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How to Add Page Numbers to a PDF — Free, Browser-Based

By Anant · May 2026

Published May 2026 | 📌 PDF, How-to

Academic papers, legal documents, reports, and manuals all need page numbers. If your PDF was created without them — or you merged several PDFs together — you can add them in seconds without any software or file uploads.

Step-by-Step: Add Page Numbers to a PDF

  1. Open the Add Page Numbers tool.
  2. Upload your PDF by dragging it in or clicking to select the file.
  3. Choose your settings:
    • Position: Bottom centre, bottom right, bottom left, top centre, top right, or top left.
    • Starting number: Default is 1. Set to a higher number if this is a chapter in a larger document.
    • Font size: 10–14pt is standard for most documents.
  4. Click Add Page Numbers and download the updated PDF.

When to Use a Custom Starting Number

If you have a 200-page report split into three separate PDFs, you don't want each section to start at page 1. Set the starting number to match where each section falls in the full document:

  • Part 1 (pages 1–70): starting number = 1
  • Part 2 (pages 71–140): starting number = 71
  • Part 3 (pages 141–200): starting number = 141

Then merge all three using the Merge PDF tool for a consistently numbered final document.

Best Practice: Add Page Numbers Before Merging

A common workflow mistake is merging PDFs first and then trying to number them. Instead:

  1. Number each section separately with the correct starting number.
  2. Merge the numbered sections.
  3. Result: a single PDF with continuous page numbers throughout.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is my PDF uploaded anywhere?

No. Page numbers are added using pdf-lib entirely in your browser. The file never leaves your device.

Can I choose the format — e.g. "Page 1 of 20"?

The tool currently adds plain numbers. "Page X of Y" format is planned for a future update.

Will this work with scanned PDFs?

Yes — page numbers are overlaid on the PDF page regardless of whether the content is text or images.

Can I skip the first page (e.g., for a cover page)?

Set the starting number to 0 — the first page will show "0" which effectively makes the second page show "1". Full skip support is on the roadmap.

Ready to try it?

Open Add Page Numbers →