Split PDF

There is no single 'split' operation in the PDF specification, so the tool offers three patterns. Extract pulls out specific pages you select and saves them as one new file - useful for grabbing pages 5 to 12 of a long contract. Individual splits the document so every page becomes its own file - handy when you need to upload each page of a 30-page bank statement to a portal that accepts one PDF at a time. Custom ranges let you write expressions like '1-5, 8, 11-15' to produce multiple output files, one per range.

Internally each mode does the same thing: it creates a new PDF document, copies the chosen pages from the source page tree, and writes a file. Fonts, embedded images, and annotations on the kept pages come along. Bookmarks and links pointing outside the kept range are dropped, since they no longer have anywhere to go.

Split is the right choice when you want multiple smaller PDFs from one source. If you only need one slice and want to throw the rest away, [Extract PDF Pages](/extract-pdf-pages) is more direct. If you want to keep most of the document and just remove a few pages, [Delete PDF Pages](/delete-pdf-pages) is the natural fit.

A common workflow is splitting a multi-statement bank export. A bank might give you 12 monthly statements bundled into one file. Splitting by individual page or custom ranges separates them so each month is its own attachment, ready for an accountant or expense system. The split runs locally, so the statements never sit in a third-party server's logs.

Splitting happens entirely in your browser using pdf-lib. The PDF is read into memory, the page subsets are extracted, and the resulting files are offered as direct downloads. Nothing uploads anywhere, which is the right setting for personal documents (medical records, legal correspondence, tax paperwork) where confidentiality is the whole point.

Splitting is fast for documents under 100MB on most devices. Very large files can hit browser memory limits, especially on phones; if a split stalls, try the Extract mode for just the pages you actually need rather than splitting into individuals. Encrypted PDFs need to be decrypted first, since the browser cannot read inside without the password.