How Do I Split a PDF Into Separate Files?

What's the easiest way to split a PDF?

The easiest way is a tool built for the job: pick a page range, a page count, or a file size, and it does the cutting for you. Split PDF covers all three ways in one place, for free, with no sign up.

• By page range: pick a start and end page, like pages 5 to 12, and save that chunk as its own file.
• By page count: split every 10 pages (or any number you choose) into a new file, handy for long reports.
• By file size: set a limit like 10MB and the tool works out how many files it needs to stay under it.
• One file per page: turn a 50 page PDF into 50 separate single page files in one go.
• By bookmark or chapter: if the PDF has bookmarks, Split by Bookmarks can cut it at each one on its own.

How do I pull just a few pages out of a PDF?

Use Extract Pages and type the pages you want. It saves just those pages as a new file and leaves the original untouched.

• Type single page numbers, a range, or both together, like 2, 5, and 9 to 12.
• The pages come out in the order you type them, so you can use this to pull a few pages into a new order too.
• This beats splitting the whole file when you only need a handful of pages, not the rest of the document.

How do I split a PDF so it fits an email or upload limit?

Use Split by Size and tell it the largest size you want each piece to be. It cuts the file into that many pieces, splitting cleanly at page breaks.

• Email limits: Gmail caps attachments at 25MB, and Outlook caps them at 20MB, so aim a bit under that to leave room for the message itself.
• Upload limits: VelloDoc takes files up to 80MB. A bigger PDF needs splitting before any tool on the site can open it.
• Name the parts clearly, such as Report part 1 of 3, so whoever gets them can tell the order and put them back together.
• Pages never get cut in half. Each piece is a full set of whole pages, just fewer of them.

Can I split a scanned book or a two page spread in half?

Yes. When a scan shows two book pages side by side, Split Pages in Half cuts each page down the middle and saves the two halves as separate pages.

• This fixes scans from a book or booklet where two pages were captured together as one wide image.
• The cut runs down the middle of every page, so you get one normal page per side, in reading order.
• It works on the whole file in one pass, so a 40 page scan becomes an 80 page PDF of single pages.

Does splitting hurt the quality, bookmarks, or metadata?

No. Splitting only copies pages into new files, so the text, images and resolution stay exactly as they were.

• Quality: nothing gets recompressed or redrawn, so pages look the same in the new files as they did in the original.
• Bookmarks: cutting by page range or size can drop bookmarks that pointed past the cut. Split by Bookmarks keeps each chapter's own bookmarks with it.
• Metadata: each new file gets its own copy of the author, title and date fields from the original, since those are small text fields, not image data.

Try the tools

Try it on your own file. The tools are free and you don't need an account.