Split PDF
Split PDF documents into multiple files. Perfect for extracting specific pages, creating smaller documents, or organizing content into sections.
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What does splitting a PDF actually do?
A PDF is internally a tree of objects: a catalogue points to a page tree, each page points to its content stream, and those streams point to shared resources such as fonts, images, and colour profiles. Because so much is shared across pages, you cannot extract page 7 by simply cutting bytes out of the file — you would break every reference the page depends on.
Splitting builds new documents instead. For each output file the tool copies the pages you asked for, walks every resource those pages reference, carries the needed fonts and images across, and writes a fresh cross-reference table. The pages you get out are byte-faithful to the ones you put in: same text layer, same embedded fonts, same dimensions and rotation. Only the container around them is new.
Why we built this tool
People split PDFs for practical reasons: pulling one invoice out of a 200-page monthly export, sending a single chapter to a colleague, separating the pages of a scan that a photocopier merged into one file, or trimming a large document down before emailing it.
Those source documents are usually the sensitive kind — statements, contracts, patient records, HR files. We deliberately built this as a client-side tool so that none of that has to leave your machine. The WebAssembly PDF engine runs in your browser tab, uses your own CPU, and writes the results straight to your downloads folder. Nothing is transmitted, nothing is queued on a server, and nothing is retained after you close the tab. It also means a 400 MB scan is no problem: the only limit is your own device's memory, not an upload cap.
Tips and common mistakes
- Decide before you start whether you want each page as its own file or a handful of ranges; extracting 200 individual pages produces 200 downloads.
- Page numbers printed on the page often differ from the PDF's own page positions, because covers and front matter shift the count.
- Bookmarks and internal cross-references frequently do not survive a split, since their targets may now live in a different file.
- Split before compressing rather than after — the smaller pieces compress independently and you keep more control over quality.
Quick start: using Split PDF
- Load the PDF you want to divide using the file picker above.
- Choose how to split it — by a page range, at a specific page, or into individual pages.
- Review the preview or page count so you know exactly what each output file will contain.
- Run the split and wait for the browser to build the new documents.
- Download the resulting files and open one to confirm the pages landed where you expected.
To go the other way, Merge PDF recombines files into one. If you only want to drop a few unwanted pages, Remove Pages from PDF is the faster route.