ABBYY FineReader vs. UPDF: Which Is the Best PDF Tool?

PDF is the most commonly used file format in the corporate sector. It makes accessing and sharing important documents easy due to its compatibility with almost all platforms and devices. This also urges the need to have a proper PDF tool to make it easy to open, edit, annotate, convert, and do other activities with PDF files. ABBYY FineReader and UPDF are the two popular choices that streamline PDF-related tasks. But the question is, which one should you pick? Therefore, this article provides a comprehensive ABBYY Finder vs. UPDF comparison, highlighting their pros and cons and all other details you need to know. So, let's begin our discussion.

Part 1. The Overview of ABBYY FineReader PDF

Before conducting a detailed comparison between ABBYY FineReader PDF vs. UPDF, let's first explore the functionality and usability experience of ABBYY FineReader PDF and then do the same for UPDF.

1. What is ABBYY FineReader PDF

ABBYY FineReader PDF was initially launched as an OCR (optical character recognition) to convert image documents into editable file formats, such as PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc. With the release of version 15, ABBYY FineReader also started offering PDF file editing capabilities.

Today, ABBYY FineReader PDF is a comprehensive PDF solution that provides businesses with a powerful solution to open, scan, edit, organize, and share PDFs with ease. Besides that, it also allows to convert PDF documents into Word or other editable forms. Moreover, it also makes it easy to sign PDF documents with digital signatures. In short, ABBYY FineReader PDF includes all the essential features to manage PDF files effectively.  

1. User Reviews about ABBYY FineReader PDF

At first glance, ABBYY FineReader PDF looks like a complete PDF tool anyone would need. However, it is important to examine user reviews to know the real capabilities of the tool. Despite its positive attributes, many users have shown their concerns over its few specific aspects, such as:

• It comes with a higher price than similar tools in the market, along with a complicated licensing process.
• Its advanced PDF editing capabilities are available for Windows only, while the Mac version is a PDF viewer and converter.
• Its Android and iOS apps are specialized in OCR.
• For high-quality scans, the scanning process takes a lot of extra time, especially for large documents.
• It offers limited editing features and compatibility with multimedia files.
• Its conversion of PDFs into Word or Excel for languages other than English might be less accurate. Moreover, it cannot even read some fonts.
• Its OCR function requires a steep learning curve and often fails to detect hand-written text.

In short, we have seen a mixed response from users. They appreciated the easy-to-use interface they get with ABBYY FineReader PDF, but the above cons seem to compromise their experience. Overall, the most prominent issue is the higher price of the tool compared to other available solutions.

1. Our ABBYY FineReader PDF Useability Experience

Looking at the concerning reviews of the users, we decided to give ABBYY FineReader PDF a try and see how well it performs, especially in editing and annotating PDFs.

We started with downloading and installing the software on Windows, which took significant time due to the massive size of the software, 700+ MB. After installing, we opened one of the example PDF files and headed straight to editing the text in the PDF.

While editing text, we found the tool to perform editing seamlessly. It was able to insert new text in the same font and was also able to remove text.

Afterward, we used its annotating feature. We highlighted the heading and underlined a few words, experiencing efficient functionality.

Overall, in terms of basic PDF text/image editing or annotating, ABBYY FineReader PDF seems to do the job perfectly on Windows PC. However, it lacks to showcase these capabilities in its Mac and smartphone versions, which remains a major concern among many users. Besides that, considering its features, the pricing of ABBYY FineReader PDF appears comparatively higher when compared to alternative solutions like UPDF, and it does not offer a free version (you can only get a 7-day free trial).

1. Pros and Cons of ABBYY FineReader

Pros

• It provides all the essential features required to view, edit, annotate, and convert PDFs.
• Its OCR technology can accurately convert scanned documents into editable text.
• It streamlines organizing, deleting, and merging PDF pages.

Cons

• Expensive PDF tool, costing thrice compared to alternative solutions like UPDF.
• PDF editing capabilities are limited to Windows systems only.
• Separate subscription plans for Windows and Mac systems.
• Time-consuming installation process due to large size.
• Consumes significant storage space.
• Slow performance for high-quality scanning.
• Steep learning curve for OCR feature.
• Occasional inaccurate conversion for languages other than English.
• Android and iOS apps are complicated to use.

