PDF tools / Compare
Adobe Acrobat online vs PDFgear
Both do 8 of the same PDF tools tasks. Below is what each says about its own limits and pricing, and how each ranks on signals we can measure or quote.
Disclosure: agathox makes some of the tools listed here. They are labelled and scored by the same method as every other tool.
A
Adobe Acrobat online
Adobe's free online PDF tools, from Adobe, Inc.
Signals score: 3.9 / 5 · not a hands-on test
Visit www.adobe.com/acrobat/online.htmlB
PDFgear
Free PDF apps for desktop and mobile plus online tools, by PDF GEAR TECH PTE. LTD. (Singapore).
Signals score: 3.6 / 5 · not a hands-on test
Visit www.pdfgear.comPricing, limits and privacy
- Free tier
- A: Free tools with limits per tool, for example merge up to 100 files and 1,500 pages, split up to 1 GB and 1,500 pages, Word to PDF up to 100 MB, compress up to 2 GB with limited use. PDF to Word has a daily limit whose number is not stated.
- B: Says it is free to use. The online editor is limited to 50 MB; the desktop app has no file-size limit. No daily caps are stated.
- Paid plan
- A: Acrobat Standard from US$14.99 a month on an annual plan billed monthly, US$179.88 a year prepaid, or US$24.99 month to month.
- B: No paid plan is listed. It says some advanced features may become paid in future, with no date set.
- Signup
- A: Depends on the tool. Merge and compress say no signup; split, OCR and edit ask you to sign in to download; Fill & Sign requires it.
- B: Not required.
- Watermark
- A: Merge and PDF to JPG say no watermark. Not stated for the other tools.
- B: Says it adds no watermark to merged PDFs or exported files.
- Where files go
- A: Files are uploaded to Adobe's cloud servers and deleted unless you sign in and save them. No retention time is stated.
- B: Merge runs on your device in the browser. Some advanced conversions may be processed on Amazon cloud servers and deleted immediately afterwards. AI features send content to Microsoft Azure OpenAI only after you consent. The desktop app works offline.
From each tool's own pages, checked 2026-10-31. Prices and limits change; check the tool before you rely on them. Sources are listed on each tool's page.
Compare on a task
Neither tool has been hands-on tested on these tasks yet, and we do not guess. Open a task to see both ranked with every other tool.
- Only Adobe Acrobat online: Protect PDF, OCR PDF
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