Best Free Alternatives to Adobe Acrobat Reader

The most and the known common application to run pdf files is Adobe Acrobat Reader. However there are few cons of Adobe Acrobat reader which are

– Can’t edit any PDF Files
– Software Size more than 40MB
– Opens the documents very slowly
– Loaded with too many extension
– No direct browser preview

I personally find a plethora of reason to hate Adobe Acrobat but I think I have many choices and alternatives to Adobe Acrobat Reader. Discussed in this articles are some useful alternatives to Acrobat Reader.

Foxit PDF Editor

Foxit reader is the first software that comes into my mind when I think of alternatives of Adobe Acrobat Reader. Not only this program is completely free licensed but also has some handy features like

– Very light in size about 6MB setup file
– Quick Startup
– You can edit PDF files
– Works on Older version of Windows too
– Opens all PDF files
– Free to use- Tab viewing of the PDF Files

The latest Foxit Reader version allows multimedia player features making it to enjoy the audio/video elements found in the PDF files. You can download Foxit Reader via link here.

Nitro PDF Reader

Another feasible alternatives to Acrobat Reader which is also free. Nitro provides a range of powerful features for your workflow.

The following are the features of Nitro PDF Reader
– Find easily and quickly text in documents.
– Allows you to rotate any pages at any inclination.
– For Windows 7 and Vista user can preview attached PDF files from directly within the reading pane.
– Create PDF files from over three hundred formats.
– Drag and Drop Creation
– Allows you to save all images contained in a PDF document as separate files to any folder or destination without altering the original PDF file.
– Add virtual sticky notes anywhere within a document.
– Add a scanned image of your signature to PDF files.
– Password protected signature to ensure that no signature is misused.

PDFescape

PDFescape is a free online PDF reader, editor, PDF form filler. This is an online utility so needn’t require to download a software and you can login with your Google Account. PDFescape is an online form designer and also doesn’t include any watermark. The features of PDFescape are

– Open PDF documents directly into your web browser
– Add text, shapes and drawing in any pdf files
– Encrypt PDF content using a password
– Fill out PDF forms using existing form fields or use text tool
– It doesn’t even require you to install any Flash or Microsoft Active X

Sumantra PDF Reader

Sumantra PDF Reader is the open source PDF reader and viewer for windows which has a minimalistic design. Its also very small in size and starts up very fast. Sumatra is designed completely for portability, as it consists of one single file with no external dependencies. Sumatra hyperlinks embedded in PDF documents are also supported. I could only find pros about this software but couldn’t find any cons about it.

PDF Hammer

PDF Hammer is one another free online PDF application. With PDF Hammer once installed on your PC you can not only read the PDF files but also you can edit pdf documents, merge or combine pdf files together, rearrange, reorder and delete pages. Another good advantage is that you can lock your PDF files with password-based security (password based encryption).

Google Docs

If you get any files attached with your Gmail mails then you can directly view any PDF format into Google Docs converted documents. For this you don’t need to install any other software since Google Docs is an online free utility. To get started with Google Docs you need to have a Google Account

Out of the mentioned above alternatives to Acrobat Reader, I find Foxit Reader as one of the most suitable alternatives. However, Nitro PDF too has some great features and Google Docs is the best & fastest way to view PDF files that came with Gmail. Google Docs automatically converts Gmail attachment documents into a file available to view in Google Docs.