Add Page Numbers to PDF: Any Position, Any Format

1. 00

   What’s great about our PDF page number tool

   • Free
   • Super fast
   • No PDF uploads
   • No PDF downloads from the server
   • Works offline
   • No daily limit
   • No ads
   • No watermarks
   • Formats like Page 1 of N, plus your own custom wording
   • Numbers, Roman numerals or letters, from any starting number
   • Live preview on any page
   • Nine positions, facing pages and page ranges
   • Batch numbering with ZIP download
   • Original text stays selectable and searchable
   • Page numbers saved as real, searchable text in Helvetica, Times and Courier
2. 01

   Choose your PDFs

   Pick one or more PDFs from your device, or drag them in. They load straight into your browser's memory — they are never sent anywhere.

3. 02

   Design your page numbers

   Pick a number format, a numbering style and a first number. Set the font, size, colour, position and margin, and choose which pages get a number, such as every page except the cover. The preview on each PDF updates as you change things, and See All Pages lets you check every page. Choose Book or Pairs under Facing Pages to preview your PDF as spreads.

4. 03

   Add the page numbers and download

   Click Add Page Numbers, then Download to save the numbered PDF straight to your device. Text stays selectable and searchable. Change anything and the button goes back to Add Page Numbers, ready for another run.

5. 04

   Number many PDFs at once

   Choose several PDFs together, or tap ‘+ Add More’ to add others later. Click Add Page Numbers once and they all get the same style. Then click Download to save them all together as a ZIP. It’s super fast, simple, and private.

6. 05

   Loved it?

   • If you're on computer, bookmark this page to your browser.
   • If you're on mobile, add it to your home screen for one-tap access and offline use.
     • Android: Visit this page in Google Chrome > tap three-dot icon (⋮) at top > Install and create shortcut. See screenshots for help.
     • iPhone and iPad: Visit this page in Safari > tap menu icon in address bar > Share > Add to Home Screen. See screenshots for help.

How it works

• Choose one or more PDFs, then design your page numbers. Nothing is processed until you click Add Page Numbers.
• The preview on each PDF shows the number on the page you are looking at. With See All Pages unticked, each PDF shows one thumbnail with page arrows, and a note tells you when a page is outside your page choice. The thumbnail opens on the first page that gets a number.
• Text and vector graphics are never turned into images, so the original text stays selectable and searchable.
• Each result is checked against its original before you can download it. If anything differs, no file is produced for that PDF.
• See All Pages is ticked by default, so every page of each PDF shows as a grid of small thumbnails. Use the two icons beside it to switch to a vertical list of large pages, which opens at 150% zoom on a computer and fits the screen on a phone. Change the zoom with the + and − buttons.
• In the grid of thumbnails, a red dot marks the Position on each numbered page, so you can see where the number goes even when it is too small to read.
• Untick See All Pages to show each PDF as one small thumbnail instead.
• Choose Book or Pairs under Facing Pages to preview your PDF as spreads. Book keeps page 1 alone on the right, then pages 2 and 3 face each other, and so on. Pairs shows pages 1 and 2 side by side, then 3 and 4. A soft shadow runs along the fold, the view switches to the vertical list at 100%, and the single-page thumbnail steps one spread at a time.
• With two or more PDFs added, the Jump to PDF menu above the files shows which PDF you are on and scrolls straight to the one you pick.
• Download one PDF on its own, or all of them together as a ZIP.
• Nothing is uploaded. Once the page has loaded, it keeps working offline.

