A good PDF Reader has an extensive range of annotation features that may be put to good use in the classroom. By including comments, highlighting PDFs, drawing markups, and adding hyperlinks, PDF Reader's ability to produce and merge multiple PDF files makes it simple to save all assignments for a certain class or topic in a single PDF file.
Additionally, PDF Reader allows you to export files to various formats for easy modification. This article will compare the top 10 best PDF readers for studying. You can choose one that suits you best here.
Quick View of Our Top List
Misinformation is never a good thing. Accordingly, we downloaded and used each program on our list to guarantee the information we provide here. So, how did we put these programs through their paces? We considered various factors, including supported OS, pricing, and ease of use.
We've compiled a quick overview of the top 10 PDF readers for your consideration.
PDF Readers |
Supported OS |
Pricing |
Best for |
| PDFelement | Windows, Mac, Android, iOS | Starts at $6.67 per month | Best PDF app for students to read, edit and annotate on all devices. |
| Adobe Reader | Windows, Mac, Android, iOS | Starts at $6.67 per month | Best option for viewing PDF |
| UPDF | Windows, MacOS, Android, iOS | Starts at $14.99 per quarter | Best for highlighting text, making notes, and sharing PDFs |
| iLovePDF | Windows, MacOS, Android, iOS | Starts at $4.00 monthly | Best for online PDF editing. |
| PDF Viewer | MacOS, Android, iOS | Free | Best for signing documents anywhere |
| PDF Reader Pro | Windows, MacOS, Android, iOS | Starts at $59.99. | Best for easy PDF file editing, extracting, and merging |
| Foxit PDF Reader | Windows, MacOS, Android, iOS | Starts at $19.99 monthly. | Best for reading crucial PDF files. |
| Sumatra PDF | Windows | Free | Best option for lightweight PDF reading. |
| Apple Preview | Mac | Starts at $12.50 monthly. | Feature-rich PDF editor for Mac users |
| Slim PDF | Windows, macOS, and Linux | Free | The smallest, lightest PDF reader |
Best Free PDF Readers for Studying on Windows, Mobile Phones, and Pads
Let's get started on the list:
PDFelement
Best PDF app for students to read, edit and annotate on all devices.
With PDFelement, you may annotate, sign, and display documents for more efficiency in the classroom and at home. PDFelement is the ideal tool for editing scanning books, templates, forms, and photographs; it transforms innumerable web resources into interesting tools for instructors and students.
Supported OS
Windows, Mac, Android, iOS
Pricing
Free installation (with limitations)
The premium plan starts at $6.67 per month
Pros
It's easy to add images
It's easy to add text
Powerful annotation and commenting tools
Easy PDF sharing
You can use it to fill out forms
Cons
The free version has limited capabilities
As a student, you will often be required to download PDFs. They might contain your classes or the test reviewer. PDFelement is a PDF solution that includes tools for annotation and comments. You may use this to make essential terms easier to locate. You may also make notes for yourself to help you remember things.
PDFelement also allows you to generate and modify PDFs, which is helpful.
Adobe Reader
Create, edit, and review PDF documents. Collect signatures and e-sign papers.
Books, articles, research papers, reports, and more are staples of the academic reading lists of students across all disciplines. The contemporary learner does this by reading electronic texts, often in the form of a PDF. Adobe is helping to establish a new benchmark for digital readability and usability.
Supported OS
Windows, Mac, Android, iOS
Pricing
Free installation (with limitations)
The premium plan starts at $6.67 per month
Pros
The review organize & combine pages tools are super user friendly
Digital signature and text editor
Cons
Drag and drop and stamp tools need to be improved.
Snapping to grid and movement of the PDF elements needs improvement
The auto content preparation feature is a bit annoying & tends to slow down the opening of docs.
Adobe Acrobat Reader is a powerful PDF reader with many useful features, such as filling out and digitally signing PDF documents. Adobe is the best option for viewing PDFs since it was developed by the people who first created them. Many free and paid online resources are available from Acrobat for students on a tight budget.
UPDF
An easy-to-use cross-platform PDF Reader.
Highlight text, make notes, and share PDFs using UPDF, a tool available to students, teachers, and adults. It not only makes it simpler for students to learn wherever they happen to be but also gives students and schools a special discount on digital convenience.
Supported OS
Windows, MacOS, Android, iOS
Pricing
Free installation (with limitations)
The Premium plan starts at $14.99 per quarter
Pros
Can easily add, delete, and edit words, phrases, and sentences in the PDF documents
Gain better control over your PDF's layout by customizing the text alignment
Can crop, rotate, replace, extract, or delete images.
Cons
Advanced features such as converting, OCR, create & fill forms are not available.
It simplifies the PDF converting process, making it a great all-in-one solution for your business's needs. Students may use UPDF because it gives them flexibility in whatever they need to do, from making changes to text and images inside a PDF file to annotating sections and organizing the entire file in the most user-friendly way possible.
iLovePDF
Best for online PDF editing.
Make sure that your coursework is more organized than ever. Keep track of your homework in an organized manner. Efficiency is key to success, and iLovePDF provides potent tools for instructors and students alike.
Supported OS
Windows, MacOS, Android, iOS
Pricing
Free installation (with limitations)
The Premium plan starts at $4.00 monthly
Pros
Easy to navigate, with all the tools and features clearly labeled and accessible from the main dashboard.
It makes it easy for users to quickly find the tools they need to edit, merge, convert or compress their PDF files.
Cons
Some features, such as OCR, watermark, and batch process, are only available on paid plans.
As a student, dealing with a lot of documents in PDF format and having to convert them from one format to another regularly is a time-consuming and laborious procedure. iLovePDF has made this a breeze.
