16 best free PDF reading software

Are you looking for free PDF reading software for your Windows 11/10/8 or Win 7 computer? Please refer to the list of the best PDF file reading software that we introduce below.

Along with Word documents, PDF is now also one of the file formats that many people choose to use because of its convenience. PDF can support users with raw text and fonts, graphic images, sounds and many other effects. And to be able to read PDF files, we need specialized software to read PDF files.

In the article below, Network Administrator will summarize for readers the best PDF file reading software available today.

1. The lightest PDF reader software Foxit Reader

Foxit Reader is an extremely familiar name to those who often work with PDF files. Foxit Reader supports the most necessary tools when processing a PDF file, including opening the file, creating PDF files, editing files when necessary, or moreover, you can create notes, signatures, and set passwords to protect your data. Protect PDF files.

 Foxit Reader, developed by California-based company Foxit Software, has continuously evolved from its initial versions, which stood out for their powerful performance and compactness.

This program is a multilingual tool package that allows users to create, view, sign, edit and print their PDF files. This is a free software, which means you can use it without paying a penny, but the premium version offers some additional perks. Note, however, that the free Foxit Reader has the basics covered, so there's no need to upgrade unless you require unique features.

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In later versions, the manufacturer provides more and more new features for Foxit Reader to meet the diverse needs of users. Instead of just working with a single tab like before, with the new version we can display multiple PDF files at the same time, making it more convenient to manage and track documents. Especially worth mentioning is the feature of linking to bookmarks on a PDF page in the browser, helping users to quickly access it when needed.

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Another highlight of this program is its security. Foxit Reader comes with a handy JavaScript-powered safety option to protect you from unauthorized scripts transferring data, if you are using PDF files from the Internet.

Foxit Reader also comes with a useful feature of being able to create PDF files from scanned documents. There are also browser-style plugins, which are great for extending Foxit Reader's capabilities even further.

Foxit Reader program is very lightweight. The installation file is only 12MB in size, helping to install and open PDF documents quickly. The design also reflects this compactness, as it doesn't come with countless screens, plugins, and lengthy lists.

Overall, this program is one of the best free PDF readers available, very powerful, fast, and includes many features.

2. Read PDF files with Adobe Reader

The second software we want to introduce to you is Adobe Reader. We can use this tool to open PDF files, print files or annotate documents. In addition, users can also work with Adobe's online services, right when we use Adobe Reader.

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Adobe Acrobat Reader DC software is the free, trusted global standard for viewing, printing, signing, sharing, and annotating PDF files. It's the only PDF viewer that can open and interact with all types of PDF content - including forms and multimedia content. And now it's connected to Adobe Document Cloud services - so you can work with PDFs on any device, from anywhere.

Tool that makes it easy to annotate PDF documents. With Adobe Reader on your computer, you can: annotate PDF files with sticky notes; type text directly onto the page; highlight, underline, or use the strikethrough tools and draw on the screen using the freehand drawing tool. Similar commenting tools are also available in Acrobat Reader for mobile phones.

The Fill & Sign tool automatically recognizes whether a PDF file has fillable form fields and takes you through an intuitive filling experience, powered by Adobe Sensei, to get the job done quickly and easily. . With fillable forms, it's easy to enter a response or choose from a drop-down list, then save the completed form. When working with simple PDFs that aren't optimized with form fields, you can click anywhere and enter a response right into the form, or you can accept suggestions from the automatic collection. your personal field. When you're done, you can save your changes and send the completed form to others.

With Acrobat Reader DC, you can also unlock premium features to do more with PDF when you purchase a subscription to Adobe Acrobat PDF Pack, Adobe Acrobat Export PDF, or Adobe Sign.

3. Nitro PDF Reader PDF reading tool

Nitro PDF Reader is a free PDF reading tool provided by developer Nitro PDF Software. If you choose not to purchase Nitro Pro after the free trial period, you are allowed to keep this version but will lose access to all other tools. It's clear that Nitro wants to impress you with a full-featured version of the app for you to sign up for.

