diff --git a/static/css/app.css b/static/css/app.css
index f0af76c..556c98d 100644
--- a/static/css/app.css
+++ b/static/css/app.css
@@ -1637,6 +1637,9 @@ body.dnd-mode .timer-display {
 }
 .reader-settings-panel input[type="range"] { width:80px; }
 
+/* PDF viewport wrapper — CSS zoom applied here for smooth zoom without re-render */
+#pdf-viewport { transform-origin: top left; }
+
 /* PDF inner container — shares origin with canvas so text layer aligns exactly */
 .pdf-page-inner { position:relative; display:inline-block; line-height:0; }
 
diff --git a/static/js/app.js b/static/js/app.js
index 3a6e212..f36bce8 100644
--- a/static/js/app.js
+++ b/static/js/app.js
@@ -2594,6 +2594,7 @@ let readerSearchOpen = false;
 let pdfCurrentPage = 1;
 let pdfTotalPages = 0;
 let _pdfPageTextBoxCache = {};
+let _pdfRenderGen = 0;
 let _touchStartX = 0;
 
 if (typeof pdfjsLib !== 'undefined') {
@@ -2836,7 +2837,9 @@ async function _parsePdfOutline(pdf, items, depth) {
 }
 
 async function renderPdf(arrayBuffer, contentEl, scaleOverride) {
+  const myGen = ++_pdfRenderGen;
   const pdf = currentPdfDoc || await pdfjsLib.getDocument({data: new Uint8Array(arrayBuffer.slice(0))}).promise;
+  if (_pdfRenderGen !== myGen) return null;
   currentPdfDoc = pdf;
 
   let pdfTitle = '', pdfAuthor = '';
@@ -2854,13 +2857,20 @@ async function renderPdf(arrayBuffer, contentEl, scaleOverride) {
 
   contentEl.innerHTML = '';
 
+  // Viewport wrapper: CSS zoom controls display scale without re-rendering
+  const pdfVp = document.createElement('div');
+  pdfVp.id = 'pdf-viewport';
+  if (scaleOverride == null) pdfVp.style.zoom = readerSettings.pdfZoom / 100;
+  contentEl.appendChild(pdfVp);
+
   const containerWidth = Math.min(contentEl.clientWidth - 32, 900);
 
   for (let pageNum = 1; pageNum <= pdf.numPages; pageNum++) {
+    if (_pdfRenderGen !== myGen) { contentEl.innerHTML = ''; return null; }
     const page = await pdf.getPage(pageNum);
     const naturalVp = page.getViewport({scale: 1});
     const scale = scaleOverride != null ? scaleOverride
-      : Math.max(0.5, (containerWidth / naturalVp.width) * (readerSettings.pdfZoom / 100));
+      : Math.max(0.5, containerWidth / naturalVp.width);
     const viewport = page.getViewport({scale});
 
     const wrapper = document.createElement('div');
@@ -2878,7 +2888,7 @@ async function renderPdf(arrayBuffer, contentEl, scaleOverride) {
     canvas.height = viewport.height;
     inner.appendChild(canvas);
     wrapper.appendChild(inner);
-    contentEl.appendChild(wrapper);
+    pdfVp.appendChild(wrapper);
 
     await page.render({canvasContext: canvas.getContext('2d'), viewport}).promise;
 
@@ -3424,11 +3434,16 @@ function toggleSettingsPanel() {
   } else {
     const zoomRange = panel.querySelector('#rs-zoom');
     const zoomVal   = panel.querySelector('#rs-zoom-val');
-    zoomRange.addEventListener('change', () => {
+    zoomRange.addEventListener('input', () => {
       readerSettings.pdfZoom = parseInt(zoomRange.value, 10);
       zoomVal.textContent = readerSettings.pdfZoom + '%';
       saveReaderSettings();
-      reRenderPdf();
+      if (readerSettings.pdfPaginated) {
+        pdfSmartZoomPage(pdfCurrentPage);
+      } else {
+        const vp = document.getElementById('pdf-viewport');
+        if (vp) vp.style.zoom = readerSettings.pdfZoom / 100;
+      }
     });
 
     panel.querySelector('#rs-invert').addEventListener('click', function () {
@@ -3469,6 +3484,8 @@ function enterPdfPaginatedMode() {
   if (!contentEl) return;
   contentEl.classList.add('pdf-paginated');
   contentEl.style.overflow = 'hidden';
+  const pdfVp = document.getElementById('pdf-viewport');
+  if (pdfVp) pdfVp.style.zoom = 1;
 
   const wrappers = contentEl.querySelectorAll('.pdf-page-wrapper');
   wrappers.forEach((w, i) => {
@@ -3493,6 +3510,8 @@ function exitPdfPaginatedMode() {
     const canvas = w.querySelector('canvas');
     if (canvas) canvas.style.transform = '';
   });
+  const pdfVp = document.getElementById('pdf-viewport');
+  if (pdfVp) pdfVp.style.zoom = readerSettings.pdfZoom / 100;
 }
 
 function _pdfPaginatedClick(e) {