RapidHow to Split a PDF on Windows — Free, No Upload
Two free ways to split a PDF on Windows 10 or 11: a browser tool that keeps the pages you type, and printing pages to a new PDF.
How to split a PDF on Windows has two free answers. The simplest is our free Split PDF tool: open it in Edge or Chrome, choose the PDF, type the pages you want to keep and click Extract Pages, and you get one new PDF with just those pages. It runs in your browser, so nothing is installed and your PDF stays on your PC. Windows has no built-in split tool, but you can make a new PDF of some pages by printing them to Microsoft Print to PDF from Microsoft Edge.
This guide covers only Windows. For other devices, see the main guide: how to split a PDF.
Method 1: Split PDF in Your Browser (Simplest)
This works in Edge, Chrome and Firefox on Windows. Your PDF is split by your browser on your own PC. It is not sent to a server.
- Open rapidtools.online/split-pdf. No account is needed.
- Drag your PDF into the box, or click the box and choose the file.
- Under Which pages do you want to keep?, type the pages. Use single pages such as 1, 5, ranges such as 1-5, 10-12, or both.
- Click Extract Pages. One new PDF with only those pages downloads, with “split-” added to the start of the name.
What the tool does
- One new file each time. There is no “split every page” option. To make several smaller files, run it again with a different set of pages each time.
- Pages stay in their original order. If you type 5, 1, the new PDF has page 1 and then page 5.
- Your original is not changed. The tool makes a new file and leaves the original as it was.
Method 2: Microsoft Edge and Microsoft Print to PDF (Built In)
Windows has no button that splits a PDF. Instead, you can print only the pages you want to Microsoft Print to PDF, a printer that comes with Windows 10 and Windows 11 and saves a PDF file instead of printing on paper.
- Right-click the PDF in File Explorer and choose Open with > Microsoft Edge.
- Press Ctrl + P to open Print.
- Under Printer, choose Microsoft Print to PDF.
- Under Pages, choose the custom option and type the pages, such as 1-5 or 3, 6, 8.
- Click Print, then choose a folder, type a file name and click Save.
Printing makes a brand-new PDF from the pages, so it can lose things the original had. Windows users on Microsoft’s community forum report that links stop working after printing to PDF. If you need links to keep working, use the browser tool, which copies the pages instead of printing them. Source: Microsoft Support: Print in Microsoft Edge.
Which Method Should You Use?
| Browser tool | Edge + Print to PDF | |
|---|---|---|
| Install | None | None (built in) |
| How | Copies the pages you type | Prints the pages to a new PDF |
| Files per run | One | One |
| File leaves your PC | No | No |
Need to put PDFs back together? See how to combine PDF files on Windows.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I split a PDF on Windows for free?
Open rapidtools.online/split-pdf in Edge or Chrome, choose the PDF, type the pages you want to keep, such as 1-5, 10-12, and click Extract Pages. You get one new PDF with only those pages. You can also print the pages you want to Microsoft Print to PDF from Microsoft Edge.
Does Windows have a built-in PDF splitter?
No. Windows has no tool made for splitting PDFs. You can make a new PDF of some pages by opening the PDF in Microsoft Edge, printing only those pages and choosing Microsoft Print to PDF as the printer.
Can I split every page into its own file?
Not in one step. Our Split PDF tool makes one new PDF each time you click Extract Pages. To get a separate file for each page, type one page number at a time.
Does splitting change my original PDF?
No. Both methods make a new file and leave your original PDF as it was.
Is my PDF uploaded when I use the browser tool?
No. Your PDF is split by your browser on your own PC and is never sent to a server.