Split PDF online, without uploading it
Tear a PDF into as many files as you need: by page range, every few pages, at each chapter bookmark, or into parts small enough to email. Your browser does the cutting; the file never leaves this device.
- No upload
- No sign-up or watermark
- Lossless page copy
- Works offline once loaded
Choose a PDF
Loading the splitter…
Seven ways to cut one PDF
- Custom ranges
1-4, 5-9, 10-end: one file per range, any order, overlaps allowed.
- Every N pages
Single pages, pairs, or equal chunks of any length.
- Extract pages
Tap the pages you need; get them as one new PDF.
- Remove pages
Drop blank or unwanted pages and keep the rest.
- By bookmarks
One file per chapter, named after the chapter.
- By file size
Parts under 10, 20 or 25 MB for email and upload portals.
- In half
Two halves of a document, or scanned spreads cut down the middle.
How it works
- Open. Mozilla's pdf.js reads the file in this tab and draws a preview of every page.
- Mark the tears. Type ranges or tap between pages. Colours show which pages go into which file.
- Split. pdf-lib copies the chosen pages into fresh PDFs and your browser saves them, zipped when there are several.
Need to join files instead? Merging is what our sister tool PDF Combiner is for.
Writing page ranges
Every splitter asks for "ranges", and most never say what they accept. Here is exactly how SplitPDF reads them.
Range syntax, live
A pretend 24-page document. Type a range list and watch which pages land in which file.
- File 1 ← "1-3": pages 1 to 3, 3 pages
- File 2 ← "7": page 7, 1 page
- File 3 ← "10-15": pages 10 to 15, 6 pages
- File 4 ← "20-": pages 20 to 24, 5 pages
- 9 pages are in no file (dark cells) and won't be saved.
Rules: a comma starts a new file. "a-b" is inclusive. An open end ("20-") runs to the last page; an open start ("-4") begins at page 1; "end" also works. A backwards range ("12-9") saves the pages in reverse.
What gets kept, and the honest limits
| Situation | What happens |
|---|---|
| Normal PDF | Pages are copied losslessly: text stays selectable, links inside a page and form appearance stay as they are. Nothing is re-compressed. |
| Password to open | Enter it; the file is decrypted in this tab. Parts are rebuilt as images (see next row). |
| Encrypted / permission-locked | pdf-lib can't rewrite encrypted files, so SplitPDF offers "Rebuild as images": pages look the same but text is no longer selectable or searchable. |
| Bookmarks, form fields, digital signatures | Bookmarks aren't carried into the parts (they'd point at missing pages); form fields keep their look but may stop being fillable; a digital signature covers the whole original, so it won't validate on a part. |
| Very large files | Limited by your device's memory, not by us. Desktop browsers usually cope with a few hundred MB; phones are comfortable below about 80–100 MB. Previews are drawn for the first 400 pages only. |
| Damaged PDFs | pdf.js is forgiving and can often read them; if pdf-lib can't copy the pages you'll be told, and image rebuild remains available. |
Split PDF: questions
Is SplitPDF really free with no sign-up?
Yes. There is no account, no daily limit, no watermark and no paid tier. The splitting runs on your own device, so it costs us nothing per file.
Are my files uploaded anywhere?
No. The PDF is read into this browser tab with the File API, split with pdf-lib, and saved back with a download. You can load the page, switch off Wi-Fi and it still works. The only optional network call is the "describe the split in words" helper, which sends your sentence, the page count and bookmark titles, never the file.
How do I split a PDF into multiple files?
Choose the PDF, pick Custom ranges and type one range per file separated by commas, for example 1-4, 5-9, 10-end. Or tap the gap between two page previews to tear the document there. Press Split PDF and you get a ZIP with one PDF per range.
Can I split a PDF into single pages?
Yes. Choose Every N pages and set N to 1. A 30-page PDF becomes 30 one-page files, delivered as one ZIP.
Does splitting reduce quality?
No. Pages are copied object-for-object, not re-rendered, so text, vector graphics and images are byte-identical to the original. The only exception is encrypted PDFs, which can only be rebuilt as images.
Why is the total size of the parts larger than the original?
Each part must carry its own copy of the fonts and images its pages use. A font shared by all pages is stored once in the original but once per part after splitting.
Does it work on iPhone and Android?
Yes, in Safari, Chrome, Firefox and Edge. Phones have less memory, so very large files (roughly above 100 MB) are more reliable on a computer.