Altto
All tools
Free · No sign-up · Runs in your browser

Split a PDF into separate files.

Add your PDF and press Split: every page comes back as its own PDF. Or type page ranges, cut it every few pages, or keep each file under a size such as 5 MB so it fits an email or upload form. It all happens on your device, with no sign-up. Password-protected PDFs need unlocking first.

Not uploaded — nobody sees it Split by page or custom range No watermark, ever No subscription or account
pages per file
MB per file

Several page jobs to do? Organise PDF lets you reorder, rotate, delete, split, merge and number pages on one screen.

Your file is never uploaded — it’s processed right here in this browser tab, on your device. It never reaches a server, so we never see it, copy it or keep it.

More PDF tools

See all tools
Scan to PDFPhotograph pages with your phone and save one clean PDF.Organise PDFReorder, rotate, delete, split and merge pages on one screen.PDF to WordTurn a PDF into an editable .docx file.Edit PDFChange the words in a PDF, in its own font, and add text, pictures and shapes.Unlock PDFRemove a password from a PDF you own.PDF to JPGTurn each PDF page into a JPG image.Merge PDFCombine multiple PDFs into one file.Compress PDFShrink a PDF’s file size.Add Page NumbersStamp page numbers onto a PDF.
At a glance

Split PDF: quick facts

Split a PDF into single pages, page ranges, equal groups or files under a set size.

Updated

Price
Free. No sign-up, no watermark.
Options
Every page on its own, ranges like 1-3, 4-6, groups of every N pages, or files under a size you choose (MB).
Output
One PDF, or a .zip when there are several parts.
Quality
Pages are copied exactly. Bookmarks are not carried over.
Privacy
Your file is processed in your browser and never uploaded.
How it works

How to split a PDF into separate files

Leave the box empty to get every page as its own PDF, type ranges such as 1-3, 4-6, split into equal groups of pages, or keep each file under a size in MB. Each part is named after the pages it holds, such as pages-1-3.pdf.

  1. 01

    Add your PDF

    Drop in the PDF you want to split. Altto reads it locally and shows you the page count.

  2. 02

    Set your split points

    Leave it blank to get one file per page, or type ranges like 1-3, 4-6 to control exactly how it divides.

  3. 03

    Save your files

    Get back one PDF, or a .zip of several, ready to share or file away.

Tips

Tips for splitting a PDF cleanly

Pages are copied across exactly as they are, so the only real decisions are where to cut and what to call the parts.

  • Count pages the way the PDF doesRanges use the PDF’s own order, where the very first page is 1. That isn’t always the number printed on it: a report with a cover and a contents page may print “1” on its third page.
  • Use groups for regular documentsIf every section is the same length, such as a pile of two-page forms scanned together, fill in “split into groups of every 2 pages” instead of typing each range. The groups setting takes priority over anything in the ranges box.
  • Rename the parts before sharingSeveral parts arrive together in one .zip, each named after its pages. Unzip them and rename each one to say what it is, such as “March invoice”, so whoever receives it knows what they’re opening.
  • Only need a page or two?Splitting divides up the whole document. If you just want a few pages out of a long file, Extract PDF Pages gives you a single new PDF of only those pages, with nothing else to tidy up.

Like every Altto tool, this runs on your device — nothing you add is uploaded. How Altto works

1 PDF

is what you get when your ranges make a single part. Altto only builds a .zip when there’s more than one file to hand back.

Guide

Splitting a PDF: other ways, and what to know

Ways to do this without Altto too, on Windows, Mac and phones, and the things that trip people up.

First: what kind of “split” do you need?

“Split a PDF” covers a few different jobs, and picking the right one saves you tidying up afterwards:

Which tool fits which job
You want to…ExampleUse
Turn every page into its own PDFA batch of scanned receipts, one per pageSplit PDF, split points left blank
Divide it into sections you chooseA bundle of three letters: pages 1–2, 3–5, 6–9Split PDF with ranges
Cut it into equal chunksA 40-page workbook into 10-page partsSplit PDF, “groups of every” 10 pages
Make every file small enough to sendA 40 MB scanned report for a form that takes 10 MB per fileSplit PDF, “keep each file under” 10 MB
Keep just a few pages as one new PDFOnly the signature pages from a contract
Keep everything except a few pagesDrop the blank pages from a scan

How to split a PDF using “Print to PDF”

Every computer and phone can already save a chosen range of pages as a new PDF, through the print dialog. It’s one section per go, but it needs nothing extra.

Windows (Edge or Chrome)

  1. Open the PDF in Edge or Chrome and press Ctrl + P.
  2. Set the printer to Save as PDF (or Microsoft Print to PDF).
  3. Under Pages, choose the custom option and enter a range, such as 5-8.
  4. Click Save and name the new file. Repeat for each section.

