10 Best PDF Readers & Viewers

For official or educational purposes, there are people who have plenty of documents pending to read or approve. However, there are electronic books and novels that many people want to read, but either their font size is small, or they cannot make changes in the book.

There are PDF readers that not only allow you to read the PDF files but also assists in editing them for your ease. This article has discussed 10 PDF free readers that can be used online, on Windows, and macOS.

The 4 Best Free PDF Readers Online

There are multiple websites that can serve as proficient online PDF readers. This part explains the performance of the best online tools that can provide the maximum benefits to their users

CocoDoc

With CocoDoc's online PDF reader, users can view, read, edit, and browse any file in an online mode. The revolutionary thing about this PDF reader is that it has a cloud-based platform and is recognized by top media outlets such as Tech Advisor, Macworld, and Tech Times.

CocoDoc allows users to access and view their favorite documents without hassle. It enables the users to start reading their PDFs and eBooks from their PC or smartphones so they can pick viewing files from where they left. It also allows creating private libraries with space up to 10G in the basic plan and 500G in the business plan that can be used for work purposes.

Moreover, if you want to edit the already created PDF on your PC, the online reader assists in highlighting, making comments, and adding notes in the PDF. After making the changes in PDF, CocoDoc allows you to save the new version of the file on your PC. Any document that is chosen to be saved is kept in the best security protocols as the connection to the online server is encrypted with 256-bit SSL.

Soda PDF

Soda PDF is another online PDF viewer that assists users in viewing their PDF files and eBooks online. The web tool does not restrict people from opening the website in any specific web browser or smartphone. It is an online tool and can be accessed at any time on any device.

To view the PDF document, the user simply needs to upload the file by dragging and dropping it into the PDF reader. The document will be automatically opened in another window. This convenient online solution helps people to view their official or educational documents easily.

The editing functions of the PDF viewer allow for rotating the document, set the zoom level, and associate two documents in a parallel manner. The online reading with Soda PDF is essential as it saves any damage to pages material.

Moreover, viewing and reading soft copies of documents in an online manner benefits the user to edit any page of the document. The editing functions of the web tool include adding texts at different places in the document, changing the font size, and choosing an italic or bold font for texts.

Smallpdf

Smallpdf allows users to view and read their documents in an online mode. They can also choose to edit the documents and save them with their new version. A simple drag and drop is required in order to view the document.

While viewing the documents, you can edit them by filling forms and adding marks in the document at different places. You can also delete PDF pages, merge different pages of PDF, and then compress them.

With Smallpdf, you can draw signatures with a keyboard or by using a mouse. You can invite other people to sign the document as well. The cloud-based system of the web tool allows the secured sharing of PDF files with 256-bit SSL encryption.

Other than that, the online version of Smallpdf has made it convenient for users to view, edit, and eSign their PDF documents with ease. Once edited, the files can be printed and downloaded into the device.

Sejda

Sejda is another free PDF viewer that enables the view of PDF files from any device without any restriction of downloading the web tool on the user device. The PDF reader exhibits different quality features, including viewing two documents side-by-side, editing the text, and saving the edited version on your device.

The application only requires the user to drag and drop the file in the box to read it. The PDF reader can be used for viewing official and personal documents on a widescreen. It assists in merging, compressing, and adding texts to the file.

Users can easily create a PDF document from scratch and save it across their cloud storage. The platform provides them various tools to crop, rotate, split, and rearrange pages of their document. The OCR technology of Sejda allows the extraction of data from printed texts. It scans the text to convert it into machine-readable form.

It is exceptionally easy to sign the document with Sejda. Users need to upload the document and create signatures with the help of a mouse and keyboard. Your document can be signed by anyone within the application. The connections with the web tool's server are encrypted, which permanently deletes the file after the file is uploaded.

The 4 Best Free PDF Readers for Windows

This part sheds light on the 4 best PDF readers for Windows users. The significant features of these platforms shall be discussed that would guide the users to select the best PDF reader.