Despite its name, Nitro PDF Reader actually allows you to read more than just PDF files – even in the free version. You can create PDF files from other document types, highlight text, and add sticky notes. You can also see whether a PDF document is digitally signed and whether it contains bookmarks and comments.

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You can download a free trial version that gives you full access to the complete Nitro Productivity Suite, including Nitro Pro and Nitro Sign. If you want to maintain access to those features after 14 days, you'll need to purchase the relevant program. Pricing for Nitro Pro starts with a one-time payment of $157 per user.

Nitro's target customers are businesses, so the company knows that its software needs to be safe to download. It is safest to download programs directly from the developer's website to avoid PUPs. For data in your PDF files, Nitro Pro provides password-protected encryption.

4. View PDF files with PDF-XChange Viewer

PDF is increasingly used as a popular format when reading, creating and sending text documents. The famous format is being used by millions of people and it is a good way if you want to send a document for printing while keeping the properties intact.

There are many programs for viewing this type of material, for example, the original Adobe program, but there are many people who like to try new programs that are sometimes even better or faster than the official program. If you want to try a new option, PDF-XChange Viewer is one of the recommended options.

PDF-Xchange Viewer is a PDF editing and conversion software offered from Tracker Software Products. It includes features like creating and converting to PDF format.

PDF-XChange Viewer supports users to read all PDF files at fast speed. Users can easily add text and notes to the file. To more easily observe a certain area of ​​content, we can use the magnification tool available right on the software interface.

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The main panel displays any PDF files you load into PDF-XChange Viewer. Above this main panel there is a File menu and a toolbar with buttons for various features and functions. From the View menu, you can customize this interface: Change the background style, background color, select the elements displayed on the interface, fonts, colors.

PDF-XChange Viewer includes all the common functions found in a standard PDF viewer: Zoom in and out, rotate, open from URL, etc. and is very lightweight, so it runs great out of the box. even if your computer is a bit old.

Finally, PDF-XChange Viewer allows you to extract certain parts of the document or take snapshots to save them as separate files. Without a doubt, PDF-XChange Viewer is a very interesting alternative to Adobe Acrobat Reader.

5. Read PDF files using a web browser

You may not know that all web browsers support reading PDF files. If you do not often work with PDF files and just need a tool to temporarily open PDF files, just right-click on the PDF, select Open with > select the browser you want to open the PDF with.

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You can print PDFs right from your browser, and if you use Microsoft Edge, you can even annotate the PDF.

6. Read PDF files with Sumatra PDF

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Sumatra PDF is a document viewing tool that supports opening, viewing PDF documents and many other documents. It focuses mainly on performance and simplicity, designed for Windows operating system only, with no support for any other operating system or online usage.

If you want a basic PDF reading experience then Sumatra PDF can be a good choice as it doesn't bring any other complicated features that can degrade your PC's performance.

Some key features of Sumatra PDF include:

1. Sumatra PDF is a portable PDF viewer, meaning it does not require installation. You can save Sumatra PDF to USB and use the tool by plugging it into your PC.
2. Sumatra PDF organizes frequently and recently read documents on the home screen so you can easily open them and pick up where you left off.
3. Sumatra PDF Tool supports keyboard shortcuts for easier navigation. There is a list of handy keyboard shortcuts to help you view PDF files easily and efficiently.
4. Sumatra PDF Tool supports search function. Thanks to the powerful search feature, you can quickly find specific information in large PDF documents.
5. In addition to PDF, Sumatra PDF also supports viewing ePub, Mobi, XPS, DjVu, CHM, CBZ and CBR files.
6. Sumatra PDF uses less of your hardware resources while still delivering good performance and speed.

