How to split a PDF into separate files

Pick the method that matches the job

• By range — a report split into chapters, or pages 5-12 for a specific reviewer.
• Into single pages — a batch scan where every page is a separate receipt or certificate.
• Extract only — you want three pages and can discard the rest; use the page extractor instead.

Reading page ranges correctly

Ranges refer to positions in the document, not printed page numbers. A report with a cover and two roman-numeral pages means printed page 1 is document page 4. Scroll to the page and count from the front before entering a range.

What happens to the parts

Each part is a complete, valid PDF in its own right, with the same page size, fonts and image quality as the source. Nothing is re-encoded, so a 40 MB scan split in half gives you two files of roughly 20 MB rather than two degraded copies.

Naming matters more than people expect. When several parts land in someone's downloads folder as part-1, part-2 and part-3, the recipient has no idea what they contain. Rename each part to describe its contents — 'lease-pages-1-8-terms' beats 'split_3' every time.

A faster route for large documents

Splitting happens on your own device, so a 500-page file takes real time on a phone. If you only need a few pages, extracting them is much quicker than splitting the whole document and discarding most of the output.

Step by step

1. 1Open your PDF in the splitter below.
2. 2Choose split by range, or split into single pages.
3. 3Enter ranges such as 1-4, 5-12, 13-20 if you are splitting by range.
4. 4Run the split and review the parts produced.
5. 5Download the files — multiple parts arrive as a zip.

Frequently asked questions

Does splitting reduce quality?

No. Pages are copied across unchanged, so each part is identical in quality to the original.

Can I split a 500-page PDF?

Yes, though very large documents take longer because everything is processed by your own device rather than a server.