The Best Open Source Adobe Acrobat Reader AlternativesTop PDF Readers and other similar apps like Adobe Acrobat Reader

The best open source alternative to Adobe Acrobat Reader is SumatraPDF. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to Adobe Acrobat Reader and many of them is open source so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source alternatives to Adobe Acrobat Reader are Okular, Evince, Firefox PDF Viewer (PDF.js) and MuPDF.

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Adobe Acrobat Reader alternatives are mainly PDF Readers but may also be Ebook Readers or PDF Editors. Other popular filters include Android + Open Source. Filter by these or use the filter bar below if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Adobe Acrobat Reader iconAdobe Acrobat Reader
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View, annotate, and collaborate on PDFs, utilize cloud storage and freehand tools. Upgrade for editing and converting to other formats.

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Adobe Acrobat Reader alternatives page was last updated Mar 15, 2025
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Alternatives
  1. SumatraPDF icon

    SumatraPDF

     1619 likes
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    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.

    108 SumatraPDF alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • PL flagPoland
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Windows
    SumatraPDF screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Optimal performance
    3.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Low memory usage
    2.  Ad-free
    3.  Tabbed interface
    4.  Portable
    5.  Multi Format Reader
    6.  No registration required
    7.  Works Offline
    8.  Highlighter
    9.  PDF annotation
    10.  Global bookmarks
    11.  Dark Mode
    12.  Quick search

    SumatraPDF VS Adobe Acrobat Reader

     
    Comments about SumatraPDF as an Alternative to Adobe Acrobat Reader
    Comment summary: SumatraPDF is praised for being lightweight, fast, and efficient, with a straightforward, clutter-free interface. It's seen as a great alternative to Adobe Acrobat Reader due to its minimal system resource usage, lack of bloatware, and open-source nature. However, users note that it lacks certain features such as annotations, editing forms, and printing in a booklet format. Users highlight its speed and ability to run from a USB drive, but remark that its user interface is dated.
    Top Positive Comment
    Atoshi
    Nov 14, 2016
    11

    It's nowhere as vulnerable to attacks as Adobe Reader, doesn't execute embedded JS, and renders documents blazingly fast

    Top Negative Comment
    Guest
    Nov 19, 2019
    46

    Sumatra does not support editing forms and adding annotations.

    Most Recent Comment
    Nuncio Bitis
    Negative •Sep 16, 2024
    -1

    Too basic. It doesn't open a lot of PDF formats, and doesn't show page thumbnails.

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    3 of 34 comments
    Adobe Acrobat Reader Icon
    SumatraPDF icon

    • Most users think SumatraPDF is a great Adobe Acrobat Reader alternative.

    • SumatraPDF is the most popular Windows alternative to Adobe Acrobat Reader.

    • SumatraPDF is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Adobe Acrobat Reader.

    • SumatraPDF is Free and Open SourceAdobe Acrobat Reader is Freemium and Proprietary
    • SumatraPDF is LightweightAdobe Acrobat Reader is not according to our users
  2. Okular icon

    Okular

     447 likes
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    Multi-platform, fast and packed with features, Okular allows you to read PDF documents, comics and EPub books, browse images, visualize Markdown documents, and much more.

    110 Okular alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • DE flagGermany
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • KDE Plasma
    • Linux Mobile
    • Haiku
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    Okular screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  PDF annotation
    2.  Text Highlighting
    3.  Tabbed interface
    4.  Ad-free
    5.  Dark Mode
    6.  Low memory usage
    7.  KDE
    8.  Works Offline
    9.  Customizable shortcuts
    10.  Text to Speech
    11.  Fill PDF Forms
    12.  No Tracking

    Okular VS Adobe Acrobat Reader

     
    Comments about Okular as an Alternative to Adobe Acrobat Reader
    Top Positive Comment
    karlossss1996
    Oct 20, 2019
    4

    It's very fast free pdf reader with some useful editing functions.

