Add Page Numbers to a PDF
Stamp page numbers onto a PDF, choosing the position, the style and where the count begins. Handles sideways pages correctly. Runs in your browser with nothing uploaded.
Runs entirely in your browser — nothing is uploaded
Where the number goes
Five positions, and the useful distinction between them is not decoration. Bottom centre is the default because it survives being printed and bound — a number in the outer corner can end up trimmed or swallowed by a binding margin. Bottom right suits documents that will only ever be read on screen. Top right is the convention for legal filings and manuscripts, where the number belongs with the header.
Distance from edge is measured in points, the unit PDFs themselves use: 72 points to the inch. The default of 28 sits just under a standard margin. Push it further out if the number lands on top of an existing footer.
Starting somewhere other than one
Set start counting at when the document is a part rather than a whole. A chapter that will be bound after a ninety-page section starts at 91, and the sequence runs from there.
Leave the first page unnumbered handles the other common case: a cover or title page that should not carry a number. The count then begins on the page after it. Styles that show a total, like Page 1 of 12, count only the pages that were actually numbered — so the last page really does say twelve of twelve rather than overshooting by the cover.
Sideways pages are handled properly
This is worth stating plainly, because plenty of tools get it wrong. A rotated page — a scanned landscape table inside a portrait report, say — is stored one way and displayed another. A tool that draws in stored coordinates puts the number where the bottom used to be, which on screen is up the side of the sheet.
Here each page is measured the way you actually see it, the position is chosen in that space, and the number is turned to match the page. It reads upright whichever way the page sits, and it lands at the bottom that a reader would call the bottom.
What this does not do
The number is drawn on top of whatever is already there. Nothing is erased, so if a page carries its own footer in the same spot, the two will overlap — move the position or increase the margin.
There is also no undo. Once stamped, a page number is ordinary page content, no different from the text around it, and no tool can reliably pick it back out again. Keep your unnumbered original if there is any chance you will want to renumber a different way later.
Nothing is uploaded
The document is opened, stamped and saved entirely inside this tab. It is never sent anywhere, which matters more than usual for the kind of file that tends to need numbering — contracts, filings, dissertations and reports that are not yours to hand to a stranger’s server.
The font used for the numbers is Helvetica, one of the fourteen faces every PDF reader is required to provide, so nothing extra is embedded and the file barely grows.
Frequently asked questions
Can the count start at something other than one?
Yes, and it matters more often than you would think. A chapter that will sit inside a larger bound document needs to carry on from where the previous part stopped. Set the starting number and the sequence runs from there.
How do I leave the cover page unnumbered?
Turn on the option to skip the first page. The cover is left bare and the count begins on the page after it, which is the convention for reports and dissertations. The total shown in styles like “Page 1 of 12” counts only the numbered pages, so it stays consistent with what is printed.
What happens on pages that are sideways?
They are handled properly, which is worth saying because many tools do not. A rotated page is stored one way and displayed another, and a tool that draws in stored coordinates puts the number up the side of the sheet. Each page is measured the way the reader sees it, and the number is turned to match, so it reads upright whichever way the page sits.
Will the number sit on top of existing content?
It can, if the page already has a footer there. Nothing is erased — the number is drawn over whatever is underneath. If it collides, increase the margin to push it further from the edge, or move it to a different corner.
Can I take the numbers off later?
Not with this tool, and not easily with any of them. Once drawn, a page number is ordinary page content, indistinguishable from the text around it. Keep your unnumbered original if there is any chance you will want to renumber a different way.