Splitting a PDF sounds like a solved problem, yet the popular online tools still come with strings. Smallpdf's free plan is capped at two tasks a day, and iLovePDF limits large files to 100 MB on the free version, with both uploading your document to a server. For a contract or a scan of an ID, that upload is the part many people would rather avoid.
Extract pages from a PDF into one new file
Choose Extract pages and type what you want. A single number is one page, a dash is a range, and a trailing dash runs to the end, so 1-3, 5, 8- means pages 1 to 3, page 5 and everything from page 8 on. The pages are copied into one new PDF in the order you typed them, which also makes this a quick way to reorder a few pages.
Split a PDF by page range into separate files
Switch to Split by ranges and each comma-separated range becomes its own PDF: 1-3, 4-6 gives you two files. It is the fastest way to break a long report into chapters. The output list shows every file and its page count before you download anything, and mistakes such as a range beyond the last page or one written backwards are explained in plain words.
Split a PDF every N pages
For evenly sized chunks, such as a scanned stack where each document is five pages, set N with the slider. The last file simply holds the leftover pages. When a split produces more than one file, the results come down as a single ZIP so your browser does not have to approve a string of separate downloads.
Split a PDF without uploading it
The file is read and cut by a library that runs on the page itself, so it never leaves your device, and there is no watermark or signup. Password-protected files cannot be opened without the password and are refused with a clear message. Need the parts back together later? The PDF Merge tool does that.
