How to Split a PDF (Pages, Ranges, Every N Pages)

Splitting a PDF sounds like one thing and turns out to be five. The right split depends on what decides where the cuts go: page numbers you know, a fixed size, the document's own structure, or the text on the page. Our toolkit has a separate tool for each — here is how to pick.

When you know the page numbers: split by ranges

The classic. Split PDF takes ranges like 1-3, 4-8, 9 and returns one document per range, zipped together. A 60-page report cut into chapters, or one scanned file separated into its invoices, takes one pass: type the ranges, download the zip.

When every section is equal: split every N pages

Forms, tickets and sheets that repeat on a fixed rhythm are better served by Split every N pages — set the step to 2, 10 or 50 and every equal run becomes its own file, without typing a single range.

When the document knows better: bookmarks and text

Well-made PDFs carry their own table of contents. Split by bookmarks follows that outline — each chapter at the level you choose becomes a file with the right name. If the structure lives in the text instead, Split by text finds markers like Invoice or Chapter and cuts before each occurrence, with a preview so you can check the matches first.

When a website says “file too large”: split by size

Upload limits count kilobytes, not pages. Split by size packs as many pages as fit under a KB ceiling into each part — the reliable way to get a big scan past a stubborn form. For a genuinely oversized file, compress it afterwards and the parts get smaller still.

Two-page scans

One more case worth knowing: a single scan sheet holding two pages side by side. That is not a page-range problem, it is geometry — Split in half cuts the sheet down the middle and resequences the halves into single pages in reading order.

Try it: Split a PDF — your upload is never modified, and every file is deleted automatically after two hours.