Volume II · Comparison 01
A free alternative to Acrobat, for Bates work alone.
Adobe Acrobat Pro can absolutely do Bates numbering — and quite a bit more. But it costs a subscription, requires installation, and isn't available on every workstation. When the only thing you need is the Bates job, the lighter tool wins.
Side by side
| Capability | Acrobat Pro | BatesStamp |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | ≈ $240/yr | Free |
| Install required | Yes | No (browser-only) |
| Works on Citrix / VDI | Often blocked | Yes |
| Files leave your machine | No | No |
| Batch multiple files | Yes | Yes |
| Continuous numbering across files | Yes | Yes |
| Custom prefix & padding | Yes | Yes |
| OCR for scanned PDFs | Yes | No |
| Redaction | Yes | No |
When Acrobat is still the right tool
If your workflow needs OCR, redaction, form-building, or general PDF editing in addition to Bates numbering, you'll want Acrobat Pro. BatesStamp focuses on a single job and does that one job without the overhead. The two are not really competitors so much as differently scoped instruments.
Acrobat is a workshop. BatesStamp is a single, well-made plane.
When BatesStamp is the better fit
- You need to stamp a production today and don't have a license waiting for you.
- You're on a locked-down workstation where Acrobat plugins don't run.
- You only need Bates numbering, not the full PDF editing suite.
- You want a workflow with absolutely no upload risk for a confidential matter.
❦
Use the right tool for the job. For Bates work alone, the right tool is the smaller one.