Imagine a world without PDFs. Unthinkable, isnt it? PDFs are among the most popular and widely used file formats, largely because they maintain document formatting, which makes them incredibly shareable.Its not surprising that Adobe Acrobat Reader DC is often rated the best PDF reader available. With this free, user-friendly software you can view, share, and sign PDFs quickly and simply. But if youre looking for more advanced features from your PDF software, there are some great paid Adobe Acrobat DC subscriptions on offer. Below we explain how to try Adobe Acrobat DC for free and with Creative Cloud. Can I download Adobe Acrobat DC for free?Adobe Acrobat DC is the most up-to-date Adobe Acrobat subscription software available.For simpler PDF needs, such as reading, annotating, and sharing documents, look no further than the Adobe Acrobat Reader DC—you can download it for free. If you want to create and edit your PDFs, you might consider the more substantial paid versions: Adobe Acrobat Pro DC and Adobe Acrobat Standard DC. Download Adobe Acrobat Pro DC for a seven-day free trial to sample the extra perks of the software before you buy.You'll first have to decide if you want to subscribe to Acrobat Pro DC or Acrobat Standard DC (Image credit: Adobe)How do I buy Adobe Acrobat DC?The ubiquitous PDF is unlikely to go out of use anytime soon. Upgrading to the Adobe Acrobat Pro and Standard DC packages offers considerable benefits, including the ability to create and edit PDFs and export them to Word and Excel, as well as unlimited use of e-signature tracking features. You can buy Adobe Acrobat DC subscriptions via the website, or through a licensed seller. Adobe Acrobat Pro DC subscriptions can also be purchased via Adobe Creative Cloud.A pro subscription will only cost you a few extra dollars a month versus a standard subscription (Image credit: Adobe)Whats the price of Adobe Acrobat DC?There are payment options for Adobe Acrobat DC to suit every pocket: annual prepaid, annual monthly, and monthly with no annual commitment. Below youll find all the payment plans (excl. tax) for Adobe Standard DC, Adobe Acrobat Pro DC, and Adobe Acrobat DC for teams.  Prices for Adobe Acrobat Standard DC are:Annual monthly: $12.99/£13.14/AUS$18.69/month (Windows only)Annual prepaid: $155.88/£156.89/AUS$224.27/year (Windows only)Monthly: $22.99/£23.26/AUS$32.99/month (no annual subscription necessary; Windows only)Payment options for Adobe Acrobat Pro DC are:Annual monthly: $14.99/ £15.17/ AU$21.99/month (Windows and Mac)Annual prepaid: $179.88/ £181.10/ AU$263.87/year (Windows and Mac)Monthly: $24.99/ £25.28/ AU$36.29/month (no annual subscription necessary; Windows and Mac)Adobe Acrobat Pro DC offers many useful additional features to the Standard version, such as the ability to redact documents, mobile PDF editing, and transforming scanned documents into editable PDFs. For Mac users, Acrobat Standard DC is unfortunately not compatible. Creative Cloud plansAre you interested in other Adobe apps, like Photoshop, Illustrator, or InDesign? If so, an Adobe Creative Cloud plan could be a more fruitful option. Adobe Creative Cloud is a large library of creative apps and services, such as design, video, photography, and UX software. Creative Cloud subscription plans are especially worthwhile for people working with multiple types of media.You can get access to Adobe Acrobat Pro DC as part of an All Apps Creative Cloud plan. A subscription to the whole library of over 20 Creative Cloud apps is $52.99/£49.94/AUS$76.99/month, or $599.88/ £596.33/ AU$871.07/year prepaid (a monthly plan that isnt tied to an annual subscription costs $79.49/ £75.85/ AU$114.99/month). Adobe Acrobat DC discounts for students and teachersA tantalizing discount is offered to students and teachers on the All Apps Creative Cloud plan. An introductory price starts at $19.99/ £16.24/ AU$21.99/month, which goes up to $29.99/ £24.96/ AU$43.99/month after one year—over 60% off. If you fancy trying out some new software on Creative Cloud, go for a test run with a seven-day free trial. Adobe has a number of helpful tutorials on its site to help you get started with Acrobat DC (Image credit: Adobe)How can I get started with Adobe Acrobat DC?Once you purchase a subscription, downloading Adobe Acrobat DC software happens through Creative Cloud—this is where subscriptions, updates, and downloads are managed. The first time you download Adobe Acrobat DC, the Creative Cloud desktop app is downloaded too. Be aware that youll need 4GB of hard disk space (+ extra for installation) to download the Creative Cloud desktop app. You can download standalone versions of Adobe Acrobat DC, although this is not the usual route. You can also access Adobe Acrobat DC files in your browser and on your mobile.Its worth knowing that older installations of Adobe Acrobat will be automatically removed when downloading a newer version—so be sure to disable this default if you want to keep both. Cloud storage is a noteworthy perk of the Adobe Acrobat DC subscriptions. With Adobe Acrobat Reader DC or a basic membership with Creative Cloud, youll get 2GB of free cloud storage. But an Adobe Acrobat DC subscription bumps you up to 100GB of cloud storage. If youre managing a larger team, an Acrobat DC teams subscription may be a more cost-effective option to coordinate multiple licenses. For teams of 10 people or more, the monthly cost is $169.90/month. Enterprise pricing options are also available for larger teams.Adobe Acrobat DC: Android and iOS appsAn Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, and Adobe Fill and Sign app are available on iOS and Google Play for Android devices. You can also download the Creative Cloud app to view files and watch tutorials on your phone. Alternatives to Adobe AcrobatIf you want to compare the performance of Adobe Acrobat DC with some other free PDF products, SmallPDF is an intuitive online PDF tool worth trying. PDFescape is another free online PDF editor and desktop app for Windows.