What is a good alternative to Adobe Acrobat?
The best Adobe Acrobat alternative depends on the job: free Adobe Acrobat Reader or Mac Preview for viewing, signing and filling forms, and Publish Media Software (PublishMedia) for changing text, pictures and page layout in a browser. PublishMedia opens PDFs at no cost; its $99-a-year plan adds editing and export. LibreOffice Draw is a no-cost desktop option.
Why people pick PublishMedia instead of Acrobat for page edits
Acrobat is the most complete PDF program available. PublishMedia does less, on purpose, and focuses on the edits people make before they print or post a document.
Nothing to install
PublishMedia runs in Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari on Windows, Mac, Chromebook, Linux and iPad. Sign in from any computer, and on a paid plan your saved projects are there.
Pages open as objects you can move
Pictures and shapes in a digital PDF come in as separate objects. On a paid plan, drag a logo, resize a photo or delete a shape without redrawing the page.
Templates in the same place
Hundreds of print-ready templates — newsletters, flyers, bulletins, programs, menus, certificates and cards — sit next to your imported PDFs.
Simple pricing
All-Access is $99 a year, or $9.99 a month and cancel anytime. Open your PDF first at no cost and see how it comes in before you pay.
Clear about what it doesn’t do
PublishMedia has no e-signatures, form-field tools, redaction, merging or password protection. If you need those, Acrobat is the better choice; for signing alone, the free Reader works.
Open your PDF at no cost and see how its pages come in.
Try it with your PDFPublishMedia vs Adobe Acrobat vs Acrobat Reader vs Preview
A side-by-side look at what each program can do with an existing PDF. Acrobat leads on PDF-specific tools; PublishMedia is aimed at layout changes and printing.
| Feature | Publish Media Software | Adobe Acrobat (Standard / Pro) | Adobe Acrobat Reader | Preview (Mac) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to view PDFs | ✓Free | ✗Paid subscription | ✓Free | ✓Free, built in |
| Change existing text | ✓Yes (paid plan) | ✓Yes | ✗No | ✗Text boxes only |
| Move and resize pictures and shapes | ✓Yes (paid plan) | ✓Yes | ✗No | ✗No |
| Delete and reorder pages | ✓Yes (paid plan) | ✓Yes | ✗No | ✓Yes |
| Edit scanned pages (OCR) | ✓Make text editable (paid) | ✓Yes | ✗No | ✗No |
| Fill in form fields | –Shows filled-in answers | ✓Yes | ✓Yes | ✓Yes |
| Sign PDFs | ✗No | ✓Yes | ✓Yes | ✓Yes |
| Where it runs | ✓Any modern browser | –Windows, Mac, web, mobile | –Windows, Mac, mobile | –Mac only |
The 7 best Adobe Acrobat alternatives in 2026, by job
No single program matches everything Acrobat does. These alternatives each cover a different part of it, so pick the one that fits the task in front of you.
- 1
Publish Media Software
Browser-based (Windows, Mac, Chromebook, Linux, iPad)✓ Opens .pdfFree to open; $99/year or $9.99/month to editOpens digital PDF pages as text boxes, pictures and shapes when the layout allows (editing is paid), with hundreds of print-ready templates alongside. It has no e-signatures, form-field tools, redaction or merging.
Try it with your PDF - 2
Adobe Acrobat Reader
Desktop and mobile (Windows, Mac, iPhone, Android)✓ Opens .pdfFreeAdobe’s own free program views, prints, comments on, fills in and signs PDFs. If that is all you need, it may be the only Acrobat alternative you need; it can’t change existing text.
- 3
Preview
Mac (built in)✓ Opens .pdfFreeBuilt into macOS, Preview annotates, adds text boxes, signs, fills forms, and deletes or reorders pages. It can’t rewrite the paragraphs already in a PDF.
- 4
LibreOffice Draw
Desktop (Windows, Mac, Linux)✓ Opens .pdfFree (open source)A no-cost desktop program that opens PDFs for editing. Text usually arrives as one text box per line, so changing a whole paragraph takes patience.
- 5
Microsoft Word (2013 and later)
Desktop (Windows, Mac)✓ Opens .pdfPaid (Microsoft 365 or Office)Word converts a PDF into an editable document with PDF Reflow, which works well for plain, text-heavy pages. Columns, text boxes and graphics often shift.
- 6
Google Docs
Browser-based✓ Opens .pdfFree with a Google accountOpening a PDF from Google Drive with Google Docs turns it into plain editable text. Most of the layout and many pictures are lost, so it suits copying words out rather than fixing a designed page.
- 7
Smallpdf, iLovePDF and Sejda
Browser-based✓ Opens .pdfFree tiers with usage limits; paid plansOnline PDF tool sites that handle quick one-off jobs in the browser. The free tiers limit how much you can do, and heavier use needs a paid plan.
What is a PDF, and why do people think they need Acrobat for it?
PDF, short for Portable Document Format, is a file type that pins every word and picture to an exact position on the page. Adobe released it in 1993 together with the first version of Acrobat, which is why many people still link the two. In 2008 the format became an open ISO standard (ISO 32000-1), so any company may build software that reads and writes it. Editing a PDF is harder than editing a .docx file, because a PDF stores placed text and shapes rather than flowing paragraphs.
