How to split a PDF
- Drop a single PDF onto the box above, or press Browse files to choose one.
- Pick Every page for one file per page, or Custom ranges to group pages.
- If using ranges, type them separated by commas, for example 1-3, 4-6, 7- .
- Press Split PDF and let the progress bar finish.
- Download each part on its own, or take them all as a single ZIP archive.
What this splitter offers
- Two modes: one file per page, or one file per range you define.
- Range syntax that accepts open ends, so 12- runs from page 12 to the end.
- Names each output after its page numbers, so nothing needs renaming afterwards.
- Bundles multiple outputs into one ZIP rather than firing off dozens of downloads.
- Copies pages losslessly, leaving text selectable and images untouched.
- Tells you the document's page count when a range does not match anything.
When one file should have been several
PDFs accumulate. A scanner set to feed a whole stack produces one document containing this month's invoices, a delivery note and something that belonged in a different folder entirely. A supplier sends a fifty-page catalogue when you needed four pages of it. A bank statement download covers twelve months when the accountant asked for one.
Splitting is the fix, and like merging it is lossless: pages are copied into new documents exactly as they were, keeping selectable text, embedded fonts and image quality.
Choosing between the two modes
- Every page suits a scan of unrelated single-page documents, or any case where each page needs filing separately.
- Custom ranges suits a structured document, chapters, sections, or a report where pages 1 to 4 belong together and 5 to 12 do not.
If you only want one section and do not care about the rest, splitting is more work than you need. The page extractor produces a single file containing just the pages you name, which is usually the faster route.
Writing ranges correctly
Each comma-separated group becomes one output file. Typing 1-3, 4-6, 7- gives three documents: pages one to three, pages four to six, and everything from page seven to the end. A single number such as 5 produces a one-page file.
Page numbers here are positions in the file, counting from one, not whatever numbers happen to be printed on the pages. A report with roman-numeral front matter still starts at position one for the cover. If a range extends past the end of the document it is clipped rather than rejected, and a range that matches nothing at all produces a message telling you how many pages the document actually has.
What happens to everything else
Each part is a genuine standalone PDF. The catch is that anything defined at document level does not follow the pages into their new homes: bookmarks, the table of contents and attachments belong to the original file. Internal links pointing at pages that ended up in a different part will no longer resolve, which is unavoidable when a document is broken up.
Page numbers already printed on the pages stay as they are, since they are part of the page content rather than metadata. If a part needs renumbering from one, run it through the page numbering tool afterwards.
Large documents and privacy
Splitting a three-hundred-page document into individual pages produces three hundred files, and the ZIP is assembled in your browser's memory, so expect it to take a moment. Ranges are far kinder on both memory and your file manager.
Nothing is uploaded at any stage. The document is read from disk, split with pdf-lib inside the page, and handed straight back, which matters given that the files people split are usually statements, contracts and medical records. If you need the reverse operation later, the merge tool puts documents back together.