Page ranges, fixed chunks, or one file per page — entirely in your browser
1-3, 5, 8-10 — each range becomes its own PDF), Every N pages (fixed chunks: a 12-page file every 5 pages gives 3 files of pages 1–5, 6–10, 11–12), or Burst (one PDF per page). Pages are copied byte-for-byte, so nothing is recompressed or watermarked, and the file never leaves your device — the split runs locally with the same pdf-lib engine as our merger. Range rules: comma-separated, N-M inclusive, a bare number is a single page, and 9- means page 9 through the end.Click or drag a PDF here
| You type | On a 12-page PDF | Output |
|---|---|---|
1-3 | Pages 1, 2, 3 | 1 file, 3 pages |
1-3, 5 | Pages 1–3, then page 5 | 2 files (3 + 1 pages) |
1-3, 5, 8-10 | Three selections | 3 files (3 + 1 + 3 pages) |
9- | Page 9 through the end | 1 file, 4 pages (9–12) |
-4 (start at 1) | Pages 1 through 4 | 1 file, 4 pages |
| Every 5 pages | Fixed chunks | 3 files (1–5, 6–10, 11–12) |
| Burst | Every page alone | 12 files, 1 page each |
Ranges are inclusive on both ends and may not exceed the document's page count. Command-line equivalents: pdftk in.pdf cat 1-3 output part1.pdf, qpdf in.pdf --pages . 1-3 -- part1.pdf, burst via pdftk in.pdf burst.
Splitting is the mirror of merging: instead of copying many documents' pages into one file, the splitter copies one document's pages into several new ones. Each output file is a valid, standalone PDF carrying its own copy of the fonts, images, and resources its pages reference — which is why splitting one big file into many small ones can total slightly more disk space than the original even though no content is recompressed. Page dimensions, orientation, selectable text, and image resolution all pass through untouched.
Take a 12-page quarterly report that needs to go out as three attachments. Loading it shows 12 pages; in Every-5-pages mode the plan table lists three outputs: pages 1–5 (5 pages), 6–10 (5 pages), and 11–12 (2 pages) — 5 + 5 + 2 = 12, every page accounted for exactly once. The files download as part-1.pdf, part-2.pdf, part-3.pdf (rename the prefix to q1-report first and you get q1-report-1.pdf and so on). Doing the same job in a terminal: qpdf --empty --pages report.pdf 1-5 -- part-1.pdf repeated per range, or pdftk report.pdf burst output page_%02d.pdf for the one-per-page variant.
Splitting and merging are a pair: cut out what matters with ranges, then reassemble in any order — including interleaving pages from different documents — with the PDF Merge tool. That two-step (split → merge) also solves "reorder pages inside one document": split it into ranges in the new order, merge them back.
Load the PDF, choose Ranges mode, and type comma-separated ranges like 1-3, 5, 8-10. Each range becomes its own PDF, so a 10-page document with 1-3, 5, 8-10 produces three files with 3, 1, and 3 pages. Open-ended ranges work too: 9- means page 9 to the end.
Choose 'Every N pages' and set the chunk size. The tool cuts at fixed boundaries: a 12-page PDF split every 5 pages yields files containing pages 1-5, 6-10, and 11-12 — three files of 5, 5, and 2 pages. The last file holds whatever remains. This is the mode for print batches, chapter-sized chunks, and upload limits.
Burst mode. One page in, one file out: a 6-page document becomes 6 single-page PDFs, named page-1.pdf through page-6.pdf by default. The command-line equivalent is pdftk in.pdf burst or qpdf --split-pages in.pdf.
No. Pages are copied into new documents byte-for-byte, so text, images, fonts, and page dimensions are untouched. Each output file carries its own copy of the shared resources (fonts, images) that its pages use, so splitting one large file into many small ones can use slightly more total disk space than the original — but nothing is recompressed or degraded.
Not while it is encrypted. Open the file with its password in a viewer and re-save an unlocked copy (print-to-PDF also works), then split that. The tool tells you when a file cannot be read rather than failing silently.
Splitting turns ranges into multiple output files; extracting pulls selected pages into a single new document. This tool does the first. For the second, split off the pages you want, then combine them — the PDF Merge tool on this site reassembles pieces in any order. The CLI equivalent is qpdf in.pdf --pages . 2,5-7 -- extracted.pdf.