About Arkan

Arkan is a small, independent PDF editor made for students, readers, and anyone who spends too much time fighting their software. It was built in Valby by me — Jacob, a student who got tired of apps that made studying feel like a business meeting.

I wanted something calm. Something that opens instantly, highlights smoothly, and stays out of the way. So I wrote it myself in C++, line by line, between classes at Copenhagen Business School. The first version barely opened a file. The next one did — and that was enough to keep going.

Arkan isn't trying to impress anyone. It doesn't track you, upsell you, or bury your notes in the cloud. It just lets you read, mark ideas, and see connections across your work. The goal is simple: help you think more clearly with fewer distractions.

It's priced like a coffee subscription — only as expensive as it needs to be to function. Enough to cover hosting, updates, and the time it takes to make things better. Nothing more.

The name Arkan means structure. That felt right. Good tools don't do the thinking for you; they just give your thoughts a place to land.

If you ever wonder where the updates come from — it's just me, sitting in Copenhagen with a mug of coffee, trying to make PDFs a little less painful.

— Jacob

Creator of Arkan PDF Editor