The best free PDF reader for Android without ads
Folio PDF is the best free PDF reader for Android if you want to read, search and copy text and nothing else: no ads, no in-app purchases, no account, about 10 MB, and the app declares no Internet permission, so it cannot send a document anywhere. Adobe Acrobat Reader is the pick if you need to edit, sign or OCR — at about 426 MB, with ads, purchases and an Adobe ID for the premium features. Xodo, WPS Office, Foxit and Google Drive all sell in-app purchases; WPS also carries ads.
- Ads and in-app purchases, as declared on the Play listing
- Whether an account is needed to read
- Whether the app can reach the internet at all
- Install size
- Reading, search and copy; then editing, signing and sync for those who need them
A reader and nothing else, free, with no ads, no purchases, no account — and no Internet permission, so it structurally cannot upload your documents. Also opens DOCX, RTF, XLSX, CSV, PPTX outlines, JSON, XML, Markdown and text.
Right for: Reading, searching and copying from PDFs and office files on a phone, privately.
The full suite — editing, signing, OCR, conversion, cloud sync — with the size, ads, purchases and Adobe ID that come with it.
Right for: Editing, signing, OCR or converting documents, and syncing across phone and desktop.
A capable reader and editor whose fuller feature set sits behind in-app purchases.
Right for: Annotating and editing PDFs on a phone, with a subscription for the full set.
An office suite that opens PDFs among everything else, with ads and in-app purchases.
Right for: Editing Word, Excel and PowerPoint files on the phone, PDF included.
A long-standing PDF reader with in-app purchases for the fuller feature set.
Right for: Form filling and annotation, with a paid tier.
Opens PDFs as part of Drive, which needs a Google account and is built around storing the file in the cloud.
Right for: Files that already live in Google Drive.
Common questions.
Which PDF reader for Android has no ads at all?
Can a PDF reader upload my documents?
Is Folio PDF a full Acrobat replacement?
- Google Play — Folio PDF listing: no ads, no in-app purchases, rated 4.5
- Google Play — Adobe Acrobat Reader listing: contains ads, in-app purchases, rated 4.5
- Google Play — Xodo listing: in-app purchases, rated 4.2
- Google Play — WPS Office listing: contains ads, in-app purchases, rated 4.4
- Google Play — Foxit PDF Reader listing: in-app purchases, rated 4.0
- Google Play — Google Drive listing: in-app purchases, rated 4.3
- ClassEve — Folio PDF vs Adobe Acrobat Reader (install size, account, ads)