Split PDF

How to split a PDF

1. Choose or drop the PDF you want to take apart.
2. Pick how to split it: by page ranges (one new PDF per range), extract pages into a single new PDF, every page as its own PDF, or every few pages.
3. Type the pages for the first two methods, or the number of pages per file for the last one. The result updates as you type.
4. Download each new PDF on its own, or all of them at once as one ZIP file.

The four ways to split

Page numbers follow the order of the pages in the file, starting at 1 — not the numbers printed on the pages, which often start later because of a cover or table of contents. Here is what each method produces from a 10-page PDF:

The page notation is the one print dialogs use: a dash for a range, commas between ranges, 8- for page 8 to the end and -3 for the first three pages. A reversed range such as 6-4 gives pages 6, 5 and 4 in that order, and when extracting, pages come out in the order you type them — 9, 1-2 puts page 9 first — so extracting also works for reordering pages. A page listed twice is extracted once. A page beyond the end of the file is reported instead of being skipped silently.

Worked example

You scanned a stack of paperwork into one 10-page file, scan.pdf: an invoice on pages 1–3, a contract on pages 4–9 and a receipt on page 10. Choose By page ranges and type 1-3, 4-9, 10. You get scan-01-03.pdf, scan-04-09.pdf and scan-10.pdf, plus scan-split.zip containing all three. Page numbers in the names are padded with zeros so the files sort correctly in any folder.

How splitting works

The PDF is read by pdf-lib, an open-source PDF library that runs in your browser. For each new file, the selected pages are copied together with the fonts and images they use. Nothing is re-rendered or re-compressed: text stays selectable and sharp, images keep their full quality, and every page keeps its original size and orientation. The ZIP file is "stored" (not compressed further), because PDF content is already compressed; it simply bundles the files so you can download them in one go.

Because each new PDF carries its own copy of the fonts and images its pages use, the parts together can add up to more than the original file — most noticeably when splitting a text document into single pages.

Private: nothing is uploaded

Splitting is often done to share only part of a document: one page of a contract, the relevant statement from a bank PDF, a single result from a medical report. Those are exactly the files you shouldn't hand to a stranger's server. This tool works entirely inside your browser on your own device, so the PDF and the pages you extract never leave it.

Limits and tips

• Protected PDFs (a password or a lock against changes) can't be split here. Open the file in your PDF reader, enter the password if asked, print it to a new PDF ("Save as PDF" or "Microsoft Print to PDF") and split that copy.
• Bookmarks and forms: the sidebar bookmarks aren't copied, and form fields keep their contents but are no longer fillable. Links to websites keep working; links to other pages of the document don't.
• Scanned PDFs stay images: splitting doesn't make the text searchable.
• Large files: the whole PDF is held in your device's memory, which phones have less of; the tool warns above 100 MB, and a computer is more reliable for very large files.
• Many files: splitting a long document page by page creates many downloads — use the ZIP button to get them all at once.

To remove a few pages and keep the rest in one file, Delete Pages from PDF is quicker. To join PDFs, or parts of them, use Merge PDF; to turn photos into a PDF, JPG to PDF.

Frequently asked questions

Last updated: October 15, 2026