Evince review
A capable free Linux reader for PDFs, forms, annotations, and more.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Evince is a free, open-source document viewer for the GNOME desktop, aimed at Linux users who need a straightforward way to read and manage common document formats. It opens PDFs alongside PostScript, DjVu, DVI, XPS, and comic-book archive files. Core reading tools include text search, zooming, thumbnails, outlines, annotations, bookmarks, fullscreen viewing, presentation mode, and preview mode. It also supports interactive PDF forms, password-protected PDFs, printing, and saving annotated PDF copies.
For a free reader, Evince covers more than basic viewing. Users can add text notes and highlighted-text annotations, navigate through document structure, fill form fields, and work with protected PDFs. Its multi-format support makes it useful for document collections that extend beyond PDF. The published feature set also includes SyncTeX with gedit, giving users of that editor a focused connection between source documents and PDF viewing. Evince is distributed through GNOME’s software ecosystem and can also be installed from Flathub, while the project provides source releases and developer documentation under the GPL-2-or-later license.
The main trade-off is scope and platform coverage. Evince is designed for Linux desktops rather than users who need a reader across multiple operating systems. OCR relies on external software, so scanned-document workflows may require another tool alongside Evince. It is a good fit for Linux users who value open-source software, offline reading, annotations, forms, and broad document-format support. Users seeking built-in OCR, broader platform availability, or a larger integration ecosystem should consider an alternative focused on those needs.
Evince pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Reads PDF, PostScript, DjVu, DVI, XPS, and comic-book archives
- Supports annotations, forms, bookmarks, outlines, and document search
- Free and open source with offline desktop access
- Where it doesn't
- Linux-only desktop availability limits cross-platform use
- Built-in OCR is not provided
- Its integration list is limited to gedit
Evince fact sheet, pricing and score →
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