Parthipan R
TL;DR: Discover the top 5 free JavaScript PDF Viewer libraries every developer should know in 2026: From Syncfusion’s enterprise-grade solution to lightweight options like PDF.js, plus framework-specific picks for Vue, Angular, and React. Which one is the perfect fit for your next project? Dive into the full comparison and find out now!
Portable Document Format (PDF) has become the go-to standard for sharing files that look consistent across devices and platforms. But in today’s web, simply opening a PDF isn’t enough. Users expect interactive features like text search, annotations, form filling, and smooth navigation, all directly in the browser without clunky plugins or external software.
JavaScript PDF Viewer libraries make this possible. They deliver fast rendering, secure access, and easy integration with frameworks like React, Angular, and Vue, enabling developers to build modern, responsive applications.
Why JavaScript PDF Viewer libraries matter
Modern web applications require more than just static document display; they rely on interactivity and a smooth user experience. JavaScript PDF Viewer libraries enable the direct rendering of PDFs in the browser, eliminating the need for third-party plugins. This approach enhances speed, security, and consistency across devices.
Whether building applications for invoices, reports, contracts, or eBooks, these libraries provide dynamic document handling such as text search, annotations, and form filling. These are core components of modern web development.
Key features
- In-browser rendering: No need for external plugins or downloads.
- Cross-platform compatibility: Works seamlessly across devices and browsers.
- Enhanced user experience: Smooth navigation, zooming, and text search.
- Advanced features: Support for annotations, form filling, and digital signatures.
- Framework integration: Easily integrates with Angular, React, and Vue.
In this post, we reveal the top 5 free JavaScript PDF Viewer libraries for 2026, comparing features, usability, and performance to help you pick the perfect one for your project. They are:
1. Syncfusion JavaScript PDF Viewer: Enterprise-grade web PDF control
The Syncfusion® JavaScript PDF Viewer is a powerful control for viewing, annotating, and interacting with PDF documents directly in the browser. It integrates seamlessly with Angular, React, Vue, and pure JavaScript, making it suitable for modern, cross-framework apps. Designed for enterprise-grade workflows, it offers advanced features such as annotations, redaction, and form filling, with a responsive UI optimized for both performance and security.
Key features
- PDF viewing:
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- View PDF documents directly in the browser without plugins.
- Provides a responsive and interactive UI with smooth scrolling and zooming.
- Supports multiple page display modes, including single-page view and continuous scrolling.
- Annotations:
- Add annotations: free text, highlights, underlines, strikeouts, squiggles, shapes, ink, calibration marks, signatures, and stamps. Edit, delete, and save annotations. Import/export them in JSON, XFDF, or object-based formats for programmatic workflows.
- Redaction:
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- Permanently remove confidential data from PDFs.
- Mark text, regions, or entire pages for redaction and apply in one click.
- Customize redacted areas with overlay text, fonts, and colors.
- Add comments to redaction annotations for collaboration and review.
- Form designing and filling:
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- Design and fill PDF forms with fields like text boxes, radio buttons, checkboxes, dropdowns, and signatures.
- Supports both manual and programmatic creation and editing of form fields.
- Search and selection:
- Provides a built-in text search feature with options for case-sensitive and whole-word searches.
- Select and copy text directly from the viewer.
- Document management:
- Rotate, insert, or delete pages, view thumbnails, and print directly from the viewer.
- Print PDF documents directly from the viewer.
- Customizable toolbar:
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- Offers a default toolbar with essential actions like open, save, print, download, search, and annotations.
- Customize the toolbar and add custom buttons and actions.
- Support for multiple PDF formats:
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- Supports many PDF formats, including PDF/A and digitally signed PDFs.
- Handles complex PDFs with embedded images, fonts, and annotations.
- Cross-platform and cross-browser compatibility:
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- Compatible with modern browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari.
- Works seamlessly across desktop, tablet, and mobile devices.
Note: To explore the control’s complete features, refer to the JavaScript PDF Viewer documentation and GitHub demos.
