PDF how-to
How to split a PDF
Splitting a PDF means turning one PDF into two or more separate PDF files. You can split at visual page boundaries, use page ranges, or create one file per page depending on what you need.
Updated August 10, 2026
Quick answer
Choose where the document should break apart.
Open the PDF, decide the page boundaries for each output file, split the document, then verify the new files. If you want one new PDF containing only selected pages, that is usually an extract operation rather than a split.
Split by visual page boundaries
Visual splitting is useful when you know the document by sight but not by page number. Preview the pages, place cut points where one section ends and another begins, then create the separate PDFs.
Split by page ranges
Ranges are faster when you already know the page numbers. For example, a 20-page PDF might become pages 1–5, 6–12 and 13–20. Check whether the tool treats page numbers as the visible PDF pages you expect, especially if the document itself prints different page labels in headers or footers.
Split into individual pages
Creating one PDF per page is useful for forms, certificates, tickets or other page-independent documents. It can also create many files quickly, so make sure that is genuinely the output you need before starting.
Split vs extract: what's the difference?
Split divides the original document into multiple outputs. Extract keeps selected pages and combines them into one new PDF. If you want pages 2, 7 and 9 together in one file, Extract is the clearer operation. If you want pages 1–5 and 6–10 as two separate files, Split is the clearer operation.
Split locally with eggPDF
eggPDF's split workflow processes the selected PDF contents in your browser. Use visual split points, manual ranges or individual-page output depending on the document.
What should you verify afterward?
Open at least the first and last page of every output file. Confirm that no boundary page is missing or duplicated, filenames are understandable, and page orientation is correct. If a page is sideways, rotate it as a separate step rather than re-splitting the entire document.
Rotate PDF pages →Related guides
Sources
We prefer standards bodies, platform documentation and first-party technical sources for factual claims.