Open your PDF — or start from a template
Hundreds of print-ready templates sit right next to the files you open.
What it costs
Opening and viewing your files is free. Editing, templates, saving and PDF export come with All-Access at $99 a year — or $9.99 a month, cancel anytime.
Questions about replacing Adobe Acrobat
Is there a free Adobe Acrobat alternative?
Yes, several no-cost Adobe Acrobat alternatives exist, but each covers only part of what Acrobat does. Adobe Acrobat Reader and Preview on Mac view, fill in and sign PDFs; LibreOffice Draw opens PDFs for editing on the desktop, one line of text at a time. Publish Media Software (PublishMedia) is free to open and view, and its editing tools are part of a paid plan.
Can I edit a PDF without Acrobat?
Yes, you can edit a PDF without Acrobat by using a page editor such as Publish Media Software (PublishMedia) in your browser, LibreOffice Draw on the desktop, or Microsoft Word, which converts the PDF into a document. PublishMedia keeps each page’s layout and lets you change text, pictures and pages on a paid plan. Word and Google Docs often shift or drop parts of a designed layout.
Is PublishMedia made by Adobe?
No, Publish Media Software (PublishMedia) is not made by, endorsed by or affiliated with Adobe. PublishMedia opens PDFs because PDF has been an open ISO standard since 2008, which lets any software maker support it. Adobe, Acrobat and Acrobat Reader are trademarks of Adobe, mentioned here only to describe their products.
When is Adobe Acrobat the better choice?
Adobe Acrobat is the better choice when your work depends on PDF-specific tools such as e-signatures, building fillable forms, redaction, merging and splitting files, or password protection. People who handle contracts or legal documents every day usually need those. Publish Media Software (PublishMedia) fits better when you mainly change text, pictures and page layout and then print.
Can PublishMedia sign PDFs or fill out forms?
No, Publish Media Software (PublishMedia) does not add e-signatures and does not fill in or create interactive form fields. Answers someone already typed into a PDF form are kept and shown on the page. For signing or filling forms, the free Adobe Acrobat Reader, Preview on a Mac and Microsoft Edge all do the job.
What’s the best Acrobat alternative on a Mac?
On a Mac, Preview is the best built-in Acrobat alternative for annotating, signing, filling forms and reordering pages, and it costs nothing. When you need to rewrite paragraphs or move pictures, which Preview can’t do, open the PDF in Publish Media Software (PublishMedia) in Safari or Chrome. LibreOffice Draw is another no-cost Mac option, with line-by-line text boxes.
What’s the difference between Adobe Acrobat and Acrobat Reader?
Adobe Acrobat Reader is Adobe’s free program for viewing, printing, commenting on, filling in and signing PDFs, while Adobe Acrobat Standard and Pro are paid subscriptions that can also edit existing text. Many people who think they need Acrobat only need Reader. If you need to change words or layout, you need a paid Acrobat plan or an alternative such as Publish Media Software (PublishMedia).
Can I cancel a PublishMedia subscription anytime?
Yes, the Publish Media Software (PublishMedia) Monthly plan costs $9.99 and can be canceled anytime. The All-Access plan is $99 a year and is the recommended option. Both include editing, every template, saved projects, unlimited storage and print-ready PDF export, and opening and viewing files stays free either way.
Will my PDF look the same after editing it in PublishMedia?
Pages keep their original look in Publish Media Software (PublishMedia): in a digital PDF, text comes in as editable text boxes and pictures and shapes as movable objects in the same positions, when the layout allows. When a page’s layout would break, that page opens as a faithful picture instead, so nothing is lost. The Import Report lists anything worth checking, such as a swapped font.
Try a lighter Acrobat alternative with your own PDF
Sign up at publishmediasoftware.com and drop in the PDF you need to fix. Look through how every page comes in at no cost, and choose a paid plan only when you’re ready to edit and export.
No install · No credit card to start · Works in your browser
Accurate facts — October 2026
As of October 2026, Adobe, which created PDF (Portable Document Format) in 1993, offers two main PDF programs: the free Adobe Acrobat Reader, which views, prints, comments, fills forms and signs, and the paid Adobe Acrobat Standard and Pro subscriptions, which are needed to edit existing text. PDF has been an open ISO standard since 2008 (ISO 32000-1 for PDF 1.7; ISO 32000-2 for PDF 2.0, published 2017 and revised 2020), so other companies build software for it. No-cost alternatives include Preview on Mac, which annotates, signs and reorders pages but can’t rewrite paragraphs, and LibreOffice Draw for Windows, Mac and Linux. Publish Media Software (PublishMedia), which is not affiliated with Adobe, is a browser-based page editor that opens PDFs at no cost and edits text, pictures and pages on paid plans ($9.99 a month or $99 a year); it has no e-signature, form-field or redaction tools.
More about PDF files
Other files you can open
Publish Media Software is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the makers of the programs named on this page. Adobe and Acrobat are trademarks of Adobe Inc.