Everyone hits this sooner or later: a single invoice buried in a 40-page bank statement, your resume stuck inside a full portfolio, or one chapter you need out of a course pack. Splitting a PDF — pulling the pages you need into a fresh file — takes under a minute, and it's free.
Method 1: the free online splitter (fastest)
No software to install, no account to create. Your browser does the whole job, and the file never leaves your device.
- Open the free Split PDF tool.
- Drop in your PDF.
- Choose how to split it:
- Page ranges — type what you want, like
1-3, 5, 8-10, and get exactly those pages as a new PDF. - Every N pages — set N to 5 and a 23-page PDF becomes separate files of 5, 5, 5, 5, and 3 pages.
- Pick pages — tick pages visually in a preview grid.
- Page ranges — type what you want, like
- Download your new PDF.
This is the method to use when you need multiple splits or odd page combinations. Splitting several invoices out of one monthly statement, for example, takes one pass with page ranges instead of repeating the whole process for each invoice.
Method 2: your computer's built-in tools
If you just need to pull one page range out and don't want a website, your OS already has it covered.
Mac (Preview): open the PDF, choose File → Print, set the page range in the Pages section, then click the PDF button at the bottom-left and choose Save as PDF. To extract non-adjacent pages, select their thumbnails in the sidebar first.
Windows: open the PDF in Edge or Chrome, press Ctrl+P, set the destination to Microsoft Print to PDF, and enter your pages under "Pages" (e.g. 5-8). Windows can't split into equal parts this way — for that, use the online splitter above.
Method 3: on your phone
The online splitter works directly in your mobile browser: open it in Safari or Chrome, pick the PDF from your files, and save the result. No app to install.
iPhone shortcut: open the PDF, tap Share → Print, then pinch outward on the print preview to open it as a PDF and tap Save to Files. It's quick for a single page range but clumsy for anything complex.
Which method should you use?
- One page range, one file: your built-in print-to-PDF is fine.
- Multiple splits, equal parts, or odd combinations: the Split PDF tool is faster and less error-prone.
- Merging instead of splitting: that's the reverse job — combining several files into one. Use the free Merge PDF tool.
- Splitting to shrink what you send: if you're pulling one chapter out of a manual to email it, split first, then run the smaller file through the free compress PDF tool. A smaller source makes a smaller output — and nobody waits on a 40-page attachment when they only need six pages.
The honest limits
- Password-protected PDFs can't be split until unlocked. If a file asks for a password, you'll need it first — and only unlock documents you own or have the right to open.
- Scanned PDFs stay scans. Splitting copies pages exactly as they are, so a scan remains a scan (no selectable text appears out of thin air). Pages are copied at full fidelity — images keep their resolution and text stays selectable if it was selectable before.
- Very large files take a moment. The work happens on your device, so a 500-page PDF processes as fast as your phone or laptop can handle it. Give it a few seconds.
- Keep the original. Split copies are cheap to make, but you can't un-split — hang on to the source file in case you need different pages later.