Best Papers Alternatives in 2026
Updated
20 apps from PDF readers ranked against Papers on the same published basis.
- 1Papers vs MuPDF
- 2Papers vs Foxit PDF Reader
- 3Papers vs StarForce Reader
- 4Papers vs Javelin PDF Reader
- 5Papers vs KDAN PDF
- 6Papers vs Okular
- 7Papers vs Launchpad
- 8Papers vs Evince
- 9Papers vs SumatraPDF
- 10Papers vs Adobe Acrobat Reader
- 11Papers vs Adobe Scan
- 12Papers vs Kiosk
- 13Papers vs LiquidText
- 14Papers vs Highlights
- 15Papers vs Komodo PDF
- 16Papers vs QuickTime Player
- 17Papers vs Zathura
- 18Papers vs Aiseesoft Free PDF Viewer
- 19Papers vs Mozilla PDF.js
- 21Papers vs Preview
Papers alternatives compared
| # | App | Score | Free plan | From | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MuPDF | 6.8 | Free plan | $299/mo | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 2 | Foxit PDF Reader | 6.7 | Free plan | Free | Android, iOS, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 3 | StarForce Reader | 6.7 | Free plan | Free | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 4 | Javelin PDF Reader | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | Android, iOS, Mac, Windows |
| 5 | KDAN PDF | 6.6 | Free plan | $5/mo | Android, iOS, Mac, Windows |
| 6 | Okular | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 7 | Launchpad | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | API, Linux, self-hosted, Web |
| 8 | Evince | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Linux |
| 9 | SumatraPDF | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Windows |
| 10 | Adobe Acrobat Reader | 5.6 | No | — | Android, iOS, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 11 | Adobe Scan | 5.5 | No | — | Android, iOS |
| 12 | Kiosk | 5.5 | No | — | Web, Windows, Mac, iOS, Android |
| 13 | LiquidText | 5.5 | No | — | Mac, Windows |
| 14 | Highlights | 5.3 | No | — | Mac, iOS |
| 15 | Komodo PDF | 5.3 | No | — | Windows, Mac, Linux |
| 16 | QuickTime Player | 5.3 | No | — | Mac |
| 17 | Zathura | 5.3 | No | — | Linux, Mac |
| 18 | Aiseesoft Free PDF Viewer | 5.2 | No | — | Windows |
| 19 | Mozilla PDF.js | 5.2 | No | — | Web |
| 21 | Preview | 5.2 | No | — | — |
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Questions about Papers alternatives
What is the best alternative to Papers?
MuPDF, number 1 in PDF readers with a score of 6.8 out of 10. The others here: Foxit PDF Reader, StarForce Reader, Javelin PDF Reader and 16 more.
What is the best free alternative to Papers?
MuPDF is the best-ranked alternative with a free plan. 9 of the 20 alternatives here publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
How are these alternatives ranked?
Ranked free-and-open first: a usable free tier and open-source code, then the platforms it runs on and its documentation.