Free license details
The Syncfusion JavaScript PDF Viewer is available for free to eligible individual developers and small businesses under the Community License program.
To obtain a free license:
- Refer to the official KB article: How to get a Community License and install it.
- Register your license key in your project by following the steps explained in the licensing documentation.
Note: Use your Syncfusion account login credentials for both web and offline installers. Create only one ticket for a Community License request.
2. PDF.js: Open-Source PDF Viewer library
PDF.js is a popular open-source library developed by Mozilla to render PDF files directly in web browsers. It uses HTML5 and JavaScript to display PDFs, making it lightweight and client-side-driven solution that does not rely on additional server-side components.
Key features
- Rendering PDFs in browsers: Uses HTML5 <canvas> and JavaScript to display PDFs without third-party plugins.
- Client-side rendering: All rendering occurs on the client side, improving performance and reducing server dependency. It is ideal for web-based apps where users frequently view PDFs.
- Interactive elements: Supports basic interactive features, including internal and external links within the PDF file.
- Annotation support: Renders annotations, such as comments and highlights, and other PDF markup elements for improved document interaction.
Free license details
PDF.js is distributed under the Apache License 2.0, a permissive open-source license that allows broad usage and modification. Here’s what it means for developers:
- Free for personal and commercial use: You can use, modify, and distribute PDF.js in both personal and commercial projects without any fees or royalties.
- Attribution: While the license is permissive, you must include an attribution notice in any derivative works or distributions. This means you must credit the original authors (Mozilla) when using PDF.js.
- Modification: The source code is freely available on GitHub and can be adapted to fit your project’s needs.
- Distribution: You are free to distribute your modified versions of PDF.js as long as they comply with the Apache License 2.0 distribution terms.
Note: For more details, refer to the PDF.js website and GitHub repository.
3. Pdfvuer: Vue.js PDF Viewer library
Pdfvuer is a PDF Viewer for Vue.js apps that leverages Mozilla’s PDF.js library. It supports both Vue 2 and Vue 3, making it a versatile solution for Vue developers.
Key features
- Compatibility: Works with both Vue 2 and Vue 3.
- Customization: Allows extensive customization to fit your app’s needs.
- Performance: Efficient rendering of PDF documents powered by PDF.js.
- Ease of use: Simple integration into Vue.js projects.
Free license details
Pdfvuer is distributed under the MIT License. For more details, visit the GitHub repository.
4. ngx-extended-pdf-viewer: Angular PDF Viewer library
ngx-extended-pdf-viewer is an Angular library designed to embed a PDF Viewer in Angular apps. It is highly customizable and has numerous advanced features that enhance PDF viewing, including searching, text selection, printing, and more.
Key features
- Rendering PDF files: This feature enables the smooth rendering of PDF documents within an Angular application.
- Search functionality: Users can search text inside the PDF file, and the results are highlighted.
- Pagination: It provides page navigation options (e.g., next, previous, and go-to page).
- Annotations: It supports adding annotations and comments to the PDF.
- Multiple PDF display modes: Includes single-page, dual-page, or scrolling display options.
Free licensing details
Like PDF.js, ngx-extended-pdf-viewer is distributed under the Apache License 2.0. For more details, refer to the GitHub repository.
5. React-pdf: PDF Viewer for React applications
React-pdf is a widely used library for rendering PDF files in React apps. Like Pdfvuer and ngx-extended-pdf-viewer, it leverages Mozilla’s PDF.js for parsing and rendering PDF files. With React-pdf, you can easily render PDFs in your React app and control the display of full pages and individual elements.
Key features
- Page rendering: Render specific pages of a PDF or all pages.
- On-demand page loading: Load pages dynamically as the user scrolls or interacts with the document.
- Support for interactive elements: Supports rendering hyperlinks and other interactive elements.
- Zooming and scaling: Control the zoom level to scale the PDF as needed.
