Free Adobe Acrobat Reader Alternatives for Windows

There are many alternatives to Adobe Acrobat Reader for Windows if you are looking for a replacement. The best free Windows alternative is SumatraPDF, which is also Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to Adobe Acrobat Reader and many of them are free and available for Windows so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting free Windows alternatives to Adobe Acrobat Reader are Okular, Foxit PDF Reader, MuPDF and Xournal++.

filter to find the best alternatives

Adobe Acrobat Reader alternatives are mainly PDF Readers, but if you're looking for PDF Editors or Text to Speech Services you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Windows, Open Source, Linux, Android, Windows + Open Source, PDF Editor and Windows + Free. 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 Reader.
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Alternatives list

  1. SumatraPDF icon
     1678 likes

    This free, open-source viewer for Windows supports multiple formats like PDF, eBooks (ePub, Mobi), CHM, and Comic Books (CBZ, CBR). Prioritizing simplicity and speed, it offers a lightweight, portable design with a minimalist interface, catering to users seeking fast and efficient document viewing.

    116 SumatraPDF alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
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    36
  2. Okular icon
     490 likes

    Multi-platform document viewer offering extensive format support, including PDF, comics, images, EPUB, and Markdown, with annotation tools, sidebar previews, text-to-speech, DRM management, cross-platform compatibility, and integration with KDE Frameworks libraries.

    122 Okular alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • KDE Plasma
    • Snapcraft
    • Linux Mobile
    • Flathub
    • Haiku
     
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    12
  3. Foxit PDF Reader icon
     1382 likes

    Foxit Reader offers a lightweight PDF viewing experience across multiple platforms with features such as annotation, form filling, signing, cloud storage integration, collaborative review options, heightened security via Trust Manager, and organizational tools like Group Policy and XML Configuration.

    132 Foxit PDF Reader alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free Personal
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Alerts

    • Bundleware

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • ReactOS
     
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    14
  4. MuPDF icon
     164 likes

    MuPDF offers a highly versatile PDF, XPS, and eBook interpreter, customizable as a renderer, viewer, or toolkit. Features include digital signatures, redactions, form filling, annotations, and page manipulation, ideal for mobile, eBooks, and embedded apps supporting Java, C++, and Python.

    96 MuPDF alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • F-Droid
    • Xfce
     
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    3
  5. Xournal++ icon
     194 likes

    Handwritten note-taking and PDF annotation using pen input and pressure sensitivity, shape drawing, customizable toolbar layouts, image insertion, audio recording, multi-language options, LaTeX integration, and complete export in PDF or PNG formats across all platforms.

    63 Xournal++ alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
  6. PDFgear icon
     62 likes

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

    59 PDFgear alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
     
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    1
  7. Butterfly is a note-taking app where your ideas come first. You can paint, add texts, and export them easily on every device. This app works on android, windows, linux, and in the web.

    49 Linwood Butterfly alternatives

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • Self-Hosted
    • Snapcraft
    • AltStore
    • Flathub
    • F-Droid
     
  8. Sioyek icon
     24 likes

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

    42 Sioyek alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
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    1
  9. Drawboard PDF icon
     15 likes

    The top AEC PDF app to markup and manage drawings and documents. Ideal for replacing pen and paper, avoid printing documents again by using our intuitive feature set that makes marking up a PDF easy. Open or create a new PDF, markup using our extensive array of tools, then save...

    63 Drawboard PDF alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • iPad
    • Android Tablet
     
  10. In version 8, Google Chrome introduced a free PDF viewer, installed by default. While this plug-in lacks many features of the Adobe Acrobat Plug-in, it is much faster and lighter, and updates with the browser rather than an external utility.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Google Chrome
     
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    1
  11. Tritium icon
     3 likes

    Tritium is a desktop word processor built for transactional lawyers. Draft, review, and compare legal documents faster with real-time clause annotations, minimal redlines, and AI integrations - free for personal use.

    Cost / License

    • Free Personal
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Windows
    • Mac
     
  12. SpeedyNote icon
     3 likes

    SpeedyNote is a fast, open-source note-taking application designed for stylus users who need iPad-quality annotation on budget hardware. Built with native C++ and Qt, it delivers 360Hz stylus input on hardware as modest as an Intel Celeron N4000 at 1.

    51 SpeedyNote alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    • iPad
     
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