Adobe Acrobat Reader DC

Adobe Acrobat Reader DC is a powerful PDF reader for Windows 8.1, 7, XP, and 10. In case you use any Adobe product, the Adobe Acrobat Reader can be connected to the storage cloud of Adobe. Moreover, PDF files can be opened from cloud storage services, including Microsoft OneDrive, Dropbox, and Box, etc.

By uploading them on cloud storage systems, the PDF documents can be opened, viewed, edited, and shared by any device the user uses. The editing features include adding texts and images in the PDF file, adding notes, highlighting texts in the document, and making scanned texts editable via OCR technology.

Additionally, the PDF reader enables you to rotate, crop, and delete PDF pages with comfort. One can view any document present on his PC and edit them with various features of Adobe Acrobat Reader and print the edited file. With this PDF reader, you can also create a PDF file from scratch.

Nitro PDF Reader

Nitro PDF Reader is another free PDF reader available for Windows 10, 8.1, 7, and XP. The PDF reader has the perfect balance between usability and its helpful features. It helps to read large files that other web tools are unable to process and is also accommodating for editing and performing various functions in the document.

With Nitro PDF reader, you can lock your PDF and put a password on them. Whenever someone accesses the file, a password would be required to open and edit it. What makes Nitro PDF Reader different from other PDF readers is its touchscreen mode.

The application can be used to read eBooks on tablets or touch phones. It allows flicking the pages rather than pressing a button to move the page. While reading any document or eBook, the application assists in marking the important texts with a highlighter and creating notes with texts.

Foxit Reader

Foxit Reader not only assists users to read PDF documents on Windows 10 and older versions, but also provides editing functions. With Foxit Reader, you can scan an image and turn it into editable PDF documents. Although, the free version of Foxit Reader does not provide optical character recognition for scanned documents.

The text viewer mode of Foxit Reader helps to remove complex formatting in the document and displays the text in notepad and makes the document easy to read. It has advanced features for users that help them read, edit, create notes, split, or merge PDF files.

Another beneficial function of this application is that it offers security and its safe mode allows the users to automatically disable the embedded coding in the PDF files.

Slim PDF

Slim PDF is another document reader application suitable for Windows 10, 8, 7.1, and XP. It claims to be the world's smallest desktop PDF reader. It is easy to use, has a minimal interface, and does not take much space. Any reader can read eBooks or any document on his PC easily. This software supports displaying two different documents side by side, which is helpful for readers to read two documents together.

Moreover, it has redesigned the UI and introduced dark mode, which is a fancy change for the users. As the application is truly made for reading PDFs, it opens and loads the PDF documents fast. However, it does not have any editing feature like commenting, highlighting, and signing the documents, as more editing options can distract you from reading any file.

The 2 Best Free PDF Readers for Mac

Mac users can avail the facility to view PDF files as well. Following two applications are PDF viewers that support Mac OS.

PDFelement

PDFelement is a PDF reader that supports Mac OS X 10.12, 10.13, 10.14, and 10.15. This application helps users to view, edit, share and sign the document. One can view documents and eBooks on the big screen of Mac and edit them from any paragraph.

PDFelement allows you to read the files, adjust their fonts, scan the document, rotate the pages, and create new texts within the file. It enables users to highlight the important points discussed within the document and delete any PDF page in it. Furthermore, users can view their files in different display modes in PDFelement.

PDF Reader – Document Expert

PDF reader- Document Expert provides PDF viewing and editing features to Mac users. It supports Mac OS 10.10, 10.11, 10.12, 10.13, and 10.14 etc. It is required to download it from the app store on your iPhone or MacBook for facilitating its viewing and editing features.

The application's features allow you to view, annotate, combine, compress and sign the document with mere ease. You can view the document while adjusting the font size according to your will. If you want to edit the document by highlighting any important paragraph or amending any line, the application allows you to do so.

After doing this, you can save the edited format on your device. The application provides security and does not allow anyone to view your document if you launch a password on it. The application deletes the file after you share it or download it.

Conclusion

The article concludes top 10 PDF readers that can be used in online mode, Windows, and MacBook. CocoDoc, the top PDF reader, along with other PDF viewers, assist people in reading documents efficiently and adjust the texts with their choice.