Add Page Numbers to PDF

Number every page of a PDF with your own wording, in any corner or centred at the top or bottom. The file is processed on your device and never uploaded.

Runs in your browserFree, no sign-upLast reviewed October 8, 2026

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Quick answers

How do I add page numbers to a PDF for free?: Choose your file above, pick a position and a format, and download the numbered copy. It is free, needs no account, and the PDF is processed inside your browser, so it is not sent anywhere. Every page receives a number.
How do I get "Page 1 of 10" numbering on a PDF?: Leave Format at its default, Page {n} of {total}. {n} is replaced by the page's number and {total} by the number of pages in the file, which the tool counts for you. A 10-page document gets Page 1 of 10 through Page 10 of 10.
Can I start page numbers from a number other than 1?: Yes. Set Start numbering at to the first number you want. With a start of 3 and the format {n}, a 12-page file is numbered 3 to 14. Zero and negative values are treated as 1, and decimals are rounded down.
Can I start numbering on page 2 and skip the cover?: Not in one step, because every page is stamped. Extract the cover into its own file and the remaining pages into another, number the second file starting at 1 or 2, then merge the cover back in front.
Where on the page is the number placed?: At the position you choose, 28 points (0.39 in, 9.9 mm) from the left or right edge, or centred using the measured width of the text. Top numbers sit 28 points below the top edge and bottom numbers about 25 points above the bottom edge at the default size.
Does adding page numbers change the rest of the PDF?: No. The number is drawn as extra text over each page. Existing text, images, links and page sizes are left as they were, text stays selectable, and the file grows only slightly. Your original file on disk is not modified.

About Add Page Numbers to PDF

This tool lets you add page numbers to PDF files without Acrobat or any installed software. It draws a short line of text on every page in dark grey Helvetica, 10 point by default, 28 points (about 1 cm) in from the page edges, at one of six positions. You write the wording yourself with two placeholders: {n} for the running number and {total} for the page count, so Page {n} of {total} produces Page 1 of 12, Page 2 of 12 and so on. The first number can be anything from 1 upwards. Existing content is not moved or altered; the number is added on top. Every page is stamped, so there is no option to skip a cover page inside the tool itself.

Page number formats and what they print

Each row was run on a 12-page PDF. The first and last stamped values are shown.

Format	Start numbering at	First page	Last page
Page {n} of {total}	1	Page 1 of 12	Page 12 of 12
{n}	1	1	12
- {n} -	1	- 1 -	- 12 -
{n} / {total}	1	1 / 12	12 / 12
Página {n} de {total}	1	Página 1 de 12	Página 12 de 12
{n}	3	3	14
ACME-{n}	1001	ACME-1001	ACME-1012
Page {n} of {total}	5	Page 5 of 12	Page 16 of 12
Draft	1	Draft	Draft
{N} of {TOTAL}	1	{N} of {TOTAL}	{N} of {TOTAL}
(left empty)	1	Page 1 of 12	Page 12 of 12

{total} is always the real number of pages in the file and does not shift with the start number, which is why the row starting at 5 ends in Page 16 of 12. Use {n} alone when you change the start. Placeholders must be lower case.

The six positions

Position	Horizontal placement	Typical use
Bottom centre	Centred on the page width	Reports, essays, most business documents
Bottom right	Text ends 28 pt from the right edge	Single-sided printing, slide handouts
Bottom left	Text starts 28 pt from the left edge	Documents bound or stapled on the right
Top centre	Centred on the page width	Manuscripts and scripts
Top right	Text ends 28 pt from the right edge	Academic papers and court filings that ask for a top-right number
Top left	Text starts 28 pt from the left edge	Pages where the footer area is already full

Placement is worked out separately for every page, so a file that mixes A4 and US Letter pages gets each number at the same distance from that page's own edges.

Worked examples

A 12-page thesis chapter

thesis.pdf, Bottom centre, Page {n} of {total}, start 1, size 10

thesis-numbered.pdf with Pages numbered: 12 and Starting at: 1. Pages read Page 1 of 12 to Page 12 of 12.

Continuing from an earlier volume

A 12-page file, Format {n}, Start numbering at 3

Pages numbered 3, 4, 5 and so on up to 14

To continue from a previous file, set the start to that file's last number plus one.