 Sumatra PDF comes with regular software updates, ensuring that any previous vulnerabilities are addressed and that the software does not contain bugs that could be entry points for hackers. One of the best things about this PDF reader is that it doesn't come with any bundled software and ads on your PC, so there's no risk of raising security and privacy concerns. when using it.

7. Expert PDF Reader file viewing tool

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Reading through PDF documents requires you to have a PDF viewer available. Many tools provide this service and Expert PDF Reader is one of them. The tool is well-customized, simple to use, fast, and fully featured.

With Expert PDF Reader, you can open and read PDF files on your computer easily. The software allows you to rotate PDF files in many sizes to suit your wishes. Furthermore, it allows you to work with multiple PDF files without distorting the layout. In addition to PDF, this tool allows you to read documents in other formats, such as ePUB and CBZ.

In addition to reading features, Expert PDF Reader also has the ability to convert, compress, and split PDF documents. Furthermore, it allows you to organize PDF pages by adding or removing pages. Additionally, easily extract and export images from PDF documents without losing quality. Other features of PDF Expert Reader include batch processing and OCR.

Expert PDF Reader supports free and premium versions. The free version allows you to access some of the software's features. On the other hand, the paid versions will let you enjoy all the features available on the software.

Expert PDF Reader is an excellent PDF viewer designed specifically for Windows users to open, read and print documents in PDF format. It is designed with a clear user interface and simple features to assist readers. In addition to reading PDF documents, the software can also be used to convert and create PDF files and can become your new default PDF tool.

8. Cool PDF Reader editing tool

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Cool PDF Reader is the best free PDF reader that is fast, easy to use, helps you read PDF books, view and manage PDF files. You can capture your paper works as images, convert them to PDF, and share it with friends, classmates, and teachers. Additionally, you can split, merge PDF files, extract pages, images, text from PDF, etc.

This best free PDF reader also provides commonly used tools for editing PDF documents or PDF books. It's easy to add rectangles, draw freehand, select and copy text, highlight, strikethrough, and underline text.

Cool PDF Reader includes the following features:

1. PDF reader: Read books or PDF documents from a file manager or directly from other applications
   
   1. Read and view PDFs quickly
   2. Remembers the last read page of a book or PDF document
   3. List PDF document files from your phone
   4. Search for files in the list
   5. Sort PDF document list by date and name in ASC & DESC
   6. Share, print, copy, delete and rename PDF files
   7. Recent and favorites list
   8. Day and night PDF document viewing mode
   9. Go to a page
   10. Scroll PDF document pages and zoom in and out with pinch gestures
2. Merge PDF: Combine multiple PDF document files into a single PDF file.
3. Split PDF: Split a PDF file into multiple PDF files.
4. Convert images to PDF: You can select images from gallery and camera to convert to PDF files. The application allows you to edit images (crop and rotate) and set page orientation.
5. Convert PDF to Image: Convert every page of a PDF document to an image and extract images from PDF pages.
6. Extract pages: Extract pages from PDF documents by page number or page number range.
7. Text Extraction: Extract text from a PDF page.
8. Edit or annotate PDF: Add annotations to PDF documents, add rectangles, draw freely, highlight text.
9. Set password on PDF documents: Protect PDF with two-level password.

If you love Cool PDF Reader, show your love by taking the time to experience it. The developer continuously updates to improve the application for you.

9. Read and annotate PDF files with Javelin PDF Reader

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Javelin PDF Reader provides all the core functionality needed to view standard PDF files and software-encoded PDF files from the free Drumlin Publisher (.drmz and .drmx files). This reader supports internal and external hyperlinks, content/navigation trees, a variety of page display formats, plus document text search, annotations, and bookmarks.

Encrypted files are protected against content copying and redistribution without the owner's permission. Files may also have restrictions applied such as whether printing is allowed and whether they expire at some point and can no longer be viewed. The Properties and/or Info facility in the Javelin reader provides detailed information about digital rights management (DRM) settings.

