WordPress currently supports various file uploads including PDF, the third most popular file type on the Internet. Despite the advent of many new file types, PDF still plays a vital role thanks to its versatility.
By embedding PDF in WordPress, you make your website’s interface user-friendly. As a result, it’s possible to keep visitors on your site longer. The simplest way to achieve that is to use a WordPress PDF viewer plugin.
In this article, we’re going to explore 7 excellent PDF embedder plugins that help you level up your WordPress site.
Let’s get started!
- How Can a WordPress PDF Embedder Plugin Help You?
- Comparison Table: 7 Best WordPress PDF Viewer Plugins
- #1 Watermark WordPress Files
- #2 WordPress PDF Light Viewer
- #3 Wonder PDF Embed
- #4 Embed Any Document
- #5 DearFlip
- #6 EmbedPress
- #7 Algori PDF Viewer
How Can a WordPress PDF Embedder Plugin Help You?
By default, you can easily embed and display audio, videos, and other media formats in a WordPress post or page. However, when it comes to PDF, you are only able to insert the file as a downloadable link.
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It means that your users can’t see the content of the PDF file. To read the content, they have to click the link to download it to their computer.
In other words, users will leave your site to view the file, and in most cases, they won’t come back. This negatively affects your site’s bounce rate as well as user engagement.
Fortunately, there is a shortcut to throw that problem away, a PDF viewer plugin. It allows your visitors to view the content without leaving the page/post, thereby significantly improving your site performance.
Search for “PDF viewer plugin” on Google and you will receive tons of search results. This can make it difficult for you to make up your mind.
To simplify the process, we’ve listed out and compared the 7 best WordPress PDF viewer plugins with their unique features.
Keep reading and pick your favorite one.
Comparison Table: 7 Best WordPress PDF Viewer Plugins
Before diving into the plugin analysis, glance at this quick comparison of the 7 most famous WordPress plugins to embed PDFs. Besides PDF viewer, each plugin offers different outstanding features.
| Unique Features | |
| Watermark WordPress Files |
|
| WordPress PDF Light Viewer |
|
| Wonder PDF Embed |
|
| Embed Any Document |
|
| DearFlip |
|
| EmbedPress |
|
| Algori PDF Viewer |
|
Now, let’s see each of these plugins in more detail.
#1 Watermark WordPress Files
Watermark WordPress Files comes as a perfect solution to display PDFs in WordPress and protect them from copying and sharing. With its assistance, you can show the PDF preview while preventing visitors from using IDM to download it.
Additionally, you can use images or custom text to watermark your uploaded PDF files. To ensure maximum security, disable right-click to stop people from saving images from anywhere on your website.
The plugin emphasizes copy protection, so you don’t need to worry about the content privacy anymore.
Watermark WordPress Files also encourages you to export WordPress pages or posts to PDFs with just one click.
Key Features:
- Resize PDF viewer.
- Integrate with many page builders.
- Support PDF navigation on your keyboard (next, previous, up, down).
- Go directly to a specific PDF page by typing the page number.
- Customize PDF viewer size by automatic zoom, actual size, fit page, full width, and so on.
- Rotate PDFs clockwise and counterclockwise.
- Support PDF search by specific text or keywords.
- Hide/show the download button.
- Bookmark your current page.
Price: Watermark WordPress Files costs you $149.9 yearly for a 3-site license. It’s economical when you buy a lifetime license for $499.9. Despite listing a bit higher price compared to other plugins, the tool gives the best value for money for sure.
Active Installations: 7000+
Ratings: 4.8/5.0 stars
#2 WordPress PDF Light Viewer
WordPress PDF Light Viewer allows inserting PDF documents of all sizes to your site as flipbooks with thumbnail navigation. It’s a lightweight plugin and supports WordPress multisite.
Key Features:
- Integrate with Turn.js flipbook.
- Show dashboard flipbook preview.
- Use slider thumbnail navigation to open the PDF page quickly.
- Allow lazy loading to speed up flipbook loading.
- Support fullscreen and zoom mode.
- Limit the number of visible pages for specific user roles.
- Integrate with WP CLI.
- Support PDF Archive page with 2 templates.
- Organize PDF by categories.
- Allow PDF page search and printing.
- Show PDF in a popup.
Price: It offers a free version on WordPress.org. Consider installing a Pro Addon regular license at $16 to own more advanced functions such as PDF printing and search.
Active Installations: 6000+
Ratings: 3.6/5.0 stars
#3 Wonder PDF Embed
WonderPlugin PDF Embed is an easy-to-use and responsive plugin to embed PDF files on your WordPress website. The plugin focuses on a user-friendly interface, so you can display your PDF documents beautifully and optimize the user interaction.
Key Features:
- Integrate with Mozilla’s PDF.js.
- Provide options to hide/show the download button, print button, and text selection tool menu item.
- Allow hiding the whole toolbar.
- Disable right-click on the PDF viewer.
- Modify the width and height attributes.
- Use the style attribute to define the CSS style.
- Support presentation mode.
- Allow PDF printing and bookmarking.
Price: This plugin doesn’t cost you a penny. However, to open PDFs in lightbox popups or create PDF carousels, you need a premium version ranging from $49 – $149.
Active Installations: 10,000+
Ratings: 4.5/5.0 stars
#4 Embed Any Document
Embed Any Document lets you embed any file types, including PDF, Word, PowerPoint, and Excel documents effortlessly with a clean and clutter-free UI.