Frequently asked questions

• Is my PDF uploaded anywhere? No. Page numbers are added entirely in your browser. Your file is never sent to a server, so it stays private.
• Will the text stay selectable and searchable? Yes. Pages are never converted to images. Each page number is placed on top of its page, while the original text and vector graphics are left untouched. Numbers in Helvetica / Arial, Times New Roman or Courier New are added as real text, so they can be selected and searched too. Georgia, Verdana, Impact and numbers with a text shadow are saved as sharp graphics instead.
• Can I number several PDFs at once? Yes. Add as many PDFs as you like, and download them together as a ZIP or one at a time. The same format and page choice is applied to every file, and each PDF is numbered from its own first page.
• Which number formats are available? Plain numbers (1, 2, 3), Page 1, 1 of N, Page 1 of N, 1 / N, - 1 -, or your own custom wording. Numbering can be 1, 2, 3, lowercase or uppercase Roman numerals (i, ii, iii or I, II, III), or lowercase or uppercase letters (a, b, c or A, B, C).
• Can I start from a number other than 1? Yes. Set First Number to any whole number from 1 to 9999, which is handy when your PDF continues a longer document.
• Can I show Page 1 of 10? Yes. Choose Page 1 of N under Number Format, or choose Custom and type your own wording, using {n} for the page number and {total} for the last number, for example Page {n} of {total}.
• Can I number only some pages, or leave the cover without a number? Yes. Choose Skip First to leave the cover clean, or choose All, Odd, Even, First or Last. Use Skip to type pages that should stay without a number, such as 3 or 2, 5-7, and Custom to type the pages that get one, such as 2-5 or 1-3, 5. Count From decides whether the first numbered page shows your First Number, which is the default, or keeps its true position in the PDF.
• What are Facing Pages? Facing Pages is for documents printed double-sided. Choose Book to keep page 1 alone on the right, like the first page of a book, with pages 2 and 3 facing each other. Choose Pairs to put pages 1 and 2 side by side. The position you pick is used on the right-hand page of each spread, and the left-hand page gets the mirrored left or right position, so the numbers line up on the outer edges. The preview then shows your PDF as spreads.
• Will the numbers look right on rotated pages? Yes. The page rotation is taken into account, so the number sits in the corner or edge you picked as you see the page, and reads the right way up.
• Which fonts can I use? Helvetica / Arial, Times New Roman and Courier New, each with bold, italic and underline, are saved as real text using the fonts built into every PDF viewer. Georgia, Verdana and Impact are drawn on your device and saved as sharp graphics, so they look identical wherever the PDF is opened.
• Can page numbers be removed later? They become part of the page, so they cannot be switched off like a layer. A determined person with PDF editing tools may still be able to cover or remove them.
• Which PDFs are not supported? Password-protected PDFs cannot be processed. Digitally signed PDFs can be numbered, but rewriting the file invalidates the signature.

What happens to your PDF

• Real text: numbers in Helvetica / Arial, Times New Roman or Courier New are added as real text with the font built into every PDF viewer, so the file grows by only a few bytes per page and the numbers can be selected and searched.
• Graphic numbers: Georgia, Verdana, Impact and any number with a text shadow are drawn on your device at four times their printed size and saved as a small image, so they stay sharp when zoomed. A number that uses a character the built-in fonts cannot show is saved as a graphic too.
• Placement: positions are measured on the visible page, so cropped pages and pages that are rotated in the PDF get the number where the preview shows it.
• Opacity: saved as a standard PDF setting, so every PDF viewer shows the same result.
• Counting: with Count From set to First Numbered, which is the default, the first page that gets a number shows your First Number, so Skip First starts the next page at 1. With Page 1, a page keeps its true position, so the same page would show 2. In a format such as Page 1 of N, N is the last number in the count.
• Rotated pages: the page rotation is taken into account, so the number sits where you see the corner or edge and reads the right way up.
• Cropped pages: the number is placed inside the visible area of the page, not outside it.
• Skip First: the first page stays clean and is left out of the count.
• Skip: the pages you type stay clean. With Count From set to First Numbered they are left out of the count, so skipping page 3 numbers the pages 1, 2, 3, 4 on pages 1, 2, 4, 5. With Page 1 they still use up their number.
• Facing pages: the position you choose is used on the right-hand page of each spread, and the left-hand page gets its left or right mirror, so numbers sit in matching places on a printed spread. With Book the odd pages are right-hand pages, and with Pairs the even pages are.
• Left alone: text, fonts, photos and vector graphics are never touched. Links, bookmarks, forms and page sizes stay as they were.
• Safety check: the result is opened again and compared with your original, covering text, page count, page size, rotation and links. If anything differs, no file is produced for that PDF.