Free licensing details
Like Pdfvuer, React-PDF is available under the MIT License, allowing free use in personal and commercial projects. For more information, please visit the GitHub repository.
Choosing the right JavaScript PDF Viewer Library
Selecting the best JavaScript PDF Viewer depends on your project’s complexity, preferred framework, performance requirements, and feature requirements. Here’s a quick guide to help you decide:
- Choose PDF.js if you need:
- A lightweight, open-source solution for basic PDF viewing.
- Minimal setup and easy integration.
- Choose Pdfvuer if you need:
- A Vue.js-specific PDF Viewer for seamless integration.
- Lightweight rendering optimized for Vue apps.
- Choose ngx-extended-pdf-viewer if you need:
- A feature-rich Angular PDF viewer.
- Integration with Angular projects where performance and UI customization matter.
- Choose React-PDF if you need:
- A React-specific PDF viewer for easy integration.
- Lightweight and simple for basic viewing.
- Choose Syncfusion JavaScript PDF Viewer if you need:
- Enterprise-grade features like annotations, form filling, digital signatures, and printing.
- Cross-framework support (Angular, React, Vue, Blazor).
- Optimized performance for large files and complex PDFs.
- Customization and branding options for the toolbar and UI.
FAQs
1. What is the Syncfusion JavaScript PDF Viewer, and why choose it?
The Syncfusion JavaScript PDF Viewer is an enterprise-grade control for viewing, annotating, and interacting with PDFs in web apps. It supports advanced features such as form design and filling, redaction, and handwritten signatures, making it ideal for complex workflows.
2. Is Syncfusion’s PDF Viewer free to use?
Yes, Syncfusion offers a Community License that is free for individual developers and small businesses. Larger organizations can opt for commercial licenses. Check Syncfusion’s official site for eligibility details.
3. How do I get started with Syncfusion PDF Viewer?
You can install it via npm and register your license key. Syncfusion provides a detailed getting-started guide and live demos for Angular, React, Vue, and JavaScript projects.
4. Does Syncfusion PDF Viewer support annotations and form filling?
Yes. It includes tools for adding highlights, shapes, ink drawings, and stamps, as well as designing and filling form fields like text boxes, checkboxes, and signatures.
5. Which JavaScript PDF Viewer is best for large files and enterprise apps?
Syncfusion is optimized for handling large PDFs and offers advanced features, including redaction, handwritten signatures, and customizable toolbars, making it suitable for enterprise-grade applications.
6. Can I use PDF.js for commercial projects?
Yes. PDF.js is licensed under the Apache 2.0 license, which allows for free use in both personal and commercial projects, provided attribution is given.
7. Which library should I choose for React, Angular, or Vue?
- React: React-PDF
- Angular: ngx-extended-pdf-viewer
- Vue: Pdfvuer
- For cross-framework support and advanced features, choose Syncfusion.
8. Do these libraries work on mobile devices?
Yes. All listed libraries are designed for modern browsers and responsive layouts, ensuring compatibility across desktops, tablets, and smartphones.
9. Do any of these libraries support redaction?
Syncfusion’s PDF Viewer supports redaction. Open-source libraries like PDF.js do not include these features by default.
10. How do I decide which PDF Viewer library is right for my project?
Consider your framework, required features (such as annotations, form filling, and signatures), performance needs, and licensing requirements. For simple viewing, PDF.js works well; for advanced features, Syncfusion is the best choice.
Conclusion
Thanks for reading! In this blog, we’ve explored the five best JavaScript PDF Viewer libraries for developers in 2026. Choosing the right viewer depends on your project’s needs, whether you require framework-specific options like Pdfvuer (Vue), Ngx-extended-pdf-viewer (Angular), and React-PDF, or a lightweight, open-source solution like PDF.js for simple viewing.
For advanced features such as annotations, form filling, and cross-framework support, the Syncfusion JavaScript PDF Viewer stands out as an enterprise-grade solution. Each library has unique strengths, so review their documentation and select the one that best fits your application.
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