Adobe is one of the biggest names in the tech industry, and its virtual hub, Adobe Connect, seeks to be the go-to service for webinars, meetings, and training.
Although Adobe Connect may have quite a way to go to compete with more robust and affordable options, it will appeal to businesses who also want to utilize Adobe’s other tools, like PDF editors and content management systems. These services combine nicely, and some features even require other Adobe software to use.
Adobe Connect Compared
Adobe Connect did not make our top list of the best webinar software. Livestorm is our recommendation for most users for its interactive tools and deep performance analysis. Get started with Livestorm for free.
- Livestorm — Best all-in-one-combo of webinars and virtual meetings
- WebinarJam — Best for hosting all types of webinars
- ClickMeeting — Best for beginners
- Demio — Best for marketing and sales
- Webex — Best for hosting accessible webinars
- BlueJeans — Best for scaling live webinars beyond 500 attendees
- EverWebinar — Best set-it-and-forget-it webinars
- Vast Conference — Best budget-friendly option
- Zoom — Best for educational institutions
- BigMarker — Best for large virtual events
- Crowdcast — Best webinar platform for a built-in audience
- GoTo Webinar — Best for infrequent webinars
- MyOwnConference — Cheapest way to facilitate simultaneous webinars
- WebinarGeek — Best for GDPR compliance and/or EU audiences
About Adobe Connect
Adobe started back in 1982, before most people even used a computer. Today—40 years later—it’s going strong as an innovative company with a host of tools for businesses, from entrepreneurs to large corporations.
Adobe’s mission is to encourage creativity through digital tools. At its core is documentation, which the company has transformed from paper to collaborative, digitized documents that users can share and view from wherever they can find a screen.
Known as Macromedia Breeze until 2006, Adobe Connect added virtual meetings and trainings to the Adobe ecosystem, competing with other well-known web conferencing software tools like Zoom and Livestorm.
Adobe Connect Products and Services
While Adobe has numerous products to fit specific digital needs, Adobe Connect focuses on webinars, virtual meetings, and online training. Its tools enhance productivity and engagement in conferences through collaboration and communication features. These tools include:
- Adobe Connect Webinar Review
- Adobe Connect Content Management System Review
- Adobe Connect Digital Asset Management Software Review
- Adobe Connect Electronic Signature Software Review
- Adobe Connect HTML Editor Review
- Adobe Connect VoIP Call Recording Review
- Adobe Connect Web Design Software Review
- Adobe Connect Social Media Scheduling Tool Review
- Adobe Connect PDF Editor Review
Multiple industries can use Adobe Connect’s tools, but the service is especially beneficial for industries highly focused on remote collaboration and training. Companies in the education, government, and healthcare industries are among the company’s top customers.
Adobe Connect Health and Stability
Adobe has been a household name for years with its four decades of experience in the tech industry. It’s clear that Adobe isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, thanks to its commitment to innovation and drive to stay ahead of the game with its many products and SaaS offerings.
For reference, Adobe has nearly half (45%) of the market share in the United States. Additionally, revenue in quarter 3 of 2022 was record-breaking for the company at $4.43 billion, a 13% year-over-year growth rate.
Because of Adobe’s focus on creating and tweaking products to fit its customers’ needs best, the company consistently pumps out updates and new products that transition seamlessly into today’s digital world. It’s this adaptability that will likely carry Adobe into success for decades to come.
Adobe Connect Pricing
Adobe Connect is quite expensive compared to other webinar and conferencing software. Although the product offers meetings, webinars, and learning tools, each category is priced as a separate tier, in contrast to other services that bundle them together for one price.
In other words, if you want lots of collaborative learning tools, even on smaller webinars and meetings, you may end up overpaying with Adobe Connect.
Try Adobe Connect free for 30 days.
Adobe Connect Pricing Structure
Adobe Connect is available for free for micro-meetings with up to three participants. After that, pricing starts at $50 per host per month. This gives you room for up to 25 participants and includes transcription, breakout rooms, and interactive recordings.
