Document Reader by Simple Design crossed 67 million Android installs by promising one app for every Office file: PDF, DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX, PPT, PPTX, TXT, all in a 12 MB package. The all-in-one pitch holds up for plain reading. The friction shows up the moment work moves past viewing: ads inside every navigation step, the PDF editor and converter sitting behind the Pro paywall, an All Files Access permission that scoops up the whole storage scope, and a folder-scan that runs on launch even when no documents have changed. We pulled together seven Document Reader alternatives that cover the same view-and-edit job with cleaner trade-offs.
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | Free tier | PDF editing | Office-doc editing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WPS Office | Free all-format editor | Yes (with ads) | Yes (free for basic) | Yes |
| Microsoft 365 | Native Office files | Yes (mobile editing free) | View and basic | Yes (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) |
| OnlyOffice | Open-source DOCX fidelity | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| OfficeSuite | All-in-one with PDF tools | Yes (with ads) | Yes (Pro) | Yes |
| Polaris Office | Cross-device cloud editing | Yes (limited) | View and basic | Yes |
| Collabora Office | LibreOffice on mobile | Yes (free) | View | Yes |
| Adobe Acrobat Reader | PDF-first reading and signing | Yes | Pro for editing | No |
Why people leave Document Reader
- Ads in every navigation step. Banner ads sit above the file list, full-screen interstitials show on launch and between folders, and even closing a document pops a promo. The Pro upgrade removes them, but only after paying.
- PDF editing behind the paywall. The marketing leans heavily on “edit PDFs, sign PDFs, convert PDFs,” but the actual editing tools require the Pro subscription. The free tier views and annotates only.
- All Files Access permission. Document Reader requests All Files Access on Android 11 and above, which gives it read access to the entire shared storage scope. Some alternatives stay inside per-folder access through the Storage Access Framework.
- Folder scan on every launch. The app rescans the device on launch, which slows cold starts and burns battery. Power users disable the scan in settings; the default is on.
- Conservative editing for true Office files. Even with Pro, the editing fidelity on complex .docx and .xlsx files trails the dedicated office suites. Tables, comments, and tracked changes do not always survive a round trip.
The alternatives
WPS Office, best free all-format editor
WPS Office is the most-installed Office-suite alternative on Android. The free tier opens and edits Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and PDF files, ships a built-in PDF reader and basic PDF tools, and includes templates for resumes and presentations. The mobile UI handles touch editing better than most rivals.
The free tier shows ads, occasional WPS AI upsells, and pushes the WPS Cloud sign-in. Premium starts around $39.99 per year and removes ads plus unlocks PDF editing, OCR, and PDF-to-Word conversion. Privacy posture has improved after past concerns but still warrants a read of the policy if work documents are sensitive.
WPS vs Document Reader: real free-tier editing on every Office format and free basic PDF tools. Loses on weight (the install is closer to 200 MB) and on the cloud-account nudge.
Microsoft 365, best for native Office files
The Microsoft 365 mobile app bundles Word, Excel, and PowerPoint into a single download. Every .docx, .xlsx, and .pptx file opens with full Microsoft fidelity (because it is Microsoft), basic mobile editing is free, and the file picker integrates OneDrive, SharePoint, and Google Drive. Co-authoring, comments, and tracked changes round-trip cleanly.
Full editing on devices with screens larger than 10.1 inches requires a Microsoft 365 subscription, the app pushes the OneDrive sign-in repeatedly, and Copilot upsells appear on every compose and review action. There is no native PDF editor in the suite (PDFs open in the OS viewer or Word’s PDF-to-Word import).
Microsoft 365 vs Document Reader: real Office-format fidelity, ad-free, and free mobile editing on phones. Loses on PDF tooling, which is not the focus.
OnlyOffice, best open-source DOCX fidelity
OnlyOffice is an open-source office suite that prioritises native .docx, .xlsx, and .pptx support. Edits round-trip into desktop Microsoft Office without losing formatting, the Android app is clean, and the project ships server software for self-hosters who want a private collaboration backend.
The Android app focuses on connecting to an OnlyOffice server (cloud or self-hosted) for full editing. Local-only document editing is supported but the workflow assumes a cloud back-end. The interface is more conservative than WPS or Microsoft.
OnlyOffice vs Document Reader: open-source, no ads, real .docx fidelity. Loses on the all-in-one PDF tooling Document Reader markets, which OnlyOffice does not try to match.
