Add page numbers to a PDF free, in your browser
A project report that the college wants numbered. An affidavit bundle where the court clerk asks for a page index. A 60-page tender where someone will say "see page 41". A PDF without numbers is hard to talk about, and harder to put back in order once it is printed.
Can you add page numbers to a PDF without going back to the original Word file? Yes. Here you add page numbers to the PDF document itself. The tool writes a small number on each page, about 1 cm in from the edge, in a plain dark grey font. Nothing else on the page is touched: text stays selectable, images are not re-compressed, and the file grows by only a few kilobytes. Adding page numbers to a PDF this way takes a few seconds, whether the file has 3 pages or 300.
It costs nothing, and there is no daily limit, account or watermark. You can number PDF pages for free as often as you like.
Your file stays on your device
PDF page numbering online usually means sending your file to someone else's server. Not here. This free tool runs inside your browser, and the PDF never leaves your device, so it is safe to number a bank statement, a legal draft or an unpublished thesis. A 200-page file takes a second or two on most phones.
Page number options, explained
Position and style
Position has six spots: top or bottom, and left, centre or right. Bottom centre suits most reports. Top right is common for court bundles.
Style decides what is written. "1" is the quietest. "Page 1" is clearer when the page already holds other figures, such as a price list or a PDF file with numbers in every table. "1 / 10" and "Page 1 of 10" show the total, so a reader knows at once whether a printed set is complete.
Skip the cover page or start from any number
Set Start numbering on page to 2 and the cover stays clean while the next page gets number 1. Set it to 4 to skip a cover, a certificate and a contents page. The total in "Page 1 of 10" counts only the numbered pages, so it stays correct.
First number is for documents that continue from somewhere else. If chapter one ended on page 38, set First number to 39 for chapter two.
Text size and mirrored numbers for double-sided printing
Text size runs from 8 to 24 pt, and 11 pt matches normal body text.
Tick Mirror on even pages when the document will be printed on both sides and bound. With Bottom right chosen, odd pages keep the number at bottom right and even pages move it to bottom left. The number then always sits on the outer edge, like in a book.
What this page number tool does not do yet
Roman numeral page numbering is not available yet
Numbers are written as 1, 2, 3 only. You cannot add Roman page numbers to a PDF online here, so a preface numbered i, ii, iii is not possible yet. PDF page numbering with Roman numerals is on the list, but it is not built. The usual workaround is to leave the front pages unnumbered and begin the main text at 1. If you still have the source document, set Roman numbering there and convert it again with Word to PDF.
There is no PDF page number remover, but there is a workaround
Numbers that are already printed on the pages cannot be detected and deleted automatically, so this is not a tool to remove PDF page numbers online. If you need to edit PDF page numbers that are wrong, first hide the old ones. When they sit in an empty footer, crop the PDF margins to trim that strip from every page at once. When they sit close to other content, use the eraser in Edit PDF to white them out. Then come back here and number the clean file.
How to change PDF page numbers that are already there
Wondering how to change PDF page numbers so a bundle that starts at 1 now starts at 57? The written numbers cannot be edited like text in a Word footer, because a PDF stores them as fixed marks on the page. Remove them as above, then set First number to 57 and run the tool. If only the total is wrong, for example "Page 3 of 40" after you deleted pages, do the same: clean, then renumber, and the total is counted again from the pages that are actually in the file.
Numbering merged files, portfolios and printed copies
Merge PDF files first, then number them
To merge PDF files with page numbers running from the first page to the last, do it in two steps. First combine the PDFs into one file. Then number the merged file here. There is no single PDF merger with page numbers built in, but the two tools together take under a minute. If you number each part first, every part starts again at 1. Need to move or delete a few pages before numbering? Reorder the pages first, because the numbers are fixed once they are written.
Add page numbers to a PDF portfolio
Design, architecture and photography students often need to add page numbers to a PDF portfolio before sending it to a college or a client. Choose a small size, 8 or 9 pt, and a corner position so the number does not fight with the artwork.