For more collaborative tools for webinars and large meetings, pricing begins at $130 per host per month with space for a minimum of 100 participants. Branding and event management are included in these higher-tier plans.
You can opt for annual pricing to save money, with the highest tier costing $3,500 per host per year compared to $4,440 when paid month-to-month.
Adobe Connect Pricing Comparison
Adobe Connect has a lot of features that could make its higher-than-average pricing worth it for your company, especially if you already utilize other Adobe products. Still, it’s certainly not the most budget-friendly option, and you might find another product that has what you need for less money.
To compare, BlueJeans is designed for large to massive meetings and webinars. The highest webinar tier allows up to 500 attendees for $69 per month or $57.50 per month when billed annually. It includes an array of production and collaboration tools similar to Adobe Connect to keep webinars engaging and interactive.
Livestorm is also highly scalable, with custom quotes for businesses and enterprises to ensure that you don’t overpay for what you don’t need. Or, take advantage of a prepackaged option with up to 500 attendees for $110 per month or $88 per month with annual billing.
Adobe Connect Trials and Guarantees
Adobe Connect’s free plan is good for figuring out if it’s something you want to stick with, but you can only test it with three participants. If you want to experience the full Adobe Connect package, use the free trial again. It’s good for 30 days of full access to the webinar and conferencing software.
Get a free 30-day trial of Adobe Connect.
Adobe Connect Webinar Software Review
Adobe Connect’s webinar features are numerous, catering to everything from highlighting company branding to virtual whiteboards and other productivity and collaboration tools. Upper tiers of the software have everything you need to keep teams engaged and learning, no matter where they tune in from.
Our research team initially considered Adobe Connect as a contender for the best webinar software. However, it ultimately fell short of the top list because of its more complicated setup and pricier packages than other services.
What Makes Adobe Connect Webinar Software Great
- Recording capabilities: Record anything you use during your live webinars for future playback, including interactive polls and live Q&As. When participants replay your webinar, everything will appear just as it was when it was live streaming.
- Webinar types: You can host virtually any type of webinar to appeal to your audience with Adobe Connect, including on-demand, live, and automated webinars. This opens the doors for your audience to catch your information in the ways they enjoy most.
- Simple logins and exits: With its newest update, Adobe Connect made it easier than ever to join and exit a webinar or meeting. Participants can enter a lobby to set up their cameras and microphones to ensure everything works before jumping in. Hosts can also leave a meeting without abruptly ending the session for everyone, allowing for a distraction-free exit.
- Accessibility: Although Adobe Connect can be more confusing for hosts to set up than other webinar software, it’s relatively simple for participants to use. There’s nothing to download, so attendees can join quickly via a link on their computer or mobile device. Users needing adaptive features for auditory, visual, or mobility needs can also benefit from a wide range of accessibility tools, like screen readers, customizable displays, and keyboard shortcuts.
- Analytics: An engagement dashboard tracks useful stats about your meetings for you to review later, including the number of people who viewed your recordings, the most active meetings you’ve hosted, and lead conversions.
- Engagement tools: Adobe Connect prioritizes engaging meetings with tools like immersive screen sharing, surveys and polls, games, and note-taking. Hosts can also add custom apps to tailor the experience for attendees.
- Education tools: Breakout rooms allow teams to meet in smaller groups for necessary training. Hosts and attendees can also share their screens with each other for test-taking, note-taking, and more.
Where Adobe Connect Webinar Software Falls Short
- Lack of auto-generated passwords: Although Adobe Connect does a good job with overall security through encryption and flexible deployments, it could improve its password protection system. By default, everyone uses the same password to log in, which makes it easier for non-invitees to attend. Hosts can manually set unique passwords for everyone, but that can be time-consuming with hundreds of attendees.
- Limited non-paid support: Adobe Connect users are limited to support through live chat and the website’s community and tutorials. To get more premium support, you may need to pay extra in addition to your monthly or annual subscription.
- Limited integrations: Adobe Connect can integrate with several Adobe tools, unsurprisingly, but it doesn’t play as well with non-Adobe products. Third-party integrations are relatively limited outside of learning management systems.
