The best free PDF readers make it easy to edit, annotate PDF files, and block security threats. Nowadays, PDF documents are used everywhere. This is because they can be opened in any opening system, they are easy to attach to an email or site, and they have the benefit of not being easily editable. And in this way, everyone uses them at work, in schools and even for digital copies of manuals for their peripherals and devices. Although opening a PDF file as a read-only file is easy, you can do it with your favorite internet browser; editing, altering or transforming a file will require a dedicated PDF reader. Thank goodness, the best free PDF readers are just as capable as their paid counterparts, and they won't cost you a penny or require you to purchase a monthly subscription. To help you find the one that best suits your needs, we've rounded up 5 of the best free PDF readers for Windows and Mac. These should help you with advanced tasks like signing or editing documents, merging PDF files, or converting between PDF formats. documents. For more flexibility, check out our guide to the best free PDF editors, which make editing a PDF as simple as editing a Word document.
The best PDF editor right now is: Adobe Acrobat Pro DC Need to edit a PDF, not just view it? It's not without cost, but to achieve professional results, Adobe Acrobat Pro DC is the tool for . It gives you complete freedom to create PDF files from scratch and edit existing documents seamlessly, on desktop or mobile.
(Image credit: Adobe)
1.Adobe Acrobat Reader DC
A clean interface and each and every tool you might want in a PDF reader
Features Operating system: Windows, macOS, Android THE BEST DEALS OF THE DAY Reasons to buy
- Run with cloud storage services + Easily handle large PDF files + Tabbed view for multiple documents
Reasons to Avoid -Partially Wide Adobe's free PDF reader isn't the simplest download, but this software does a lot of things right. If you're already using other Adobe products, you can connect Acrobat Reader DC to Adobe's cloud storage. You can also save PDF files or open them from cloud services, including Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, and Box. What really sets this free PDF reader apart is that it can handle opening multiple large files at once. This means that you can read and annotate thick documents in this program without worrying about getting locked up. The layout organizes individual documents into a tabbed view, which closely resembles the experience you'd get when viewing PDF files in your Internet browser. Acrobat Reader DC includes just about every annotation tool you could possibly need, making it by far the best free PDF reader. It lets you highlight text, add comments, and fill out and sign forms. There is even a text-to-speech mode that will read documents out loud for you.
(Image credit: Foxit Software)
2. Foxit PDF Reader
Much more than just a free PDF reader
THE BEST DEALS OF THE DAY Reasons to buy
- Lets you create PDF files + Safe perfect mode disables Javascript + Light download
Reasons to Avoid -Certain features require extensions Foxit PDF Reader is more than just a free PDF reader; You can also create PDF files from scratch with this software. Integration with Microsoft Office lets you easily transform the documents you work on into PDF files. You can also scan a document or image and transform it into a PDF with Foxit Reader. The only thing missing from the free version is support for optical character recognition on scanned documents. The software can be a bit intimidating at first, but it's partly easy to navigate. This is because it uses the exact same ribbon-style menu as Microsoft Office. The editing, signing, highlighting, and commenting tools are fairly simple to access. You can also merge or split PDF files by downloading free plugins for the software. Another advantage of Foxit PDF Reader is that it provides security. There is a safe reading mode that allows you to automatically disable embedded JavaScript in downloaded PDF files. Note that with the latest software update, Foxit appears to have removed its virtual PDF printer manager, which means that you can no longer use the software to create PDF files.
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3.pdf slim
An ultra-fast and ultra-light PDF reader
THE BEST DEALS OF THE DAY Reasons to buy
- Small download size + Exaggeratedly fast loading + Can transform file genres
Reasons to bypass
Slim PDF is the best free PDF reader for you, if you are looking for something impressively lightweight. The software download is tiny, making it the perfect choice if you have hard drive space constraints. On top of this, that means you can open and load your documents faster than most of its contenders. The downside of this small size is that Slim PDF is pretty basic. You can search and rotate documents, but that's about it. There are no signing, filling, commenting or starring tools, let alone multiple reading modes. Although there is a menu alternative to convert PDF to Word document, it requires another software download. As a result, Slim PDF is truly just a PDF reader. Nonetheless, it does a good job of getting rid of toolbars that can distract you from what you're reading. If you need to print PDF files on a regular basis, Slim PDF is one of the fastest and simplest options available.
(Image credit: GoNitro)
4. Nitro reader
A free feature-rich PDF reader, packed with useful tools
THE BEST DEALS OF THE DAY Reasons to buy
- Touch screen mode + Many annotation tools + Simple ribbon style menu
Reasons to Avoid -No signing or document filling Nitro Reader is another powerful free PDF reader along the lines of Foxit Reader and Adobe Acrobat DC. What makes this tool different is that it has a touch screen mode which is perfect if you work on a tablet. Touchscreen mode is especially useful for reading ebooks, as you can flip through pages instead of scrolling or clicking a button. Although you can't fill and sign PDF files with Nitro Reader, the software does a good job of enabling cooperation. You can annotate documents with underlines and strikeouts in addition to highlighting them. Comments are also supported and appear as easy-to-find sticky notes when reading a document. Helpfully, the software also allows you to convert between PDF and other document formats. The software has a ribbon-style menu that will look familiar to Microsoft Office users. The menu is fairly simple to navigate as there aren't many free options in Nitro Reader.
(Image credit: PDF-XChange)
5. PDF-XChange editor
Another great tool for editing text in PDF files, with built-in OCR
THE BEST DEALS OF THE DAY Reasons to buy
- Optical Character Recognition + Text Editing + Split and Extract Pages
Reasons to bypass
Instead of just being a free PDF reader, PDF-XChange Editor is also a free PDF editing program for Windows. The interface is a bit more complex than others, but it offers you easy access to many useful features. For most users, the primary reason to use PDF-XChange Editor is that it has built-in Optical Character Recognition (OCR). This means that if your original PDF document is a copy, PDF-XChange will still recognize the text and let you edit it. In addition to this, PDF-XChange Editor allows you to reformat text and even convert it to fonts that are not yet loaded on your computer. You can use this platform to merge or split individual PDF files. The only serious downside to this powerful editor is that if you are not subscribed to the Pro version, a small "Created with PDF-XChange Editor" watermark will be added to the bottom of each and every PDF file you export. .