feature pop-ups and an Ask AI button crowd the reader, and one reviewer says Save as sits deep in the menus.

Monetisation5.5The free tier is genuinely useful, but editing starts at $69.99 a year in the US and trial-charge complaints keep recurring.

Performance7.0Reviews mention slow starts and freezes while saving edited files; the iPhone build is more than twice the Android download.

Privacy & permissions6.5Optional collection covers contacts, installed apps and voice recordings; device IDs are shared for advertising; transfers are encrypted.

6.8out of 10 · weighted average of the five scores above

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Frequently asked questions

Is Adobe Acrobat Reader free on Android and iPhone?

Yes, the app is free to install, and viewing, searching, comments, highlights and Fill & Sign stay free. Editing text or images, OCR, creating PDFs, exporting to Word or Excel, page organising, compression and passwords need a paid plan. A seven-day trial is offered, and it turns into a paid subscription unless you cancel it in the store.

Can Acrobat Reader edit PDF text on a phone?

Yes, but only on a paid plan; the free app cannot change text or images. Reviewers report the editor misbehaving: one says a new line overlays the existing text, and others describe saves failing after long edits. For occasional fixes, test it during the trial on a copy of the file first.

How much does Acrobat Premium cost on mobile, and is it worth it?

The US App Store lists Acrobat Premium at $69.99 a year and $12.99 or $14.99 a month, with an AI Assistant add-on listed at $6.99; its screenshots tag the AI Assistant frames as a subscription feature. Google Play shows in-app items from $0.99 to $299.99. Prices are regional. It pays off only if you edit text or export to Word on a phone.

Does Acrobat Reader work offline?

Files saved on the device open without a connection. Liquid Mode is processed on Adobe's servers, so it needs one. Adobe's community forum answers that Android has no automatic offline sync for cloud-stored files, so save a copy to the phone before you travel or lose signal.

What are the alternatives to Acrobat Reader on a phone?

PDF Gear's Google Play listing shows no ads or in-app purchase badges and puts text and image editing in the free app. Xodo adds a scanner and a form filler, with in-app purchases. Adobe Scan, from the same developer, handles paper scanning, and Acrobat Reader opens its scans for filling and signing. Compare each against the editing you actually need.