The plugin integrates with Google Docs Viewer and Microsoft Office Online to display your documents in different modes. Your job is just to choose a mode to your liking.
It also works well with the Gutenberg block editor and the classic editor. With only one click on the Add Document button, you can upload and insert documents on your site.
Key Features:
- Support Google Docs Viewer (PDF & Office Documents).
- Support Microsoft Office Online (Office Documents Only).
- Integrate with many common cloud services, OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, and Box.com, for example.
- Support both classic editor and block editor.
- Ensure cross-browser compatibility.
Price: It’s free. For cloud service integration, use the PLUS version at $39 for a regular license.
Active Installations: 70,000+
Ratings: 4.3/5.0 stars
#5 DearFlip
DearFlip is the simplest, most popular way to create and display 2D and 3D PDF flipbooks in WordPress. Insert the PDF link and it will come alive as a realistic 3D flipbook.
The plugin concentrates on eye-catching PDF viewers. It makes your site more attractive to visitors. Hence, your bounce rate will significantly reduce.
Key Features:
- Convert flat images and PDFs into 3D flipbooks.
- Use CSS and HTML5 tags to generate flippable 2D flipbooks.
- Integrate with PDF.js library.
- Create virtual albums, portfolios, photos, etc.
- Support presentation mode.
- Display multiple flipbooks on a single page.
- Add and customize the PDF table of contents.
- Allow page thumbnail preview.
- Support deep linking to pages of a flipbook via the share button.
- Organize flipbooks by categories.
- Support different language modes.
- Support PDF partial loading.
- Manage settings for all flipbooks at once.
- Translate text.
- Integrate with Google Analytics.
- Support PDF link target settings and media attachment page.
- Customize slugs.
Price: The free version gives you most of the essential features. Honestly, we think it’s not necessary to install the premium version. However, if you run a WordPress multisite, we recommend having the paid version from $39 – $239/year to use the full functionality.
Active Installations: 80,000+
Ratings: 4.9/5.0 stars
#6 EmbedPress
EmbedPress lets you embed multimedia content in your WordPress site, namely PDFs, videos, posts, audio, maps, and so on. It levels up your site by embedding content directly using the classic editor, block editor, or page builder with ease.
Simply find the URL of your preferred media, and copy & paste the link into WordPress. EmbedPress understands the URL and instantly embeds fully responsive content on your site.
Key Features:
- Integrate with most of the popular WordPress page builders.
- Translate your embedded content using the WPML plugin.
- Integrate with Google to embed Google Maps, Docs, Forms, Sheets, etc.
- Embed Facebook posts and videos.
- Insert YouTube, Wistia, Vimeo, Dailymotion, or Twitch videos.
- Add Spotify, Boomplay, Soundcloud, and Mixcloud audio.
- Display Imgur, Giphy, and Deviantart images.
- Embed any uploaded file types, including PDFs, docs, xls, ppt, and so on.
- Customize embedded content.
Price: The free version offers basic PDF embedding features. To embed content from third-party sources on your site, activate a lifetime Individual Pro license at $39. There are other options for you to choose from according to your demand, ranging from $99 – $639 for a lifetime license.
Active Installations: 60,000+
Ratings: 4.8/5.0 stars
#7 Algori PDF Viewer
Algori PDF Viewer refers to a Gutenberg plugin that enables you to add and display PDFs on your WordPress website. It allows your visitors to view and interact with your PDF files directly without leaving your site.
If you are only interested in embedding PDFs, this plugin provides you with most of the features that suit your demand.
Key Features:
- Work perfectly with modern browsers such as Chrome, Firefox, IE11, Edge, Opera, and Safari.
- Work well with modern OS and devices including Windows, iOS, Linux, and Android.
- Support PDF printing and downloading.
- Support page navigation (Next and Previous page).
- Allow zoom in, zoom out, page fit, and restore normal zoom.
- Rotate documents clockwise or counterclockwise.
- Support presentation mode.
- Enable/disable the hand tool and the text selection tool.
- Allow text search for General text or Match case.
- Support document outline in the expandable and collapsible sidebars.
- Support keyboard shortcuts.
- Translate text into 100+ languages.
- Show multiple PDF documents on a single page.
- Support left, right, wide, and full-width alignments.
Price: These features mentioned above are enabled by default and can’t be disabled in the free version. To enable/disable all the PDF viewer settings as you wish, install the Premium plugin at $20 for a regular license on Envato Market.
Active Installations: 8,000+
Ratings: 4.1/5.0 stars
What Is Your Favorite WordPress PDF Viewer Plugin?
We’ve shown you 7 outstanding WordPress PDF viewer plugins with unique points. Now it’s high time to choose the one that best suits your needs and resources.
Looking for a PDF viewer plugin that helps you protect your content and ensure maximum security? The Watermark WordPress Files plugin is perfect for you.
If you want to embed PDF files from small to larger file sizes, select the WordPress PDF Light Viewer plugin.
In case you focus on the user interface and tend to provide an easy-to-use PDF viewer to your users, install the Wonder PDF Embed plugin.
The Embed Any Document plugin comes in handy when you desire to embed different types of documents on your site, such as PDFs, Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.
DearFlip makes your site more eye-catching to visitors with 2D and 3D PDF flipbooks.
Plan to embed multimedia content from different third-party sources such as Facebook, YouTube, Spotify, etc.? Pick the EmbedPress plugin.
Otherwise, if you just care about embedding PDFs, Algori PDF Viewer gives you everything you expect.
Have you chosen your ideal PDF viewer plugin yet? Let us know in the comment section below.
