Zaya review
A focused Arabic-English PDF viewer with OCR, search, RTL support, and offline access.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Zaya is an open-source, browser-based PDF reader that presents documents as interactive books. It loads PDFs from URLs or local files and adds 3D page turning, search, thumbnails, bookmarks, notes, quotes, printing, media playback, and offline PWA operation. Its Arabic-English interface support and RTL reading make it a practical fit for people viewing bilingual documents, scanned archives, and other PDFs directly in a web browser.
The standout capability is its treatment of searchable document content. Zaya provides full-text PDF search with highlighted results, selectable page text, copying, notes, and quotes. On-device OCR extends text recognition to scanned Arabic and English documents, while outlines, bookmarks, thumbnails, and page navigation support longer files. Readers can also choose from 50+ color themes, play YouTube playlists or local audio, and print individual pages or page ranges.
Zaya is deliberately narrow in scope. It can be deployed as a static site, runs on the web, and can continue operating offline as a PWA after one visit. The MIT-licensed project suits readers and organizations that prioritize document access, bilingual reading, and local viewing over publishing workflows. It is less suitable for teams seeking analytics, lead capture, custom branding, or a wider set of integrations and publishing tools. Choose Zaya for an Arabic-English reading experience with OCR and offline access; consider another product when audience measurement or marketing controls are central.
Zaya pros and cons
- Where it wins
- On-device OCR supports scanned Arabic and English documents.
- RTL reading, Arabic-English interfaces, and 50+ color themes.
- Offline PWA operation after one visit, with notes and highlighted search results.
- Where it doesn't
- No analytics, lead capture, or custom branding.
- Only YouTube integration is provided.
- Focused on document viewing rather than broader publishing features.
Zaya fact sheet, pricing and score →
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