Split PDF into separate files

How to split a PDF

1. 1Add your PDF.
2. 2Choose how to split it: one file per page, every few pages, custom ranges, by file size, or one file per bookmark.
3. 3Press Start, then download the files one by one or all together as a zip.

Five ways to split a PDF

To separate PDF pages into single files, choose One file per page. Every few pages cuts the document into equal parts, such as 10 pages each. Custom ranges let you decide: type 1-3, 4-8 and you get two files. Each comma starts a new file, -3 means pages 1 to 3, and 9- runs to the last page. You can also tap pages in the thumbnails, and each run of pages next to each other becomes one file. Splitting by file size and by bookmark are covered below. Each file is named after your PDF and its pages, such as contract-pages-1-3.pdf.

Split PDF to fit an email or upload limit

Choose By file size and type the most each file may weigh, such as 10 MB. Each file gets as many pages in a row as fit, and its size is checked by actually saving it, so the number is real. Rivmu counts a megabyte as 1,000,000 bytes, the stricter of the two ways sites count, so a part stays under the limit either way. In our test, a 9.4 MB PDF of ten photo pages with a 2 MB limit gave five files of 1.9 MB, two pages each. A page that's over the limit on its own is saved alone, and you're told so. Compress the PDF first to bring it down. If the whole PDF already fits, you get one file back.

Splitting a PDF by chapter

Many reports, books and manuals have bookmarks, the chapter list in your PDF reader's sidebar. Choose One file per bookmark and a new file starts at each top-level bookmark, named after it, such as manual-02-Installation.pdf. Pages before the first bookmark, like a cover, become a file of their own. Sub-chapters stay inside their chapter. If the PDF has no bookmarks, you'll see a message saying so. Use Custom ranges instead and type where each chapter starts.

Split PDF, extract pages or delete pages?

Split PDF turns one document into several files. Extract PDF pages makes one new file from the pages you pick, in the order you type them. Delete PDF pages gives you the same document without the pages you list. If you want one short copy, extract. If you're cutting a file into parts to send separately, split.

What the new files keep

Pages are copied as they are, so text stays sharp and selectable and images aren't compressed again. Things that belong to the whole document rather than to a page don't come along: the title and author, the bookmarks, and a working form. In our test, a filled-in form field was no longer part of a form after splitting. Run Flatten PDF with Form fields only first, and the typed answers become part of the page and survive the split.

Other ways to split a PDF

On a Mac, Preview can make a new PDF from some of the pages: show the thumbnails and drag the ones you want to the desktop. iLovePDF splits by size too, but marks that option Premium. Sejda has separate tools to split by bookmarks and by size, free for documents up to 200 pages or 50 MB and 3 tasks an hour. Those services work on an uploaded copy: Smallpdf and PDF24 say they delete files after one hour, and Sejda after 2 hours. We checked their own pages in November 2026.

Formats and limits

One standard PDF at a time, up to 300 MB on a computer or 100 MB on a phone. Everything runs in your browser, so the file never leaves your device. Password-protected files need the password removed first. With two files or more, Download all as .zip saves them in one go.

Questions people ask