No matter you are a student or business person, PDF is the most common file format that you will receive in daily life because it is portable and printable. It is easy to find many free PDF Readers for Windows and Mac platform, but it will take way to much effort to find the best PDF Reader for Android smart phone or tablets. To find the best PDF Reader for Android devices, I have researched many PDF Readers for Android and compared their pros and cons . In this article, I will share the top 5 PDF Readers for Android with you so that you can read and edit PDF files on the go easily.
Tips:
Before you read the following part, I want to make it clear that some PDF files are protected by the passwords for security issue and some PDF eBooks are protected by DRM scheme for copyright issue. For these kinds of PDF files, please remove password protection from PDF files or remove DRM from PDF eBooks before reading them with the PDF viewer.
Part 1. 5 Best PDF Readers for Android
Xodo PDF Reader for Android is the top priority on my list because it is totally free and recommend by many users. Some of them even have used this PDF Reader on Android Phone for more than 5 years. It is easy to access, mark up, share, sync and manage even the most complex PDF documents with Xodo PDF Reader and Editor. If you are working with a Team, you can even collaborate in real time with your team without getting together with the help of Xodo PDF Viewer.
- Handle big PDF files easily.
- Open different PDFs at the same time and show in different tabs.
- Automatic scan and display all PDF files under "All Documents" tab.
- Fill form, sign contract easily.
- Annotate pdf easily, including add sticky notes; highlight, underline, and strike out passages; insertshapes; and draw freehand.
- Work with your team without getting together.
- Sync PDF with Cloud( Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive).
- Different view modes, including night mode, single/double page.
- Crop pages.
- No ads.
- Cannot save data automatically.
PDF is created by Adobe company, so it is no surprise that they have their own PDF Reader--Adobe Acrobat Reader which combines the pdf viewing, editing and creating service as a whole. With this one software, you can view, sign, edit and annotate PDF documents at ease on Android devices. Adobe Acrobat Reader is the first choice for many users when it comes to PDF reading and editing for a very long time. Let me count its key features so you can know it better if you have never used this PDF viewer on Android devices before.
- Fill forms, sign, annotate files, highlight text, add& manage PDF comments.
- Zoom in and out easily, scroll around.
- Access and open files from Overdrive, emails, SD card, and Google Drive.
- Display the local files under "Local" tab automatically.
- Save PDF files with the free cloud storage (2GB). To use this function, you need to sign up for an Adobe account.
- It doesn't display any ads.
- Support a variety of view modes: classic vertical, landscape mode with two pages displayed.
- Support DRMed or passwords-protected PDF files.
- PDF creation and sharing are only available through subscription.
- The fonts are sometimes different in size when you fill in forms.
Foxit PDF Reader is a comprehensive PDF Reader for Android devices. It contains almost all the features you required such as text highlighting, form filling, bookmarking and so on. Its advanced features like text reflowing or text reading aloud are even beyond the requirements for a PDF reader. Although the Foxit PDF Reader is functional, some advanced features are only available to subscribers.
- Annotate PDF: comment, bookmark, highlight, add notes, and sign.
- View PDF: support different view modes, reflow pdf, rename, move, copy.
- Fill forms.
- Read text aloud.
- Share PDF, sync and access PDF files in online storage.
- Work with Connected PDF.
- It also supports pdf editing, but you need sign up a Foxit ID and purchase the membership.
- It is difficult to sign up. Sometime it will lead you to a blank page that says internet connection is required.
WPS Office is an all-in-one office suite that supports Memo, Document, Spreadsheet, Presentation and PDF. As a one-stop working solution, it enables you to enjoy the working with the best experience on your Android devices. Beyond the PDF reader, it also works as the PDF creator and converter which allows you to create new PDF or convert the docs to PDF on your Android devices.
- PDF creator, reader, converter.
- Annotate PDF: handwriting.
- Share, print, crop PDF.
- Night mode and pad view supported.
- Save PDF to the cloud: Dropbox, Google Drive, Box, OneDrive and evernote.
- Free version with many ads.
- Filling in forms is not supported.
- Always prompt the notification to remind users of creating an account to use the cloud feature.
As an amazing free PDF Reader for Android, EbookDroid supports almost all the mainstream ebook formats, including PDF, DjVu, XPS (OpenXPS), Comic books (cbz,cbr), FictionBook (fb2, fb2.zip), EPUB, RTF, MOBI and AWZ3. If you just want to find a PDF reader app for reading PDF book as well as ebooks in different formats, EBookDroid can be the perfect tool.
- Text searching, selecting, highlighting, bookmarking, dictionary supported (third party).
- Different view mode supported.
- Page or margin crop.
- Support various file formats: PDF, DjVu, XPS, Comic books (cbz,cbr), FictionBook (fb2, fb2.zip), EPUB, RTF, MOBI and AWZ3.
- Freehand writing is not supported.
- Form filling is not supported.
- Text adding is not supported.
Part 2. Pick Yourself the Right PDF Reader for Android
After reviewing the features of above listed 5 best PDF Reader for Android devices, can you pick the right one for yourself? If not, keep reading the following sheet which will help you make the final decision.
| No. | Features | PDF Reader Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Need to fill in forms frequently | Xodo PDF Reader, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Foxit PDF Reader & Converter |
| 2 | Handle large PDF files | Xodo PDF Reader |
| 3 | Text to speech supported | Foxit PDF Reader & Converter |
| 4 | Read eBooks more than PDF format | EBookDroid – PDF & DJVU Reader |
| 5 | Text reflow | Foxit PDF Reader & Converter |
| 6 | Totally Free software | Xodo PDF Reader, EBookDroid – PDF & DJVU Reader |
| 7 | PDF Editing | Xodo PDF Reader, Adobe Acrobat Reader(paid version), Foxit PDF Reader & Converter( paid version), Foxit PDF Reader & Converter, WPS office(paid version) |
There is no one PDF Reading app for Android that has all the features. Some may have features that others don't have. So please define your own needs or clearly know the most important features you want the PDF Reader contains, then make the final decision. If you have better PDF Reader for Android devices to recommend, please leave them in the comments so that we can investigate and share the result with our readers.
Iris Yan has been a passionate member of Epubor since 2017. Her mission is to enhance your ebook reading experience by sharing insightful tips and tricks. Join her on a journey towards reading excellence today!