Reference stamps for an exhibit bundle

Format ACME-{n}, Start numbering at 1001, Bottom right

ACME-1001 on the first page through ACME-1012 on the twelfth

Numbers are not zero-padded, so a start of 1 gives ACME-1, not ACME-0001.

Mixed page sizes

A 5-page file: one A4 page, two US Letter pages and two landscape pages stored with a rotation setting. Format {n}, Bottom right

Pages numbered: 5. On the A4 and Letter pages each number ends 28 pt from the right edge of its own page.

On the two rotated pages the number landed along a side edge, the limitation described in the list below.

Limits to know before you number a file

Every page is stamped. There is no page range, no odd or even option and no way to leave the first page blank.
Numbers are Arabic digits only. Roman numerals (i, ii, iii) and letters are not available.
The typeface is Helvetica in dark grey. Colour, font family, bold and margin distance cannot be changed.
The format accepts Western European characters. Text in other scripts, such as Chinese, Cyrillic or Greek, stops the run with an encoding error.
Pages that are stored sideways and rely on a rotation setting to display upright get the number along a side edge instead of the bottom. Re-save such a file with your system's Print to PDF first so the rotation is baked in.
The tool does not look for existing numbers or clear the area. If the page already has a footer in the same spot, the new number prints over it.
Password-protected PDFs cannot be opened. Unlock the file first.
The outer-edge alternation used in books (left on even pages, right on odd pages) is not supported; choose a centred position for double-sided printing.

How to number a PDF but leave the cover page unnumbered

Open a PDF page extractor and save page 1 as its own file.
Run the extractor again on the original and keep pages 2 to the end. For a 12-page file, that is 2-12.
Number the second file here. With Start numbering at 1, Page {n} of {total} gives Page 1 of 11 on the first page after the cover. Use {n} with a start of 2 if the cover should count as page 1.
Merge the cover file and the numbered file with a PDF merger, cover first.

Choosing a size and position that prints

The number sits roughly 1 cm from the page edge. That is inside the printable area of most office printers, but some home printers leave a wider unprintable strip at the bottom of the sheet. If a test print clips the number, choose a top position, or print with the fit-to-page setting so the whole page is shrunk slightly.

A size of 8 to 10 points sits comfortably under 10 to 12 point body text without drawing attention. Larger sizes, up to the 24 point maximum, are useful for handouts and scanned bundles that will be flipped through quickly. A number is drawn in a single line, so a long format at a large size can run wider than the page: at 24 points keep the text short.

On scanned documents the page is a picture, and the stamped number is real text on top of it. That makes the number searchable even though the scan itself is not.

How to get your result

1
Click PDF file and choose the document. Files up to 40 MB are accepted.
2
Set Position: Bottom centre, Bottom right, Bottom left, Top centre, Top right or Top left.
3
Edit Format. Keep Page {n} of {total}, or type your own text around {n} and {total}. Use just {n} for a bare number.
4
Set Start numbering at if the first page should not be 1, and Font size between 6 and 24 points.
5
Check the preview, then download the file, which is saved with -numbered added to its name.

Answers to common questions

Is my PDF uploaded to a server?

No. The file is opened, stamped and saved by code running in your browser tab. That keeps contracts, court bundles and personal records on your own device.

Can I remove the page numbers later?

Not with this tool. The numbers become part of the page content. Keep the original file, which is never changed, if you might need an unnumbered copy.

Can I number only some pages, or skip the last page?

No, there is no page range setting. Split the document into the part to number and the part to leave alone, number the first, and merge the two again.

Why does the total look wrong after I changed the starting number?

{total} is the count of pages in the file and ignores the start value. A 12-page file started at 5 ends at Page 16 of 12. Use a format without {total}, such as Page {n}, whenever the start is not 1.

Can I use Roman numerals for the front matter?

No. Only ordinary digits are produced. For a book-style layout with i, ii, iii in the preface, set the numbering in the word processor or layout program before exporting the PDF.

Will the numbers cover my text?

Only if your content already extends into the outer 1 cm or so of the page, as edge-to-edge scans sometimes do. The stamp has no background box, so it prints over whatever is there. Try another position if it collides.

Does it work on scanned PDFs?

Yes. A scanned PDF is a set of page images and the number is drawn over each image like any other page. The scan is not recompressed.

Can I add the file name or a date next to the number?

You can type any fixed text into Format, for example Smith v Jones, page {n} or Rev 2 / {n}. There are no placeholders for the file name or the current date, so write those out by hand.