By range keeps the pages you list, in the order you list them, as one new PDF. Every page writes each page to its own file and hands you a ZIP. Both copy page objects as they are, so nothing is re-rendered and nothing loses quality.
The range field accepts 1-3,5,8-10 style input. Out-of-range numbers are ignored, duplicates are dropped, and spaces do not matter.
Splitting looks like the simplest operation in the toolbox, and mechanically it is. The interesting part is the range field, because a few characters of syntax cover extracting a chapter, reversing a document, pulling one signature page, and dropping the blank backs from a duplex scan. Once you know the notation, the tool above does all of that in one pass.
How to split a PDF in your browser
Add the PDF
Drop the file onto the box or browse for it. It is read into memory, never uploaded. Scanned PDFs work exactly like text PDFs, because the split does not care what is on the page.
Pick a mode
By range gives one PDF containing the pages you name. Every page gives a ZIP with one single-page PDF per page, named after the original with the page number appended.
Type the pages, if you chose a range
Single pages, ranges with a hyphen, or both, separated by commas. The order you type is the order in the output.
Press Split PDF and download
The pages are copied into a new document with pdf-lib and the result downloads. For every-page mode the ZIP is built in memory too.
The range syntax, with every trick it allows
The field reads a comma-separated list. Each item is either a page number or two numbers joined by a hyphen. That is the whole grammar, and it turns out to be enough.
1-3pages 1, 2, 31-3,5,8-101 to 3, then 5, then 8 to 105,3,1pages in that order: 5 first10-1treated as 1 to 102,2,2duplicates collapse to one1-999on a 12-page filestops at 12, no error
Because order is honoured, the field doubles as a reordering tool. 3,1,2 on a three-page file moves the third page to the front. 12,11,10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 reverses a twelve-page scan that came out back to front, and the widget below writes that kind of list for you.
What a split does to the file
A PDF page is an object that points at content streams, fonts and images. Splitting copies the page objects you asked for into a fresh document, along with everything they reference, and renumbers the result. The bytes that draw the page are the same bytes. Text stays selectable, vector graphics stay vector, and a 300 dpi scan is still a 300 dpi scan.
Pages are copied, not rendered. There is no resolution setting because nothing is resampled.
Roughly the source size scaled by page share, plus any fonts and images those pages use.
The split runs in your browser. Close the tab and the memory is released.
The size rule has one exception worth knowing. A font or an image that is shared by many pages is copied into every part that uses it, so ten single-page files from a ten-page report add up to more than the report did. That is normal and harmless.
Things that live between pages
Most of a PDF belongs to a page. A few things belong to the document, and a split has to decide what to do with them.
- Bookmarks and the outline. These point at page objects. The tool remaps every entry whose target is in the part you kept, so chapter navigation survives a chapter extract. Entries pointing at dropped pages are left out because they have nowhere to go.
- Form fields. A field lives on a page, so fields on the pages you keep come with them, and the form definition is copied so they stay fillable. A form split into halves becomes two working forms.
- Certificate signatures. Invalidated, always. A signature is a hash of the whole file, and the split produces a different file. Extract a signed page for reference, never as proof of signing.
- Metadata. The title, author and producer fields of the source are not what a new document carries. Set them in the Editor if a portal reads them.
Split, or something else?
Splitting means producing one or more smaller PDFs whose pages all came from the source. If the goal is different, a different tool gets there faster.
You want pages out as PDFs
- One chapter from a textbook as its own file
- A signature page or an exhibit on its own
- A scanner's single output broken into one file per receipt
- A long file cut into parts under a portal cap
- Pages reversed or reordered by typing a list
The job is not really a split
- Deleting two pages: the Editor does it without a ZIP
- Pages as PNG or JPG: PDF to Images
- Two pages scanned as one sheet: that is cropping, in the Editor
- Joining files back together: Merge PDF
- A file that is too big: Compress first, split only if it must
Large files and every-page mode
Nothing uploads, so file size only matters for memory. By-range splits are light: the browser holds the source and one output. Every-page mode holds the source, hundreds of small outputs, and the ZIP being assembled, which is why a 500-page scan can strain a phone even though a laptop shrugs at it.
1-250 and 251-500), then run every-page mode on each half. The outputs are identical to what a single run would have produced.Why the file never leaving your device matters
The documents people split are rarely trivial. Contracts with exhibits, medical records, statements for a lender, a signed page pulled from a lease. Sending the whole file to a server in order to keep four pages of it means a stranger's infrastructure has held the entire thing, however briefly.
What to do with the parts
- Send them somewhere with a size cap. If a part is still too big, Compress PDF shrinks it without a second split.
- Number them. Add page numbers to a part so it reads as its own document, or number the whole file before splitting so the numbering matches the original.
- Put them back together in a new order. Split the sections you need, then merge them in the sequence you want.
- Protect a part that is going out on its own. Password protect the extracted pages if they contain anything sensitive.
The tool is right above
Everything on this page runs in your browser. Scroll up, drop the file, and keep it on your machine.
Common questions
What people ask once the range field is in front of them.
01What page range syntax does the tool accept?
Page numbers and hyphenated ranges separated by commas: 1-3,5,8-10 keeps pages 1 through 3, page 5, and pages 8 through 10. Spaces are ignored, duplicates are dropped, and numbers beyond the last page are skipped without an error.
02Can I use the split tool to reorder or reverse pages?
Yes. The output follows the order you type, so 3,1,2 moves page 3 to the front and a descending list reverses the document. For drag-and-drop reordering with thumbnails, the Editor is more comfortable.
03Does splitting reduce quality?
No. Pages are copied as objects, not rendered to images, so text stays selectable and scans keep their original resolution. There is nothing to configure because nothing is resampled.
04How are the files in every-page mode named?
Each file takes the original name with the page number appended, so report.pdf becomes report-page-1.pdf, report-page-2.pdf and so on, inside a single ZIP.
05Can I split a password-protected PDF?
Not while it is encrypted. Remove the password from a file you own with the Unlock tool first, then split the unlocked copy.
06How many pages can I split at once?
By range, thousands. Every-page mode has to hold every output and the ZIP in memory, so a few hundred pages is comfortable on a laptop and less on a phone. Split a huge file into halves by range first if it stalls.
07Do bookmarks survive a split?
Yes, for the pages you keep. The outline is remapped to the new page numbers, so a chapter pulled from a book still has its chapter bookmarks. Entries that pointed at dropped pages are left out.
08Is it free?
Free. Every tool, unlimited use, no signup.