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Compare Versions: Differences Between Adobe Acrobat XI vs X vs 9

[UPDATE (April 2015) – The next major release of Adobe Acrobat – the new Acrobat DC – is now shipping! Download a free trial instantly or check out what’s new in Acrobat DC vs. XI.]

One of the most frequent upgrade questions we’re seeing asked is what’s new, what’s different, or what’s changed between the new Adobe Acrobat XI (Acrobat 11) and previous versions? Or more simply put, what are the major new features in Acrobat X (Pro or Standard), versus Acrobat X or 9? Adobe calls it, “a powerful new PDF solution that rises to today’s complex document challenges,” so these kinds of answers can help decide about upgrading…

Compare New Adobe Acrobat XI vs. Older Versions - What Features are New?

There aren’t any complete, formal reviews out yet, but here’s what some early test users are saying: “Being able to do complex things on the fly, like signing a document electron­ically or commenting on a document on an iPad, is very attractive,” and “makes it even easier and faster to create PDF forms and to auto­matically distribute and collect information with new online forms services,” plus “offers advanced document protection capabilities that are easier than ever for our staff to uniformly secure our documents.”

[ What’s the difference between the editions? See: Acrobat XI Pro vs. Standard vs. Reader ]

Adobe had four overarching goals for this release: (1) increase end-user productivity, (2) streamline collab­oration, (3) lock down information security, and (4) support working with documents on mobile devices.

With those themes in mind, here are some quick highlights of what’s new and improved:

  • User Productivity
    • Naturally edit text and images in PDFs
    • Easily convert PDF to Office formats to increase content reuse
    • Enable users to consistently follow document policies via Actions
  • Collaboration
    • Accelerate the process of gathering feedback and approvals
    • Streamline form creation, distribution, data collection and analysis
  • Information Security
    • Protect systems and lower IT costs with advanced application security
    • Make it easier for users to secure PDFs in Acrobat and Microsoft Office
  • Working Across Devices
    • Deploy touch-friendly Acrobat on tablets with Windows 8, or through Citrix XenApp
    • Enable users to reliably view and interact with PDF via Adobe Reader

For the specifics on how each of these goals was met, here are two itemized version-by-version feature compar­isons vs. previous releases – just click to see either of the two complete charts below…  The top one is for Acrobat X Pro, and the bottom is for Acrobat X Standard:

See the Acrobat XI Pro upgrade version comparison chart


See the Acrobat XI Standard upgrade version comparison chart

Bottom line, Adobe Acrobat XI looks like a smooth and solid upgrade that will make your life easier, help you get more done, and save you some time. Want to see for yourself? Just download and install the free 30-day trial.

What's New in Adobe Acrobat XI Pro?

To learn more see the excellent Acrobat XI FAQ or check out the free Acrobat XI tutorials.

See Also

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42 thoughts on “Compare Versions: Differences Between Adobe Acrobat XI vs X vs 9”

  1. Hi, I bought Adobe Acrobat Pro and I am trying to figure out how to redownload it to my Mac. I had to get a new hard drive an lost my old Adobe Acrobat Pro.

    Thanks for your help!

    Reply
  2. My company purchased Adobe Acrobat 8.0 Standard. We have recently lost our installation disk. What needs to be done to get this on our new computer?

    Thanks

    Reply
  3. Help desk

    The trial version of Acrobat Pro XI that I have loaded onto my MacBook Pro does not have the Tools utilities. Is that right?

    Does the educational version have the Tools utilities?

    I would be grateful if you could please provide some direction. Thank you

    Sean

    Reply
  4. I have acrobat version 10.1.12 and it does not work well on my retina mac… I believe I need to upgrade to version 11. How do I do that, what is the cost?

    Reply
  5. hi i have the acrobat suite cs6, but having problem with a bug in ocr text edits which recommends me to either downgrade to adobe 8 or upgrade to xi, is there any way i can downgrade my acrobat copy?

    Reply
  6. I downloaded the Acrobat 11 on my Mac OS-X 10.6.8 – Trying to convert a pdf doc to an editable format – I get a message:

    “This document does not allow you to save any changes you have made to it unless you are using Adobe Acrobat 9, Adobe Acrobat Pro 9, or Adobe Acrobat Pro Extended 9. You will only be saving a copy of the original document.“

    Any ideas ?

    Reply
    • No, Acrobat XI does not have tabbed windows for different documents, if that’s what you mean… However, there are functions to easily cascade or tile multiple PDF windows on your screen, if that helps. You can also use the Split command to create multiple independent views onto a single document.

