Adobe Acrobat DC AlternativesOnly Free apps categorised as PDF Readers

The best free PDF Reader alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC is PDF-XChange Editor. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to Adobe Acrobat DC and many of them are free PDF Readers so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting free PDF Reader alternatives to Adobe Acrobat DC are PDF24 Creator, Master PDF Editor, PDFgear and Stirling-PDF.

filter to find the best alternatives

Adobe Acrobat DC alternatives are mainly PDF Readers, but if you're looking for PDF Editors or E-signature Tools you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Open Source, Free, Linux, Windows + Open Source, Mac, EU and Edit PDF. You can also filter by region, for example EU-based alternatives if you prefer software developed in the European Union. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Adobe Acrobat DC.
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Alternatives list

  1. PDF-XChange Editor icon

    PDF-XChange Editor

     171 likes

    Feature-rich PDF editor offering direct content editing, ABBYY OCR, viewing, annotation, form filling, PDF merging, compression, and encryption. Operates efficiently offline, requiring no registration and no ads, while providing privacy-focused features and convenient portability.

    145 PDF-XChange Editor alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • PortableApps.com
    • Wine
    Version 10 (2024)
     
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    15
    Comments about PDF-XChange Editor as an Alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC
    Top Positive Comment
    munteanzeno
    3

    Can make small edits for free (comments, extra text). Search bar is simple and works well.

    Top Negative Comment
    Guest
    0

    A lot of things that you can't do. Didn't worked well enough for me at all.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Alternative User
    Positive
    0

    Adding signature and adding text is available for free.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    3 of 15 comments
    PDF-XChange Editor icon
    PDF-XChange Editor icon
    • PDF-XChange Editor is Freemium and ProprietaryAdobe Acrobat DC is Paid and Proprietary
    • PDF-XChange Editor is Customizable, Lightweight and Privacy focusedAdobe Acrobat DC is not according to our users
  2. PDF24 Creator icon

    PDF24 Creator

     148 likes

    PDF24 Creator is free and feature-filled PDF creation, merging and conversion tool for Windows. Its unique feature among the free PDF printer tools is an editor, which allows to easily assemble, create and modify PDF files with Drag & Drop.

    174 PDF24 Creator alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Main window
     
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    3
    Comments about PDF24 Creator as an Alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC
    zlelmefs
    Positive
    0

    It's actually free and has done everything I've needed it to do.

    G Downs
    Positive
    0

    PDF Creator is a great alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC. It has all the tools that the Adobe has but does it without trying to put a hole in your head! A great piece of work!

    Guest
    Positive
    3

    PDF editing features also available!

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    PDF24 Creator icon
    PDF24 Creator icon
    • PDF24 Creator is Free and ProprietaryAdobe Acrobat DC is Paid and Proprietary
    • PDF24 Creator is LightweightAdobe Acrobat DC is not according to our users
  4. Master PDF Editor icon

    Master PDF Editor

     71 likes

    Master PDF Editor is complete solution for editing PDF and XPS files. You can insert, edit, remove, copy, add images or graphics. Export, import, remove and change page layouts. Also Master PDF Editor provides full functionality for changing PDF information, including author...

    133 Master PDF Editor alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    Master PDF Editor screenshot 1
     
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    4
    Comments about Master PDF Editor as an Alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC
    Guest
    Negative
    24

    Free version for windows will include watermark on saved documents.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Positive
    4

    Has all the basic features such as merge, split, delete and it is in active development and it is available for LINUX :)

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Positive
    -1

    It has more festures in the payed version and thus suites my usecase and it actually works on linux and does not just say it does and then it doesnt, at least that was the case with pdfsam in the extended version.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    3 of 4 comments
    Master PDF Editor icon
    Master PDF Editor icon
    • Master PDF Editor is Freemium and ProprietaryAdobe Acrobat DC is Paid and Proprietary
  5. Ad
  6. PDFgear icon

    PDFgear

     57 likes

    Read, edit, convert, merge, and sign PDF files across devices, for completely free and without signing up.

    47 PDFgear alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    PDFgear screenshot 1
     
    |
    3
    Comments about PDFgear as an Alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC
    Shaz Shah
    Positive
    0

    It does an excellent job of converting my M$ docs. The OCR capabilities are really good and the ability to arrange pages (including splitting and merging with other PDFs) is another bonus. The install is lightweight in comparison to Adobe Acrobat and I've not had any stability issues... yet

    Ahmed Gamal
    Negative
    0

    The app does not support the Arabic language.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Positive
    0

    Faster. No pop-ups trying to sell add ons.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    PDFgear icon
    PDFgear icon
    • PDFgear is Free and ProprietaryAdobe Acrobat DC is Paid and Proprietary
    • PDFgear is LightweightAdobe Acrobat DC is not according to our users
  7. Stirling-PDF icon

    Stirling-PDF

     50 likes

    locally hosted web application that allows you to perform various operations on PDF files.

