Alternatives · PDF Editors

SumatraPDF alternatives

As of Nov 13, 2026, the best SumatraPDF alternative for most people is PDFgear (3.4 GPA), first in our ranking of PDF editors. It's also the best free one.

SumatraPDF compared with 5 alternatives: PDF-XChange Editor, PDFgear, Foxit PDF Editor, PDF Reader Pro and Skim.

SumatraPDF is free to use. 4 of the 5 alternatives are free or have a free plan. One more offers a free trial.

Listings checked up to Nov 13, 2026 · Where the facts come from

At a glance

Tool	Price	Free plan	Runs on
SumatraPDFThis tool	Free	Free	Web, Windows
PDF-XChange Editor	Free plan · from $62 one-time	Yes	Windows
PDFgear	Free	Free	Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, Browser extension
Foxit PDF Editor	Free trial · from $129.99/yr	Trial only	Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android
PDF Reader Pro	Free plan · from $59.99/yr	Yes	Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android
Skim	Free	Free	macOS

Price against what you get

SumatraPDF has no paid plan and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. None of the 4 alternatives on this chart both scores higher and starts lower.

PDFgear, Foxit PDF Editor and PDF Reader Pro score higher without starting lower.

Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged

What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →

The best score at each price
Has a free plan
No free plan

The full chart of PDF editors, and the best at every price

How each one differs from SumatraPDF

PDF-XChange Editor
Windows PDF editor with a free edition and perpetual licenses
- PDF-XChange Editor starts at $62 per user, one-time purchase.
- PDF-XChange Editor lists no web app, which SumatraPDF has.
- PDF-XChange Editor can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- PDF-XChange Editor also covers pDF editing.
- PDF-XChange Editor does not cover documents, which SumatraPDF does.
Suits: Windows users who want to pay once rather than subscribe
PDF-XChange Editor vs SumatraPDF PDF-XChange Editor pricing and details
PDFgear
Free PDF editor for desktop, mobile and web with an AI copilot
- PDFgear is free.
- PDFgear also lists macOS, iOS and Android apps and a browser extension.
- PDFgear also covers forms and pDF editing.
- PDFgear does not cover documents, which SumatraPDF does.
Suits: Anyone who wants a full PDF editor without paying or signing up
PDFgear vs SumatraPDF PDFgear pricing and details
Foxit PDF Editor
PDF editor for Windows, Mac and web, yearly or as a one-time license
- Foxit PDF Editor starts at $129.99 per user / year.
- Foxit PDF Editor has no free plan, only a free trial, unlike SumatraPDF.
- Foxit PDF Editor also lists macOS, iOS and Android apps.
- Foxit PDF Editor can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Foxit PDF Editor also covers forms and pDF editing.
Suits: Offices replacing Adobe Acrobat on Windows and Mac machines
Foxit PDF Editor vs SumatraPDF Foxit PDF Editor pricing and details
PDF Reader Pro
PDF viewer and editor for Mac, Windows, mobile and web
- PDF Reader Pro starts at $59.99 per year (Standard), or $99.99 one-time.
- PDF Reader Pro also lists macOS, iOS and Android apps.
- PDF Reader Pro can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- PDF Reader Pro also covers pDF editing.
Suits: People who want one PDF app across desktop and mobile
PDF Reader Pro vs SumatraPDF PDF Reader Pro pricing and details
Skim
Free PDF reader and note-taker for Mac, built for papers
- Skim is free.
- Skim also lists a macOS app.
- Skim lists no web app and Windows app, which SumatraPDF has.
- Skim also covers notes, highlights and pDF editing.
- Skim does not cover documents, which SumatraPDF does.
Suits: Researchers reading and annotating papers on a Mac
Skim vs SumatraPDF Skim pricing and details

Limits worth knowing in SumatraPDF

Windows only for the desktop app; the FAQ says there is no Mac or Linux version.
The home page presents it as a reader; the pages read do not list editing features such as changing text or pages.
Support is through a GitHub discussions forum and documentation.

SumatraPDF pricing and details

Common questions

What are the alternatives to SumatraPDF?

The alternatives to SumatraPDF in this directory are PDF-XChange Editor, PDFgear, Foxit PDF Editor, PDF Reader Pro and Skim. Each one has a side-by-side comparison with SumatraPDF.

Is there a free alternative to SumatraPDF?

Yes. PDFgear and Skim are free to use. PDF-XChange Editor and PDF Reader Pro have a free plan alongside paid ones.

Which SumatraPDF alternatives work on macOS?

The SumatraPDF listing does not include a macOS app. PDFgear, Foxit PDF Editor, PDF Reader Pro and Skim list one.

Which SumatraPDF alternatives work on Android?

The SumatraPDF listing does not include an Android app. PDFgear, Foxit PDF Editor and PDF Reader Pro list one.

When were these prices checked?

Each listing shows its own date. On this page they run from Oct 18, 2026 to Nov 13, 2026. Vendors change prices without notice, so confirm on their site before you buy.

How this page was made

Where any alternative here is in our top three PDF editors, the best for most people is the highest placed of them: the top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades. Otherwise the page names the highest-graded alternative in the same category as SumatraPDF, the one its listing names first winning a tie. The best free one is the highest-graded alternative that is free or has a free plan (a free trial does not count), with its catch quoted from its listing where the listing states a short one. The GPA is the average of our five grades for each tool.
The alternatives are the tools SumatraPDF’s listing names as its closest substitutes, and the tools whose listings name SumatraPDF.
Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing, which names the pages they were read from.
The differences are worked out from those listings.
The chart sets each tool’s starting price against our own grades for features, ease of use and platforms.

Read the method All PDF editors