Split PDF

Most "split PDF" tools only do one of these. SwissArmyPDF offers all three in one screen.

• Every page → its own PDF. Useful when you've scanned a stack of unrelated documents (a pile of receipts, a batch of forms) as a single PDF and need them separated.
• Fixed-size chunks. "Every 10 pages." Useful for batching a long PDF into emailable chunks, or splitting a book into chapter-sized PDFs.
• Custom page ranges. "Pages 1–3, page 5, pages 7–9." Each range becomes one PDF in the output. Useful when you've got, say, a 50-page master document and want the introduction, the appendix, and one specific case study as separate files.

All three modes output a single ZIP containing the resulting PDFs, so you don't get hit with 50 separate download prompts.

1. Open Split PDF.
2. Drop your PDF onto the page or click to browse.
3. Pick a split mode: every page, fixed chunk size, or custom ranges.
4. For ranges, type them comma-separated: 1-3, 5, 7-9. Each entry becomes one PDF.
5. Click Split. A ZIP file containing the output PDFs downloads instantly.

Page numbers refer to the visible page numbers in the original (1-indexed). If your PDF starts with a cover, page 1 is the cover.

• Scanned batches. You batched a pile of receipts through a desktop scanner — now they're one PDF and you need them as one-per-receipt for an expense system. Use "every page → its own PDF."
• Multi-page exports. Your bank statement is 60 pages but you only need pages 12–14 for a particular transaction. Use custom ranges.
• Email size limits. A 200MB PDF won't go through Gmail's 25MB cap. Split into 10MB chunks and send separately. Use fixed chunks (try 50 pages).
• Course materials. A textbook PDF split into chapter-sized files for distribution to students.
• Legal discovery. Production documents split into manageable batches for review.
• Archive cleanup. Extract just the pages you care about and discard the rest — combine with Delete PDF Pages or Extract PDF Pages for finer control.

People often ask: "Why are there separate Split and Extract tools?" Because they produce different outputs.

• Split takes one PDF and produces multiple PDFs. Use it when you need pages 1–3 in one file and pages 5–7 in another.
• Extract takes one PDF and produces a single PDF containing only the pages you picked. Use it when you want pages 1–3, 5, and 7–9 all in one new file.

For "just give me chapter 3 as a PDF," Extract is the right tool. For "give me each chapter as its own PDF," Split with custom ranges is.

No artificial cap from us. The practical limit is browser memory — pdf-lib has to load the source PDF into RAM to copy pages out. From our testing on a 2022 MacBook Air:

• 50-page PDF, 5MB — instant.
• 500-page PDF, 80MB — under 5 seconds.
• 2GB scanned PDF — works, takes about 90 seconds, watch your browser's memory.

If your PDF is over a gigabyte, close other tabs first.

• The output PDFs are still huge. Splitting doesn't reduce size per-page; each output retains the same image quality as the source. Run Compress PDF on each chunk if size matters.
• "Enter at least one range" error. Check that your range syntax uses hyphens (not dashes from Word's autocorrect): 1-3 not 1–3.
• Page numbers don't match what I see. Use the page numbers from your PDF reader's page counter (usually shown as "page X of Y"), not any printed page numbers in the document content.
• Want to reorder pages too? Use Organize PDF — it gives you a visual page grid you can drag pages around in.

PDFs you split often contain things you don't want on a third party's server: bank statements, signed legal documents, medical records. SwissArmyPDF processes the file entirely in your browser using pdf-lib's WebAssembly build. The pages stay on your device; the ZIP is built locally and downloaded directly. There's no server in the loop.

Verify in DevTools: open the Network tab, run a split, and watch for outbound traffic. There isn't any.

Common follow-ups:

• Merge PDF — recombine specific split files into a new arrangement.
• Compress PDF — shrink each split output for email.
• Extract PDF Pages — if you actually wanted one file with selected pages, not many files.
• Organize PDF — full page-grid editor for rearranging.