Best pdf reader on Reddit

425 reviews from r/linuxquestions, r/macapps, r/rpg and 46 more subreddits

425 reviews from

and

By Brand

By Product

Preview

4.6

(27)

"Its free and works very well."

"Perfect and comes by default."

"Will do most, if not all PDF things for you."

"Preview is great - I was very pleased when I switched to MacOS and discovered that"

"Preview."

"Preview. Works great for all my assignments from professors that are in PDF format."

"Just use Preview and keep Acrobat Reader DC (which is free) around for those times when it’s needed."

"Preview is great - I was very pleased when I switched to MacOS."

"I have always used Preview. It’s a standard app and I have never needed anything more."

"Preview"

PDFGear

4.5

(25)

"Free (at the moment) and fully featured."

"PDF Gear."

"Is just perfect."

"It's free and it just works."

"I think PDFgear is the best.. offers editing features for FREE."

"Great for reading PDFs in low-light environments."

"PDFgear"

"Just get PDFGear and you will get more than you expected all for free!"

"PDFgear is one of the best free pdf readers/editors"

"It's been a really pleasant and nice app to use ever since."

Okular

4.2

(26)

"Okular is the best!"

"Have been using Okular here without issues"

"Okular is the best pdf viewer if you are using kde."

"Okular might interest you. There are annotations of multiple types."

"Okular don't hesitate."

"For computer Okular and Xournal++."

"Okular"

"Okular opens anything you want it to."

"KDE's Okular does it all for me."

"Okular is one fat ass recommendation."

Xodo

4.3

(20)

"I personally enjoy using Xodo as my pdf reader + annotations."

"[Xodo]. Free and simple to use."

"Xodo."

"I've been really happy with Xodo for TTRPG books."

"Xodo works best for PDFs for me."

"Xodo. It's not on Linux though, quite frankly it's the only reason I still have a WTG."

"I use Xodo."

"XODO is a android app that also works really well."

"Xodo?"

"It's the last good version of that app."

Foxit Reader

4.0

(21)

"Easily the best actual Adobe reader alternative."

"Foxit reader is cool"

"I've been using the Foxit Reader for a couple of years now."

"Foxit PDF Reader."

"I was using Sumatra too but moved to Foxit Reader."

"I like Foxit PDF Reader."

"I use Foxit Reader (free version)"

"Foxit pdf reader for linux works well but is not open source"

"I'm wrong Foxit Reader does do it."

"Try Foxit Reader, or PDF-XChange Editor."

Microsoft Edge

4.2

(17)

"Edge: - you can edit - draw on it - you can use 'read aloud'."

"Yeah gotta hand it to Edge, the PDF reader is just the best implementation in browser out there right now."

"Edge is the best any other browser would be a downgrade."

"There is no rival to Edge in this area."

"Free: Microsoft Edge Reader - doesn't work for commute but great for free on desktop"

"Edge for reader, pdf gear for editor."

"The best one for me is Microsoft Edge."

"If you just want a basic reader that lets you annotate and is good for touch, then Edge is plenty good."

"Microsoft Edge browser -> drop in a PDF -> 'Read Aloud -> choose a Microsoft AI voice. Free, fast.'"

"Has all you want for a pdf viewer."

PDF Expert

4.2

(17)

"Even it opens up at the exact same page you left it."

"For power users definitely the paid version of PDF expert."

"I’ve been using pdfexpert for more than a decade now. Excellent support, excellent reader."

"IOS and Mac : PDF Expert"

"I use PDF Expert on the Mac"

"(that's strange, yes) logseq."

"Served me very well."

"You can compare it with Adobe Acrobat."

"PDF Expert and sometimes DevonThinks Buildin reader."

"Has a good feature for exporting annotations."

Evince

4.0

(15)

"Simple? Evince."

"[Evince](https://apps.gnome.org/en/Evince/)"

"Evince or Papers?"

"Using evince rn, Okular is good too."

"Evince or Okular."

"Iam using classic evince since years."

"Evince"

"Evince aka "Document viewer" or Okular, they both works well."

"Best readers are Evince and Okular."

"AFAIR __evince__ (GNOME's default "Documents" application) can do that."

