Split PDF

Breaking one PDF into several smaller files

A single PDF often carries several logical documents at once: a scanned stack of receipts, a bound report with distinct chapters, or a batch of contracts merged "to save an email." Splitting reverses that — it slices one file into multiple standalone PDFs, either one per page or by the page ranges you define, and returns them in a single ZIP.

When splitting is the right move

• Unbundling a batch scan. You fed twenty pages through a document feeder and got one PDF, but each page is really its own invoice or form. One-file-per-page mode turns that stack into twenty separate, individually nameable PDFs in a single pass.
• Pulling chapters out of a long report. A 60-page handbook with sections at pages 1–12, 13–40 and 41–60 becomes three deliverables when you enter those ranges — useful when each owner only needs their part.
• Trimming a file to fit an upload cap. Portals and email gateways frequently reject anything over a few MB. Splitting a heavy PDF into range-based chunks lets each piece slip under the limit on its own.
• Separating a signed page or cover sheet. Government and HR systems sometimes want the signature page, the appendix and the body submitted as distinct files. Defining 1, 2-9, 10 produces exactly three.
• Distributing selectively. Send a client pages 4–6 of a proposal without exposing the internal pricing on pages 7–12.

How the two modes work

Pick one file per page and every page becomes its own PDF. Pick custom ranges and you type a comma-separated list like 1-3, 4-10, 15. Each comma entry produces one output PDF. A bare number such as 15 is a single-page range; an open figure clamps to the document — write 40-999 on a 50-page file and you get pages 40 through 50, not an error.

When you drop a file in, the page count is read in your browser before anything is sent, so you can write ranges that actually exist. Because each chunk is exported separately, overlapping ranges are allowed — 1-5, 3-8 is valid, and the shared pages appear in both outputs. The pieces always arrive zipped, since a split produces more than one file.

Practical tips

• Order your ranges the way you want the files listed; they're numbered in the sequence you type them.
• To split and drop unwanted pages, just omit them from your range list — pages you never name are simply left out of every output.
• Splitting copies pages verbatim. Text stays selectable, bookmarks within a kept range survive, and nothing is re-rendered or recompressed, so there's no quality loss.

When to reach for a different tool

Splitting is about producing multiple files. If you only want one new PDF containing a handful of chosen pages — say pages 2, 5 and 9 gathered together — use [Extract pages](/extract-pdf) instead; it returns a single PDF, not a ZIP. If you want to reorder, rotate or delete pages and keep working in one document, [Organize PDF](/organize-pdf) gives you a drag-and-drop page grid. To recombine split files later, [Merge PDF](/merge-pdf-images) stitches them back together. And if your goal was really a smaller file rather than separate ones, [Compress PDF](/compress-pdf) shrinks image-heavy PDFs while keeping text sharp.