Foxit PDF Reader — The Complete Guide: Free Reading, Comments, Forms and Signing
Foxit PDF Reader is a free PDF reader with no time limit, widely seen as a lighter alternative to Acrobat Reader. It opens and prints documents, fills forms and lets you add comments — everything you need to review a drawing or specification and send it back with corrections. It runs on Windows and macOS, with apps for iOS and Android as well.
Foxit PDF Reader
Foxit Software
Fast free PDF reader with comments, form filling and signing — a lighter alternative to Acrobat Reader, without text editing.
Get it from the vendorWhat you get
- Comments and markups — highlights, underlines, sticky notes and file attachments.
- Form filling — support for AcroForm and XFA forms.
- Signing — handwritten or electronic signatures on the document.
- Signature checks — verifying the status of digital signatures in a file.
- Enterprise deployment — the vendor also offers the reader for installation on company computers.
What it does not do
You cannot edit the text or images already in a document. That needs the paid Foxit PDF Editor, and the program shows trial offers for it. If you only need to read and comment, you will not miss it. The full terms of use are in Foxit’s licence agreement.
Related tools
For an especially small and fast reader — SumatraPDF. For open-source commenting, including on Linux — Okular. For broader free editing on Windows — PDF-XChange Editor.
SumatraPDF
Krzysztof Kowalczyk
A tiny, very fast PDF reader for Windows — opens heavy drawings instantly, and reads ePub and DjVu too.
Get it from the vendor
Okular
KDE
KDE’s document viewer — read and annotate PDFs with highlights and notes, and verify digital signatures.
Get it from the vendor
PDF-XChange Editor
PDF-XChange Co. Ltd
Fast Windows PDF editor where most annotation, measuring and page tools are free; licensed features add a watermark.
Get it from the vendor
Adobe Acrobat Reader
Adobe Inc.
The standard PDF reader: view, comment, fill forms and sign; the advanced Acrobat online tools are limited to about one use per month.
Get it from the vendorThe bottom line
Foxit PDF Reader is a complete, comfortable reader for reviewing, filling and signing documents. For editing content, look elsewhere.