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PDF Tools vs Sumatra PDF: catalog facts
PDF Tools	Sumatra PDF
Free Free and open source under the GPL-3.0.	Free Completely free and open source with no ads, bundled software or subscription. No account…
Windows, macOS, Linux	Windows, Command line
Reads and annotates PDFs inside Emacs Search and link navigation	Opens PDF, EPUB, MOBI, FictionBook, CBZ/CBR/CBT/CB7, DjVu, XPS, CHM, SVG and many image formats including HEIC and AVIF Lightweight and fast; the portable single .exe build writes nothing to the registry
Only useful to Emacs users Requires building or installing the epdfinfo server	Windows only (Windows 7 through 11; XP and Vista need version 3.1.2); no macOS or Linux version Only unencrypted EPUB and MOBI/AZW ebooks open; DRM-protected files are not supported
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: GPL-3.0	License: GPL-3.0
No account needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 24, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 20, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.