Part 2. The Overview of UPDF PDF Editor/Viewer/Annotator

Similar to ABBYY FineReader, let's have a quick overview of UPDF.

1. What is UPDF

UPDF is a universal, all-in-one PDF editor that can edit, convert, OCR, annotate, and sign PDFs across Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android devices anytime, anywhere. Keeping modernization and user-friendliness in mind, UPDF offers an extremely reliable, super-fast, and easy-to-use interface, making it a top choice for individuals and businesses alike.

What sets UPDF apart from other PDF tools, especially ABBYY FineReader, is its cost-effective plans and highest performance efficiency rates. Whether it is its OCR technology or PDF conversion feature, it can intelligently detect text from dozens of languages and accurately preserve the formatting.

1. Pros of UPDF

• Cost-effective tool, offering access to all its features at just $29.99/annually.
• Single subscription plan to access the tool for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android.
• Quick installation within new minutes.
• Consumes significantly less storage space.
• Fast, efficient, and easy-to-use OCR feature.
• Errorless conversions for a wide range of languages.
• Feature-rich and easy-to-use Android and iOS apps.

1. Our UPDF Useability Experience

Like ABBYY FineReader PDF, we tested the working efficiency of UPDF.

We were impressed with its small size and super-fast installation and setup. Afterward, we opened the same PDF file in it.

To edit the PDF, what we experienced was a more user-friendly interface. Its left sidebar provides a click-based approach to access its edit, annotate, and other features. We clicked on its edit option and started editing the existing text. The experience was smooth and intuitive.

Similarly, we tried its annotation feature, which provided many options, such as highlight, underline, comment, pencil, stamp, and more. We tried a few of these options and experienced a flawless response.

Another exceptional attribute of UPDF is that its free version offers lifetime free access to all the essential PDF editing/annotating features, including the ability to save PDFs with watermarks and 1 GB of free cloud storage. Whether we use it on computer (Windows & Mac) or smartphone (iOS & Android), we get access to the same set of features.

Besides that, the UPDF for Enterprise version also seems the perfect, cost-friendly PDF solution for enterprises. Its flexible licensing plans, support for multiple network environments, and inclusion of rich PDF tools make it an all-in-one solution for various industries, such as finance, healthcare, legal, manufacturing, education, etc. What's more, the enterprise version offers a dashboard to manage licenses and more.

Overall, we felt a most user-friendly and feature-rich experience with UPDF compared to ABBYY FineReader PDF. It includes all the essential and advanced features anyone needs to manage PDF files effectively.

Part 3. Comparison Between ABBYY FineReader PDF and UPDF

Now that we have looked into the basics of ABBYY FineReader PDF and UPDF, let's have a detailed ABBYY FineReader vs. UPDF comparison. The below chart provides a thorough comparison of their core functionalities:

Part 4. FAQs About ABBYY FineReader

Q1. Is there a free version of ABBYY FineReader?

No, ABBYY FineReader has no free version. You can access its functionalities for free for seven days under its free trial plan.

Q2. What is ABBYY FineReader Software used for?

ABBYY FineReader is a comprehensive PDF tool that allows you to convert scanned documents to editable PDF documents with its OCR technology and also edit, annotate, organize, and do other customizations with the PDF documents.

Q3. How do I edit a PDF in ABBYY?

Follow the below steps to edit a PDF with ABBYY:

• Launch ABBYY and open the PDF you want to edit.
• Click "Edit Content" from the top toolbar and edit the text/image you want.
• Once done, save the PDF file again.

This way, you can quickly edit a PDF with ABBYY.

Q3. What languages ABBYY FineReader support?

The ABBYY OCR technology can process over 200 languages, from English, German, and Russian to Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and more.

Conclusion

Considering the global recognition of PDF format, individuals and organizations need a reliable PDF management tool. Since ABBYY FineReader and UPDF are two popular PDF tools, this article has conducted a detailed ABBYY FineReader vs. UPDF comparison of their functionalities, pros and cons, and user experience. Overall, if we have to pick one of them, then UPDF clearly seems the winner. Not only does it offer all the basic to advanced functionalities users expect from a PDF editor, but its compact size, cost-effective pricing plans, and efficient operations also set it apart from ABBYY FineReader PDF.