Evince
The plain, fast PDF reader built into GNOME. Opens, searches and annotates PDFs and a dozen other formats.
Our verdict
Evince is the default PDF reader on most Linux systems that use the GNOME desktop, which covers Ubuntu, Fedora and Linux Mint's Cinnamon edition among others. Double click a PDF and this is usually what opens.
It does reading well. Pages render quickly, search works, and you can add highlights and sticky note comments and save them back into the file. For reading a bank statement, a manual or a book, it is all most people need, and it is closer in spirit to Sumatra PDF than to Adobe Acrobat.
What it will not do is edit. You cannot retype a paragraph that is already in a PDF, rearrange the underlying content, or work with the more complicated business forms. For that you need a proper editor such as Master PDF Editor, which is a paid program.
What's good
- Already installed on most beginner Linux systems as the default Document Viewer
- Opens instantly and stays out of the way, much like Sumatra PDF on Windows
- Reads PDF, PostScript, DjVu, TIFF and comic book archives
- Lets you highlight text and add sticky notes without paying for anything
What to know first
- Cannot change the text or images already inside a PDF
- Form filling works for simple forms but not for complicated interactive ones
- Very few settings, so there is little to adjust if you do not like how it behaves
The details
- Cost
- Free
- Open source
- Yes (GPL-2.0-or-later)
- How you install it
- App store (Flatpak), Built-in app store
Windows apps it can replace
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