Drag-n-Drop
to upload your archive
PDF Viewer
View a PDF online, right in your browser
Open a PDF and read it straight away: page through it, search the text, zoom in and print. The file is opened from your own disk and never uploaded, so there is nothing to wait for, no signup, and no copy of your document left on a server.
No PDF open yet
Click Open PDF file, drag a .pdf onto this panel, or press Sample to see how the viewer behaves.
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Opens straight in your browser
The viewer hands your file to the PDF engine your browser already ships, so page navigation, text search, zoom, text selection and printing all work exactly as you expect.
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Nothing is uploaded
Your PDF is read from your disk into the browser tab and goes no further. It is never sent to Static.app, never stored, and never scanned, which matters for contracts, invoices and anything else you would rather not hand to a website.
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Reads on phones and desktops
The same page works on a laptop, a tablet and a phone, with a drag handle to give the document more room on a big screen. No app to install and no extension to approve.
How to view a PDF online
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1
Open your PDF: click 'Open PDF file' and pick it, or drag the .pdf straight onto the panel.
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2
Read it: page through the document, search its text, zoom, and check the page count and PDF version below the viewer.
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Share it if you want: print it, open it in its own tab, or publish the PDF as a link anyone can open with Static.app.
Supported file types
Open a file from your computer or drag one in. The viewer accepts:
.pdfPDF documents, up to 100 MB
The file is checked for a real %PDF header, so a document that has simply been renamed to .pdf is reported rather than shown as a blank page. Everything happens in your browser and nothing is uploaded.
Working with a different kind of file? Static.app has a tool for each:
How Static.app's PDF Viewer compares
Adobe, Smallpdf and tiiny.host all offer capable free PDF tools, and each is stronger than this one at something. Here is an honest read of where each fits.
| Static.app | Adobe Acrobat online | Smallpdf | tiiny.host PDF viewer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| View a PDF for free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Opens without uploading the fileThe clearest difference. Online PDF services generally send the document to their servers to process it; this viewer hands it to the browser instead. | Yes (nothing leaves your device) | No (uploads to Adobe) | No (uploads to Smallpdf) | No (uploads to host) |
| No account neededAdobe gates several operations behind a free account. | Yes | Viewing yes, editing needs one | Yes, with daily limits | Yes |
| Edit, sign, or annotateAdobe is far ahead here and this tool does not try to compete. | No (read-only viewer) | Yes (extensive) | Yes (sign, annotate) | No |
| Convert, merge, split, compressSmallpdf is built around these; this page is a viewer only. | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Page count and PDF version at a glance | Yes | In document properties | Not shown | Not shown |
| Flags an encrypted or mislabelled fileUseful when a PDF will not open and you cannot tell why. | Yes | Prompts for a password | Prompts for a password | Not stated |
| Publish the PDF as a shareable linkBoth tiiny.host and Static.app can put the file online; the pure PDF utilities stop at the download. | Yes (free subdomain and SSL) | Share links on a paid plan | No | Yes |
| Best for | Reading a PDF privately, then hosting it | Full PDF editing | Converting and compressing | Sharing a PDF as a page |
If you need to edit, sign, merge or compress a PDF, Adobe and Smallpdf do those properly and this page does not try to. What it does better is open your document without uploading it anywhere, tell you plainly what the file is, and then publish it as a link with a free subdomain and SSL if that is what you actually wanted.
Host your PDF and static files with Static.app
Select File
or drop your archive to upload
Frequently asked questions
Is this PDF viewer free?
Yes. Opening and reading a PDF here is free, with no signup and no account. Publishing the file as a live website with its own link is free for 7 days on a free subdomain with an SSL certificate and no credit card required, after which keeping it online needs a paid plan.
Is my PDF uploaded anywhere?
No. The file is read from your disk into the browser tab and handed straight to your browser's built-in PDF engine. It is never sent to Static.app, never stored and never scanned. You can confirm this by opening a PDF with your network disconnected: the viewer still works.
How large a PDF can I open?
The viewer accepts files up to 100 MB. That limit exists so a browser tab does not run out of memory, not because of any server capacity, since the file never leaves your machine. If you want to host the PDF as a website afterwards, uploads are capped at 50 MB per file during the free 7-day trial and 1 GB per file on paid plans.
Why does it say my PDF is encrypted?
The file has a password or permissions set on it. The viewer detects this and warns you, because your browser will either prompt for the password or refuse the document outright. Removing that protection needs a full PDF editor, which this tool is not.
Why is the page count sometimes missing?
The page count is read directly out of the PDF structure. In some files, usually those written by newer software, that information sits inside a compressed object stream that cannot be read without fully decoding the document. When the count cannot be established with certainty the field is left out rather than showing a number that might be wrong.
Can I edit, sign or convert the PDF here?
No. This is a viewer: it opens and reads. Editing, signing, merging, splitting and converting are jobs for a dedicated PDF editor such as Adobe Acrobat or Smallpdf. What you can do here is read the file privately and then publish it as a shareable link.
Can I share a PDF with someone using Static.app?
Yes. Compress the PDF into a ZIP, drop it on the upload box, and it is served at its own address that anyone can open without an account. The uploader takes ZIP archives rather than loose files, so the ZIP step is required. You can also put a password on the published page.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes. The page is responsive and the viewer uses whatever PDF support the phone browser provides. Mobile PDF engines vary more than desktop ones, so on some phones the document opens in the system viewer instead of inside the page.