How to Split a PDF

Split a PDF into single pages or custom page ranges in your browser. Learn the range syntax, when to extract or delete pages instead, and how to name results.

Split, extract or delete: which do you need?

Three PDF tools take pages out of a document, and choosing the right one saves time.

• Split PDF turns one PDF into several files, either one file per page or one file per range you define.
• Extract PDF pages saves a selection of pages, such as 2, 5 and 9-12, as one new PDF.
• Delete PDF pages removes the pages you select and keeps everything else in one PDF.

Use splitting when you need separate documents: individual invoices from a monthly batch scan, chapters of a book, or each employee’s payslip from a combined export. Use extraction when you need one smaller document. Use deletion when the original is nearly right and only a few pages need to go.

Understanding page ranges

All three tools understand the same page syntax. Pages are numbered from 1, and you combine numbers and ranges with commas.

• 5 selects page 5.
• 1, 3, 8 selects pages 1, 3 and 8.
• 4-9 selects pages 4 through 9.
• 1-3, 10 selects pages 1, 2, 3 and 10.
• 9-7 selects pages 9, 8 and 7, in that reverse order.

In Split PDF’s custom range mode, you separate output files with a semicolon. For example, 1-3; 4-6; 7 creates three files: the first with pages 1 to 3, the second with pages 4 to 6 and the third with page 7 alone. Inside each file you can still use commas, so 1, 5; 2-4 creates one file with pages 1 and 5 and another with pages 2 to 4.

How to split a PDF step by step

1. Open Split PDF and drop your PDF onto the page, or select Choose PDF. Enter the password first if the file is protected.
2. Choose a Split mode: One file per page, or Custom ranges.
3. For custom ranges, type the ranges in the Ranges field, separating files with semicolons, for example 1-3; 4-6; 7.
4. Select Apply. Each output appears in the results list with its size, and you can preview it.
5. Download the files individually or use the ZIP controls. A large result set can require several numbered ZIP bundles.

Output files are numbered in sequence, such as report-001.pdf and report-002.pdf. A supported source may contain up to 500 pages within the input-size limit. Splitting is not rejected merely because the combined outputs exceed 150 MB. Larger jobs are offered in ZIP bundles grouped at roughly 128 MB, so each archive stays manageable. A single unusually large part may still be larger than a bundle target.

Extracting a set of pages into one file

When you only need part of a document, such as the signature pages of a contract or one chapter of a report, Extract PDF pages is the quicker path. Open the PDF, tick the pages you want under their thumbnails or type them in the Pages field, and select Apply. The result is a single PDF containing only those pages, in the order you listed them. Typing 7, 2, 3 places page 7 first.

What carries over to the split files

Each output keeps its pages exactly as they were: text stays selectable, images keep their quality and links to websites continue to work. Interactive form fields on the kept pages remain fillable, and fields that belonged only to removed pages are cleaned up so they do not linger invisibly in the file. Document properties such as the title and author are copied from the original, so you may want to update them with the PDF metadata editor.

A split file is a new file. If the original was protected with a password, the parts are saved without one, so run Protect PDF on any part that needs encryption. If the original carried a digital signature, the parts will not have a valid signature, and the tool warns you before you start.

Splitting several PDFs at once

Split PDF accepts up to 12 PDFs at once, and applies the same settings to each. One file per page works on any mix of files. With custom ranges, every range must exist in every file, so batch splitting with ranges works best for documents with the same structure, such as monthly statements that always have the same number of pages.

Putting pages back together

Splitting and merging work well together. To rearrange a large document, split it into sections, then combine the sections in a new order with Merge PDF. To replace a single page, split around it, then merge the parts with the replacement page in between.

Frequently asked questions

Does splitting reduce quality?

No. Pages are copied without being re-rendered, so text, images and vector graphics are unchanged.

The browser keeps generated results available while this tool page remains open. Download them before navigating away. Input validation, available browser memory and storage, and unusually complex documents still affect what a device can finish; removing a fixed aggregate split limit does not make processing capacity unlimited.

Why is each split file almost as large as the original?

Pages can share resources such as fonts and image dictionaries. Each output needs the resources its retained pages reference, so the combined parts can be larger than the original even after unused document objects are removed. This is different from copying the whole original document into every part. Compression can help some outputs, but cannot guarantee a reduction.