Add page numbers to a PDF when printing
The print dialog on Windows, Mac and phones has no setting to add page numbers to a PDF when printing. It prints the pages as they are. So number the file here first, then print the numbered copy.
Is the PDF not printing page numbers that you can see on screen? The printer is probably cutting them off. Most home printers cannot print on the outer 3 to 5 mm of the paper. Choose "Fit to printable area" or "Fit to page" in the print window, and the whole page, numbers included, shrinks slightly to fit.
Number from a specific page, or split a PDF by page numbers
A long file rarely needs the same treatment from the first sheet to the last. These are the two requests we hear most often, and both are quick.
Add page numbers to a PDF from a specific page
To add page numbers to a PDF from a specific page, type that page into Start numbering on page. Everything before it is left blank. This is how to add page numbers to a PDF document that has a title page, a declaration and a table of contents: set the box to 4, and the fourth sheet becomes page 1. If the examiner wants the fourth sheet to read 4, not 1, also set First number to 4. The style "Page 1 of 10" then shows the total of the numbered pages only.
Split a PDF by page numbers
Once the numbers are on, it is easy to hand out parts of the file. To split a PDF by page numbers, open Split PDF and type ranges such as 1-12, 13-30, 31-58. Each range becomes its own file, and the printed numbers inside stay as they were, so chapter two still says 13 on its first page. Do the numbering first and the splitting second; the other way round, every part would start at 1 again.
Add a page number to a PDF hyperlink
To add a page number to a PDF hyperlink in a web page, email or slide, use the #page= trick described below. The reader jumps straight to that sheet instead of the cover. Keep the printed numbers and the sheet count in step, by numbering from the first sheet, and your links will always land where the text says they will.
How to fix page numbers on a PDF that don't match
How do you fix page numbers on a PDF when the reader says "page 7" but the paper says 5? First, understand why the PDF page numbers don't match. The counter in your PDF reader's toolbar always counts from the very first sheet, cover included. The printed number follows whatever the author decided, and authors usually skip the cover and contents.
The simple fix is to number every sheet from 1, cover included, so both counts agree. If the file already carries different numbers, remove them as described above and number it again.
Is your PDF not showing page numbers at all? Then none were ever written on the pages. The counter in the toolbar belongs to the reader app, not to the document, and it never appears on paper. Add real numbers here and they show in every app and on every printout.
Add a page number to a PDF link or URL
You can send someone straight to the right page. Add #page=5 to the end of the PDF's web address, for example report.pdf#page=5, and Chrome, Edge and Firefox open it at the fifth sheet. Putting the PDF page number in the URL like this works for any PDF that is hosted online.
Keep one thing in mind: the page number in the link counts sheets from the start of the file. If your printed numbers skip the cover, printed page 5 is sheet 6, so the link needs #page=6.
Number PDF pages on Windows, Mac, Android and iPhone
Many people first try the PDF viewer they already have. You cannot add page numbers to a PDF in Edge or Chrome, because their built-in viewers have no numbering feature. On a Mac, you also cannot add page numbers to a PDF with Preview automatically. Apple Preview lets you type a text box on a page, so you would have to place every number by hand, and on a 40-page file that is 40 text boxes.
Looking for a free app to add page numbers to a PDF on your phone? You do not need one. This page works in Chrome on Android and Safari on iPhone, with the same options as on a laptop, and the numbered file lands in your Downloads folder. It is the quickest way to give page numbers to a PDF online from a phone, because there is nothing to install and nothing to sign in to.
Searching for a PDF page numbering software free download? Most of what you find is a trial that stamps a watermark until you pay, or a 200 MB installer for a two-second job. Do you need to add page numbers to a PDF offline? Desktop PDF editors can do that, but most of them are paid. This tool needs the internet only to load the page. After that, the numbering itself happens on your device and the file is not uploaded anywhere.