How to Split a PDF Into Separate Files
Splitting a PDF means different things depending on what you need: sometimes one page, sometimes a chapter, sometimes every page on its own. Here is the difference and how to do each one without uploading the source.
"Split a PDF" covers three quite different operations, and picking the wrong one wastes time.
Extract a single page. You only need page 7 of a 200-page report. Output: one file containing page 7.
Extract a page range. You need chapter 3, which runs pages 47 to 89. Output: one file containing those 43 pages.
Split into individual pages. You want every page of the PDF as its own file. Output: N PDFs, one per page.
Which to use
| You want… | Use… |
|---|---|
| One specific page to attach to an email | Extract single page |
| A chapter / section to share | Extract page range |
| Every page on its own (for OCR, archiving, page-by-page editing) | Split all pages |
| To remove a page from a PDF without keeping it as a separate file | Use Delete PDF pages instead |
Page numbering
Page numbers in a "split by range" are 1-indexed: page 1 is the first page, not page 0. If the PDF has a cover sheet or table of contents, those count as pages even though the printed numbering may start later. Always look at the PDF reader's page indicator (top of the page count), not the printed page number, when picking your range.
File size
Splitting does not lose anything. The individual files together total the same size as the original (minus a small per-file overhead). If the original was 50 MB and you split into 100 pages, each page is roughly 500 KB, sometimes more, sometimes less, depending on what is on the page.
Split in your browser
Use Split PDF. Drop the PDF in, pick a mode (single page, range, or all pages), and download. The split happens client-side. Your source PDF is never uploaded.
For the reverse operation, see Merge PDFs.
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