So you need to open a PDF file and don’t feel like downloading the 40 MB+ Adobe Acrobat Reader? Possibly cause your internet connection is slow and you know it will take ages to download it just to view a single PDF file? Or perhaps cause you have a slow computer and viewing a PDF in Acrobat Reader brings your computer to a complete standstill? Indeed, there are a plethora of reasons to hate Acrobat Reader. In this article, I hope to make things better for you by highlighting some viable alternatives to Adobe Acrobat Reader which by consuming minimum system resources get your work done efficiently.
1. Foxit PDF Reader
When talking about alternatives to Acrobat Reader, Foxit PDF Reader is the definitely the first software that comes into mind. Not only is it free, it works wonderfully; being very light on system resources, it has some other nice features as well that will make you fall in love with it.
Availability: Windows
Pros:
- Small download size (6 MB)
- Faster start up
- Allows you to add notes to a PDF file (an invaluable feature)
- Works on older version of Windows which are usually not supported by most PDF readers
- Opens all PDF formats
- Free
Cons:
- Some issues with font rendering (very rare)
2. Nitro PDF Reader
Nitro PDF Reader is another feasible alternative to Acrobat Reader that is also free. Not only does it allow you to view but also create PDF files easily (with support for PDF creation from almost 300+ formats). This among others is the most compelling reason to use this product. Still in its Beta release, this software holds lots of promise, given it is free and offers many more amazing features. I feel Nitro aims to make their PDF reader the de facto alternative to Acrobat Reader, much like Foxit.
Availability: Windows
Pros:
- There are lots of features, click here to view them all
- Since it allows you to create PDF files for free, it can serve as an alternative to paid products in its category
- 64-bit edition available
Cons:
- Still in the Beta stage, however that should not be much of a problem if most features work
- Slightly heavy on the system resources
3. Sumatra PDF Reader
There are lots of reasons to really love Sumatra PDF. I will put forward the most obvious one – it is open source! Yes!
Sumatra PDF is an open source PDF viewer for Windows which has a minimalistic design, is small in size, starts up very fast and is portable. There is only a single executable file, so you can carry it around in your USB drive. Sumatra PDF gets the work done without any frills. Do give it a try.
Availability: Windows
Pros:
- Open source
- Small in size, starts up very fast
- The UI is minimalistic and makes for a good reading
- Portable
Cons:
None I could find.
4. Google Docs
If you are a Gmail user, you must have clicked on the ‘View PDF’ link when you wanted to view a PDF that came in your mail. This is where Google Docs scores the most – it runs in the browser and doesn’t require you to install anything. Just open the PDF in Google Docs, view it, and close the browser – it is as simple as that. Also Google Docs makes it easy to create PDF files, thus serving both purposes.
Availability: Multi platform
Pros:
- No installation required
- Fast and intuitive UI
- Multi platform – all you need is a browser
Cons:
- With PDF files that have a complex structure, there are still some rendering issues.
Conclusion
Out of the four PDF readers mentioned above, Foxit is the most stable to use right now. However, if you have a faster computer, try using Nitro PDF simply because of the features it offers. If just viewing PDF files is your main concern, Sumatra does a good job while being very light on your computer. And of course, Google Docs is the best and fastest way to view a PDF if it came in Gmail.
Further Reading
Alternatives to Adobe Acrobat & PDF
Alternative to Adobe Acrobat Reader
09.11.10
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10.04.10
All terrible choices. The best one is PDF-XChange Viewer. Google it.
10.04.10
@Johnny:
If you are making such a statement, maybe you should support it with some facts. Because otherwise it just seems that you are trolling.
10.04.10
Sure! I was in a rush at the time so I assumed you guys could just google here. Here is a quick breakdown:
PDF XChange viewer offers form filling, typewriter mode, the ability to add annotations and draw shapes into your PDF, as well as the ability to leave comments and embed sticky notes into the PDF document.
It also offers Firefox style tabbed browsing, viewing all open docs as thumbnails, and bookmarking and a cool pan and zoom feature. You can also rotate your pages ( cool to switching to landscape/portrait based on presentation) at the click of a button, and the typewriter tool allows you to overlay text on any part of the document. You also get a plugin for IE and Firefox built into it, it has a smooth rendering engine, there is a portable version available as well and it keeps settings saved between sessions. It really gives it the edge compared to Foxit and the others in my opinion.
10.05.10
Oh and if anyone is curious about further alternatives to paid applications, or applications that are native to other operating systems then please check out http://alternativeto.net/software . It is a fantastic resource! Enjoy.
10.06.10
@johnny – Nicely done there Jhonny! Great piece of information. Although, PDF-XChange Viewer isn’t as popular as others mentioned on this list. But yes…. it should surely be on this list! Thanks for contributing
10.12.10
If you like SumatraPDF, probably you want to try my enhanced builds.
They are also 1.2 from the SVN repository, but with some additional compilation flags to increase performance, as well as separated compiled versions for x86, x86 SSE, x86 SSE2 as well as x64.
You can reach them at:
http://guti.webcindario.com/static.php?page=SumatraPDFOpt