Mac

The same approach works from Preview: File → Print, set the page range, then use the PDF menu at the bottom left and choose Save as PDF. Preview also has a faster trick: choose View → Thumbnails, select the pages you want (Command-click to pick several) and drag them onto the desktop. macOS saves them as a new PDF with “(dragged)” added to the name.

iPhone and Android

On an iPhone, open the PDF in the Files app, tap Share → Print, set the page range, then tap Share again and choose Save to Files. On Android, open the PDF, choose Print from the menu, set the printer to Save as PDF, pick your pages and tap the download button. The exact wording varies between phone makers.

The catch with printing: printing re-creates the pages rather than copying them, so things like clickable links, bookmarks and fillable form fields may not survive, and a long document with many sections means doing it over and over. For more than a couple of sections, a proper splitter is quicker.

Tips for splitting cleanly

  • Use the PDF’s page numbers, not the printed ones. If a report has a cover and contents pages, “page 1” printed at the bottom might be page 4 of the PDF. Split tools count from the first page of the file.
  • Remove blank pages separately. Double-sided scans often leave a blank page after each sheet. It’s easier to delete those first than to split around them.
  • Splitting to fit a size limit? Splitting divides the file size roughly in proportion to the pages, but a few photo-heavy pages can carry most of the weight. If a part is still too big, see how to compress a PDF.
  • Need pages as images instead? If the goal is to post a page online or drop it into slides, convert it to JPG rather than splitting.
  • Changed your mind? Split files can always be put back together with Merge PDF.

What splitting doesn’t do

Splitting won’t unlock a protected PDF — if the file needs a password to open, remove it first with Unlock PDF (you’ll need to know the password). It also won’t divide a single page into two halves; that’s a job for Crop PDF.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What the split tool can and can’t do. Our guide on how to split a PDF also covers doing it with your computer’s own print dialog.

How many parts will I get?
As many as your split points create — leave the field blank and every page becomes its own PDF, type ranges like 1-3, 4-6, 7-10 to control exactly how it's divided, or fill in “split into groups of every” with a page count to chop it into equal-sized chunks automatically.
What if I only need one range?
If your split points produce a single file, you'll get that PDF directly — Altto only creates a .zip when there's more than one output file.
Will splitting affect page quality?
No. Each page is copied exactly as it appears in the source file, so text, images and layout are unchanged.
Can I split a password-protected PDF?
Not directly — unlock it first. Use our Unlock PDF tool to remove the password, then split it here.
Why do the parts add up to more than the original?
Each part needs its own copy of anything its pages share, such as embedded fonts or a background picture, so ten parts can add up to more than the file they came from. That’s normal. If one part is too big to send, Compress PDF can shrink the photos and scans inside it.
Are bookmarks and links kept?
The pages themselves come through unchanged, but the document’s bookmarks (the clickable contents list some viewers show down the side) aren’t carried into the parts. Links that jump to a page now in a different part won’t take you there, although links to websites still work.
Can I split a scanned PDF?
Yes. A scan is split exactly like any other PDF, as each page is copied across with its picture untouched. Because scanned pages are usually similar in size, a 10-page scan split into two halves gives two files of roughly half the size each.
How do I split a PDF by file size, such as under 5 MB?
Add your PDF, type the limit in the “keep each file under” box (for example 5 for 5 MB, or 0.5 for 500 KB) and press Split PDF. Altto puts as many whole pages as fit into each file and checks the real size of every part before saving it. A single page that is bigger than the limit on its own is saved by itself and named in the result, so you can compress it.
Is there a page or file size limit?
Altto sets no limit and adds no watermark. Because the PDF is split on your own device, very large files (hundreds of MB) depend on how much memory your computer or phone has; a computer copes with bigger files than a phone.
Can I split a PDF on an iPhone or Android phone?
Yes. Open this page in Safari or Chrome, tap the box to pick the PDF from Files or your downloads, and press Split PDF. One part saves as a PDF; several arrive as a .zip, which the Files app on iPhone and most Android file apps open with a tap.
How do I split a PDF into separate pages for free?
Open Altto’s Split PDF, add your file and leave the split points blank. Every page becomes its own PDF, and they download together as a single .zip file. Nothing is uploaded and there’s no sign-up.
How do I split a PDF into page ranges?
In Split PDF, type the ranges you want separated by commas, such as 1-3, 4-6, 7-10. Each range becomes its own PDF. To cut a file into equal parts instead, use the “split into groups of every” box and enter a page count.
How do I split a PDF without Adobe Acrobat?
Use a free browser tool such as Altto’s Split PDF, or your computer’s print dialog: open the PDF in a browser, choose Print, set the destination to Save as PDF and enter a custom page range. The print method saves one section at a time.
What’s the difference between splitting and extracting pages?
Splitting divides a whole PDF into several files. Extracting keeps only the pages you pick and saves them as one new PDF. If you just need the signature page from a contract, Extract PDF Pages is the quicker choice.
More tools

Related tools

PDF Page CounterCount the pages in one PDF or a whole batch at once.

Related guides: A free Microsoft Lens alternative: scan to PDF with no app · A free Adobe Acrobat alternative: no sign-in, no limits, no uploads