Split PDF

Split PDF files — extract pages, break a PDF into individual files, or pull out a custom range

People split PDFs when they need one page from a 200-page report, want each chapter as its own file, or have to extract a specific section for a separate submission. This PDF splitter gives you three modes: split every page into its own PDF, hand-pick specific pages to extract, or specify a custom range like "1-3,5,7-9." All processing runs locally in your browser with pdf-lib — no upload, no account, no page-count limit.

The visual page picker renders thumbnails of every page in your PDF using pdf.js, so you can see exactly what you are extracting before you split. Click pages to select or deselect them, switch modes on the fly, and download the extracted pages individually or as a single ZIP. There is no "undo" needed — the original file stays on your device, untouched.

Who uses it

• Accountants and bookkeepers — extract a single invoice or receipt from a 50-page bank statement PDF to attach to an expense report or send to a client.
• Students and academics — pull one chapter out of a textbook PDF for a reading assignment, or extract the bibliography and appendices from a thesis for separate submission.
• Office and admin professionals — split a large scanned bundle into individual documents (each contract, each form, each certificate) for filing in separate folders or sending to different recipients.
• Legal professionals — extract specific pages from a lengthy court filing or discovery document to attach as exhibits, or split a combined case file into individual pleadings for the docket.

How to use it well

1. Upload the PDF you want to split. The tool renders page thumbnails using pdf.js so you can see the content of each page before deciding what to extract.
2. Choose a split mode from the dropdown. Split all pages creates one PDF per page — best when you need to break a document into individual sheets. Extract selected pages lets you click thumbnails to pick exactly which pages to pull out. Extract by range accepts a comma-separated list like "1-3,5,7-9" for quick extraction without clicking through every page.
3. Click Split PDF. The tool processes your selection using pdf-lib and produces one PDF per selected page or range entry. Each output retains the original page dimensions, fonts, and formatting.
4. Download the results individually or as a single ZIP. Spot-check the first and last extracted page to confirm the range was correct before archiving or sharing.

Practical tips

• Use range mode for large documents — typing "1-3,15,22-25" is faster than clicking dozens of thumbnails when you know the page numbers you need.
• Split first, then compress — extracting a few pages from a 100 MB PDF produces proportionally smaller files, but running the output through PDF Compressor can shrink them further for email.
• If you need to split the same document multiple ways (e.g., chapters 1-3 for one colleague and chapters 4-6 for another), process the original PDF twice with different ranges rather than splitting once and then re-splitting the output.
• Page numbers in the PDF thumbnails match the printed page numbers — but only if the PDF has embedded page labels. Scanned documents often have no page labels, so count pages visually if the numbers in the PDF viewer do not match the printed numbers.
• Combine splitting with PDF Merger for rearrange-then-split workflows: merge the pages you want into a new PDF first, then split that into final files.

Common use cases

• Extracting a single signed page from a multi-page contract to attach to an email
• Splitting a scanned 50-page bank statement into individual monthly statements for bookkeeping
• Pulling out a specific chapter from a textbook for a reading group assignment
• Breaking a combined tax document into separate forms (W-2, 1099, 1040) for filing
• Isolating certificate pages from a training-completion PDF bundle to upload individually to an HR portal

Privacy and browser‑side processing

All splitting runs locally in your browser using pdf-lib and pdf.js. Your PDF documents — which may contain contracts, tax forms, medical records, bank statements, and business‑confidential information — never leave your device. No upload, no server round-trip, no account required. For regulated documents, follow your organisation's data‑handling policy.

Before and after splitting: your PDF workflow

Splitting is often a clean-up step at the start of a workflow (extract only the pages you need), or a preparation step before merging components in a new order. The extracted pages can then be processed, protected, or redistributed as independent files. All of these run in your browser — no upload required, safe for confidential documents.

• PDF Merger — Combine the split pages (or a subset of them) with other PDFs in a custom sequence after splitting. Use splitting to clean up source files before the merge.
• Unlock PDF — Password-protected PDFs cannot be split until the protection is removed. Unlock them first, split, then re-protect individual sections if needed.
• PDF Compressor — Shrink individual split sections before emailing or archiving. Splitting a large PDF into sections then compressing each one is the workaround when the full file exceeds browser memory limits.
• Rotate PDF — Fix the orientation of individual split sections. Useful when the source PDF mixes landscape and portrait pages and only some sections need correction.
• Protect PDF — Encrypt individual split sections before sending to recipients who should only see specific pages, not the full document.
• Add Page Numbers — Re-number the split sections independently, or merge them first and then add a unified page sequence across the whole document.
• PDF to Text — Extract plain text from a split section for analysis, search, or accessibility — smaller sections are faster and more reliable to process.
• PDF to JPG — Render individual split pages as images for use in presentations, web content, or reports.

Related searches and tools

People who split PDFs often also use PDF Merger (combine pages in a new order after splitting), PDF Compressor (shrink the extracted pages for email), and Rotate PDF (fix the orientation of split pages when the source had mixed landscape and portrait). All three run in‑browser with no upload.