How to Delete Pages From a PDF

You receive a 50-page report. Page 23 has the wrong chart. You want to remove that one page before forwarding the PDF on. The Google search "remove page from PDF" returns dozens of online tools, almost all of which require uploading the entire report.

Page deletion is a tiny operation. The PDF format supports it natively: the tool just rewrites the file without the listed pages. There is no reason it needs to happen on a server.

What you can delete

• A single page. "Delete page 23."
• A range. "Delete pages 47–89."
• Multiple individual pages. "Delete pages 3, 17, and 92."
• A pattern. "Delete every blank page." (Some tools detect blanks automatically.)

Page numbering

Page numbers are 1-indexed and follow the PDF's internal order, not the printed page numbers. A document with a cover sheet might have its printed "page 1" be the actual third page. Use the page count indicator at the top of the PDF reader (e.g. "Page 3 of 50") to identify the right page.

When to delete vs split

• Delete when you want most of the PDF and need to drop a few pages.
• Split when you want only a few pages of the PDF and would discard the rest.

Both produce the same result for a 2-page PDF where you want just page 1: pick whichever feels more natural for the size of the operation.

File size

Deleting pages reduces the file size proportional to what was on those pages. Removing a page that contained a 2 MB photo saves ~2 MB. Removing a blank page saves a few hundred bytes.

Delete in your browser

Use Delete PDF pages. Drop the PDF in, list the pages to remove, download. Everything happens client-side. The document is not uploaded.

If you wanted to keep only the deleted pages instead of removing them, see Split PDF.