SumatraPDF download for Windows

SumatraPDF opens documents and gets out of the way. It starts almost instantly, the window is mostly page, and it reads more than PDF: EPUB and MOBI ebooks, CBZ and CBR comic archives, FB2, CHM help files, XPS and DjVu. If your PDF app has grown into something that wants a sign-in before it shows page one, this is the antidote.

It is free and open source, licensed under the GPL with some BSD-licensed code.

Installer or portable, and which processor

The download page offers three builds, each as an installer or a portable zip:

• 64-bit: marked as recommended, for Windows 7 to 11.
• ARM64: for Windows 10 or 11 on Arm devices.
• 32-bit: for old 32-bit systems, Windows 7 to 11.

Installer or portable? The installer registers SumatraPDF with Windows so you can make it the default for PDFs. The portable version is a single program file inside a zip. In the project's own words, it makes no registry writes, so it suits a USB stick or a PC where you cannot install software.

Still on Windows XP or Vista? Current releases do not run there; the download page links to an older release for those systems.

Making it your PDF app

After installing, open Windows Settings, go to Apps, then Default apps, find SumatraPDF and choose it for .pdf files. Do the same for .epub or .cbz if you read those too.

Keys worth learning

SumatraPDF is pleasant to drive from the keyboard:

• Ctrl+K opens the command palette. Type part of a command name and press Enter. It is the fastest way to find a feature you cannot see.
• n and p, or Page Down and Page Up, move between pages. g jumps to a page number.
• Ctrl+0 fits the whole page, Ctrl+2 fits the width, and Ctrl+1 shows actual size.
• Ctrl+6 shows single pages, Ctrl+7 facing pages, and Ctrl+8 book view.
• F5 starts presentation mode and Esc leaves it.
• Ctrl+F finds text, F3 jumps to the next hit.
• F12 shows or hides the bookmarks panel.
• [ and ] rotate the page.

Where it stops

SumatraPDF is deliberately small. It will not merge or split documents, rearrange or delete pages, or convert files to other formats. Scanned PDFs without a text layer are pictures, so search finds nothing in them. Keep a separate tool for those jobs and use SumatraPDF for what it is good at: reading.

FAQ

Is SumatraPDF free?

Yes. It is open source under the GPL, with some code under the BSD licence, and there is no paid edition.

Installer or portable: which should I pick?

The installer if you want SumatraPDF as your default PDF reader. The portable zip if you want to run it from a USB stick or without installing anything.

Does it work on Windows on Arm?

Yes. There is a native ARM64 build for Windows 10 and 11.

Can it open EPUB and comic books?

Yes. Alongside PDF it reads EPUB, MOBI, FB2, CBZ, CBR, CHM, XPS and DjVu.

Can I edit a PDF with it?

No. It is a viewer. Use a dedicated PDF tool to change pages or content.