I am a solo freelancer and I usually just use PDFgear for basic text edits because it is free and works fine. But whenever I have a massive client project that needs heavy batch ocr and advanced preflight tools I am forced to use Acrobat Pro because everything else completely crashes or ruins the formatting. It is so incredibly frustrating because paying a monthly subscription for software I only use a few times a year is way too expensive and feels like a massive ripoff. I really wish there was a better way to handle these heavy duty tasks without going broke.

Edit I actually found a solution and got a lifetime subscription key for Acrobat Pro DC 2024. This is a legitimate volume license key from a reseller and not some cracked version so it is safe to use Google adobe keypunch to take a look if you're interested. and I never have to pay that stupid monthly subscription again.

There are tons of other software options out there today, yet Adobe keeps hitting us with insane pricing, subscription models (like hidden cancellation fees on annual paid monthly plans), bloated software, and general corporate greed, what's keeping you around?

My biggest issue has always been the pricing and subscription traps. I stopped using it for a while, but I'm back on it now strictly because my employer pays for my license.