Life & fun · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to Sioyek – PDF viewer for reading research papers and technical documents

Sioyek is a PDF viewer designed specifically for reading research papers and technical documents. It launched in 2021 and offers features tailored to academic and technical reading workflows. The application provides… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Sioyek – PDF viewer for reading research papers and technical documents launched in 2021; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1. 1
   Sioyek – PDF viewer for reading research papers and textbooks▲238

   Some of the features: * Quickly preview or jump to figures/references/equations/etc. (even if the PDF doesn't have links) * Search paper names in google scholar by middle clicking on their name * Searchable table of contents * Searchable highlights/bookmarks * Browser-like history navigation * Mark locations for quick navigation (Vim style) * Synctex support Video demo of some features: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTmCI0Xp5vI

   2022 · github.com · its alternatives →

2. 2
   Sioyek▲3

   Academic PDF Viewer

   2022 · sioyek.info · its alternatives →

3. 3
   Siftery▲1,018

   Share products you use at work,explore what others are using

   2016 · siftery.com · its alternatives →

4. 4
   Arxiv Vanity – Read academic papers from Arxiv as responsive web pages▲721

   2017 · arxiv-vanity.com · its alternatives →

5. 5
   HTML visualization of a PDF file's internal structure▲451

   Hi, I've just finished a rebuild of this function and added a lot of new features: info, page index, minimap, inverted index,... I think it may be useful for inspection, debugging or just as a learning resource showcasing the PDF file format. This is a pet project and I would be happy to receive some feedback! Regards

   2025 · github.com · its alternatives →

6. 6
   Kdan Mobile PDF Reader▲97

   PDF editor designed for all the ways you work

   2020 · pdf-reader.kdandoc.com · its alternatives →

7. 7
   ScholArxiv – an open-source, aesthetic, minimal research paper explorer▲147

   OpenScholarXIV is an open-source, aesthetic, minimal and AI powered app that allows users to search, read, bookmark, share, download and view summaries of academic papers from the arXiv repository. - ScholarXIV/OpenScholarXIV

   2024 · github.com · its alternatives →

8. 8
   Academus▲67

   Read research papers as interactive webpages

   2021 · academ.us · its alternatives →

9. 9
   IPA, a GUI for exploring inner details of PDFs▲270

   GUI analyzer for deep-diving into PDF files. Detect malicious payloads, understand object relationships, and extract key information for threat analysis. - seekbytes/IPA

   2024 · github.com · its alternatives →

10. 10
    Litmaps – Visual Research Discovery Tool▲116

    Your Literature Review Assistant — Discover literature and accelerate your entire research process with the most powerful visual search tool.

    2021 · app.litmaps.co · its alternatives →

11. 11RA
    Read ArXiv Papers on Semantic Scholar as Responsive HTML Documents▲40

    2018 · semanticscholar.org · its alternatives →

12. 12
    Polar 2.0▲182

    Organize and prioritize your reading.

    2020 · its alternatives →

13. 13
    ReadHere▲146

    Lightweight PDF & EPUB reader in your browser

    Jun 2026 · readhere.app · its alternatives →

14. 14
    heißdocs▲101

    Open source & self hosted document query engine

    2023 · github.com · its alternatives →

15. 15
    Google PDF Viewer▲61

    Google's PDF reader for Android

    2015 · play.google.com · its alternatives →

16. 16
    PaperClip▲98

    Memorize details from papers in machine learning and AI

    2023 · paperclipapp.xyz · its alternatives →

17. 17
    Scholaread▲66

    Mobile academics: diagrams, formulas and readability

    2023 · scholaread.com · its alternatives →

18. 18
    Notable PDF▲83

    Cloud-based PDF Viewer and Annotation

    2015 · kamiapp.com · its alternatives →

19. 19
    Pdf.js-based real-time collaborative viewer for Chrome▲61

    2014 · chrome.google.com · its alternatives →

20. 20
    Sifty Search▲63

    Online tool for searching through documents. CTRL+F on crack

    2019 · its alternatives →

21. 21
    Documents 5▲62

    A document viewer and media player.

    2014 · readdle.com · its alternatives →

22. 22
    SimplePDFReader▲36

    Conveniently find, navigate and read PDFs on your phone

    2024 · play.google.com · its alternatives →

23. 23
    Rag Document Viewer▲22

    High‑Fidelity Document Viewer for RAG Apps

    2025 · github.com · its alternatives →

24. 24
    ArXivist, search and store papers from a command line▲32

    Command line interface for managing papers from arXiv on a local machine. - njhofmann/arXivist

    2020 · github.com · its alternatives →

Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →