Bluebeam and Adobe Acrobat differ in their targeted users. Bluebeam targets professionals in architecture, engineering, and construction. Adobe Acrobat aims at a broader consumer base.
Comparing Adobe Acrobat and Blubeam
Form Filling
Water Marking
Annotation Tools
Pricing
Customer Support
Bluebeam
Advanced
Basic
Advanced
Starts at $240 per year
Yes
Adobe Acrobat
Advanced
Advanced
Advanced
Starts at $12.99 per month
Yes
Bluebeam vs. Adobe Acrobat: Feature Review
Form Filling
Bluebeam shines in its form-filling capability when compared to Acrobat. It’s user-friendly, letting you easily click and input information into fields without technical expertise. You can also create custom forms with tools such as text fields and checkboxes.
Adobe Acrobat also offers a form-filling tool. Thanks to its cutting-edge text recognition technology, Acrobat can automatically spot the fields in a form. In addition, Acrobat lets you save form data, which comes in extra handy when tackling lengthy forms or ones you use frequently.
Text Editing
Adobe Acrobat offers great flexibility in editing. You can easily alter paragraph alignment or bullet listing. It even has an automatic spell check, which adds an extra precision layer that is handy while editing essential business documents.
On the other hand, Bluebeam excels in the more technical aspects of text editing. Due to its specialized tools, it’s a go-to for engineers and architects. While Acrobat caters to a broad audience, Bluebeam emphasizes meeting specific sector needs by offering callouts, text boxes, and measurements.
File Size and Limitations
Bluebeam excels in handling large, multi-page documents, although it might slow down with graphics-intensive files. Bluebeam accommodates files up to 1GB for sessions, whereas projects have no file size limits.
Bluebeam is designed for professionals like architects, engineers, and constructors and has excellent compatibility with CAD formats.
However, if you’re working with large, graphic-intense PDF files, Adobe Acrobat has got you covered. There’s a catch, though. How big a file it can handle depends on which Acrobat version you use. For instance, Adobe Acrobat Reader DC can take files up to 2GB.
Password Protection
As an Adobe Acrobat alternative, Bluebeam enhances the safety of your documents by allowing you to add passwords to your files. Plus, you can customize user permissions for various actions like printing, commenting, and saving. This way, you have complete control over what users can do with your document.
Like Bluebeam, Adobe Acrobat provides a robust password protection system. You can completely limit access with a password or restrict some functions. Adobe Acrobat uses strict encryption to secure your document’s contents, adding a much-needed layer of security for professionals and businesses alike.
User Interface
If you’re a construction or engineering professional, you’ll find Bluebeam’s user interface a breeze to navigate. It’s packed with valuable tools but designed to avoid overwhelming you. The tab-based navigation lets you switch effortlessly between documents and tools. What’s more, you can configure its layout to your taste.
On the other hand, Adobe Acrobat boasts a sleek, easy-to-use interface. It appeals to a broader audience than Bluebeam, excelling in arranging its tools and layouts. Known for its familiar and intuitive layout, Adobe Acrobat makes navigation easy, even for beginners. Its neatly organized icons and tools make workflows smoother and boost user productivity.
Mobile Compatibility
BluebeamRevu for iPad can be a real game-changer if you’re often on the move. It lets you access and modify PDFs directly from your iPad – perfect for field work or client meetings.
Remember that Bluebeam’s mobile app is exclusive to iPad users right now. If you use a different device or operating system, this might limit you.
On the flip side, Adobe Acrobat provides a more universal mobile experience. Its mobile version, available for both iOS and Android devices, supports a wide range of functionalities. These functionalities include viewing, editing, commenting on, and sharing PDFs.
Document Compression
Bluebeam offers a powerful compression feature that minimizes PDF file sizes without compromising overall quality. You can save and share intricate designs and blueprints without worry. They maintain their sharpness while being easy and quick to transfer across various platforms.
As a Bluebeam alternative, Adobe Acrobat also performs impressively, allowing you to make your PDFs more compact. This is helpful for image-heavy documents or large data files, and Acrobat compresses them with only a slight dip in quality.
Furthermore, you can adjust the compression settings to completely control the quality and size of your files.
Pricing
As an alternative to Adobe Acrobat, Bluebeam offers a 30-day trial for users to test their software before committing to a plan. Once the trial is over, the software is offered in three different tiers:
Basics at $240 per year
Core at $300 per year
Complete at $400 year
All their subscription tiers are priced per user.
Adobe Acrobat also operates on a subscription basis. It provides a 7-day free trial, after which you can choose from three plans.
Standard at $12.99 per month (annual plan)
Pro DC at $19.99 per month (annual plan)
Business at $22.19 per month (annual plan)
By subscribing, you’ll get continuous updates and the latest features, which is excellent if you like always having the newest software version.
Fill: The Best Alternative to Bluebeam
If you’re looking for a superb alternative to Bluebeam, Fill is your top pick.
Dedicated Apps
Get on-the-go access with any of Fill’s dedicated apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android.
Cost Effective
Acces budget-friendly plans for individuals and smaller businesses that don’t skimp on functionality.
Easy to Use
Enjoy an uncomplicated experience for efficient form-filling, document signing, and collaboration.
Over 1 million satisfied users.
With an average of 4.6 and 4.9-star ratings on Google Play and Apple App Stores, Fill is the best electronic signature platform for individuals and businesses. It’s an eSignature solution trusted by millions of users.
Sarah I. Manager Banking
The software is very easy to use and fill out all required fields.
Candace P.Teacher
The NEXT feature was helpful. The fonts were large and easy to read.
Troy T.Director of Operations Hope Center Emergency Shelter
very easy 2 fill and complete seems to be a nice product despite this force review
Enrique J.Owner Real Estate
Simple format easy to place information once figured out how to use spaces instead of tabs
Marie L.Owner Real Estate
Product is simple and easy for an employee to use.
Small business
The most helpful part is i can easily manage track and esign documents.
Choose Fill to easily scale your document workflow.
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