PDF Viewer
Take Your PDF Files With You
The PDF Viewer is an excellent tool for assisting you in your daily classroom activities. You may upload your lesson plans, make adjustments as the day progresses, and use your notes all week long.
Supported OS
MacOS, Android, iOS
Pricing
Free
Pros
Sign documents anywhere
Fill out forms
Cons
Doesn't come with a user interface out of the box.
Text selection doesn't work properly.
Developers are always trying to add the most helpful system-specific features to PDF Viewer to deliver the finest possible PDF experience. For them, creating something that works across platforms requires more work, not less.
PDF Reader Pro
A powerful tool to simplify your studying.
Make use of highlighting and note-taking tools to retain information from lectures and other readings better. PDF Reader Pro helps students and instructors work together on documents.
Supported OS
Windows, MacOS, Android, iOS
Pricing
Free installation (with limitations)
The premium plan starts at $59.99.
Pros
PDF file editing, extracting, and joining are so easy.
PDF pro allows for easily referencing numbers, and the best feature is that it allows you to attach various types of files (excel, PDF, word).
Ability to convert images into readable text, PDF combine, and E-signature.
Cons
Sometimes, magnifying the file causes lag and gets complicated when needed to edit the file.
PDF Reader Pro is an excellent choice for the classroom since it helps save both time and money, which is a boon to both students and instructors.
Foxit PDF Reader
The most powerful PDF Reader available.
You'll need a trustworthy PDF Reader to read crucial PDF files. The free Foxit PDF Reader is the most robust available. Regardless of where you are or what device you are using, you'll be able to read, annotate, fill out, and digitally sign PDFs with the help of our compact, feature-rich, and speedy PDF Reader.
Supported OS
Windows, MacOS, Android, iOS
Pricing
Free installation (with limitations)
The Premium plan starts at $19.99 monthly.
Pros
Can put stamps and signatures and change the highlighter's color, among other super cool things.
Highlighting and commenting is easy.
Digitally sign your PDFs.
Cons
Lack of counting the number of pages, at least in the mobile version
Sometimes it crashes.
It has a terrible layout in the comment tab.
PDF software promotes group work because it has many helpful tools for coordinating the efforts of many individuals, such as students working on a single assignment at the same time. Word processing software is inadequate for the administrative requirements of schools since it lacks features like fillable forms, document security, and verification.
Sumatra PDF
The best option for lightweight PDF reading.
If you're looking for a quick, feature-rich PDF reader that makes reading for school fun, then look no further than Sumatra PDF. This program lacks the functionality to annotate documents, sign documents, or fill out forms.
Supported OS
Windows
Pricing
Free
Pros
Extensive keyboard shortcuts
Annotations and other heavy features are just not needed in the reader.
Cons
Doesn't support editing.
Interactive PDF files to be filled in cannot be handled in
Sumatra PDF Reader is an excellent free option if you want a simple PDF reader. In addition, Sumatra PDF Reader is an excellent replacement for those cumbersome PDF utilities if you want a quick and less feature-rich PDF reader.
Apple Preview
Designed for the way students love to learn.
Technology has the potential to alter the learning environment dramatically. New capabilities seen in iOS 9.3 will make it simpler for schools to get devices to children, where they may have the most effect. Additionally, the iPad's robust capabilities and various educational applications provide new, exciting educational avenues.
Supported OS
Mac
Pricing
Free installation (with limitations)
The Premium plan starts at $12.50 monthly.
Pros
Comprehensive PDF annotation tools
PDF forms may be secured with passwords, encryption, and access restrictions.
Cons
Limited native sharing options
Only available to Mac users
Apple Preview is a powerful, feature-rich PDF editor for Mac users, suitable for various professional and personal needs.
Slim PDF
The smallest, lightest PDF reader
Look no further than SlimPDF, available for free on any device, if you need the smallest and most lightweight PDF editor. If you need more room on your hard disk, this is your best bet. Moreover, it will be far quicker than its competitors in opening and loading your documents.
Supported OS
Windows, macOS, and Linux
Pricing
Free
Pros
Ability to search text.
Ability to print.
Ability to rotate a PDF.
Cons
No annotation or editing tools
Simply said, SlimPDF is a PDF reader and nothing more. The lack of toolbars allows you to focus on your reading without interruptions. Slim PDF is one of the quickest and easiest options when it comes to routinely printing PDFs.
Which PDF reader is best for you?
What should you look for while making your choice of a reliable PDF reader for studying? Pay close attention to the more complex features, such as conversion, annotation, and security. It's also crucial to have a neat user interface that makes it easy to see all the buttons.
We recommend PDFelement, an all-in-one PDF reader and editor available on all platforms. Wondershare PDFelement is blazing fast, intuitive, low-cost, attractive, and compatible with a wide variety of devices and operating systems. PDF OCR, viewing, printing, converting, creating, compressing, protecting, organizing, editing, annotating, sharing, and more are all possible with this application. In addition, PDF forms may be made and filled out fast and effortlessly.
Why Are PDFs Great for Studying?
The ease with which PDF files may be accessed and used is one of its most notable benefits. They can be made and used with little effort. You also don't need to acquire any new abilities to write papers in such a style.
PDF files are compatible with all mobile devices and computers. Support for this format is incorporated into all contemporary devices. That being said, you won't have to worry about downloading and installing a separate program only to read PDF files.
Last Words
As they should, students should not have to divert their attention from their studies in order to deal with complicated document formats. That's why many schools and universities use the PDF format. That said, students need a good PDF solution to help with their studies.
Try Wondershare PDFelement. It's a powerful PDF tool that's not too pricey or complicated. PDFelement's wide array of useful features will help you achieve good grades.