    87 Stirling-PDF alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    • Docker Hub
    • Cloudron
    Stirling-PDF screenshot 1
     
    |
    1
    Comments about Stirling-PDF as an Alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC
    KimiBCN
    Negative
    0

    It lacks many features and has bugs. The PDF open button sometimes disappears.

    Stirling-PDF icon
    Stirling-PDF icon
    • Stirling-PDF is Freemium and Open SourceAdobe Acrobat DC is Paid and Proprietary
    • Stirling-PDF is Privacy focusedAdobe Acrobat DC is not according to our users
  8. Smallpdf icon

    Smallpdf

     58 likes

    Smallpdf is the first PDF Software you will actually like. The perfect gateway to productive, portable and cost-efficient document management solutions in your everyday life.

    178 Smallpdf alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Online
    • Android
    • Software as a Service (SaaS)
    • iPhone
    • iPad
    • Android Tablet
    Desktop app home
     
  10. BentoPDF icon

    BentoPDF

     10 likes

    BentoPDF is a PDF Toolkit that works fully offline with no sign ups. It's fast, secure and forever free. In an era where data is a commodity, we take a different approach. All processing for BentoPDF tools happens locally in your browser.

    66 BentoPDF alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    BentoPDF screenshot 1
     
  11. Sioyek icon

    Sioyek

     22 likes

    Sioyek is a PDF viewer with minimal interface optimized for reading research papers and technical books.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Main view
     
    |
    1
    Comments about Sioyek as an Alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC
    Guest
    Positive
    0

    I love Sioyek because it has blazingly fast update time when a pdf modified. very suitable for latex with (n)vim/emacs user.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Sioyek icon
    Sioyek icon
    • Sioyek is Free and Open SourceAdobe Acrobat DC is Paid and Proprietary
    • Sioyek is LightweightAdobe Acrobat DC is not according to our users
  12. Papers icon

    Papers

     12 likes

    A document viewer for the GNOME desktop. You can view, search or annotate documents in many different formats.

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • GNOME
    • Flatpak
    A clear, simple Ul
     
    |
    1
    Comments about Papers as an Alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC
    Shaz Shah
    Negative
    0

    It's not a PDF editor, but a really nice looking viewer/reader.

    Papers icon
    Papers icon
    • Papers is Free and Open SourceAdobe Acrobat DC is Paid and Proprietary
    • Papers is Privacy focused and LightweightAdobe Acrobat DC is not according to our users
  13. KDAN PDF icon

    KDAN PDF

     185 likes

    Comprehensive solution for editing, signing, form filling, OCR scanning, commenting, converting, and redacting PDFs, with AI-driven analysis and content extraction, data export to spreadsheets, text-to-speech, seamless use across desktop and mobile, and batch processing.

    262 KDAN PDF alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    Your All-in-One PDF Editor
     
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    2
    Comments about KDAN PDF as an Alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC
    Guest
    Negative
    3

    Adobe Acrobat DC is a full featured PDF editor. PDF Reader has a nice featureset for a PDF ... Reader, but is far from a complete PDF Editor.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Negative
    1

    PDF Reader is a PDF Reader, not a PDF Editor. It even says it in the name.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    KDAN PDF icon
    KDAN PDF icon
    • KDAN PDF is Freemium and ProprietaryAdobe Acrobat DC is Paid and Proprietary
    • KDAN PDF is Privacy focused and LightweightAdobe Acrobat DC is not according to our users
  14. SwifDoo icon

    SwifDoo

     1 like

    Looking for methods to edit, merge,split,convert,rotate,annotate and other related manipulate on PDF? SwifDoo PDF will match your needs and handle most of your PDF-related jobs.

    68 SwifDoo alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    SwifDoo screenshot 1
     
  15. LightPDF icon

    LightPDF

     23 likes

    Cloud PDF toolkit provides over 20 tools for editing, conversion, OCR, merge, split, annotation, batch processing, and signatures, with free online access, cross-platform usability, no watermarks, no size limits, and options for mobile and desktop integration.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Windows
    • Mac
    LightPDF screenshot 1
     
12 of 47 Adobe Acrobat DC alternatives