Zotero

4.5

(11)

"The UI UX is so great. It's clean but rich in features."

"Try Zotero + sync it with [https://koofr.eu/blog/posts/koofr-with-zotero-via-webdav](https://koofr.eu/blog/posts/koofr-with-zotero-via-webdav)"

"Very efficient."

"Another +1 for Zotero. It’s 40% the reason why I was able to get my degree."

"Zotero "

"Using the Zotero PDF reader"

"Zotero checks all boxes."

"I use Zotero to manage, read, annotate and cite my collection of pdfs."

"Zotero and PDF Expert/Xodo"

"Zotero... has a built in pdf annotation+note taker that is surprisingly capable."

#10

Adobe Acrobat

4.3

(10)

"It does everything, creation, modification, merge."

"There is no way Acrobat won't open a PDF perfectly."

"I’m using adobe acrobat CC pro."

"Adobe acrobat for all pdf reading+writing."

"Try Adobe Acrobat."

"Your browser or Adobe Reader."

"I used Microsoft PDF Until I got acrobat."

"I've been happy with my Galaxy Tab S6 Lite using Adobe Acrobat."

"For professional use, Acrobat is still the standard."

"Adobe made a Chrome Acrobat plugin that works really well."

#11

UPDF

4.6

(9)

"You wont regret it. Read and edit."

"Stands out with the best and smoothest experience."

"UPDF"

"The best PDF reader for your research needs is UPDF."

"Let me change the format from PDF to use with excel, word with no restrictions."

"For editing."

"Check out UPDF—it's a great alternative that works beautifully on Mac."

"I use UPDF. UPDF is a great option for Mac users."

"Updf is amazing and very affordable too."

#12

Sioyek

4.2

(9)

"Sioyek is great, takes the entirety of the window and is keyboard-centric!"

"I use [Sioyek](https://github.com/ahrm/sioyek)."

"As a CS person you might be interested in sioyek."

"1. Sioyek [best features: highlights, links(internal/external), diagram/ref peak, dark mode, configurable keys]."

"I've used Sioyek, skim, qpdfview and zathura."

"Made for researchers has highlighting."

"[sioyek](https://github.com/ahrm/sioyek)"

"I recommend [Sioyek]: it has multiple highlighting colors and styles."

"I am the developer of an open source PDF viewer names sioyek."

#13

ReadEra

4.2

(9)

"ReadEra has been absolutely fucking excellent."

"Readera on phone and tablet."

"ReadEra is incredible."

"ReadEra"

"I prefer ReadEra and in case I need PDF on PC it adds notes and comments to file."

"Check ReadEra."

"Another android alternative is E-reader Prestigio."

"I found this totally free and amazing pdf reader."

"Readera, which is a e-book reader, shows document outlines for me."

#14

SumatraPDF

4.1

(9)

"Is fast and free"

"I never needed any other one than SumatraPDF"

"I use SumatraPDF but for reading only"

"Are good."

"Is good."

"No doubt, plus it does or used to read ebooks."

"But Sumatra is what I use 99% to just open and read files."

"Sumatra PDF & CDisplayEX."

"SumatraPDF."

#15

Firefox

4.0

(9)

"It has a built-in PDF reader that is pretty good."

"Firefox has a built in pdf reader and editor."

"I would say firefox."

"Firefox."

"Firefox, or even Libre Writer."

"From my experience they have all the features I need from a pdf reader."

"You can now annotate (add text, images and draw) on a pdf directly in the browser window."

"I use Firefox or Okular to view PDF files."

"Firefox, it works."

#16

Apple

4.9

(7)

"1. preview 2. sioyek"

"It has to be preview. No other options"

"If you spend a little time learning Preview, you will be more than happy."

"Preview, especially since it allows to import from my printer/scanner!"

"I use Preview and also I can read/annotate in Emacs. Both are great."

"Comes with the Mac and does a phenomenal job"

"Preview and marginnote"

#17

Zathura

4.1

(8)

"Zathura is the way. I use it on my i3 setup."

"For reading only, zathura. It's the cleanest, uses vim commands, pure bliss."

"Zathura"

"Zathura, sioyek"

"Zathura"

"Minimal: Zathura, GUI friendly: Okular."