- Significantly higher pricing: Our research found that Adobe Connect costs quite a bit more than many other webinar software tools with similar features and functionality. Some competitors, for example, offer customizable plans so that you only pay for what each host or participant needs. And nearly all of them simply don’t charge as much as Adobe does for similar offerings.
Adobe Connect Webinar Software Compared
Adobe Connect has robust features for webinars and meetings, but Livestorm offers a good mix of features and affordability that may meet the needs of businesses of all sizes.
- Livestorm — Best all-in-one-combo of webinars and virtual meetings
- WebinarJam — Best for hosting all types of webinars
- ClickMeeting — Best for beginners
- Demio — Best for marketing and sales
- Webex — Best for hosting accessible webinars
- BlueJeans — Best for scaling live webinars beyond 500 attendees
- EverWebinar — Best set-it-and-forget-it webinars
- Vast Conference — Best budget-friendly option
- Zoom — Best for educational institutions
- BigMarker — Best for large virtual events
- Crowdcast — Best webinar platform for a built-in audience
- GoTo Webinar — Best for infrequent webinars
- MyOwnConference — Cheapest way to facilitate simultaneous webinars
- WebinarGeek — Best for GDPR compliance and/or EU audiences
Adobe Connect Content Management System Review
Adobe offers a content management system known as Adobe Commerce, which was formerly Magento. Its inventory management makes adding and organizing products a breeze, even for ecommerce businesses with massive inventories.
Adobe Commerce is much more advanced than other CMS software, so it may be best for advanced users who feel confident with the multitude of tools at their fingertips. It did make our list of the top content management systems.
What Makes Adobe Connect Content Management System Great
- Inventory management: Adobe Commerce absolutely excels at ecommerce, especially in the realm of inventory management. The system updates inventory in real-time and allows you to use nearby fulfillment centers to ship items off quickly. Backorders, multi-address orders, and multi-channel inventory tracking are also available.
- Omnichannel management: If your company offers a hybrid mix of sales points, like mobile ordering, in-store sales, and web-based sales, you can manage inventory from all places together from Adobe Commerce. Inventory and payments track across each channel to ensure that your data stays up-to-date.
- Scalability: Adobe Commerce can handle millions of SKUs at a time, allowing you to have multiple products with numerous variations and continue growing your product line as you scale. As a cloud-based service, there are virtually no limits as to what you can do with the platform.
- No transaction fees: Unlike other CMS software with transaction fees for payment processing, Adobe Commerce doesn’t charge these fees. However, you’ll still need to pay applicable fees for your chosen payment processors.
- Open-source coding: Because it uses open-source coding, Adobe Commerce is highly customizable by developers. Create themes and custom content types to make your website look and behave the way you and your customers need it to.
Where Adobe Connect Content Management System Falls Short
- Steep learning curve: Adobe Commerce won’t be nearly as easy to start using as, say, Wix or Shopify. Still, the product isn’t necessarily targeted at beginners. Instead, large ecommerce companies tend to be the ones using this CMS platform, and they may have highly skilled teams at hand that can navigate the system.
- Expensive pricing: Expect to pay much more for Adobe Commerce than you would with competitors like Squarespace or BigCommerce. However, the priciest options are reserved for the platform’s managed services, which may be worth the cost for companies wanting more of a hands-on approach to content management. Additionally, premade themes aren’t included, so you’ll need to budget extra for them.
- Significant maintenance required: Small businesses may find Adobe Commerce too high-maintenance for their needs. Quality performance may require lots of upgrades and maintenance to the system and hosting for websites to load quickly and remain secure.
Adobe Connect Content Management System Compared
Our pick for the best content management system is WordPress, which blends ease of use with beginner to advanced features to fit just about any content management needs.
