Open Source 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 open source Windows alternative is SumatraPDF. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to Adobe Acrobat Reader and 18 are open source and available for Windows so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source Windows alternatives to Adobe Acrobat Reader are Okular, MuPDF, Xournal++ and Linwood Butterfly.

filter to find the best alternatives

Adobe Acrobat Reader alternatives are mainly PDF Readers, but if you're looking for PDF Editors or Note-taking Tools 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
     1681 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.

    117 SumatraPDF alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
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    36
  2. Okular icon
     492 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.

    123 Okular alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • KDE Plasma
    • Snapcraft
    • Linux Mobile
    • Flathub
    • Haiku
     
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    12
  3. 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.

    97 MuPDF alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • F-Droid
    • Xfce
     
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    3
  4. 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
     
  5. 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
     
  6. Sioyek icon
     24 likes

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

    43 Sioyek alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
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    1
  7. 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.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    • iPad
     
  8. Xpdf icon
     12 likes

    Xpdf is a free PDF viewer and toolkit, including a text extractor, image converter, HTML converter, and more. Most of the tools are available as open source.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
  9. A simple PDF Reader built using Electron and PDF.js.

    52 Lector - PDF Reader alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
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    1
  10. PDF4QT icon
     9 likes

    Open-source PDF viewer and editor using Qt framework, featuring hardware-accelerated rendering, encryption, multithreading, text-to-speech, annotation tools, form filling, high-res monitor support, document compression, audio book conversion, and signature validation.

    109 PDF4QT alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
     
  11. A PDF Editing tool that ensures your privacy. Open source, available on Windows, MacOS and Linux. Available in 4 Languages (English, Bengali, Chinese and Japanese). Ambient vibes are also included....

    5 LocalPDF Studio alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Mac
    • Linux
     
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