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Adobe Acrobat Reader vs Preview: catalog facts
Adobe Acrobat Reader	Preview
Freemium Free to use; editing and conversion require a paid Adobe Acrobat subscription.	Free Included with macOS at no extra cost.
Windows, macOS, Android, iOS	macOS
Faithful rendering of complex PDFs and forms Form filling, signing and annotation included free	Already installed on every Mac Handles both PDFs and images
Frequent prompts to upgrade to paid Acrobat Large install compared with lightweight readers	macOS only No advanced editing of PDF text or OCR tools like dedicated editors
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Closed source	Closed source
License: Proprietary	License: Proprietary
Not stated if an account is needed	No account needed
Works offline	Works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 1, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 24, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.