1. GoodReader for iPad

This is THE VERY FIRST non-Apple app that was ranked TOP PAID IPAD APP #1 in USA during iPad launch days. Later it was also ranked #1 in many other countries.

Quick summary: super-robust PDF reader with advanced reading, annotating, markup and highlighting capabilities, excellent file manager, TXT file reader and editor, audio/video player, Safari-like viewer for MS Office and iWorks files.

“GoodReader has a beautiful soul” – MOBILITYSITE, Zealot, June 2010

Congratulations! You’ve found the one and only Good Reader app for iPad! If you need to read huge PDF, or TXT files, you’ve come to the right place.

PDF Annotations, Markup & Highlighting is also our strength. Sticky notes, lines, arrows, freehand drawings on top of a PDF file – you name it. And the best part is that all annotations become a part of a PDF file itself – email it to your colleague, and she will see all your notes and drawings on a desktop computer, in a common PDF reading program.

Within moments of downloading GoodReader, you’ll be transferring files directly from your computer over a USB cable, Wi-Fi connection, from the Internet or from email attachments. It also easily integrates with MobileMe iDisk, Google Docs, Dropbox, box.net, and other popular servers.

ibooks_shop_ipad-app2. iBooks By Apple Inc.

Download the iBooks app free from the App Store. More than a great ebook reader, it’s also an amazing place to browse and shop for books day or night. Tap the iBooks icon and your bookshelf appears. Tap the Store button and the bookshelf flips around like a secret passageway to reveal the iBookstore, where you can browse tens of thousands of books — many of them free. Browse by title, author, or genre. View what’s featured on the iBookstore, the New York Times best-seller lists, and more. When you find a book you like, tap it to see more details, peruse reviews, even read a sample. Download the book and it appears on your bookshelf, ready to read. Books you download will also be available for your iPhone and iPod touch, so you’ll never be without your favorite reads.

3. PDF Reader Pro Edition for iPad By iTECH DEVELOPMENT SYSTEMS INC.

PDF Reader Pro Edition for iPad is optimized specially for the iPad.

Now with Annotations and highlight support!!

4. iPDF Reader By Fubii.com

iPDF Reader is the world’s slimmest eBook and PDF reader, now available for the iPad.

5. CloudReaders pdf,cbz,cbr By Cloud Readers

CloudReaders is a free book/comic viewer, fully optimized for iPad.

It supports PDF, CBZ, ZIP, CBR and RAR format, and faster file transfer over USB cable.

6. ARCreader By Jason Fieldman

ARCreader is a free utility to let you read PDF, CBR, CBZ, ZIP and RAR archives on your iPad! Perfect for reading PDFs or any of your personal comic books or ebooks in those supported formats.

7. Stanza By Lexcycle

Read books on your iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad! Lexcycle Stanza brings the digital book revolution to your pocket with a reading interface that is unrivaled in its clarity and ease of use. With over 4 million downloads around the world, Stanza has become an iPhone phenomenon, and is featured as one of the top three Apple favorites in their “App Store Turns 1” celebration.

Stanza has been recognized by numerous organizations:

• Time Magazine lists Stanza as one of their “Top 11 iPhone Applications”
• Stanza is a PC Magazine “Editor’s Choice” and one of their “21 cool iPhone Apps”
• The New York Times features Stanza: “Tip of the Week: Turn Your iPhone Into an e-Book”
• Wired features Stanza in their “10 Most Awesome iPhone Apps of 2008” article
• Forbes Magazine lauds Stanza, saying: “Stanza, like Kindle, lets users download new content directly to their device.”
• Apple lists Stanza in their collection of “iTunes 2008 Top Apps”
• Stanza is a Macworld reader’s favorite in: “Our Favorite iPhone Apps: Your turn”
• Stanza won the 2008 award for “Best Free App” at BestAppEver.com, where they write: “Stanza has redefined how everyone thinks about reading on a mobile device.”

8. Quick PDF+ By JI Software Company

If you are looking for a quick way to view your documents, look no further.

9. ReaddleDocs (documents/attachments viewer and file manager) By Readdle

ReaddleDocs is a revolutionary document viewer, file manager and attachment saver for iPad.

It can catch documents from any source you can imagine: PC or Mac computers, web sites, email attachments, iDisk, Dropbox and other online file storages and even iPhones. All files are saved to your iPad locally so you can enjoy reading them anywhere!

10. Fast PDF By MobFarm S.r.l.

Fast PDF is a very fast pdf reader.

Works on iPad, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS and third generation iPod touch.

11. iAnnotate PDF By Aji, LLC

iAnnotate is an elegant PDF reader and a powerful annotation tool — and consistently one of the best-selling apps for the iPad. You can open documents from email, sign and send out contracts, enter notes for edits, sketch diagrams, copy text, and add highlights or underline with the drag of a finger! Join the thousands of students, researchers, lawyers, doctors, investors — and even governments — that are using iAnnotate every day to go paperless and work from anywhere.

12. SmileyDocs By DanielBorsukApps

SmileyDocs is a simple-to-use yet fully-featured iPad app that allows you to easily view all of your documents, with special features for PDF files, such as highlighting and textual notes. While targeted at PDF documents, it supports all major document and image types. Transferring files could not be simpler: either via USB/iTunes, or Wi-Fi/FTP.

13. Bookman – Fast PDF Reader By Takashi Kato

Bookman is a fast PDF reader supporting the large thumbnails and the bookshelf functions.

It is designed to browse large size PDF files, so it allows you to browse books quickly and comfortably on iPad. It also supports archive file formats such as CBR, CBZ, RAR and ZIP archived PNG, JPG and BMP.

The bookshelf displays each book beautifully like a real book. You can create a new bookshelf and organize your books by categories, such as comics, novels, magazines, and so on.

14. smartNote By Christopher Thibault and Brendan Lee

Take notes in class, sketch out the next great idea, write personal notes in your password protected notebook, or simply highlight some text in a pdf. smartNote makes it easy to do just about anything you would normally do on paper on the iPad.

3 thoughts on “14 Best PDF Viewer Apps For Apple iPad”

  1. Thank you for the list, but WritePDF isn’t listed, which is a good little app (I did use Good Reader for a while but wanted to try something else) and useful for my College work

  2. It’s a shame you don’t have a donate button! I’d definitely donate to this excellent blog! I guess for now i’ll settle for
    bookmarking and adding your RSS feed to my
    Google account.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.