The Best PDF Reader Software for Windows 10 & 11 lets you open, view & share documents on your computer. While most browsers let you view PDF files online, they often restrict you to highlighting & commenting on documents – even with the fresh news that Microsoft Edge’s in-built PDF reader will soon be powered by a famous tool like Adobe Acrobat.
The best PDF editors & free PDF editors come with advanced features & are compatible with different operating systems & browsers. But when you need to open & read the document, any basic PDF reader will do the job.
Best PDF Reader Software
1. Adobe Acrobat DC
Software giant Adobe not only created the PDF format, but it has also created a highly famous & comprehensive tool that allows you to manage those documents effectively. Adobe Acrobat Document Cloud offers the tools to download, convert & edit PDF documents across computers, laptops, tablets & smartphones.
Using this software, you can use your smartphone camera to capture the image & convert any document into a high-quality PDF. They also offer a new file comparison tool, which quickly & precisely examines two PDF files to get any differences. That could be useful if you are trying to compare different drafts of the same work.
You can download & install the PDF reader for free on your computer. If you want the PDF editor, you need to buy it.
2. Foxit PDF Reader
Foxit has created a highly sophisticated PDF management app, with PDF Editor (previously known as PhantomPDF) being pushed as an application that does more than PDF viewing, offering a range of cloud-based features that allow you to create & customize documents as per your choice. This one is considered to be one of the Best PDF Reader Software.
Illustrated by the company as a ‘transformative’ PDF tool, the software allows you to create & alter PDF documents while offering a collection of sophisticated management, safety & collaboration features. For example, you can manage people’s access to documents, monitor who opens them, notify readers of essential document updates & send document requests to your teammates.
3. PDFelement
From Wondershare, the name behind the popular video editing tool, Filmora, also developed a capable PDF reader called PDFelement. PDFelement allows you to edit, make, sign, annotate, & share files on the move with no trouble. Using their collaboration feature, you can collaborate with your team on a document with cloud support.
This tool also offers a remarkable OCR tool, which you can use to extract & modify text from a PDF document. They also offer a robust conversion feature to convert scanned PDFs or image-based PDF documents to popular formats. It supports more than 20 languages, including English, Portuguese, Japanese, Spanish, German, Italian & many more.
4. Nitro PDF Reader
Nitro PDF Reader can have your attention. Over the years, the Nitro PDF Reader has become famous because of its robust features & its MS Office-like interface. The official website claims that it is used by 65% of leading companies. While it can’t be confirmed, it is certainly a nicely balanced & one of the Top Free PDF Readers you can use on your Windows 11 computer.
Regarding features, it allows you to create PDF documents from more than 300 file formats. You can create, edit, view, review, & mark PDF files. It also allows you to adjust the color, orientation, size, & quality. You can easily sign a document by uploading an image or scanning it. This tool allows you to convert PDF into standard document formats directly from the software.
5. Soda PDF
Soda PDF is among the best PDF readers for Windows 10/11 for both individual & business uses. It provides a full collection of cloud-based PDF tools through either home or premium versions. It is a multipurpose online PDF editor with many tools for document management, whether it’s rectifying small typos or more or less starting from the beginning.
This tool allows you to review, annotate, send & monitor documents from a single user-friendly user interface. You can also connect this application to platforms like Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, & Evernote accounts, which makes it easier to download & share documents.
6. Xodo PDF Reader
Apart from being available for Windows 11, this tool is also available for Android & iOS. Xodo PDF Reader is one of the best cross-platform PDF management software that works as a PDF reader, editor, & converter. You can use this tool to collaborate with your teammates & view, edit, highlight, & comment on documents. It further offers a chat feature that can be useful in virtual work-space situations.
This PDF reader for Windows 11 allows you to convert nearly any file format to PDF documents & vice versa. You can draw or type text straight into the PDF using this software. The tool offers all these features for free. To unlock all features, you can buy the Xodo Pro PDF.
7. Power PDF
Another remarkable PDF management software for individuals & business is Power PDF, an user-friendly software that helps you to make, edit, mark & share documents quickly. Many large private & Government organizations use it.
There are different versions of this software, all of which provide different features. The Standard version allows you to create, convert, unite & edit documents, fill in forms & distribute PDF files. It also helps you to convert documents such as invoices & receipts into PDF documents by scanning & OCR features.
While offering all the same features in the business edition, it offers collaboration, security & trimming abilities. You can access documents through the cloud.
8. Perfect PDF Reader
Another efficient PDF reader that you can download directly from the Microsoft Store for your Windows computer is the Perfect PDF Reader. You can use the Perfect PDF Reader to view a PDF document or edit it with the variety of editing features offered by this app.
It is compatible with formats like PDF, XPS, text files, EPUB, MOBI, & even FB2 eBooks. One of the best features of this tool is its capability to open multiple files in separate windows within the app. Other features include the option to change layouts, auto-fit modes, zoom levels, go to full-screen reading mode, & many more.
What Are Some of The Best Online PDF Readers?
While there is dedicated PDF reader software available for a Windows computer, many options are also available that allow you to view PDFs without installing the software. These are browser-based or online PDF readers. Such options could be handy, as you can use them to read documents on the move.
Though it may require a few extra steps to view PDFs online, these options are adequate for viewing your documents. You can use Google Drive to view PDFs. All you have to do is to go to Google Drive, upload the file to your drive, & then open it.
However, using these online PDF readers can be a problem if you are somewhere with low or no internet connectivity. Therefore, it is wise to install the Best PDF Reader Software if you want to view your files offline.
FAQ
Q: What other file formats can be supported by PDF readers?
A: Apart from PDFs, many PDF readers can view & open file formats like XPS, EPUB, MOBI & text files.
Q: Can I use the Best PDF Reader Software for free?
A: Most are free if you want to view PDFs. However, for editing & converting capabilities, you need to buy them.
Q: Who created the PDF format?
A: Dr. John Warnock, the co-founder of Adobe, launched this format in 1991.