How to get the most out of it

• Bottom centre is the classic choice. Use a top corner if the bottom of your pages is already busy with footers.
• Keep it quiet. A size of 10 to 12 points reads well without competing with your content.
• Match the document. Page 1 of N suits reports and contracts, where a missing page is easy to spot. A plain number suits most other documents.
• Skip the cover. Choose Skip First under Pages. The cover stays clean and the next page starts at your First Number. Set Count From to Page 1 if that page should read 2 instead.
• Continue a longer document. If your PDF is part two of a report that ends on page 20, set First Number to 21.
• Front matter and appendices. Use Roman numerals for introductory pages and letters for appendices, then number the main body separately.
• Printing double-sided? Choose Book, or Pairs if your first page should sit beside the second, and pick a bottom corner so the numbers sit on the outer edges. The preview then shows each spread, so you can check how facing pages line up.
• Keep numbers readable on busy pages. Add a Text Background or a Text Shadow if the page has dark areas or images near the edge.
• Check before you download. Switch See All Pages to the vertical list and scroll through a few pages, especially pages with a different size or orientation.
• Do many at once. Add all your PDFs together and download them as one ZIP.
• Keep your original. Page numbers can't be edited afterwards, so keep the un-numbered file if you might need it.
• Know the limits. Password-protected PDFs can't be numbered, and digitally signed PDFs lose their signature when rewritten.

How it compares with iLovePDF

• Privacy: iLovePDF uploads your PDF to its servers and deletes it automatically after 2 hours. Here nothing is ever uploaded. Your PDF stays on your device.
• Number options: iLovePDF's page number tool offers a position grid, font, size, colour and style, a page range, and single or facing page modes. This tool offers the same kinds of control, and adds a live preview on the PDF itself.
• Batch: the page choice, such as Odd or 2-, applies to every PDF in the batch, and each PDF is numbered from its own first page.
• Limits: this tool needs no account, has no daily limit and adds no watermark. Your device's memory is the only limit.
• Offline: iLovePDF offers a separate desktop app for offline use. This page keeps working offline once it has loaded, and can be installed as an app from your browser.
• What iLovePDF has that this doesn't: a large set of other PDF tools, such as merge, split and convert, plus desktop and mobile apps. This page does one job only.
• Trade-off: numbers in Helvetica, Times or Courier are real text, but Georgia, Verdana, Impact and numbers with a shadow are saved as sharp graphics, so those numbers can't be selected or searched. They look identical everywhere in return.

How it compares with other popular PDF page number tools

• Smallpdf: works in the cloud and deletes files after one hour. Its page number tool keeps things simple: upload, choose a position and download, and free use has a usage limit. Here you can also set the format, numbering style, font, size, colour and pages, with no limit.
• Adobe Acrobat: adding page numbers is part of the paid Acrobat plans, and the free Reader can't do it. It is a full PDF editor, which this page is not.
• PDF24: its online tool uploads your files and deletes them within one hour, and it is free with ads. It can number several PDFs at once and offers a number pattern, position, spacing, colour and transparency. Its free PDF24 Creator app works offline on Windows.
• The main difference: these sites process your PDF on their servers, so it has to be uploaded first. Here it is processed inside your browser, which matters most for contracts, ID documents and other private files.
• Trade-off: a cloud service does the work on its own servers, so it can handle extremely large PDFs more easily. Here, very large files depend on your device's memory and may be slow on a phone.
• Note: these details come from each service's public information as of October 2026 and can change.