      Here are Adobe’s reasons for why they dropped Tabbed View aka Single Window Mode (or MDI) in Acrobat:

      Changes Afoot: MDI vs. SDI Support in Adobe Acrobat

    • Hey there Russ, Acrobat XI (from 2012) is no longer available – recently Adobe announced the new version which replaces XI, which is called Acrobat DC

      Yesterday, they released this new desktop software and you can now download and run a free trial of Acrobat DC, which is available via either a perpetual (traditional) or subscription (monthly) license – your choice.

  7. I want to try Acrobat XI for the free 30 day trial, but I don’t want to uninstall Acrobat Pro 9, because once the trial period is over, my company may not want to purchase the new version. Can I install the new version without uninstalling the current older version?

    Reply
    • Hello Aunyx, as we just mentioned to Russ, Adobe has stopped selling Acrobat XI because it has been replaced with Acrobat DC…

      In any case, you cannot run multiple versions of Acrobat Standard/Pro on the same computer – namely Acrobat X, Acrobat XI, and Acrobat DC. The only way around this would be to use a virtual machine or another computer to install the newer release or trial.

      In other words, the installation of the Acrobat Pro DC trial will require the uninstallation any earlier version of Adobe Acrobat on Windows systems. But not to worry, because your older version could be reinstalled when you are finished with the trial – just make sure you have your original serial number and installation software/discs.

  8. As of the release of Acrobat DC a couple of days ago, the links in this article no longer show anything about Acrobat 9 or X. Adobe has apparently given its website the equivalent of a lobotomy. All it knows now is XI and DC. Every link related to the earlier versions of Acrobat take you to DC.

    Could you possibly find a way to locate a cached copy of the comparison charts (the Pro one would be especially welcome) and link them to this webpage. Some of us are not quite ready to leap into Adobe’s brave new cloud-world, whatever it ends up costing in terms of money, and earlier versions of Acrobat (certainly X and XI) are still available for purchase.

    Reply
  9. Why can I not create a PDF Portfolio in Adobe Acrobat XI Standard. I have searched everywhere on the website and have not seen any information. Every tutorial I watch is on the Adobe Acrobat XI Pro and I have the Standard. Does this feature not come with the standard? I look at comparisons and there was no tab to compare on the PDF Portfolio setting.

    When I click file create it stops at Create Form, I do not have the option to Create Portfolio underneath this option. Can someone please help me?

    Reply
  10. Are you saying we can no longer purchase Adobe Acrobat 9 Standard? I love it and use it for work and want to have the same version for home. I am using Windows 7 Pro but my coworkers are using Windows 8.1 (they are more recent employees and IT is not upgrading my computer) and everything looks different on their computer. I find it confusing. Adobe Acrobat 9 Standard works beautifully for my needs.

    Reply
  11. I’d like to do a comparison between Adobe Acrobat Pro v9 to v11. If I move unlicensed v11 down to v9, will I lose any functionality? Thank you

    Reply
  12. Very informative post. I am using Adobe Acrobat Professional. It was easy to download & install the program. Works in all respects! Recommended for all your PDF requirements.

    Reply
  13. I just got a new Dell computer with Windows 10 – can I purchase Adobe Acrobat XI either standard or pro, and will it work with Windows 10?

    Reply
  14. Hi

    Want to know which versions of Acrobat is there a PDF comparison option available ?
    Do Acrobat Standard 9 or 11 have a PDF comparison option ?

    Reply
  15. I have Adobe Acrobat XI on my system. I keep getting errors when trying to open or generate a PDF file from an online source. No problem opening it from existing file on my computer. Any idea how to fix this?

    Reply
    • Hello Jesse, what is the exact text of the error message(s)? It would help to know that, in order to help.

      Or just try googling the precise message, and that will usually turn up a solution.

  16. I have browsed info above and was very helpful but still have a couple of questions. I’m running a Dell with W7 and Acrobat X Standard. X won’t run anymore and seems to be crashing the whole system. Have you heard of that problem (message is “An internal error occurred” along with a funny noise)?

    Can I get any break buying Acrobat DC because I own a copy of X? And do you think buying and installing a new version will fix the problem?

    Reply
  17. I have been using Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro on my PC upgraded to Windows 10.

    Just purchased iMac Retina 5K.

    How can/can I use on the Mac OS?

    Thanks.

    Harry

    Reply

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