Is Adobe Reader Free? Yes, With Limitations

Adobe Reader is a desktop and mobile app that’s an essential tool in today’s world. PDF (Portable Document Format) files are incredibly commonplace, but you’re stuck without a way to open and view them. Adobe Reader is the tool to unlock PDFs.

Many people have asked if Adobe Reader is free. If you’re one of them, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’ll discuss Adobe Reader for students and commercial or corporate use. We’ll also cover the limitations Reader has and your options to upgrade.

Is Adobe Reader Free for Students?

A big part of a student’s responsibilities is doing well in school. High school and college students will be asked to do research for papers and write essays to prove their knowledge of a topic. Some of the research materials they find on the web could be in PDF form. Additionally, teachers and professors may require students to submit their work as a PDF file.

Students, especially those in college, rarely have a large budget. Purchasing apps and programs to assist in their studies could be difficult for some. However, Adobe Reader won’t break a student’s bank account or empty their piggy bank.

Thankfully, students can download Adobe Reader for free. They don’t need to worry about the added expense of purchasing an app solely for research and submitting assignments. The free version of Adobe Reader will do everything a student requires to find information on the web and hand in school projects.

Is Adobe Reader Free for Commercial or Corporate Use?

Designers, marketers, and others employed by a for-profit company are often tasked with creating presentations, marketing materials, and website content. They usually have a wide range of apps and programs at their disposal. Most don’t give a second thought to using them for commercial use.

However, there is a gray area when using apps for commercial gain. One would believe that a free app or program can be used for any purpose, but is this true? Are there any legalities to using the free version of Adobe Reader?

You can use Adobe Reader for free if used on a company computer for reading or creating PDF files. It can be used for everything the free version was intended for. You can’t sell it or directly profit from its use, as that would violate its General Terms of Use. In general, if you are directly profiting from the free app, then you are violating its Terms of Use.

The free version of Adobe Reader can be downloaded by anyone working at a corporation. However, if the corporation wants to download the app for all employees, they’ll need to register for the distribution license agreement.

Once obtained, a corporation can distribute the app to all employees for free. There are no limitations to how many can use it. There are two separate licensing agreements. One is for a desktop license for the distribution of the desktop app. The other is for the Acrobat Reader mobile app for Android.

If in doubt, consult your company’s legal team to determine exactly what it can and can’t be used for.

Differences Between Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat

Both apps allow the user to open, view, and read PDF files, along with the ability to save and print documents in PDF form. Adobe Reader is the obvious choice for users who don’t require anything but its most basic features. It does the job, and there’s no cost to download it. But if you are looking for more than just the basic functions, it might be worth your while to explore the paid version known as Adobe Acrobat.

Adobe Reader allows you to work with PDFs. You’ll have all the basic features to work with PDF documents, like viewing and printing PDFs, email support, sticky notes, and highlighting text. It’s a cross-platform app that works on both Windows and Macs. Adobe Reader supports a wide range of systems and is available in 35 languages.

But for some users, the limitations of Adobe Reader can hold them back from accomplishing what they need to do. Adobe Acrobat, the paid version of the app, offers so much more. If you require more than merely the most basic of functions, you’ll need to purchase Acrobat. The paid version does everything Reader can but has much more functionality.

The Benefits of Adobe Acrobat

If you’ve decided that you need more than Adobe Reader has to offer, then you’ll need to purchase the full version. There are two versions of Adobe Acrobat, Standard and Pro. Both require a monthly subscription. Standard is cheaper, but the Pro version isn’t all that much more expensive.

Adobe Acrobat Standard

Adobe Acrobat Standard is the less costly option of the two paid versions and a step up from the free app. The Standard plan is designed for personal use to assist you with creating and managing PDFs.

As expected, you’ll be able to convert documents and images to PDF, create PDFs, and print them. With this paid version, you can also combine multiple documents into a single PDF file and change webpages into interactive PDFs with live links.

It has basic editing functions which allow you to add, delete, reorder, and extract pages. This version can add page numbers, headers, and watermarks. You can also convert PDFs into Microsoft Office documents, fill in forms and collect e-signatures.

Adobe Acrobat Pro

If you’re willing to part with a little more money each month, Adobe Acrobat Pro gives you even more functionality. In addition to the Standard version’s features, you can convert scanned documents into searchable and editable PDFs with the Pro plan. It can recognize text in many languages, adding to its functionality.

With Acrobat Pro, you can add audio and video components to your PDFs. You’ll also be able to redact sensitive information to selected users, so you can easily choose who sees what without needing to create multiple documents. In addition, the Pro version allows you to make edits to documents on your mobile device.

Adobe Reader Is Free but Has Limitations

Anyone can download and use Adobe Reader for free. It’s a great choice for students on a limited budget who don’t require more than opening and saving documents. There are some legalities when used for commercial use, but as long as you aren’t directly profiting from the app, it’s free to use. Corporations will need to register for a distribution licensing agreement, but it’s still free to download and use.

Have you had questions about Adobe Reader being free? Did this article help to give you the answers you were looking for? Let us know in the comments section below.