Adobe Acrobat 9 Standard vs Professional

Which version of Adobe Acrobat is right for you? How do you decide between Acrobat 9 Standard, Acrobat 9 Professional, and Acrobat 9 Professional Extended? Use this guide to compare Acrobat Standard vs Professional, and see what features are only included in the two Acrobat Pro versions.

Adobe Acrobat 9 Standard is ideal for office workers of any skill level. If your primary task is simply creating PDF documents, Acrobat 9 Standard may be for you. This software also lets you create and distribute PDF files, quickly create forms from paper or electronic documents, and easily exchange feedback with commenting tools. Only $149.00

Adobe Acrobat 9 Professional is ideal for business and creative professionals. Acrobat 9 Pro includes all of the features of Acrobat 9 Standard, plus additional tools to protect documents and accelerate information exchange with PDF. With Acrobat 9 Pro you can include Adobe Reader users in document reviews and workflows. You can also create dynamic forms and protect your sensitive document information. Only $169.00

Adobe Acrobat 9 Professional Extended is ideal for business and technical professionals. Acrobat 9 Pro Extended includes all of the features of Acrobat 9 Pro, plus tools to deliver the richest, most engaging PDF communications. Basically, if you need to liven up your presentation slides on PDF's with video, voice-over, 3D images, interactive quizzes, and more, then Acrobat 9 Pro Extended is for you. Only $189.00

Features that are included in Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro (that are not in Acrobat 9 Standard)

  • Validate documents for conformance to ISO standards PDF/A, PDF/E, and PDF/X
  • Personalize a PDF Portfolio with customizable templates for navigation and branding
  • Convert Autodesk® AutoCAD®, Microsoft Visio, and Microsoft Project files to PDF with one-button ease, preserving document layers in Visio and AutoCAD and object data in Visio
  • Enable users of Adobe Reader (version 8 or later) to digitally sign PDF documents
  • Compare and highlight the differences between two versions of a PDF document
  • Create dynamic XML forms with Adobe LiveCycle® Designer ES (included)
  • Preview, preflight, correct, and prepare PDF files for high-end print production and digital publishing
  • Create and validate accessible PDF documents
  • Insert FLV or H.264 video for direct playback in Adobe Acrobat® and Adobe Reader

Features that are included in Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro Extended (that are not in Acrobat 9 Pro)

  • Easily add audio, video, and quizzes to your PowerPoint slides and create rich, interactive presentations with Adobe Presenter (included)
  • Convert a variety of video formats to FLV for playback in PDF
  • Embed video in Microsoft Word or PowerPoint and convert to FLV in PDF
  • Convert 3D content to PDF for cross-platform sharing and collaboration
  • Combine multiple CAD formats in one assembly and save as PDF with Adobe 3D Reviewer (included)
  • Convert 2D and 3D designs from major CAD applications to PDF for use by extended teams without expensive CAD or viewer software
  • Create PDF maps by importing geospatial files that retain metadata and coordinates

For more information see Acrobat 9 Pro Extended, Acrobat 9 Pro, or Acrobat 9 Standard.

Adobe Acrobat 8 Standard vs Professional

You may be wondering about the difference between Acrobat Standard and Professional. Here's an overview of each and a list of the features only included in Acrobat 8 Pro.

Adobe Acrobat 8 Standard lets you create, combine, and control Adobe PDF documents. Basically, if all you need to do is create PDF, Acrobat Standard will do the job. Only $175.00

Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional includes all the features in Standard plus data collection features and enables Adobe Reader users (this is a free software) to fully participate and collaborate on PDF files. This means you'll be able to share and collaborate with co-workers, suppliers, partners, and customers easily, even if they don't have Acrobat Pro. Acrobat Professional is aimed at creative professionals, engineers, finance professionals, marketing professionals, and those wanting powerful functionality. (currently out of stock)

Features in Acrobat 8 Professional (that are not in Acrobat 8 Standard)

  • Permanently delete sensitive information, including specific text or illustrations, with redaction tools
  • Create PDF documents with one-button ease from AutoCAD, Microsoft Visio, and Microsoft Project*
  • Preserve document layers in technical drawings in Visio and AutoCAD, and object data in Visio*
  • Convert DWG files to Adobe PDF files without using AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT
  • Easily create PDF files that are larger than 200 inches
  • Export comments into AutoCAD files
  • Compare two Adobe PDF files side by side to see differences
  • Get started quickly with easy-to-use wizards that guide you through forms creation, distribution, and data aggregation
  • Create forms using more than 20 different XML-based templates*
  • Compile returned forms into a single PDF package
  • Create fillable PDF forms from scanned paper, existing PDF documents, Microsoft Word documents, or Excel spreadsheets
  • Automatically recognize form fields on static PDF documents and convert them to interactive fields that can be filled electronically by anyone using free Adobe Reader software**
  • Enable Adobe Reader ** users to participate in reviews with complete commenting and markup tools, including sticky notes, highlighter, lines, shapes, and stamps
  • Enable Adobe Reader ** users to fill and save PDF forms locally for offline use
  • Enable Adobe Reader** users to digitally sign PDF documents
  • Export form data to a spreadsheet for further analysis, without the need to rekey
  • Allows users to embed video and audio files

*Windows Only **requires Adobe Reader 7.0 or 8

For more information see Acrobat 8 Professional or Acrobat 8 Standard.