"Zathura is a simple pdf reader, may be too simple."

#18

Xournal++

4.7

(7)

"Xournal++ is by far the best PDF manipulation option on Linux."

"The best solution for annotating pdfs on Linux (with a touch/pen input) is xournal++."

"I use xournal++ for the awesome handwriting support on my surface device."

"I use xournal++ because if I care at all about the program opening PDF files."

"I use Xournal++ to edit PDFs, really good!"

"Try xournal++ v. 1.2.2."

"I use xournal++ for this."

#19

Foxit

3.5

(8)

"Foxit or pdf xchange, you can customize their appearance."

"Foxit is really good and lighter than Adobe."

"I think a cross platform pdf reader will do the trick. Like Foxit, Xodo etc."

"Foxit is my go to."

"Foxit"

"For more extensive stuff I use foxit. Also available for iOS as well"

"I can't really *recommend* it."

"Stay away from that one, as it is memory hungry and no better than qpdfview."

#20

Sumatra PDF

4.0

(6)

"Sumatrapdf?"

"I still find Sumatra to be the fastest and smoothest."

"It's completely free, doesn't have a paid plan."

"Either browser pdf or Sumatra pdf"

"Sumatra PDF."

"On Windows you can try SumatraPDF."

#21

KDE

4.8

(5)

"Okular integrates well with cinnamon and gnome and hadn’t failed me this far"

"Okular from KDE"

"Okular or Firefox"

"Maybe check out KDE Okular?"

"As a sociologist i use [Okular](https://okular.kde.org/), it has a really customizable interface and tools."

#22

PDF-XChange Editor

3.8

(6)

"Both are Freeware for Windows."

"The free version of PDF-XChange Editor."

"The free version is fine."

"I use PDF-XChange Editor (Windows, Freeware, Portable) to do the searching for words and phrases."

"I used PDF-XChange Editor for just PDF reading."

"The least bad is PDF-Xchange Editor."

#23

Skim

4.6

(5)

"I love Skim"

"Skim is the best."

"I personally think Skim is the best pdf reader on Mac. Free and great."

"Lightweight and gets the job done."

"Skim"

#24

GoodReader

4.6

(5)

"Another vote for GoodReader. It’s the best."

"I've used GoodReader for years, love it."

"In order of preference: 1. Goodreader"

"Great combination, I have used it since the original iPad days."

"I've got a dumb wifi only Ipad 4 with Goodreader and it does great!"

#25

MuPDF

4.2

(5)

"U/Appropriate-Sea-Dog `mupdf` !"

"Try mupdf"

"Big fan of mupdf for quick, bloat-free reading."

"It's very minimal and no-frills (therefore lightweight), perfect for quickly looking at PDF."

"If you have large pdf's i have found mupdf is many times faster than others."

#26

Moon Reader

4.5

(4)

"This is it...one app to rule them all. Moon+ Reader Pro link is below."

"Moon reader"

"Moon reader has good UI and features."

"Moon reader."

#27

Highlights

4.3

(4)

"Highlights, available on the app store. Is very good for studying."

"Try highlights."

"I enjoy using the Highlights app on iOS and Mac."

"Minimalist UI, which is great for reading."

#28

Adobe Reader

3.2

(5)

"Adobe reader is free. I use acrobat Pro on my computer so I'm also able to use that same account on Mobile."

"I use the free version of Adobe."

"Preview, and sometimes Adobe Reader to check digital certificates."

"It is only worth reading."

"Just delete adobe reader forever. That thing stinks."

#29

Xpdf

3.8

(4)

"Xpdf is solid"

"Just install xpdf"

"I use `xpdf`, which is fantastic."

"I still use xpdf, but I have no idea if it has any of the features you need."

#30

Drawboard PDF

3.8

(4)

"Drawboarder"

"Best PDF annotation tool for a windows tablet is Drawboard PDF."

"Drawboard PDF"

"It is the best solution I have found for Windows."

#31

Adobe

3.5

3.0

(1)

"Serve their purpose mostly."

#100

Adobe PDF

3.0

(1)

"Adobe PDF hope it works for you"

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