Split PDF
Drop your PDF here
or click to browse
How to Split a PDF
Drop your PDF
Drag your PDF onto the box above or click to select it.
Choose how to split
Extract a page range, split all pages, or pick specific pages.
Download result
Your extracted PDF downloads instantly to your device.
Advertisement
Best for: Pulling a single signed page out of a long contract, and extracting a page range from a scanned report before sending it on
Limitations: Splits by page range in the browser and does not open password-protected files, so encrypted PDFs need unlocking first
Best suited for: Admin staff who need to send one page of a document rather than the whole file
Frequently Asked Questions
When and How to Split a PDF
Splitting a PDF extracts specific pages or ranges, creating a new file with only those pages. Common uses: sharing only relevant report sections, removing sensitive pages before sending, extracting chapters from a combined document, reducing file size by removing unused pages, and separating a combined scan into individual documents. Specify individual pages (1, 5, 9), sequential ranges (3 to 8), or multiple non-consecutive ranges (1-3, 7-10). The original PDF is unchanged - splitting creates new files from your selection. A 200-page scanned PDF where you need only pages 10-15 can be split to a 6-page file, dramatically reducing size for easier sharing. This tool processes files locally in your browser and never transmits PDFs to any server, making it suitable for sensitive legal, medical, and financial documents.
How Does the PDF Splitter Work?
Splitting reverses the merge process and runs locally in your browser. The tool parses the source document into its object structure, identifies the page tree, then creates one or more new documents containing only the page objects you selected. Each output file gets its own cross reference table and carries copies of the fonts and images those specific pages need, which is why a single extracted page is usually far smaller than the original.
Because pages are copied at the object level rather than re-rendered, text remains selectable and images keep their original resolution. The page tree structure that makes this possible is set out in the published PDF 32000-1 specification.
When Should You Use the PDF Splitter?
Most often when a document contains more than the recipient needs. Extracting one signed page from a long agreement, pulling a single invoice out of a monthly batch, separating a scanned stack that was fed through a scanner in one pass, or removing pages before sharing a file externally.
It is also the first half of a reordering workflow: split into single pages, then merge them back in the order you want. For very large files, splitting first also makes compression faster and more predictable.