Acrobat Reader DC vs Acrobat X Pro

[elizabeths79726306]

These are the applications that I currently have:  Acrobat X Pro version 10.1.16 and Acrobat Reader DC version 2015.023.20070

I have both products, but I seem to have more functionality with Acrobat X Pro, like splitting documents, etc., though the Reader DC seems to be newer. 

Should I pay to upgrade the Reader DC, which it seems I would need to do to get the functionality that X Pro provides?

Is there an update to X Pro that I should have?

Please advise.

[~graffiti · Accepted solution]

Acrobat Pro and Acrobat Reader are two different products. The Reader is free and is primarily for viewing/printing/commenting on pdf files. Acrobat Pro is more for editing/creating pdf files and costs money. There are some services that can be added to Acrobat Reader for a fee but it will never be as functional as Acrobat Pro even if you purchased all of them.

You can upgrade Acrobat if you want (the latest version is two ahead of you, Acrobat Pro DC) but as long as version 10 is working for you, I do not see why you would need to. It is an older version that may or may not work on modern pdf files created with a newer version but for the most part, you should be fine.

You can keep the free Reader on your system in case you need to view a newer pdf that Acrobat 10 won't open.

[elizabeths79726306]

THANK YOU!  This was very, very helpful!

[~graffiti]

You're welcome.

[Darran27257944kkas]

i just want to complain, there is too many names and variations, my clients are confused and so am I. why Acrobat DC, Adobe reader, Acrobat adobe, adobe DC, DC acrobat, acrobat , reader, DC pro, acrobat pro, pro adobe............... come on!!!!! freaking aggrevating.

[Darran27257944kkas]

and don't forget about all the others!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

[try67]

Half of the names you mentioned don't exist. But I agree Adobe's naming scheme is pretty annoying.

Basically, you have Adobe Acrobat, which is a paid-for application that can edit and create PDF files, and Adobe Reader, which is a free application that can only display PDF files. DC is the licensing model, which means it's a subscription. There's also a perpetual license for Acrobat, called Acrobat 2020, but it's not very common. Acrobat has two variations, it can be either Pro or Standard, but usually it's the former. The differences are not very important. That's about it.

Confusingly, Adobe recently renamed Adobe Reader as Adobe Acrobat Reader, which makes a lot of people think they have Acrobat, when in fact they have the free Reader. They also merged the installers of the two applications, further complicating things...

[Darran27257944kkas]

well' you see what I mean then. Thanks for the reply. If I take a survey for them, I will give low scores just for confusing clients, customers, techs and everyone in between.