Point… be careful of using online pdf unlock sites. Some of them retain copies of documents. There are desktop tools that do the same thing.
Everything in my business that can be digital is. I do not keep paper where the law does not demand I do. I keep blank, read only pdf templates for office use. My partner has the habit of overwriting forms so I restricted that ability and it forces her to “save as”
Our clientele has expressed their approval of the professionalism of the forms I use. Names, dates, verbiage is all typed in & legible.
Acrobat Pro has a “Prepare Form” feature (not sure if Reader does). It scans & detects form fields then makes them fillable. It almost always recognizes fields correctly for me. When it fails I simply create the fields myself. Again… I don’t think Acrobat Reader has this feature.
Acrobat Pro cost. Adobe has switched to a subscription model like so many other companies. It was a few hundred for a perpetual license when I purchased it. I don’t think you can get that license anymore.
Adobe does not have the market cornered on PDF tools. A number of others provide tools that offer the same and better features.
My prefered software is made by FoxIt. It is my default PDF utility. I typically use Acrobat if FoxIt fails. That’s a rare thing. Foxit PhantomPDF is 129.99 for standard (what most would need) & 179.99 for the business edition. They also have a free pdf reader.
Their software is usually less resource intensive than Adobe product.
There is also CutePDF, Nitro PDF, PDF Forge, PDF Expert (Mac) etc. etc.
Find what works for you & your budget.
You can check sites like stacksocial etc for huge discounts on software and services that can be of use to your business.