SumatraPDF vs Adobe Acrobat Reader

SumatraPDF9.0Visit Adobe Acrobat Reader8.5Visit

Higher score SumatraPDF #4 in PDF Readers 9.0/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 4 of 4 features Visit SumatraPDF

vs

Adobe Acrobat Reader #8 in PDF Readers 8.5/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 3 of 4 features Visit Adobe

• SumatraPDF fits best

  Portable Windows reading with signatures

• Adobe Acrobat Reader fits best

  Mainstream PDF reading and accessibility

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Side by side

Feature	SumatraPDF 9.0/10 Visit ↗	Adobe Acrobat Reader 8.5/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.0	8.5
Ranking	#4 in PDF Readers	#8 in PDF Readers
Best for	Portable Windows reading with signatures	Mainstream PDF reading and accessibility
Pricing model	Free	Free plan + paid
Starting price	Free plan	—
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Desktop	Desktop, Mobile, Cloud
Platforms	Windows	Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Web
Features SumatraPDF 4/4 · Adobe Acrobat Reader 3/4
Annotation tools	✓	✓
Form filling	✓	✓
Offline access	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Text-to-speech	✓	✓
Specs
OCR support	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Platform support	Desktop	Cross-platform
Our review
Pros	Opens PDFs, ebooks, comics, images, and several document formats Supports annotations, digital signatures, and Windows text-to-speech Portable deployment and command-line PDF operations support local workflows	Free reading, printing, search, forms, signatures, and annotations Available across Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and the web Includes text-to-speech and screen-reader and magnifier support
Cons	Windows-only, with no macOS, Linux, web, or mobile versions Cannot fill PDF forms, despite supporting form-field highlighting Scanned pages require OCR elsewhere	Advanced PDF editing is provided through paid Acrobat products PDF conversion is outside the core Reader application OCR is provided through paid Acrobat products rather than Reader
Our verdict	SumatraPDF is a free, open-source desktop reader for Windows. It is aimed at people who want to read PDFs and a broad set of other local formats, including EPUB, MOBI, CBZ, DjVu, XPS, CHM, and image files. Text search, document navigation,… Read the review →	Adobe Acrobat Reader is a free PDF application for individuals, students, office workers, and organizations that need to view, print, search, share, annotate, sign, and complete PDF documents. Its free Reader plan supports desktop and… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• SumatraPDF — where it wins

  • Opens PDFs, ebooks, comics, images, and several document formats
  • Supports annotations, digital signatures, and Windows text-to-speech
  • Portable deployment and command-line PDF operations support local workflows

  Where it doesn't

  • Windows-only, with no macOS, Linux, web, or mobile versions
  • Cannot fill PDF forms, despite supporting form-field highlighting
  • Scanned pages require OCR elsewhere

• Adobe Acrobat Reader — where it wins

  • Free reading, printing, search, forms, signatures, and annotations
  • Available across Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and the web
  • Includes text-to-speech and screen-reader and magnifier support

  Where it doesn't

  • Advanced PDF editing is provided through paid Acrobat products
  • PDF conversion is outside the core Reader application
  • OCR is provided through paid Acrobat products rather than Reader

• SumatraPDF9.0/10 · Free plan

  A portable Windows reader with broad format support, annotations, signatures, and command-line tools.

  Visit SumatraPDFFull verdict →
• Adobe Acrobat Reader8.5/10 · Free plan

  A broadly available free PDF reader with useful accessibility, form, signature, and review tools.

  Visit AdobeFull verdict →