Papers Alternatives

Papers is described as 'A document viewer for the GNOME desktop. You can view, search or annotate documents in many different formats' and is a PDF Reader in the news & books category. There are more than 50 alternatives to Papers for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Linux, Mac, Android and Android Tablet apps. The best Papers alternative is SumatraPDF, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like Papers are Okular, Foxit PDF Reader, Evince and MuPDF.

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

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Papers alternatives page was last updated Apr 30, 2025
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  1. PDF4QT icon

    PDF4QT

     7 likes
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    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.

    93 PDF4QT alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • CZ flagCzechia
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    PDF4QT screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Dark Mode
    2.  Ad-free
    3.  Hardware Accelerated
    4.  Sign PDF files
    5.  PDF annotation
    6.  PDF compression
    7.  Text to Speech
    8.  Portable
    9.  QT Based
    10.  Support for Multiple threads

    PDF4QT VS Papers

     
  2. KDAN PDF Reader icon

    KDAN PDF Reader

     184 likes
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    KDAN PDF Reader is tailored for a hybrid workplace, providing AI-driven PDF document services to enhance efficiency in cross-device document management and enable seamless workflows across mobile and desktop platforms.

    244 KDAN PDF Reader alternatives

    License model

    • Freemium • Proprietary

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • TW flagTaiwan

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    Your All-in-One PDF Editor

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Scan documents
    2.  Freehand Writing
    3.  Sign PDF files
    4.  Multiple languages
    5.  PDF compression
    6.  Combine PDF
    7.  Full-Text Search
    8.  Split PDF files
    9.  Built-in viewer
    10.  Dark Mode
    11.  Text to Speech
    12.  Works Offline

    KDAN PDF Reader VS Papers

     
  4. Icecream Ebook Reader icon

    Icecream Ebook Reader

     19 likes
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    Icecream Ebook Reader is a software that turns your computer screen into an EPUB reader, supporting various ebook formats such as EPUB, MOBI, FB2, PDF, and more. It enables users to manage a digital library and offers features like page turning, bookmarking, note taking, text...

    94 Icecream Ebook Reader alternatives

    License model

    • Freemium • Proprietary

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • CY flagCyprus
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Icecream Ebook Reader screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  No registration required
    2.  Text to Speech
    3.  Dark Mode
    4.  Tablet support
    5.  Book search
    6.  Built-in translation
    7.  Fullscreen support

    Icecream Ebook Reader VS Papers

     
  5. Ad
    Screenshot
    Foxit PDF Reader icon
    Foxit PDF Reader

    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 Ma...

    https://www.foxit.com
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  6. Atril icon

    Atril

     15 likes
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    Atril is a simple multi-page document viewer. It can display and print PostScript (PS), Encapsulated PostScript (EPS), DJVU, DVI, XPS and Portable Document Format (PDF) files. When supported by the document, it also allows searching for text, copying text to the clipboard...

    109 Atril alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Dark Mode
    2.  Ad-free
    3.  PDF annotation
    4.  Text to Speech
    5.  Support for Javascript

    Atril VS Papers

     
  7. Skim icon

    Skim

     91 likes
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    Skim is a PDF reader and note-taker for OS X. It is designed to help you read and annotate scientific papers in PDF, but is also great for viewing any PDF file.

    85 Skim alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    The PDF Window

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Clean design

    Features

    1.  PDF annotation
    2.  Ad-free
    3.  Note extraction
    4.  Export annotations

    Skim VS Papers

     
  8. Universal Viewer icon

    Universal Viewer

     22 likes
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    Universal Viewer is an advanced file viewer for wide range of formats. Supported file formats are:

    License model

    • Freemium • Proprietary

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • RU flagRussia

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Image is shown
    Discontinued

    The latest version (6.7.9) is from 2021.

    Universal Viewer Features

    1.  Portable
    2.  Support for Large File

    Universal Viewer VS Papers

     
  10. qpdfview icon

    qpdfview

     44 likes
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    qpdfview is a Qt-based tabbed document viewer using the Poppler library for PDF rendering and CUPS for printing. Support for the DjVu and PostScript formats can be added via plugins.

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • DE flagGermany
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Haiku
    • Qt
    qpdfview screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Fill PDF Forms
    2.  Support for Right-to-Left
    3.  Edit PDF
    4.  QT Based
    5.  Tabbed interface

    qpdfview VS Papers

     
  11. STDU Viewer icon

    STDU Viewer

     93 likes
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    Are you tired from many viewers one for each document? Do you want to have, one program for all your technical documentations, scientific books and so on? Do you want to have program, which fast opens files, fast loads pages and fast renders page to screen? And all of this in fre.

    91 STDU Viewer alternatives

    License model

    • Free Personal • Proprietary

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • RU flagRussia

    Platforms

    • Windows
    STDU Viewer screenshot 1
    Discontinued

    The program is no longer updated. Last version, 1.6.375, released in April 2015, can be still downloaded from the official website

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Ad-free
    2.  Portable
    3.  Tabbed interface
    4.  Support for regular expressions

    STDU Viewer VS Papers

     
  12. Drawboard PDF icon

    Drawboard PDF

     13 likes
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    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...

    54 Drawboard PDF alternatives

    License model

    • Freemium • Proprietary

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • AU flagAustralia

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • iPad
    • Android Tablet
    Drawboard PDF screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Customizable

    Features

    1.  PDF annotation
    2.  Handwritten Notes
    3.  Portable
    4.  Handwriting

    Drawboard PDF VS Papers

     
  13. Lector - PDF Reader icon

    Lector - PDF Reader

     15 likes
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    A simple PDF Reader built using Electron and PDF.js.

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Tabbed View
    Discontinued

    Last release from August 2019.

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Minimalistic

    Features

    1.  Electron based

    Lector - PDF Reader VS Papers

     
  14. Sav PDF Viewer icon

    Sav PDF Viewer

     3 likes
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    The simplest PDF viewer. Safe (doesn't require permissions), lightweight (just 6,9MB) and modern.

    89 Sav PDF Viewer alternatives

    License model

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • IT flagItaly
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Android
    • HUAWEI AppGallery
    • F-Droid
    • Kindle Fire
    Sav PDF Viewer screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused
    2.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Dark Mode
    2.  No registration required
    3.  Ad-free
    4.  Works Offline
    5.  No Tracking
    6.  No Permissions required

    Sav PDF Viewer VS Papers

     
  15. zathura icon

    zathura

     43 likes
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    Zathura is a highly customizable and functional document viewer. It provides a minimalistic and space saving interface as well as an easy usage that mainly focuses on keyboard interaction.

    70 zathura alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • DE flagGermany
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • MacPorts
    • Homebrew
    Bestfit

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Full-Text Search
    2.  Ad-free
    3.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    4.  Works Offline
    5.  Vim Key Mapping
    6.  Vi keybindings

    zathura VS Papers

     
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