Note: Please see the PRIVACY statement in the About section of the tool's official website before using this software product. Visually impaired users should choose Mac OSX/Catalina Javelin3 software because it supports text-to-speech conversion.

Javelin PDF Reader has versions for desktop, laptop and mobile devices. This is a very fast, compact, safe and fully functional PDF reader. The Windows version is provided as an installation program. Release notes for Windows and Mac versions are provided on the Release notes page. Javelin for iPad and iPhone is available as a free app from the iTunes App Store

For users who want a simple PDF reader, they can use Javelin. Javelin PDF Reader lacks many advanced features and the ability to streamline usage operations. With this software, users can open and annotate PDF files. It's a great choice for people who just want to quickly open PDF files and take notes on them.

10. MuPDF Reader and Converter

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MuPDF is another compact PDF reader. MuPDF allows users to view and edit PDF files, fill out forms, and leave comments on documents. Another feature of MuPDF is that it allows users to convert their PDF files to other formats, such as HTML or SVG. For those looking for a compact and fast PDF reader and editor, this is a strong contender.

MuPDF is a lightweight PDF, XPS and E-book viewer. MuPDF includes software libraries, command-line tools, and viewers for a variety of platforms.

The renderer in MuPDF is specifically designed for high-quality anti-aliased graphics. It displays text with precise metrics and spacing for the highest fidelity in reproducing the look and feel of a printed page on screen.

This viewer is compact, fast, yet full-featured. MuPDF supports many document formats, such as PDF, XPS, OpenXPS, CBZ, EPUB, and FictionBook 2. You can annotate PDF documents and fill out forms with the mobile viewer (this feature is also coming soon). eye with desktop viewer).

Command-line tools let you annotate, edit, and convert documents to other formats such as HTML, SVG, PDF, and CBZ. You can also write scripts to manipulate documents using Javascript.

The library is written modularly in portable C, so developers can add and remove features as they wish. MuPDF also has a Java library using JNI that works on both Java and Oracle's Android. This C core library provides an API (called MuPDF API) that allows performing a series of actions on such documents.

MuPDF can open, manipulate, and render documents in a variety of formats, including PDF, XPS, SVG, e-pub, and many popular image formats. The MuPDF distribution includes links to mirror the MuPDF C API to other languages, such as C++, Python, Java, and Javascript.

11. Reader Pro Free PDF processing tool

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PDF Reader Pro Free is one of the most popular PDF tools on Apple devices. With this tool, users can annotate documents with text or images, insert signatures, and connect to the cloud, among other actions. This is a great tool for any Apple device user, especially professionals who use PDF files regularly.

Outstanding features of the PDF Reader Pro tool include:

1. A good PDF reader: Multiple display modes, supports PPT presentation mode, multi-window display, multi-tab view, split view, search, page turning, bookmarks, outline for navigation quick navigation, full support for zooming in and out, editing or creating outlines to easily navigate through entire files, pin frequently used file folders, customize theme colors and switch between day mode, night mode, eye protection mode or any other theme color as you like, protect PDF files with password
2. Convert & create PDF files:
   
   1. Convert PDF to Microsoft Word (.docx), Excel (xlsx), PowerPoint (.pptx)
   2. Export from PDF to text (.txt), image, JPEG (.jpeg), PNG (.png) files offline
   3. Image to PDF converter, convert to PDF from images, JPEG, JPG, PNG, BMP, TIFF, GIF
   4. Create new blank PDF files or image PDF files
3. Form Filler & PDF Signer
   
   1. Work with fillable PDF forms created in Adobe Acrobat
   2. Type on PDF and fill out any PDF form with interactive fields like text fields, check boxes, radio boxes, list boxes, combo boxes, buttons
   3. Add beautiful handwriting or use images to create your own signature, save the signature for future use
4. Compress PDF files: Reduce PDF file size to make your documents much lighter to share
5. Free text-to-speech engine allows PDF Reader Pro to read text aloud to you in selectable languages ​​(like English, Chinese, German, Spanish, French, Portuguese Dentistry, etc.), voice and reading speed
6. Easily share files with your friends, classmates and colleagues via email, Skype, Slack, etc.

