Adobe Acrobat review

Adobe Acrobat is the specialist for PDF conversion. Its free online PDF to Word tool converts files with daily limits and needs no sign-up, subscription or credit card, although Adobe says repeat users may be asked to sign in to download. Adobe says the converter rebuilds multi-column layouts, embedded tables, headers, footers and footnotes in most cases, and Acrobat's OCR can turn scanned or image-based PDFs into searchable, editable Word files. Once converted, you can open the file in Microsoft Word for the web from Acrobat. For more than the daily limit, a 7-day free trial of Acrobat Pro unlocks unlimited conversions and batch processing. That is also the drawback: steady use needs a paid Acrobat plan, and Adobe's pricing page did not show USD prices from our location, so the starting price is pending. Acrobat does not convert video or audio. We compared documented features and published prices.

Who it is for

office workers converting PDFs to editable Word files

Price

See vendor pricing (USD check pending).

US price check pending. See the vendor pricing page.

Key features

• Free online PDF to Word converter with daily limits, no sign-up or credit card
• Rebuilds multi-column layouts, tables, headers, footers and footnotes in most cases
• OCR turns scanned PDFs into editable Word documents
• Converted files open in Microsoft Word for the web from Acrobat
• 7-day free trial of Acrobat Pro for unlimited and batch conversions

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Made by the company that created the PDF format
• Strength: OCR handles scanned and image-based PDFs
• Strength: Free online tool covers occasional PDF to Word jobs
• Weakness: Free online use has daily conversion limits, and repeat use may require sign-in
• Weakness: Unlimited and batch conversion need a paid Acrobat plan
• Weakness: PDF focused; not a general media converter

Key facts

• Free option: Online converters with daily limits
• Free trial: 7 days of Acrobat Pro
• Scanned PDFs: OCR supported
• Paid plans: USD check pending

Where it ranks

Adobe Acrobat is No. 8 in our Best File Converters verdict.