Portable Document Format or just say it PDF is one of the lightest document formats in the industry which supports a variety of document styles. You can have a text-rich manual saved in PDF format or an image-heavy ebook in PDF format. It is also one of the few document formats which are compatible with every device in the market whether it is your laptop or your mobile. You can read it with just a single click using any of the good PDF reader apps available for smartphones.
There are lots of PDF reader apps available for both Android and iOS. That leads to confusion in selecting one. So, here I have prepared a list of some of the best PDF reader apps available in the market which don’t just let you read it but let you do more with your PDFs.
Also see: Best Note-taking Apps for Android
Best PDF Reader Apps
Here is the list of best PDF Reader Apps for Android and iOS. You can select any of these apps, download them, and start reading PDF files on your smartphone.
1. Adobe Acrobat Reader
Many of us trust Adobe when it comes to a PDF reading app. Adobe Reader is one of the first names which comes into our mind when it prompts us to install a PDF reader. Adobe Reader is in the market for more than 10 years and still holds the crown of the best PDF reader. Adobe Acrobat Reader is a PDF reader app for Android and iOS. It is the perfect reader for those who want to read and annotate text in the document with drawing tools. This PDF reader app lets you view PDF documents, search, scroll or Zoom in or out. You can annotate and highlight the text with the help of drawing tools and sticky notes. It also gives you an option for a single page or continuous page scrolling.
The best thing which I personally like about this app is its cloud network where you can store your document and open it from your other devices. Another thing that made me like it was that you can open documents from other cloud services such as Dropbox and OneDrive.
Adobe reader comes up with an inbuilt document scanner that lets you turn anything into a PDF so whether it’s your class notes or a grocery list from your mom you can save it as a PDF.
2. Foxit Mobile PDF
If there’s any reader that can compete with Adobe Reader head to head then it has to be none other than Foxit PDF Reader. With it’s simplistic and elegant design it pleases the eye and with its amazing features, it saves you from the hustle of installing several apps for different tasks.
It has all the usual features of a PDF reader but it comes with some other cool features such as split view, slide-over, and document scanning. It also supports multiple tab views on tablets. The app lets you annotate, stamp, and sign PDF documents. It also supports reading PDFs out loud. It also got cloud support so that you can upload and download your documents over cloud storage.
Foxit has recently announced one of its best and my favorite features which are dubbed ConnectedPDF which lets your whole teamwork on the document collaboratively.
3. Google PDF Viewer
Google is one of the well-known names when it comes to Software. It’s the company that made Android and its ecosystem and how it can forget to make a PDF Reader. So, Google has its own PDF reader application that comes installed in some Android smartphones, and in some, you can install it from the Play Store if it’s not there.
It offers the basic functionality of reading the PDF while you can search for a word in it and copy and paste it somewhere else. PDF viewing capability was always part of Google Drive, but the app gives you a PDF viewing option when you are offline.
Basically, Google’s PDF viewer is the app that is available on everyone’s phone but no one notices it.
Download: Android
4. WPS Office
WPS Office got a bunch of offerings from PDF to spreadsheets it covers everything. So, it’s basically not one of the best in the crowd but it is one of the most used applications out there in the play store which lets you read PDF and also lets you work with other document formats.
Talking about PDFs, WPS lets you add annotations, bookmarks, and text search. Also, you can access PDF documents from various cloud services. It’s a good office suite app that lets you access every document.
5. Apple Books (Formerly iBooks)
Apple book is the default (native) PDF reader in the iOS environment. Apart from supporting PDF it also supports EPUB format which is basically an extension for e-Books as this app also hosts plenty of e-Books so if you want to read one you can buy one and read it.
Speaking of functionalities you can add a bookmark, and notes and you can also highlight the text in the document. The best feature of this application is the auto night theme to make reading even more pleasant during the night. Another thing that makes it best for iOS is that you can print your document easily through AirPrint wirelessly.
So, overall it’s a simple and elegant PDF reader with no fancy features to add stars to it.
Download: iOS
6. Xodo PDF Reader
Xodo PDF Reader is one of the best free PDF reader apps available for both Android and iOS. It is an all-in-one PDF reader and PDF editor app that lets you read, annotate, sign, and share PDFs. The company also claims to offer the fastest PDF viewing engine. You can write directly on a PDF, open word, PPT, and excel files, and sign documents. The app also lets you take notes on blank PDFs.
If I just focus on PDF reader features, you can bookmark pages, enable night mode for comfortable reading, work in tabs, crop pages, enable Full-screen mode, and perform a search.
7. Librera
Librera is also a good PDF reader app but it is available only for Android. This is a light-weight and free book reading app that supports several file formats including PDF, EPUB, EPUB3, MOBI, DJVU, FB2, FB2.ZIP, TXT, RTF, AZW, AZW3, HTML, ODT, XPS, CBZ, CBR, TIFF, PDB, MHT, and OPDS Catalogs. The reader interface has a modern design and lets you change themes as per your comfort. You can change the size, perform a search, make a Favorites list, and bookmark pages. You can adjust the background and colors, enable night mode, split pages, perform Multi-word text search, comment or draw on PDF, and more.
Download: Android
Final Words
This was my list of best PDF reader apps for Android and iOS. Coming to conclusion, I think if you are looking for a PDF reader application that can do everything with ease then you should try out Foxit Reader which is available there for both Android and iOS users for free but also comes with a pro version that gives out a few nifty features. Adobe reader is still the most popular because it is the one name that is synonymous with PDF and Adobe is the company that developed the PDF format in the year 1993. You can read about these PDF reader apps and decide what suits your need.
If you think you use any other good PDF reader app that should be part of this list, let me know using the comments section below.
Adobe Acrobat Reader is the best PDF reader app. The app is available for both Android and iOS.
Acrobat Reader is the best PDF app for mobile phones.
Foxit Mobile PDF and WPS Office are two good alternatives to Acrobat Reader.
Adobe Acrobat Reader is the official PDF app developed by Adobe.
Yes. There are several free PDF reader apps for Android. Acrobat Reader, Foxit Mobile PDF, Google PDF Viewer, and WPS Office are good and free PDF reader apps for Android.
Foxit Mobile PDF, Google PDF Viewer, and WPS Office are some good and free alternatives to Adobe Reader.