You can take advantage of the 7-day free trial to enjoy PDF Reader Pro for Windows before purchasing.

12. View PDF files using Google Drive

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Just like your web browser, Google Drive is another way to open PDF files without any external tools. However, what it offers is an online PDF reader instead of a full-featured Windows application like the other options on this list.

Google Drive offers basic features like PDF printing, downloading, and letting you find content within documents. You just need to select the option to open PDF files via Google Docs and convert that PDF file into an editable document format.

In addition to opening a PDF file in minimal format, you can connect external Chrome applications to this PDF reader and expand its functionality. Overall, it can become a great alternative to traditional PDF viewers, if you mainly store documents in your Google Drive.

Google Drive has come a long way as an online document viewer and editor. Drive's native PDF features make it a great PDF tool, but its third-party Drive apps extend its functionality and usefulness.

Luckily, Google Drive is equipped with some great features to handle PDF management. Before you look for any add-on to edit PDF files on Google Drive, double check if it is a feature.

While Chrome is a great PDF viewer, it can also save PDFs to your Google Drive. You don't even need to open Drive; PDF viewer handles everything. However, to do this, you will need the Save to Google Drive extension.

Then you'll be ready to save PDF files straight to Drive. First, open the file you want to save to Drive in Chrome's PDF viewer, then look to the top of the page where the additional controls are. If you don't see the controls, move your mouse to the top of the page.

Chrome will upload your PDF to Google Drive. It may take a while to upload larger files, so don't try to close the prompt if it freezes.

If you want to upgrade the PDF reader on your computer, there are many readers out there to choose from. Just choose the one that suits your needs best and does its job well.

13. View PDF files with Skim

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When it comes to PDF, Mac users have everything they need built-in, natively supported by the operating system. Creating a PDF is as easy as printing a document, while reading and modifying the document can be done from Preview. Most users may never bother looking for alternatives and thus may miss out on a good alternative free PDF reader called Skim.

This is a PDF reader and annotator for OS X, originally designed to help users read and annotate scientific articles in PDF format. But it's also great for viewing any PDF document.

Skim allows users to easily create notes in PDF documents. So if you find something useful in the book or you want to be reminded of things you need to do related to the text you read, just add some notes directly on the page. There is another type of note called "Anchored Note". This type is used for longer notes. You can assign a title and icon to it. It is located on a page as a small icon and will appear if you double click.

Another tool that can assist users in the learning process is taking snapshots. You can take "snapshots" of important parts of a PDF document to keep them on the screen for easy reference. This way, you don't have to come back to this section every time you want to watch it.

14. Read and edit PDF files with Slim PDF Reader

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Slim PDF Reader 2 is more powerful than ever as it focuses on improving your PDF viewing experience using several advanced features and a completely new improved user interface.

This tool is called the "most compact" PDF viewer available. When installed, Slim PDF Reader only takes up about 15MB of space on your computer. This means you don't have to deal with any of the usual large and cumbersome readers, all just to open and view a PDF file!

However, it still comes with great features like editing, sharing, and searching PDF files. Additionally, Slim PDF Reader is available for all operating systems, including Windows, Mac, and Linux.

