This chart compares Adobe Reader, Foxit Reader, and SumatraPDF from a standpoint of the installer size, the installation size left on the disk (as measured in C:\Program Files) and the amount of memory usage the programs use while running idle.
(Continue reading to see some really fancy charts)
PDF readers running idle with no documents:
Size of Installer | Installation Size | Memory Usage | |
Adobe Reader (10.1.4) | 48.49MB | 110MB | 36.9MB (*1) |
Foxit Reader (5.4.2) | 14.92 | 39.6MB | 18.47MB |
Sumatra PDF (2.1.1) | 4.21MB | 8.19MB | 3.12MB |
Virtual memory initially used by all these programs was trivial, less than 500KB in each instance
*1 Adobe Reader opens two separate processes, this is the total of both of them
The same PDF Readers with a 2.48MB PDF Document Open (Graphics and text)
Memory Usage with a 2.48MB Document Open | |
Adobe Reader (10.1.4) | 59.4MB (*1) |
Foxit Reader (5.4.2) | 19.39MB |
Sumatra PDF (2.1.1) | 48.07MB |