Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

GoodNotes VS Adobe Acrobat DC

Compare GoodNotes VS Adobe Acrobat DC and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

GoodNotes logo GoodNotes

GoodNotes lets you take notes and annotate PDF documents.

Adobe Acrobat DC logo Adobe Acrobat DC

Make your job easier with Adobe Acrobat DC, the trusted PDF creator. Use Acrobat to convert, edit and sign PDF files at your desk or on the go.
  • GoodNotes Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-05
  • Adobe Acrobat DC Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-01-18

GoodNotes features and specs

  • Handwriting Recognition
    GoodNotes offers OCR (Optical Character Recognition), making handwritten notes searchable and easily convertible to text.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    The application features an intuitive and well-organized interface, making it easy for users to navigate and use.
  • Cross-Platform Syncing
    GoodNotes allows for seamless synchronization across multiple devices, including iOS and macOS, ensuring your notes are always up to date.
  • Variety of Paper Templates
    The app offers a wide array of paper templates and covers, allowing users to customize their notebooks according to their needs.
  • Collaboration Tools
    GoodNotes supports collaborative note-taking, allowing multiple users to work on a single document simultaneously.
  • Annotation Features
    Users can annotate PDFs, images, and other documents, making it versatile for different types of note-taking and review.

Possible disadvantages of GoodNotes

  • Platform Limitation
    GoodNotes is currently available only on iOS and macOS platforms, limiting its accessibility for users on other operating systems.
  • No Audio Recording
    Unlike some other note-taking apps, GoodNotes does not offer an audio recording feature, which could be a downside for users who like to sync notes with lectures or meetings.
  • Learning Curve
    Although the interface is user-friendly, some of the advanced features can have a steep learning curve for new users.
  • Subscription Model
    While GoodNotes offers a variety of features, it comes with a subscription cost, which may be a consideration for budget-conscious users.
  • File Size
    Notes and documents in GoodNotes can become quite large, potentially taking up substantial storage space on your device.
  • Limited Cloud Storage
    Although GoodNotes supports iCloud syncing, it does not offer integration with other popular cloud storage services like Google Drive or Dropbox out-of-the-box.

Adobe Acrobat DC features and specs

  • Comprehensive Features
    Adobe Acrobat DC offers a wide range of features such as PDF editing, conversion, merging, digital signatures, and OCR (Optical Character Recognition). This makes it a highly versatile tool for working with PDF documents.
  • Cross-Platform Compatibility
    It is available on Windows, macOS, and mobile platforms, allowing users to work on their PDF documents across different devices.
  • Cloud Integration
    Adobe Acrobat DC integrates with Adobe Document Cloud, enabling users to access their documents from anywhere, share files, and collaborate with others in real-time.
  • Security Features
    The software offers robust security features, including password protection, encryption, and redaction, which help in protecting sensitive information.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    The program has an intuitive and user-friendly interface, making it relatively easy for both novice and advanced users to navigate and use its wide array of tools.

Possible disadvantages of Adobe Acrobat DC

  • Cost
    Adobe Acrobat DC is subscription-based and can be expensive compared to some other PDF solutions. The cost might be prohibitive for individual users or small businesses with a limited budget.
  • Resource-Intensive
    The software can be resource-intensive, requiring a significant amount of system memory and processing power, which may affect the performance of older computers.
  • Complexity
    Due to its extensive features, there can be a learning curve for new users to fully understand and utilize all available tools and functions.
  • Login Requirements
    Users are required to create and log in to an Adobe account to access all features, which can be an inconvenience for those preferring software that can be used offline without any account registration.
  • Frequent Updates
    While updates can bring new features and security patches, frequent updates can also be disruptive and may require restarting the application, which can be inconvenient during critical work.

Analysis of GoodNotes

Overall verdict

  • GoodNotes is highly regarded among note-taking apps, particularly for iPad users who benefit from its extensive features optimized for using the Apple Pencil. While primarily designed for iOS devices, it offers a solid option for digital note-taking with its wide range of functionalities and continued updates that enhance user experience.

Why this product is good

  • GoodNotes is widely appreciated for its intuitive user interface, robust organizational tools, and advanced note-taking features. It provides users with the ability to write and sketch naturally using a stylus, as well as the capability to import, annotate, and export documents in various formats. Its synchronization across devices through iCloud allows for seamless access to notes from multiple locations, making it convenient for students, professionals, and creatives alike.

Recommended for

  • Students who want a reliable digital notebook for organizing class notes, especially those with an iPad and Apple Pencil.
  • Professionals looking for a powerful tool to manage meeting notes, planning, and document annotations.
  • Creatives who require a versatile app for sketching, brainstorming, and conceptual work.

