Foxit PDF Reader vs Adobe Acrobat Reader

Foxit PDF Reader: what it's good at

Foxit PDF Reader is a lighter, faster alternative to Adobe's reader while still supporting annotation, commenting, form filling and digital signatures — the usual pick when Acrobat Reader feels too heavy.

• Annotation and commenting tools
• PDF form filling and signing
• Noticeably lighter than Acrobat Reader
• Available on every major platform

Adobe Acrobat Reader: what it's good at

Acrobat Reader is the official reader from the company that created the PDF format, giving it the most reliable rendering of complex documents, interactive forms and digital signatures. Free to read, annotate and sign.

• Reference-quality PDF rendering
• Fills and submits interactive forms
• Comment and annotate documents
• Digital signature support

Which should you choose?

Both are free, so the honest answer is that you can install either and decide for yourself — that is the advantage of free software over a paid trial.

Both run on Windows, macOS, Android, iOS. Only Foxit PDF Reader supports Linux.

We deliberately do not publish a star rating for either. We have no way to verify a rating that would be honest at scale, and an invented one would be worse than none — so we give you the facts and let you decide.

Frequently asked questions

Is Foxit PDF Reader better than Adobe Acrobat Reader?

Neither is universally better. Foxit PDF Reader fast, full-featured PDF reader with annotation tools, while Adobe Acrobat Reader the reference PDF reader, from the format's creator. The right pick depends on your platform and workflow.

Are both really free?

Foxit PDF Reader is free and Adobe Acrobat Reader is free tier. Both can be downloaded without paying.

Can I install both?

Yes. Since neither costs anything, installing both and comparing them on your own files is usually the fastest way to decide.