Add Page Numbers to PDF
Number every page of your PDF, in the position and starting number you choose.
- ✓Files never uploaded
- ✓Free plan, no card needed
- ✓Free account, no card
- ✓No watermark
How to Add Page Numbers
- 1Drop your PDF into the box or click to choose it.
- 2Choose a position: bottom center, bottom right or top right.
- 3Set the starting number, for example 1 or 5.
- 4Click Add page numbers and download the numbered PDF.
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Page numbers that fit your document
Page numbers make long documents easier to navigate, discuss and print. Reviewers can say "see page 14", printed stacks can be put back in order if they get dropped, and many schools, courts and publishers require them. Adding them by hand in the source file isn't always possible — you may only have the PDF, or it may be a merged bundle of documents from different sources.
Choose where the numbers go. Bottom center is the classic choice for reports and theses, bottom right suits business documents, and top right is common for legal filings and manuscripts. The starting number lets you continue numbering from a previous document or skip a cover page's worth of numbering — for example, start at 3 if this PDF begins on page 3 of a bigger bundle.
Numbers are drawn on top of each page, so the existing content, selectable text and quality stay unchanged. A good workflow is to merge your documents first, then number the combined file so the numbering runs straight through. All processing is local in your browser, with no upload and no watermark added.
If you need a cover page without a number, remove it, number the remaining pages, and then merge the cover back in front of them.
Our take
We number pages on anything that will be discussed in a meeting or printed: application bundles, board papers, theses and court submissions where people need to point at a specific page.
Bottom center is our default for reports; bottom right for business bundles; top right when a filing format expects it. We set the start number when a document continues another one, so the numbering of the whole package stays consistent.
The pitfall: numbering each file separately and merging afterwards restarts the count at 1 in every section. We merge first, then number. If a numbered cover page looks odd, remove the cover, number the rest and merge the cover back in front with Merge PDF.
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Frequently asked questions
Where can the page numbers go?+
Bottom center, bottom right or top right of every page.
Can I start numbering from a number other than 1?+
Yes. Set any starting number, which is useful when continuing from another document.
Can I skip numbering the cover page?+
All pages get a number. Remove the cover, number the rest, then merge the cover back if needed.
Does it change my document's content?+
No. Numbers are added on top; the original text and images stay as they are.
Is my PDF uploaded?+
No. Page numbers are added locally in your browser.