Add Page Numbers to PDF

What this page-numbering tool does

Drop a PDF and it stamps a page number onto every page (or only the pages you choose) exactly where you want it: top or bottom, left, center or right, at any margin from the edge. Pick a format — plain 1, 2, 3; 1 / 10; Page 1 of 10; - 1 -; or type your own template with {n} for the number and {total} for the last number, such as Sheet {n} / {total}. Set the number the first page should get, skip a cover by numbering pages 2- only, and choose the font (Helvetica, Helvetica Bold, Times, Courier), size in points, margin in millimetres and color (black, gray, or white for dark backgrounds). The preview on the right re-renders the first numbered page as you change settings, so you see the real result before saving.

Numbers are drawn with pdf-lib straight onto the existing pages using PDF's built-in standard fonts — nothing is rasterized, nothing else on the page changes, and the text stays selectable and searchable in any reader. Pages that carry a rotation flag (common in scans) are handled: the number lands on the visual bottom or top edge and reads the right way up. The file never leaves your browser; there is no upload, no queue, no watermark and no page limit.

How to use it

Drop or choose a PDF. Click one of the six dots to set the position — the little frame is a miniature page. Choose a format from the list, or Custom to type a template. Set the start number (0 is allowed, for documents whose cover is page 0) and, if you want to leave some pages unnumbered, enter the pages to number using ranges — 2- numbers everything from page 2 on, 3-20 only that span. Adjust font, size, margin and color while watching the preview. Press Add page numbers and download yourfile-numbered.pdf.

Your settings are remembered on this device, so numbering a batch of similar documents is one drop and one click each. The result can go on to Merge PDF, Compress PDF or Organize PDF. If the document needs its pages put in order first, do that in Organize PDF or Rotate PDF before numbering, because printed numbers do not update when pages are moved later. A watermark is added the same way — stamp it before numbering, or after; both are page content.

Common pitfalls

Number after you finish editing. Page numbers are ink on the page, not live fields: merging, splitting, deleting or reordering afterwards leaves the old numbers in place. If a document already has numbers in its footer, the new ones will sit next to (or on top of) them — use a different corner, or a gray number, or a larger margin. The built-in PDF fonts cover only Latin letters, digits and common punctuation, so a template with Chinese, Japanese, Cyrillic or Greek characters is rendered with your browser's fonts and embedded as a sharp image instead — correct at any zoom, but those numbers cannot be selected or searched. Latin templates stay real text.

The {total} placeholder is the last number printed, not the page count of the file: numbering pages 2-11 starting at 1 gives 1 of 10 … 10 of 10, which is what a reader expects. White numbers vanish on white paper — they are meant for documents with dark page backgrounds. Password-protected PDFs cannot be modified; remove the password first. Very large margins on small pages (A6, receipts) can push a right-aligned number off the left edge — the preview will show it.

Background: how a number gets onto a page

Each PDF page has a content stream of drawing operators. Adding a page number appends a small text-showing operation to that stream, referencing one of the fourteen standard fonts every PDF reader must supply — which is why no font file is embedded and the file grows by only a few hundred bytes per page. The number is positioned relative to the page's crop box, the rectangle readers actually display, so it lands where you expect even on files whose media box has an offset origin.

Scanned documents often store the page sideways with a /Rotate flag telling the reader to turn it; a naive tool would print the number along the visual side edge. This tool rotates both the position and the text direction with the page, so the number is always on the visual bottom or top edge, reading normally. The preview is produced by rendering the first numbered page with pdf.js after the number has been added — it is the real output, not a mock-up. Everything runs in your tab; the page works offline once loaded.

When you need page numbers in a PDF

A thesis, report or manual assembled from several files that has to be numbered continuously. Court filings, tenders and contracts where every page must be numbered (often Page X of Y so a missing page is obvious). A scanned book or archive without printed numbers. Handouts and slide printouts that are easier to discuss when everyone can name a page. Exam papers and worksheets. A merged bundle of invoices or receipts for accounting.

On this site the usual order is: merge or organize the pages, rotate any sideways ones, add numbers here, then compress if it has to fit an email. Need the numbered pages as pictures? PDF to image renders them, numbers included.

Frequently asked questions