- WordPress – Best overall content management system
- Wix – Best website builder for content management
- Shopify – Best CMS for Ecommerce
- Squarespace – Best CMS for beautiful designs
- BigCommerce – Best CMS for high-volume ecommerce
- Joomla! – Best WordPress alternative
- Drupal – Best CMS for security
- Adobe Commerce (Formerly Magento) – Best CMS for advanced ecommerce Users
- Adobe Experience Management Sites – Best AI-powered CMS
- Magnolia CMS – Best omnichannel content hub
Adobe Connect Digital Asset Management Software Review
Adobe Experience Manager Assets is an ideal option for advanced users who are confident in their understanding of asset organization and management. It’s impressively rich in features, but some businesses might find it to be too complex for their needs.
If you need a simpler solution, check out some of the other options for the best digital asset management software.
What Makes Adobe Connect Digital Asset Management Software Great
- Asset automation: Businesses can save time organizing, storing, and optimizing assets with Adobe Experience Manager Assets. The software’s artificial intelligence adds tags to assets and resizes them automatically to fit ideal content sizes for multiple platforms. Smart Tags make your content more searchable to find when you need it.
- Seamless integrations: As part of the Adobe ecosystem, Adobe Experience Manager Assets works smoothly with other Adobe products, especially Creative Cloud. Creative Cloud includes stock photos, graphic editing software, and other important digital assets and tools businesses use for marketing, offering an easy bridge between marketing and digital asset management.
- Lots of space: It’s unlikely that a business will run out of space or feel restricted with Adobe’s DAM solution. Up to 2 GB uploads are allowed, and custom packages are available to ensure you have the space you need.
- Agile workspace: The Adobe DAM workspace allows for massive customization and collaboration between team members. Multiple people can work on the same workspace at one time to manage or pull assets. Although some features are advanced, the interface itself is simple enough for virtually anyone to use easily.
- Approval process: Admin can set review and approval processes in Adobe Experience Manager Assets to manage workflow and ensure that assets get full approval before entering the system. The system sends notifications to relevant users, letting them know whether assets need more work or have been approved.
Where Adobe Connect Digital Asset Management Software Falls Short
- Tech-focused setup: If you plan to DIY your Adobe setup, you should be sure to have a solid tech team on your hands. Documentation for this software is quite complex, and connecting it to your network infrastructure requires intermediate IT knowledge, at minimum.
- Non-transparent pricing: Similar to other Adobe products, its DAM software only has custom pricing that you’ll need to reach out to the support team to learn more about. If you were interested in quickly comparing options, Adobe might be left off the list for this reason. With that said, you can expect to pay enterprise pricing for this software, as it’s mostly large businesses and enterprises that it caters to.
- Complex features: The Adobe Experience Manager Assets interface is user-friendly, but many of the features accessible behind-the-scenes require development experience to use. This software simply isn’t for beginners, at least those who’ll be working mostly on the backend.
Adobe Connect Digital Asset Management Software Compared
While Adobe Experience Manager Assets is best suited for advanced users, we believe MediaValet has some of the most well-rounded features and is, therefore, our top digital asset management software pick.
- MediaValet – Best for organizing gigantic asset libraries
- CoSchedule Asset Organizer – Best for marketing teams
- Filerobot by Scaleflex – Best all-in-one DAM software
- Canto – Best for large organizations
- Brandfolder – Best easy-to-use asset management
- Adobe Experience Manager Assets – Best for advanced users
- IntelligenceBank – Best DAM software for creative collaboration
- Cloudinary – Best free digital asset management software
- Extensis Portfolio – Best DAM software for content creators
- Widen – Best DAM software for midsize organizations
Adobe Connect Electronic Signature Software Review
Adobe Sign is Adobe’s e-signature software that lets you and others sign electronic documents as quickly and conveniently as possible. It’s available as part of Adobe Acrobat, which also gives you access to PDF form creation, conversion, editing, and more.
We chose Adobe Sign as the best electronic signature software for small businesses because of its affordability and straightforward usage.
What Makes Adobe Connect Electronic Signature Software Great
- One-click bulk signatures: Rather than sending your document to each person separately for a signature, you can use Adobe Sign’s bulk-send feature to send a document to each recipient with the tap of a button. Your dashboard shows you who’s already signed and who still needs to, so you can send reminders if necessary.