OfficeSuite, best all-in-one with PDF tools
OfficeSuite (now branded MobiOffice in some regions) is the closest like-for-like Document Reader replacement: word processor, spreadsheet, presentation, and PDF tools all in one app, with the same multi-format viewing pitch. The PDF editor includes annotation, signing, fill-and-sign forms, and basic page management.
The free tier shows ads, the most useful PDF features (edit text, OCR, convert) sit behind the Premium tier (around $29.99 per year), and the install is heavier than Document Reader.
OfficeSuite vs Document Reader: feature-parity all-in-one with a longer track record and better PDF tools. Loses on the same paywall pattern; the trade is which paid tier to prefer.
Polaris Office, best cross-device cloud editing
Polaris Office is built around document sync across phone, tablet, and desktop without binding to Microsoft or Google. Free tier covers basic editing on Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and PDF files, the Polaris Cloud handles 1 GB of free storage, and the desktop client is free for personal use.
The free Android tier shows ads and limits some features (PDF-to-Office conversion is paid). The cloud-first positioning works best when the same account is used on multiple devices.
Polaris vs Document Reader: cleaner cross-device story, real basic editing on the free tier. Loses on PDF feature depth compared with Adobe Acrobat or OfficeSuite Premium.
Collabora Office, best LibreOffice on mobile
Collabora Office is the LibreOffice port for Android, built and maintained by the Collabora team. It opens .docx, .xlsx, .pptx, and .odt files with the same engine that runs LibreOffice on desktop. The app is free, fully open-source, ad-free, and the Pro variant is sold to enterprise rather than consumers.
The mobile UI is functional rather than polished. Editing complex documents on a phone screen is workable but never enjoyable, and there is no built-in PDF editor (only viewing).
Collabora vs Document Reader: open-source, ad-free, real LibreOffice fidelity. Loses on the integrated PDF tooling and on touch-friendly UI design.
Adobe Acrobat Reader, best PDF-first option
Adobe Acrobat Reader is the canonical PDF reader. Free viewing, annotation, and basic form filling on every PDF, with the Document Cloud for storing files online and signing on the go. Premium adds editing, OCR, conversion, and merging at around $9.99 per month.
Acrobat does not handle Word, Excel, or PowerPoint files at all. The app footprint is heavier than Document Reader, and the Premium tier upsells appear inside many of the day-to-day actions.
Acrobat vs Document Reader: better at PDFs in every dimension, useless at Office formats. Best fit for users whose document work is genuinely PDF-first rather than a mix.
How to choose
If the work mixes Office formats and the budget is zero, WPS Office is the cleanest free pick: real editing on every format and free basic PDF tools. If Office files are the daily driver, Microsoft 365 for true Word/Excel/PowerPoint fidelity. If open-source matters and the work is mostly .docx editing, OnlyOffice or Collabora Office. For users who genuinely want one app for both Office and PDF tooling, OfficeSuite is the closest like-for-like replacement with better PDF features. For PDF-first work, Adobe Acrobat Reader wins on PDF and ignores Office; pair it with Microsoft 365 for the Office side.
Stay on Document Reader if reading is most of the use case, the ads are bearable, and the device is light on storage. The 12 MB install is genuinely small, and as a passive viewer for mixed formats it does what it advertises.
Frequently asked questions
Is Document Reader by Simple Design safe to use? The app itself is widely installed and not known to ship malware. The concern is permissions: it requests All Files Access on Android 11 and above, and the privacy policy reserves broad rights typical of ad-supported freemium apps.
Which Document Reader alternative is fully free? Collabora Office is fully free and open-source with no ads. WPS Office and OfficeSuite have ad-supported free tiers. Microsoft 365 is free for mobile editing on phones up to 10.1 inches.
Can I edit PDFs without paying? WPS Office allows basic PDF editing on the free tier. Most other apps gate real PDF editing behind a paid plan. Adobe Acrobat Reader’s free tier handles annotation and form filling but not text editing.
Which alternative has the best Microsoft Office compatibility? Microsoft 365 is the best by definition. OnlyOffice and Collabora Office both achieve high .docx round-trip fidelity. WPS and OfficeSuite are very good but occasionally drift on complex layouts.
Is there an open-source Document Reader alternative? Collabora Office (LibreOffice port) and OnlyOffice are both open-source, ad-free, and actively maintained. Both handle the major Office formats with fidelity good enough for everyday work.
Which app is lightest on storage? Document Reader’s 12 MB install is the smallest in this category. Among the alternatives, OnlyOffice and Collabora Office are the lightest at around 70 to 100 MB. Microsoft 365 and WPS Office are heavier.
