Split PDF
This tool splits a PDF directly in your browser. Once you open a file, every page shows up as a clickable thumbnail. Pick the pages you want to keep, then download them either as one combined PDF or as a ZIP archive with a separate single-page PDF for each selection. Processing is handled locally by pdf-lib – the document is never uploaded.
100% in your browser. Your file never leaves your device.
Features
- Visual page picker: pdf.js renders a selectable thumbnail of every page.
- Two output modes: one combined PDF or a ZIP with one file per page.
- Pages are copied as objects, not re-rendered – text and images stay unchanged.
- Select all and Clear buttons speed up picking in long documents.
- Runs entirely in your browser; the PDF never leaves your device.
- Output files are named after the original, with per-page numbering in ZIP mode.
About this tool
When you drop a PDF onto the tool, the browser reads the file into memory through the File API. Two open-source libraries share the work: pdf.js draws a thumbnail preview of every page, while pdf-lib parses the document structure the split operates on. Both are served as local scripts from this site – your PDF itself is never transmitted, because there simply is no upload step.
When you hit Split & download, pdf-lib copies the selected pages into a brand-new PDF, preserving their content and original order. In ZIP mode the tool instead builds a one-page PDF per selected page and hands them to jszip, which packs the archive in memory. The finished file is saved through your browser's regular download mechanism.
Because everything happens on your device, the practical limit is browser memory rather than a server quota. Large documents work, but ZIP mode with hundreds of pages is more demanding. Also note that only page content is copied: document-wide extras such as bookmarks and metadata are not carried over, and files that require a password to open cannot be loaded.
How to split a PDF
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Open your PDF
Drag a PDF onto the drop zone or click to pick one from your device. The file loads locally and a thumbnail appears for every page, with all pages selected by default.
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Review the page grid
The header shows the file name and page count. Scroll through the grid – every thumbnail is a real preview rendered by pdf.js, so you can identify pages at a glance.
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Pick the pages to keep
Click thumbnails to include or exclude individual pages. Select all and Clear reset the whole selection at once – useful when you only need a handful of pages from a long document.
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Choose the output format
Leave the checkbox unticked to get one combined PDF of your selection, or tick 'Each page → separate PDF (ZIP)' to receive an archive with an individual file per page.
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Split and download
Click Split & download. The output is assembled in memory and saved right away, named after the original – for example report-split.pdf or report-split.zip. The tool then resets for the next file.
Typical use cases
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Share only the relevant pages
You receive a 60-page contract, but your colleague only needs the annex on pages 52 to 55. Open the file, hit Clear, click those four thumbnails and send a compact four-page PDF. The rest of the contract never leaves your machine – a real advantage with confidential content.
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Separate batch-scanned documents
Office copiers often scan a whole stack – invoices, delivery notes, receipts – into one long PDF. Keep all pages selected, tick the ZIP option and download an archive in which every page is its own numbered PDF. You can then rename and file each document individually in your records.
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Extract chapters from study material
Lecture notes often arrive as a single 300-page PDF while this week's seminar covers just one chapter. Select those pages and export a slim PDF that opens faster on a tablet and is easier to annotate. Repeat per chapter and you end up with a set of manageable study files.
Tips & limitations
- Bookmarks, the document outline and metadata such as title or author are not copied into the output – the split file contains the pages themselves, nothing document-wide.
- File size is limited by your device's memory, not a server. If ZIP mode struggles with a huge document, split it across several smaller runs instead.
- PDFs that require a password to open cannot be processed here – the tool does not decrypt anything. Remove the protection first using software that knows the password.
- Need most of a document? Keep the default all-selected state and click away the few unwanted pages – faster than selecting many pages one by one.
Frequently asked questions
Is my PDF uploaded to a server?
No. The file is read and processed entirely in your browser by pdf-lib, pdf.js and jszip, all of which run as local scripts served by this site. There is no upload step, and the finished output is assembled in your device's memory too. Close the tab and the document is gone from memory.
Does splitting reduce page quality?
No. Selected pages are copied as complete objects – text, fonts, vector graphics and embedded images move unchanged into the new file. Nothing is rasterised or recompressed, so the output pages are identical to the originals.
Can I turn every page into its own PDF?
Yes. Tick 'Each page → separate PDF (ZIP)' before splitting. The tool then creates a one-page PDF per selected page, names them like document-page-3.pdf and packs everything into a single ZIP archive for download.
Can I reorder pages or type in page ranges?
No – the output always keeps the original page order, and selection works by clicking thumbnails rather than typing ranges. As a workaround, export single pages via ZIP mode and recombine them in any order with the Merge PDF tool.
What about password-protected PDFs?
PDFs that require a password to open cannot be split here. The tool does not decrypt anything, so instead of the page grid you will see an error message. Remove the password first in an application that can open the file; after that, splitting works normally.
How large can the PDF be?
There is no fixed page limit – the constraint is your device's RAM, because the whole file is held in memory. Several hundred pages usually work fine on a desktop; ZIP mode is heavier, so expect longer processing times on phones.
Are links, form fields and bookmarks preserved?
Partly. Everything sitting on the copied pages comes along, but the document outline and metadata do not. Links pointing to removed pages stop working, and interactive form fields may lose their function in the split file.
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