- User-friendly: Unlike some other Adobe products that are built more for large organizations and advanced users, Adobe Sign is much less complex. Most people can begin using it without a walk-through, as the interface guides you through each step for signing and getting signatures.
- Mobile scanning: Connect the Adobe Scan app to your account to access quick and easy mobile scanning, allowing you to skip the scanner and upload a document with your mobile device instead. Users can also sign documents using the app on their devices.
- Automated reminders: Although you can send manual reminders to document recipients to encourage them to sign, you can also save some time by setting automated reminders. Admin can also set reminders to appear in document audit reports to show reviewers when notifications were sent to various recipients.
- Affordable pricing: Adobe Sign subscribers must purchase Adobe Acrobat Standard or Pro. However, either one is still a highly affordable option at $12.99 per month or $19.99 per month when paid annually. Plus, you’ll benefit from all Adobe Acrobat features for one price.
- Custom branding: Every document you create or send with Adobe Sign can include your company branding for a cohesive look and feel. Signature invitations can also showcase custom messaging and logos.
Where Adobe Connect Electronic Signature Software Falls Short
- Subpar mobile app: While the Adobe Sign app is a convenient addition to the service, several users note problems with it crashing or moving slowly, especially with large documents. Some features available on the web-based version also are not as easy to use on the mobile app, like resizing fields and syncing.
- Customer support issues: Adobe Sign doesn’t appear to have the same level of responsive customer support as other electronic signing software. A virtual assistant is available to help with some questions, but for more pinpointed support, you’ll need to wait for a response from the community forums or call the support center.
Adobe Connect Electronic Signature Software Compared
If your medium or large business needs more than what Adobe Sign provides, consider some of the other options for the best electronic signature software.
- signNow – Best value electronic signature software
- SignWell – Best free electronic signature software
- SIGN.PLUS – Best electronic signature app
- PandaDoc – Best for document management
- DocuSign – Best multi-purpose electronic signature software
- HelloSign – Best for legally binding documents
- Adobe Sign – Best for small businesses
- Signeasy – Best for individual and personal use
- KeepSolid Sign – Best for signing documents offline
- GetAccept – Best for B2B sales
- SignRequest – Best for simplifying the e-signature process
Adobe Connect HTML Editor Review
Adobe’s HTML editor is known as Dreamweaver, which is part of the Creative Cloud bundle. It has a lot of exciting features and flexible coding capabilities, but it did not make our list of the best HTML editors.
One reason Dreamweaver fell short of our top picks is its confusing interface. Similar to many Adobe products, it errs more on the side of targeting advanced users than beginners, which can make it feel bloated and frustrating for people who are learning to code.
Unlike other editing tools, Dreamweaver is only available as a download, so you can’t use it in your web browser. This makes things a little clunky when switching between the tool and your website previews.
Finally, slower computers may not be able to run Dreamweaver efficiently because of its demanding specs compared to more lightweight solutions.
HTML Editors Compared
Adobe’s HTML editor is feature-rich and flexible, but there are a few others that we feel more precisely target specific use cases, making them land on our list of the best HTML editors.
- UltraEdit — Best Versatility for Advanced Users
- Sublime Text — Best for Customization
- Atom — Best for Collaborative Coding
- Visual Studio Code — Best for Debugging Code
- BBEdit — Best for Simple HTML Editing
- NoteTab — Best for Fast HTML Coding
- TinyMCE — Best Flexible and Powerful WYSIWYG HTML Editor
Adobe Connect VoIP Call Recording Software Review
Adobe Connect includes a VoIP system that users can use to join meetings with audio. However, it does not offer a regular phone system, so this review focuses only on its Meetings product with VoIP.
Although it’s not the most robust VoIP call recording software, Adobe Connect provides an excellent selection of features for businesses prioritizing educational meetings.
What Makes Adobe Connect VoIP Call Recording Software Great
- Great interactivity: Adobe Connect with VoIP audio is one of the best of its kind in terms of interactivity, which is why it shines for educational purposes. Users can record video meetings, switch from a laptop to a mobile device and vice versa when on a call, share screens, draw and annotate, and more. Adobe Connect’s storyboards and layouts also let hosts present information in the most effective ways. Choose between layouts with multiple channels, multimedia types, and interactive elements to give participants the information they need.
