Number every page of your PDF in seconds. Pick position, format, and starting number. Free, browser-based, no upload.
Or click to select a file from your device
You'd think page numbers would just be there. Most word processors add them automatically. But PDFs come from everywhere — scanners, exports from older software, photo-merged documents, hand-assembled books — and many of those sources skip the page number step. The result is a document that's hard to reference ("could you check page 7?" "...which one is that?"), hard to keep in order if printed, and looks unprofessional in formal contexts like contracts, theses, and reports.
Adding page numbers to a PDF should take ten seconds. This tool gets you there: drop in your PDF, pick where the numbers should sit, pick a format, optionally tweak the starting number, and download. Original content stays intact — we add the numbers as a fresh layer on top of each page.
Drag the file into the upload area or click to select. The PDF is processed in your browser; nothing is uploaded to any server, which matters if your document is a contract, financial filing, medical record, or anything else you'd rather not share with a stranger.
Six positions to choose from: top-left, top-center, top-right, bottom-left, bottom-center, bottom-right. The most common conventions are bottom-center (modern documents, most reports) or bottom-right (academic papers, books). Top positions are useful when you have important content along the bottom of your pages.
Choose just the number ("1"), "Page 1", "1 of 10", or a custom prefix/suffix combination. Set the starting page (e.g., skip the cover) and starting number (e.g., start from 5 if this is a continuation document). Pick a font size — 10 to 12 points is standard for most documents.
Click the button. Each page gets its number stamped, and you get a clean new PDF to download. Original PDF on your device stays untouched.
Your PDF stays on your device. Most online page-numbering tools upload your PDF to their servers, modify it there, and email or stream the result back. For contracts, legal docs, financial filings, or anything personal, this is a privacy risk you shouldn't take for a five-second operation. We add the numbers in your browser using pdf-lib. No upload, no server, no logs.
Original content is never touched. Page numbers are added as a separate text layer on top of your pages. The original page content — text, images, fonts, signatures — is preserved exactly. We don't re-render, re-encode, or re-compress anything.
Skip pages flexibly. Most basic page-numbering tools start at page 1, number 1, and that's it. We let you skip a cover page (start numbering on page 2), pick up from a specific number (start at 5 for a continuation document), or use the format that matches your style guide.
Free, no signup, unlimited. Add page numbers to a single contract or 50 documents in a row — same experience.
Scanned documents and contracts. Scanners don't add page numbers. If you scanned a 30-page document, numbering it makes referencing specific pages possible. Especially helpful in legal review, where comments reference page numbers.
Combined PDFs from multiple sources. If you merged several documents into one PDF (using our merger or anyone else's), the original page numbers are now wrong. Re-numbering gives you a consistent sequence across the whole combined document.
Theses, manuscripts, and reports. Academic and professional documents require consistent page numbering. If your source document missed this step, this tool fixes it without a rewrite.
Print-ready prep. Before sending a PDF to a print shop, page numbers ensure the printer can verify all pages came through and assemble them correctly.
Long books and ebooks. Self-publishers preparing PDFs for printing or distribution often need to add or fix page numbers after the layout is done.
Worksheets and educational materials. Teachers preparing handouts often combine pages from multiple sources; consistent numbering helps students follow along.
Legal exhibits and filings. Many jurisdictions require numbered pages in filed documents. This tool adds them in the format your court system expects.
Just the number ("1", "2", "3"...). The cleanest, most space-efficient option. Standard for academic papers and most modern documents. If you have minimal space at the bottom of your pages, this is the right pick.
"Page 1", "Page 2"... Clearer about what the number means. Good for documents that will be printed and physically handled. Common in business reports, manuals, instruction guides.
"1 of 10", "2 of 10"... Shows the reader where they are AND how much is left. Essential for contracts (to confirm no pages are missing), shipping manifests, exam papers, anything where total page count matters.
"Page 1 of 10". The most explicit, takes the most space. Good for formal documents where clarity is more important than design polish.
Custom prefix/suffix. Some style guides have specific requirements ("Section A — 1", "Appendix B Page 1"). Use the custom option for these. Note that any text you enter into prefix/suffix gets repeated on every page; the page number changes per page.
Use 10–12 point font for most documents. Too small (8pt or less) is hard to read; too large (18pt+) feels intrusive. 10–12pt is the standard professional range.
Pick a position that matches your document content. If your pages have important content at the bottom (footnotes, citations, sign-off lines), put page numbers at the top. If pages have headers/letterhead at the top, put numbers at the bottom.
Bottom-center is the safest default. Works for almost every document type, doesn't conflict with most letterhead designs, and matches reader expectations.
Start numbering from page 2 if you have a cover. Cover pages and title pages typically aren't numbered in formal documents. Set "Start numbering on page" to 2, and "First page number" to 1 — the cover stays clean, the first content page is page 1.
For continuation documents, start at the right number. If this PDF is the second half of a larger work where the first half ended on page 47, set "First page number" to 48 so the sequence is continuous when both parts are read together.
Preview before sharing. After downloading, open the numbered PDF and confirm the numbers are where you wanted, in the format you wanted, on the right pages. Easy to verify; saves embarrassment.
The numbering is added as a fresh text element on each page using pdf-lib, a JavaScript PDF library that runs entirely in the browser. For each page (starting from your chosen start page), we compute the right number, format it with your prefix/suffix template, measure where to place it given your chosen position, and draw it at that location using a built-in font.
This is a non-destructive operation — the original page content stays untouched, and the new text becomes part of the PDF's content stream alongside everything that was there before. Any PDF reader will display the result correctly, and the original is fully intact: you can take the numbered PDF, run it through a tool that removes the numbers, and get back something visually identical to the original.
Yes. No signup, no watermark, no upload, no daily quota. Use it as much as you want.
No. The page-numbering happens entirely in your browser. Your PDF never leaves your device.
Yes. Use the "Start numbering on page" field to skip a cover, table of contents, or any other front matter. The first numbered page shows the number you set in "First page number."
Currently the tool uses standard Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3). Roman numerals and other formats are on the roadmap. For now, you can use the custom prefix/suffix option to wrap the numbers in any text you like.
The tool places numbers near the edge of each page, where most documents have margin space. If your content extends all the way to the page edge, numbers may overlap — try a different position or check your source document's margins.
Currently page numbers use a standard black sans-serif font, which works for most documents. Custom colors and font options are coming in a future update.
No. Original page content, formatting, fonts, and images are untouched. The page numbers are added as a separate text layer on top.
If you keep the original PDF separately, you can just delete the numbered version. If you only have the numbered version and need to remove the numbers, you'd need a PDF editor with content-removal tools.