New and improved features in Slim PDF Reader include:

1. Brand new user interface with support for light and dark themes, to suit the way you work. Whether you prefer a bright interface or the comfort of a darker interface when working at night, Slim PDF Reader gives you the choice.
2. Continue where you left off with the final PDF file. Slim PDF Reader keeps a record of the most recent PDF files you've opened for quick access.
3. You can adjust the UI scale and get it at a more comfortable viewing size.
4. Improved navigation for a simpler PDF viewing experience. The side navigation panel lets you navigate PDF files via thumbnails, view any attachments, or flip through PDF bookmarks.
5. Full range of advanced and customizable annotation tools. These tools are here to help you interact with information from your PDF file. You can find these conveniently on the top toolbar. With these buttons, you can do more than just read PDF files. The Hand tool allows you to click and 'grab' PDF pages so you can scroll through the document easily and look at certain sections more closely.
6. Fill out interactive PDF forms instantly and verify signatures.
7. Quick and easy installation on the system, no .
8. Slim PDF Reader is 1/10 the size of Adobe Reader.
9. Smallest desktop PDF reader - download size just 15MB.

15. Open PDF files with STDU Viewer

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STDU Viewer is a free file viewer that specifically handles the most important scientific and technical document formats - namely TIFF, PDF, DjVu, XPS, JBIG2 and WWF. STDU Viewer is a compact viewer for PDF, WWF, DjVu, comic archives (CBR or CBZ), FB2, ePUB, XPS, TCR, MOBI, AZW, multipage TIFF, TXT, PalmDoc (PDB), EMF , WMF, BMP, GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, PSD, PCX, DCX. It works in Microsoft Windows and is free for non-commercial use.

STDU Viewer is more than just a PDF viewer. This program can also open many other file types, such as WWF, JBIG2 and CBR. Additionally, STDU can work in multiple languages, expanding its usability to a wider audience. Anyone looking for a PDF viewer capable of converting other file types, especially less common file types, should consider STDU Viewer.

The app also supports other formats, but don't rely on it for everything - for example, you can't open things like .DOC or .HTML - however, you can go further with a lot in Support for image files as well as 'comics', such as CBR and CBZ.

STDU Viewer has a traditional viewer interface: a main area to display the selected page and a sidebar to display a summary of the content. There's also a bottom bar with handy navigation controls; and a top menu bar to access tools, like zoom, text selection, and page adjustments.

STDU Viewer has a modern tabbed interface and all the standard features for this type of application (thumbnail viewing, page rotation, searching by text layer, etc.). In addition, STDU Viewer has some extended features, such as exporting a page or part of a page to an image file, creating your own bookmarks, setting actions for touch screens and some other features. The program supports 3 types of search algorithms and all search results can be displayed in a list.

STDU Viewer can open multiple documents simultaneously and uses little system resources. If support for those missing formats was added, STDU Viewer would be the perfect document viewer! There is also a portable version of STDU Viewer, for users who are often on the go. STDU Viewer is the perfect viewer for any technical document.

16. PDF-XChange Editor file reading and editing software

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PDF-Xchange Editor is a free PDF viewer and editor that users can download on Windows computers. For users who want to add audio to PDF files, PDF-XChange Editor will be a great solution. Besides the ability to add recordings and other sounds, users can view and edit PDF files, as well as add signatures.

However, PDF-XChange Editor's best feature may be its optical character recognition engine. With this tool, users can scan a printed document and PDF-XChange Editor will convert it into a searchable text document.

PDF-Xchange Editor is the successor to PDF-Xchange Viewer, a software program that can open PDF files on PC. In addition to the new design, this editor also allows users to create, modify and highlight PDF files. You can also use it to fill out forms, add comments, bullet points, select and highlight sections, include links, and more.

Unlike other similar PDF editors, the software has a change tracking feature that allows you to see all changes made to the file. You can use the program to extract content or delete pages to reduce file size. You can even add images and additional documents to the PDF.

The app is free, but it comes with some trial functionality (which adds a watermark to the final output). Users can remove this watermark by purchasing a license for the premium version of the program.

Above are software that supports reading and editing quality PDF files and is completely free to use. Each tool provides users with different features, supporting the working process and processing PDF files more conveniently and effectively. If you need a professional tool to read and open PDF files, don't miss the 8 tools above.

Wishing you success!

Samuel Daniel

Update 18 February 2024