Add Page Numbers to PDF — Free
Number the pages of a PDF for reports, contracts, or manuscripts. Pick the position, the number format, and the starting number, then download — all in your browser, nothing uploaded.
In short: drop a PDF, choose where the number goes and how it reads, and the preview shows the real numbered page before you download. It runs on your device, so nothing is uploaded, and every page is numbered where a reader sees it — rotated and landscape pages included.
- Is it free?
- Yes. No account, no task limit, no page limit, and nothing else is added to your file.
- Can I leave the cover page unnumbered?
- Yes. Skip first pages under More options leaves them blank, and numbering starts at your start number on the next page.
- Can I write “Page 1 of 12”?
- Yes. Pick it from Format, or choose Custom and write your own label with {n} for the number and {N} for the total.
- Can numbers alternate sides for a printed book?
- Yes. Facing pages mirrors left and right, so odd pages number on the right and even pages on the left.
- Can I use Roman or Urdu numerals?
- Yes: i ii iii, I II III, a b c, A B C, Arabic-Indic, Urdu/Persian and Devanagari digits.
- Will the numbers cover my content?
- They sit in the margin, a set distance from the edge. If your page is printed right to the edge, pick a wider margin or another position.
How to Add Page Numbers to a PDF
Drop the PDF onto the tool, or click to choose it.
Pick a spot and a format such as Page 1 of 12.
Under More options, skip the cover, set facing pages or numerals.
Click Add Page Numbers, then download the numbered PDF.
Features
6 positions
Placed as each page is displayed, rotated scans included.
Page 1 of 12
Five formats plus your own label.
Skip the cover
Leave front pages blank and start where you like.
Facing pages
Numbers on the outer edge for double-sided print.
Other numerals
Roman, letters, Arabic-Indic, Urdu, Devanagari.
Real preview
The preview is the numbered document itself.
Skip, start and “of N” — how the count works
Two settings decide the numbers, and they do different jobs. Skip first pages leaves pages at the front blank: skip 2 on a report with a cover and a contents page, and the first numbered page is page 3 of the file. Start at is the number printed on that first numbered page — 1 by default, or 47 if this document carries on from another.
In “1 of N”, N counts the numbered pages, not the file. Skip a cover on a 12-page file and the last page reads 11 of 11, which is what a reader expects. Pages narrows it further, for example to number only an appendix.
Facing pages and front matter
For anything printed double-sided, a number in the bottom-right corner ends up on the spine side of every left-hand page. Facing pages mirrors the position: odd pages keep it on the right, even pages get it on the left, so the number is always on the outer edge. Centre positions are unaffected.
Front matter is traditionally numbered in lower-case Roman numerals. Run the tool once with Pages set to the front matter and i ii iii, then again on the result with the rest of the pages, Western numerals and Start at 1.
Labels and numerals in other languages
PDF’s built-in fonts only cover Western European characters, which is why a label like “صفحہ ۲” or “पृष्ठ २” fails in many tools. This page embeds a subset of a real font holding only the characters it prints, so the file grows by a few kilobytes. Numerals can be Arabic-Indic (٢), Urdu/Persian (۲) or Devanagari (२), and right-to-left labels are drawn right to left.
Capabilities at a glance
What this tool does and does not do, stated plainly. The “No” rows are the point, not an omission.
| Capability | Supported | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| What it does | ||
| Positions | Yes | Top or bottom; left, centre or right. Smallpdf and Sejda have similar grids. |
| Formats | Yes | 1 · 1 of 12 · Page 1 · Page 1 of 12 · - 1 - · or your own label. |
| Custom label | Yes | Any text with {n} and {N}, in any covered language: “صفحہ {n}” works. |
| Start at any number | Yes | For a document that continues another one. |
| Skip the first pages | Yes | Covers and contents pages stay blank; Sejda offers the first page only. |
| Number only some pages | Yes | A range such as 3-20. |
| Facing pages | Yes | Odd pages right, even pages left, for double-sided printing. |
| Numeral systems | Yes | Western, Roman (both cases), letters, Arabic-Indic, Urdu/Persian, Devanagari. |
| Font, size, colour, margin, bold | Yes | Four font styles, four sizes, three margins, any colour. |
| Live preview of the real page | Yes | The preview is the numbered document itself. |
| Bates numbering or text headers | No | This adds page numbers only. |
| Editing page labels a viewer shows | No | The number is printed on the page; the viewer’s own page box is unchanged. |
| Input | ||
| Mixed page sizes and rotated pages | Yes | Placed as a viewer displays each page. The old version put the number sideways on a rotated scan. |
| A PDF with a permissions password | Yes | Opened automatically. |
| A PDF with an open password | Yes | The page asks for it; it never leaves your device. |
| Task or page limit | No | Sejda’s free tier allows 3 tasks an hour and 200 pages. |
| Output | ||
| Original text stays selectable | Yes | Nothing is flattened or re-rendered. |
| Links and form fields kept | Yes | Numbers are added to the existing pages. |
| Numbers are real text | Yes | Searchable and copyable. |
| How it runs | ||
| Nothing is uploaded | Yes | The document never leaves your device. |
| Signup | No | There is no account. |
| Offline use | No | The page, pdf-lib and the fonts load from the network first. |