- Helpful audio controls: Whether you want to give only specific people the floor to speak during a meeting or you need to optimize VoIP audio levels, Adobe Connect provides numerous settings to do so. You can also allow participants to join with third-party audio rather than the Adobe Connect VoIP network.
- Bandwidth allowance: Hosts can set a bandwidth allowance for meeting rooms to keep connections flowing smoothly while still getting information to attendees as necessary. The allowance also prevents poor connections from joining by setting a minimum connection per attendee.
Where Adobe Connect VoIP Call Recording Software Falls Short
- Lack of basic phone features: While Adobe Connect shines in its ability to create immersive educational experiences and webinars, it’s not as ideal for businesses needing a traditional phone system, too. You can’t get business phone numbers or calling systems through Adobe Connect like you can with services like Nextiva or Ooma.
- Higher prices: Considering that other options, like Nextiva and RingCentral, have plans in the $25-$35 per month range with full phone and video services included, Adobe Connect’s $50 per month pricing for its Meetings solution is relatively steep. Plus, adding Webinars is another $130 per month.
- Complex setup: A running theme with Adobe Connect is its complexity, which can be great for advanced users with detailed setup needs. However, setting up video meetings and VoIP audio can be more complicated than necessary with this system, which could be a turn-off for hosts who aren’t as well-versed with more intricate meeting and VoIP settings.
Adobe Connect VoIP Call Recording Software Compared
Adobe Connect is excellent for educational institutions, but other types of businesses may want to try another VoIP call recording software.
- Nextiva — Best all-in-one business phone system
- RingCentral — Best business phone system with video call recording
- Ooma — Best for small and medium businesses (SMBs)
- 8×8 — Best flexible call recording service
- Adobe Connect — Best for educational institutions that host frequent webinars
- Callcap — Best third-party call monitoring and analysis
- CallRail — Best for tracking multiple campaigns
- CallTrackingMetrics — Best call recording controls
- Cube ACR — Best free call recording service for Android phones
- Gong.io — Best AI call analysis for sales teams
- LiveAgent — Best all-in-one solution for customer support teams
- MightyCall — Best for solopreneurs who need long-term call recording storage
- Recite by Numonix — Best for security and compliance
Adobe Connect Web Design Software Review
Adobe Dreamweaver is the company’s web design software in addition to its HTML editing solution. Although its live previews and templates are great, the software may feel too complicated for most individuals and companies looking to build sites quickly.
The primary reason for Adobe not making our list of the best web design software is that it’s not built for simplicity. Unlike other options, like Wix and Webflow, Adobe’s interface can feel overwhelming.
We also didn’t choose it as a top option because of its speed. On high-performance computers, the software typically runs smoothly. But on slower systems, you might experience bumpy transitions and lags that interfere with speedy designing.
Web Design Software Compared
In terms of ease of use and speed, Adobe Dreamweaver doesn’t quite live up to these other options for the best web design software.
- Webflow — Best for Designing Production-Ready Websites
- WordPress — Best for Content Websites and Blogs
- Wix — Best for Beginners
- Figma — Best for Teams and Agencies
- Sketch — Best for Creating Prototypes and Designs
Adobe Connect Social Media Scheduling Tools Review
Adobe’s social media scheduler, Adobe Express Schedule, is part of the Adobe Express suite of tools similar to Canva.
Unfortunately, the scheduling tool isn’t available as a standalone option, which is the main reason it didn’t make our top list of social media scheduling tools. Adobe Express Schedule isn’t the right solution if you’re looking solely for social media automation.
With that said, you can pay $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year to get the full Adobe Express service with social media scheduling and graphics creation.
However, the social media scheduling tool itself lacks advanced features, like ideal post time suggestions, and connections to platforms like Tumblr, Reddit, and Facebook Groups.
