Add page numbers to a PDF
Number every page or just some, where you want and in the style you want. Sideways and cropped pages are numbered where you read them. The file never leaves your device.
Updated October 31, 2026
Options
How it works
- Drop one or more PDFs anywhere on this page.
- Pick the position and the format and, if needed, the first number and which pages.
- Check the preview and download the numbered PDF.
Where the numbers go
Six positions cover what printers and readers expect: bottom centre for most documents, bottom right or alternating corners for a book, top right for a report. The side and top or bottom margins move the number away from the edge, so it stays clear of a binding or a header. Size runs from 6 to 48 points, 11 by default, and the colour can be anything, which is useful on dark page backgrounds.
The preview shows the chosen page with the number in place before anything is written, so you can move it a little and check it against the text block.
Formats that match the document
A bare number is the usual choice. Number of total, or Page 3 of 12, suits forms and contracts where the reader must know nothing is missing. Lower-case roman numerals are the convention for a preface or table of contents, and Custom text lets you build your own line around the number and the total, for an appendix or a chapter code.
Start at sets the first number printed, so the second volume of a report can continue from where the first stopped, and the Pages field limits numbering to a range such as 3- when the cover and contents should stay blank.
Good to know
The numbers are real text, not pictures: a reader can search for page 7 and select it. Up to 20 PDFs of up to 200 MB each can be numbered with the same settings in one list. The work is done by your browser, and the file never leaves your device. Afterwards the numbered PDF can go straight to Merge PDF, Compress PDF or Protect PDF.
Why people use it
Free, no account
Every tool is free, with no sign-up, no e-mail address and no limit on how often you use it.
Your files stay on your device
The browser opens the file and processes it in memory, on your device. Nothing is uploaded, so nothing can be kept, leaked or looked at.
No watermark
The result is yours as it is: no watermark, no branding, no trial version.
Any device
A phone, a tablet or a computer with a current browser is enough: no app to install, no software to update.
Works offline after the first visit
The browser keeps the pages and their engines, so a tool you have opened once keeps working without a connection.
Open-source engines
The code that does the work is open-source software, named on the Licences page, running as WebAssembly in your browser.
Why it is private
Everything you type or drop here is handled by your browser, on your device. Nothing is uploaded. To verify, open your browser's developer tools, go to the Network tab, and use the tool: you will see no request carrying your data.
While a file is being processed, the counter under the result shows the page's network traffic: 0 requests and 0 B for your data.
How to check it yourself, step by step
What you can check yourself
Open your browser's developer tools on the Network tab before you drop a file: while the tool works you will see no request carrying your data, and the counter under every result shows the page's own measurement.
The site sets no cookies, so there is no cookie banner. Anonymous usage counts and error reports without file names are the only things that leave the page, as the privacy policy describes.
Every change goes through thousands of automated tests in three browser engines, including a guard that fails a test if a single byte of a file leaves the page.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I leave the cover page without a number?
- Yes: type 2- in the Pages field to number from page 2 on, and keep the start number at 1 if the second page should read 1.
- In “Page 3 of 12”, what is 12?
- The last number printed. Numbering pages 2 to 12 from 1 gives “1 of 11” to “11 of 11”, so the total always matches what the reader sees.
- Does it work on landscape or rotated pages?
- Yes. The position is measured on the page as it is shown, after its rotation and crop box, and the number is turned so it reads upright.
- Are links, bookmarks and forms kept?
- Yes. The numbers are added on top of each page; bookmarks, links, form fields and metadata stay. A digital signature no longer validates, because the file changes, and the result says so.
- Which fonts can I use?
- Helvetica, Times or Courier, the fonts every PDF reader has built in. A custom text with letters outside Western European ones (Cyrillic, Greek, ă or ș) switches to DejaVu (Sans, Serif or Mono, matching your choice, in bold: the only weight bundled), embedded with only the characters used.
- Is the PDF uploaded?
- No. pdf-lib adds the numbers in your browser; the document never leaves your device.
- Can I start numbering from page 3 and leave the cover and contents blank?
- Yes. Type 3- in the Pages field and set Start at to 1 if the third page should read 1, or to 3 if it should match its position in the file.
- My PDF already has page numbers. Can the tool replace them?
- No. It adds numbers on top of the page and does not remove existing ones. Choose a different position so the two do not overlap, or cover the old numbers in Edit PDF first.
- Can I number several PDFs at once?
- Yes, up to 20 in one list. The same position, format and range are applied to every file, and each numbered PDF is downloaded separately.
- Does it work on a phone?
- Yes, in the phone's browser, with no app to install. Pick the PDF from your files, set the options and download the result.
Install it as an app
Chrome, Edge and Android browsers offer to install this site from the address bar or the menu; on iPhone use Share, then Add to Home Screen. It opens like an app, keeps working offline and still processes everything on your device.