GoodNotes videos

GoodNotes 5 Review - Best iPad Pro Note taking app?? (2019)

More videos:

  • Review - GoodNotes 5 Walkthrough | iPad
  • Review - Notability vs Goodnotes 5 - The Best iPad Note Taking App (2019) | KharmaMedic

Adobe Acrobat DC videos

Adobe Acrobat DC Essentials: 01 - Introduction to Acrobat

More videos:

  • Review - Adobe Acrobat DC Send For Review feature overview

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to GoodNotes and Adobe Acrobat DC)
Note Taking
100 100%
0% 0
PDF Tools
0 0%
100% 100
Task Management
100 100%
0% 0
PDF Editor
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using GoodNotes and Adobe Acrobat DC. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare GoodNotes and Adobe Acrobat DC

GoodNotes Reviews

15 Best Notability Alternatives 2022
Automatically sync your note to the cloud to ensure the updated versions are always available on your app. GoodNotes allows you to import files, take photos, scan documents, and weave them into your notes to make them more comprehensive.

Adobe Acrobat DC Reviews

Systweak PDF Editor Review: Is It the Best Full-featured Alternative of Acrobat
Compared to PDF editors like PDF Element, Adobe Acrobat, and others, you need to pay less for Systweak PDF Editor. This means paying a decent amount of money. You can access a slew of features that allow modifying PDFs without any restrictions. Those who are looking for pocket-friendly PDF editing software should give Systweak PDF Editor a try. Since its release, the tool...
The Most Recommended 9 Free PDF Readers in 2023
Repeated trial and comprehensive comparison can help you choose the most suitable PDF reader. If you are looking for the best PDF viewer on Windows 10, GeekerPDF is the perfect choice as it can help you read, create annotations, and edit PDFs on Windows. It supports all file formats, and PDF files are loaded, converted, and moved quickly, which can improve your work...
3 Ways to compress PDF for free
Adobe Acrobat DC is Adobe's newest product. Adobe is a PDF format creator whose products have PDF compression capabilities. But the Adobe tools can be overwhelming because of the number of features.
8 Best Adobe Acrobat Alternatives In 2022 [Updated List]
Pro Tip: When selecting the alternative for Adobe Acrobat, don’t just consider its cost, but also consider the features it offers. Invest in it only if it fulfills all that you need from a PDF editor. Why Look for Adobe Acrobat Alternatives
10 Best PDF Expert Alternatives for Various Tasks in 2022
Adobe Acrobat DC comes with wide-ranged functions and is aimed at creating PDF documents by using editing, operative conditions for separate treating of text and images, signing, annotating docs, splitting & merging file pages, and more.
Source: fixthephoto.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, GoodNotes seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 5 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

GoodNotes mentions (5)

  • Dislike recent update on speech notes regarding UI
    Add your feedback to the support thread on goodnotes.com. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Some links work, some don't
    There's a share.goodnotes.com link and others are just goodnotes.com. I could only get one notebook to have the fist link a few months ago and it works for viewing it online on Windows on any browser, the other one just takes me to a page telling me to launch the app which I can only do on Apple devices. Is there any way to get the other type of link or was it just an experiment? Source: over 3 years ago
  • Paid opportunity for USF students!
    GoodNotes App is looking for Content Creators to help us build up study materials on our new platform- GoodNotes Community. GoodNotes is a digital note taking app- check us out here. We have just launched an exciting new product within our app- a note sharing platform. We are looking for students in USF studying either STEM or Business related disciplines. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Visual productivity app?
    It sounds like you need something like GoodNotes 5 or Miro. Source: almost 4 years ago
  • Would y’all be interested in a well-designed digital paper planner made specifically for folks with ADHD?
    Digital paper planners are like physical planners but you can store and write in them inside an app like Goodnotes (http://goodnotes.com) using a tablet and stylus. Source: almost 4 years ago

Adobe Acrobat DC mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Adobe Acrobat DC yet. Tracking of Adobe Acrobat DC recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing GoodNotes and Adobe Acrobat DC, you can also consider the following products

OneNote - Get the OneNote app for free on your tablet, phone, and computer, so you can capture your ideas and to-do lists in one place wherever you are. Or try OneNote with Office for free.

Wondershare PDFelement - All-in-one PDF editor

Evernote - Bring your life's work together in one digital workspace. Evernote is the place to collect inspirational ideas, write meaningful words, and move your important projects forward.

Google Docs - Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

RedNotebook - RedNotebook is a software that format, tag and search entries and add pictures, links and customizable templates, spell check notes, and export to plain text, HTML, Latex or PDF.

Foxit PhantomPDF - Edit PDF files with our feature-rich PDF Editor. Download Foxit PDF Editor to convert, sign, scan / OCR & more. A speedy PDF Editor alternative to Adobe Acrobat.