    Top Negative Comment
    Notiz_Me
    Mar 16, 2021
    1

    Doesn't have the ability to print in booklet format.

    Most Recent Comment
    beng tang
    Negative •Oct 6, 2023
    -1

    In Linux Mint, Okular is not a good alternative to Adobe Reader, it does not open some PDF files correctly.

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    3 of 9 comments
    Adobe Acrobat Reader Icon
    Okular icon

    • Most users think Okular is a great Adobe Acrobat Reader alternative.

    • Okular is the most popular Linux alternative to Adobe Acrobat Reader.

    • Okular is Free and Open SourceAdobe Acrobat Reader is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Okular is Lightweight and Privacy focusedAdobe Acrobat Reader is not according to our users
  4. Evince icon

    Evince

     455 likes
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    Evince (or GNOME Document Viewer) is a document viewer for multiple document formats: PDF, Postscript, djvu, tiff, dvi, XPS, SyncTex support with gedit, comics books (cbr,cbz,cb7 and cbt) and others. See Supported Document Formats for details.

    116 Evince alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • PortableApps.com
    • Flathub
    • GNOME
    Evince screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Minimalistic
    3.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  PDF annotation
    2.  Invert colours
    3.  Multiple languages
    4.  Dark Mode
    5.  Ad-free
    6.  Portable
    7.  Works Offline
    8.  No registration required
    9.  No Tracking
    10.  Handwriting recognition
    11.  Windows Compatible

    Evince VS Adobe Acrobat Reader

     
    Comments about Evince as an Alternative to Adobe Acrobat Reader
    Top Positive Comment
    Jatan Mehta
    Jan 4, 2019
    3

    Fast and simple. Allows images to be saved from the right-click context menu.

    Most Recent Comment
    guoiewbvc923
    Positive •Aug 29, 2024
    0

    For me this is the best PDF reader as it allows you to view PDF files and not much more. If you need more features than just viewing PDF's this is not for you.

    Hasan Yildiz
    Positive •Apr 10, 2023
    0

    Free, easy-to-use interface. Easily edit files.

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    3 of 5 comments
    Adobe Acrobat Reader Icon
    Evince icon

    • Most users think Evince is a great Adobe Acrobat Reader alternative.

    • Evince is Free and Open SourceAdobe Acrobat Reader is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Evince is Lightweight and Privacy focusedAdobe Acrobat Reader is not according to our users
  5. Firefox PDF Viewer (PDF.js) icon

    Firefox PDF Viewer (PDF.js)

     165 likes
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    PDF Viewer (aka pdf.js) is a new revolutionary extension using web standard technologies that allows you to display within Mozilla Firefox almost all PDF files found on the web without a plugin.

    80 Firefox PDF Viewer (PDF.js) alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Google Chrome
    • Opera
    • Mozilla Firefox
    Firefox PDF Viewer (PDF.js) screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Browser integration
    2.  Add/remove pages
    3.  PDF annotation
    4.  Ad-free
    5.  No Tracking
    6.  Dark Mode
    7.  Works Offline
    8.  Full-Text Search
    9.  No registration required
    10.  Browser extension
    11.  Opera extension
    12.  Support for Javascript

    Firefox PDF Viewer (PDF.js) VS Adobe Acrobat Reader

     
    Comments about Firefox PDF Viewer (PDF.js) as an Alternative to Adobe Acrobat Reader
    Top Positive Comment
    ab1
    Jan 6, 2024
    1

    It takes dozens of seconds to open a 20MB PDF on a mid-class smartphone.

    Top Negative Comment
    Joseph Cameron
    Sep 27, 2021
    0

    pdf.js cannot be used to annotate documents or fill forms.

    Most Recent Comment
    ulahcherubim
    Positive •Mar 15, 2025
    0

    pdf.js now supports annotating and filling forms.

