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Add Page Numbers to PDF

To number a PDF's pages, add it, choose the position and a format such as “Page 1 of 10”, set the first number and optionally skip the cover page, then download. Numbers are real text, placed the right way up even on rotated or scanned pages, and nothing else in the document changes.

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How to use Add Page Numbers to PDF

  1. 1Add a PDF.
  2. 2Choose the position and a format such as “Page 1 of 10”.
  3. 3Set the first number, and tick the option to skip the cover page if you need to.
  4. 4Press Add page numbers, check the preview, then download.

How it works

The numbers are written onto each page as real text in the standard Helvetica font, so they stay sharp at any zoom, can be searched, and add only a few kilobytes. The rest of the page is not altered: its original content is kept exactly as it was and the number is drawn on top.

Pages are not always stored the way they are displayed. Scans and landscape pages are often saved upright with a rotation instruction that the viewer applies. The tool reads each page's rotation and visible area, works out where the bottom or top edge ends up on screen, and turns the number to match — so a number set to bottom centre lands at the bottom centre of the page as you see it, reading the right way up.

When you skip the cover or number only a range, counting starts on the first numbered page, and the “of N” total counts only the pages that are numbered. Set a different first number to continue on from an earlier document.

The file is read into your browser's memory, changed there, and handed straight back to you. Nothing is uploaded, so there is no queue and no copy sitting on a server afterwards.

Tips and common mistakes

  • Number the pages as the last step. If you merge, delete or reorder pages afterwards, the numbers printed on them will no longer match their positions.
  • For a report with front matter, skip the cover and set the first number so the main text starts where you want it, or number only the range of pages that needs it.
  • Check a page that has content close to the bottom edge. The number is drawn on top of the page, so if it collides with an existing footer, choose another corner or move it further from the edge.
  • Use the “Page 1 of 10” style for anything that will be printed and handled as loose sheets — a reader can tell at once whether a page is missing.

Frequently asked questions

Can I start from a number other than 1?
Yes. Enter any first number — useful when a document continues on from an earlier part.
Can I leave the cover page unnumbered?
Tick “Don't number the first page”. Numbering then begins on page 2, starting from the first number you chose.
Does it work on scanned PDFs?
Yes. The number is drawn over the scanned image like any other page. If the scan has dark edges, increase the distance from the edge or change the colour so the number stays readable.
Does it change anything else in the document?
No. Text, images, links and bookmarks are left as they were; only the numbers are added. Password-protected PDFs need the password removed first.
Will the numbers be the right way up on landscape or rotated pages?
Yes. Each page's rotation and visible area are read first, so the number lands in the position you chose as the page appears on screen, reading the right way up.
Can I number only part of a document?
Yes. Number a range of pages, and the “of N” total counts only the pages that are numbered, so “Page 1 of 8” means eight numbered pages.
Are the page numbers searchable text?
Yes. They are written as real text in the standard Helvetica font, so they stay sharp at any zoom and add only a few kilobytes to the file.
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