Social Media Scheduling Tools Compared
Adobe Express Schedule is an easy-to-use content scheduler to help you stay on top of your social media game. However, it’s not quite as robust as others that made our best social media scheduling tools list:
- SocialBee – Best Overall
- Sprout Social – Best for Bigger Businesses
- Later – Best for Social Media Managers
- Agorapulse – Best for Teams
- Buffer – Best for Keeping it Simple
- Napoleon Cat – Best for Automation
- MeetEdgar – Best if You’re Short on Time
Adobe Connect PDF Editor Review
Adobe Acrobat Pro is probably the most well-known PDF editor on the market. This is not a big surprise, given that Adobe was the original creator of the PDF file type back in the early 1990s.
Adobe’s software has evolved to cater to a wide range of needs when working with PDFs. With Adobe Acrobat Pro, you have full control over PDFs, from creating and converting them to editing PDFs and gathering electronic signatures. Learn more about Adobe Acrobat Pro and other PDF editor alternatives.
What Makes Adobe Connect PDF Editor Great
- Complete PDF editing control: Adobe doesn’t leave a single feature behind when it comes to creating and editing PDFs. Document owners can edit any piece of the PDF at any time, as well as export, print, and share them with others. Additional highlights include the ability to add comments to and highlight parts of PDFs, merge multiple documents into one PDF file, and split larger documents into separate PDFs.
- Feature-packed mobile app: Mobile app users can do virtually anything with a PDF using Adobe Acrobat Pro’s desktop version. The app provides collaborative tools, like signing, reviewing, and sharing PDFs with others, and all editing tools to help you manage PDFs on the go. You can also track PDFs as they get shared, downloaded, signed, opened, and more.
- Document security: Adobe Acrobat Pro provides document protection with passwords to ensure that a PDF is only accessible by allowed personnel. Document administrators can remove passwords at any time, apply custom protections to a document, and add safety certificates to PDFs for an extra layer of protection.
- Document organization: Make documents look exactly how you need them to with Adobe Acrobat Pro’s organization tools, which include page rotation, deletion, reordering, and insertion. You can also extract single or multiple pages from a document to save as a new PDF. In other words, every document you create is fluid to adapt to your needs.
- Affordable pricing: Adobe Acrobat Pro is $19.99 per month when billed annually, which is a small price to pay for such robust features, especially if your business heavily relies on PDF documentation. It also includes Adobe Sign, an added bonus if you frequently collect signatures on documents. Annual subscriptions can be canceled for a full refund within 14 days if you’re not satisfied, but you can also download a one-week trial before buying.
Where Adobe Connect PDF Editor Falls Short
- Conversions can be clunky: While Adobe Acrobat Pro excels with PDF document creation and editing, file types from other programs don’t necessarily convert as well to PDF with Adobe as expected. You might run into formatting and data loss issues when converting, although this problem is more of a PDF conversion issue in general rather than an exclusive Adobe issue. Still, it’s something to be aware of if you plan to convert a lot of files to PDF.
- Layouts can be tricky: Adobe Acrobat Pro is simple to use for creating documents, but creating more complex PDFs can come with a learning curve. You might need to experiment a bit with your layout to get the final product to look the way you want.
Adobe Connect PDF Editor Compared
Adobe Acrobat Pro is our top PDF editor pick for most businesses, but you can also find other excellent solutions that might suit your needs better.
- Adobe Acrobat Pro DC—Best Overall
- PDF Candy—Best Free PDF Editor with OCR for Scanned Documents
- PDF Expert—Best for Editing Short Documents Using Clean Tools
- PDFelement Pro—Best for Editing Large Documents
- Foxit Phantom PDF—Best for Mobile PDF Editing
- Nitro PDF Pro—Best for Collaborating on PDFs
Final Verdict
Adobe’s suite of products does many things well, including video recording, collecting electronic signatures, and digital asset management. It also easily leads the pack in its powerful PDF creation and editing capabilities.
As webinar software, Adobe Connect is simply too pricey compared to competitors offering similar services. However, it could be the right solution for companies already investing in other Adobe products, as it seamlessly integrates with Adobe tools.