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    3 of 5 comments
    Adobe Acrobat Reader Icon
    Firefox PDF Viewer (PDF.js) icon

    • Most users think Firefox PDF Viewer (PDF.js) is a great Adobe Acrobat Reader alternative.

    • Firefox PDF Viewer (PDF.js) is Free and Open SourceAdobe Acrobat Reader is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Firefox PDF Viewer (PDF.js) is Lightweight and Privacy focusedAdobe Acrobat Reader is not according to our users
  6. MuPDF icon

    MuPDF

     155 likes
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    MuPDF is a highly versatile, customizable PDF and XPS interpreter solution that can be used across a wide range of applications as a PDF renderer, viewer, or toolkit.

    89 MuPDF alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • F-Droid
    • Xfce
    MuPDF screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Portable
    2.  Ad-free
    3.  Vim Key Mapping
    4.  PDF annotation
    5.  Sign PDF files
    6.  PDF compression
    7.  Combine PDF
    8.  Split PDF files
    9.  Fill PDF Forms

    MuPDF VS Adobe Acrobat Reader

     
    Comments about MuPDF as an Alternative to Adobe Acrobat Reader
    Pro Daddy
    Negative •Nov 17, 2019
    3

    It doesn't have several major features that adobe reader has. MuPDF just open files that's all. no options at all, no resizing, no editing, no change in view, there is nothing.

    malcmerlyn
    Negative •Jun 24, 2024
    -2

    Not available on Apple Store (Ipad 6, ios 17.5.1)

    Adobe Acrobat Reader Icon
    MuPDF icon

    • Most users think MuPDF is a great Adobe Acrobat Reader alternative.

    • MuPDF is the most popular Android alternative to Adobe Acrobat Reader.

    • MuPDF is Free and Open SourceAdobe Acrobat Reader is Freemium and Proprietary
    • MuPDF is LightweightAdobe Acrobat Reader is not according to our users
  7. Xournal++ icon

    Xournal++

     169 likes
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    Xournal++ (a fork of Xournal) is a handwriting Notetaking software with PDF annotation support. Written in C++ with platform independent GTK, supporting Linux, e.g. Ubuntu, Debian, Arch, Suse, macOS and Windows 10. Supports Pen input like Wacom Tablets.

    51 Xournal++ alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Xournal++ screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Handwritten Notes
    2.  PDF annotation
    3.  Support for styluses
    4.  Handwriting
    5.  Export to PDF
    6.  Works Offline
    7.  LaTeX Math
    8.  Pen Support
    9.  Pressure Sensitivity
    10.  Freehand Writing
    11.  Multi layer drawing
    12.  Ad-free

    Xournal++ VS Adobe Acrobat Reader

     
  9. Document Viewer icon

    Document Viewer

     50 likes
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    Document Viewer is a highly customizable document viewer for Android, fork of the last GPL version of EBookDroid .

    155 Document Viewer alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • DE flagGermany
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    • F-Droid
    library view
    settings
    Discontinued

    The last version (2.7.4) was released in March 2016.

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused
    2.  Lightweight
    3.  Customizable

    Features

    1.  Works Offline
    2.  No registration required
    3.  No Tracking

    Document Viewer VS Adobe Acrobat Reader

     
    Comments about Document Viewer as an Alternative to Adobe Acrobat Reader
    Guest
    Positive •Apr 19, 2018
    3

    open source, fast, lightweight, support for many formats, many available settings

    Guest
    Positive •Jun 19, 2018
    -1

    For android smartphones, its the best choice as it is opensource and has many features.

    Adobe Acrobat Reader Icon
    Document Viewer icon

    • Most users think Document Viewer is a great Adobe Acrobat Reader alternative.

    • Document Viewer is Free and Open SourceAdobe Acrobat Reader is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Document Viewer is Privacy focused and LightweightAdobe Acrobat Reader is not according to our users
7 of 38 Adobe Acrobat Reader alternatives