Alternative Pdf Reader For Mac

Another day, another critical security exploit discovered for Adobe Reader. Ho-hum. The PDF software's near-ubiquitous presence has made it a big, fat, juicy target for years now, and by this point, you shouldn't be asking what Adobe's going to do to shore up its perpetually leaky program. Instead, you should ask yourself: Why are you still using Adobe Reader at all?

Believe it or not, the PDF viewer scene is bristling with a number of alternatives that receive far less nefarious attention than Adobe's software. Switching away from Reader won't only free you from the tiresome exploit-update-exploit-update-exploit treadmill, it could very well free up some of your valuable system resources. Adobe Reader's so big and bloated that even its most feature-packed competitors seem downright svelte in comparison.

Without further ado, here's a trio of PCWorld tested—and approved!—PDF readers that can free you from Reader's headaches, no matter whether you're looking for a simple, lightweight PDF viewer or a more robust PDF editing and creation tool.

The contenders

If you are looking for a free Adobe Reader for Mac alternative and simple PDF viewer, then Free PDF Reader can be the software for you. The software provides navigation that is effortless and is currently being used by more than 150 million users, as claimed by the company.

Sumatra PDF. If you just want the ability to open PDFs and don't care about bells and whistles, Sumatra PDF is an excellent choice. The program's pretty much limited to straightforward PDF viewing, but it's lightning-fast and uses very few system resources.

Foxit Reader. Foxit Reader's not quite as fast or resource-friendly as Sumatra PDF, but it's still incredibly lightweight, and it packs a few features you won't find in Sumatra; namely, PDF-to-speech functionality, the ability to fill out fields and add text to PDFs, and optional integration with the DocuSign service.

Like to have an Adobe Reader alternative for Mac computer to read PDF files? Adobe Acrobat Reader for Mac has various features for viewing PDFs, however, it requires users to purchase its various functions.
Alternatives to PDF Reader for Windows, Mac, Web, Linux, iPad and more. Filter by license to discover only free or Open Source alternatives. This list contains a total of 25+ apps similar to PDF Reader.

Nitro PDF Reader. The final PDF reader of the bunch opens files slower than the other two options, but makes up for its somewhat pokey performance with a deep feature list—and it's still the equivalent of an Olympic sprinter compared to Adobe Reader's downright sluggish speeds. The free version of Nitro Reader can print (read: convert) virtually any document to a PDF, comes packed with collaboration, creation, and editing tools, and lets you embed your signature into any PDF. That's just the tip of the ice berg, and even better, Nitro PDF Reader dumps nary a watermark on your documents—a rarity amongst free PDF creation tools.

Don't stop with Reader!

Once you've gone ahead left Adobe Reader in the rearview mirror, you can plug another persistent security hole by uninstalling Java (unless, of course, you have a compelling reason otherwise). There's no real alternative available for Adobe Flash— the final troublesome cornerstone in the triumvirate of hackers' favorite third-party targets—but the technology has lost some of its luster thanks to the rapid rise of HTML5. Adobe has already pulled the plug on Flash for smartphones and Linux PCs.

Internet Explorer is another frequent target for exploits. Combat that danger by keeping Windows Updates set to 'Automatic,' or better yet, try an alternative browser like Mozilla's Firefox or Google Chrome.

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Adobe's free PDF reader has long been a standard for handling its extremely popular document format, but you aren't limited to using it to view your PDF files. Let's take a look at five of the most popular PDF readers.

Original image by iowa spirit walker.

Last week we asked you to share your favorite PDF reader, and now we're back to share the results.

Best PDF Reader?

PDFs have become quite a mainstay in the document world, with a plethora of readers having cropped…

Sumatra PDF (Windows, Free)

Sumatra PDF is an ultra-lightweight and open-source portable application. The emphasis with Sumatra PDF is not on the number of features and the wide-ranging abilities of the application, but instead on speed. It loads almost instantly, renders pages extremely quickly, and thanks to a huge number of keyboard shortcuts, you can zip through nearly any document with ease. Sumatra PDF, thanks to a lack of frills and extraneous features, is a great candidate for a portable drive or for in-browser use for someone who wants quick-loading PDF files without the lag caused by features they won't ever use.

Preview (Mac, Free)

Preview is Apple's free PDF viewer, built into OS X. It's no mystery many Mac users have no need to step beyond the built-in tool. Preview has quite a few features often only found in commercial PDF software, like the ability to drag and drop pages between documents, page extraction, encryption, and text annotation. In addition to viewing PDF files, Preview can display over two dozen other file formats, making it quite a versatile little viewer.

Foxit (Windows/Linux, Basic: Free/Pro Pack: $39.99)

Foxit is a polished Acrobat-alternative that, on top of cleanly displaying PDF files with a minimal interface, also has a host of handy features—all packed into a lightweight 6MB package. Foxit loads immediately, without any splash page or lag from plug-ins loading. Reading PDFs is just as snappy, and in-text pictures and charts render quickly. When filling out PDF forms, you can save your progress in the form and return later to finish filling it out. While both the free and the Pro version allow you to annotate text, insert graphics and drawings, and insert links, the free version adds a Foxit stamp on each page you annotate; the pro version removes the marking. Foxit is available as a portable application.

Adobe Acrobat (Windows/Mac/Linux, Basic: Free/Pro: $299)

Adobe Reader is Adobe's default offering for viewing PDFs. Acrobat enjoys widespread popularity as a result of being offered by the company that created the PDF. For light PDF users, it's a more than adequate tool, although frequent users may seek to try a lighter alternative to get rid of the long load times and the lag that can occur when Acrobat loads within a web browser pane. You can attach sticky notes to pages and highlight text for your own review. More advanced features, like PDF creation, saving PDFs in other formats, and the ability to merge PDF files, are only available with an upgrade to Acrobat Standard for $299.

Best Pdf Reader For Macbook Pro

PDF-XChange (Windows, Basic: Free/Pro: $34)

PDF-XChange is another Adobe-alternative in today's Hive that boasts snappy load times and basic functionality that outpaces the basic functionality of Adobe Reader. With PDF-XChange you can open and browse PDF documents, perform simple page annotations with drawings and text, and type outside of preset form boxes by using the PDF-XChange typewriter tool to place text wherever you want. Advanced features like reorganizing pages and text extraction are only available with the Pro upgrade. PDF-Xchange is available as a portable application.

Now that you've had a chance to look over the candidates—and hopefully get a chance to test them out, since so many are conveniently portable!—it's time to cast your vote in the poll below:

Which PDF Viewer is Best?(survey software)

Love a PDF application that didn't make the cut? Have a trick for making Adobe Acrobat load faster? Share your PDF tips and tricks in the comments.