How to add page numbers to a PDF
Last updated: 1 November 2026
To add page numbers to a PDF, open Add page numbers, select your file, choose a position and format, pick which pages to number, then click “Add page numbers” and download the result. Everything runs in your browser, so your document is never uploaded.
This guide is for anyone who needs to number a thesis or project report before printing, add page references to a contract, or number a PDF built from several files. It covers every position and style option the tool offers, and the order in which to do things so the numbers come out right.
Step by step
- Prepare the final page order. If your document comes from several files, combine them with Merge PDF first. Use Organize PDF to reorder, rotate or remove pages, so the numbers match the finished document.
- Select your PDF. Open Add page numbers and click “Select PDF file”, or drop a PDF onto the page. If the file is password-protected, enter the password when asked.
- Choose position and format. Pick one of the nine positions and a number format, or choose “Custom text…” to write your own. Set the distance from the edge.
- Set the look of the numbers. Choose the font, size, colour and opacity. Tick “Facing pages” if the document will be printed as a book.
- Choose the pages and first number. Number all pages, all except the first or last, or only a range such as 3-12. Set the first number if it shouldn’t be 1.
- Add numbers and download. Click “Add page numbers”, then “Download” to save the numbered PDF.
Position and style options
The tool gives you control over where the numbers go and how they look:
- Position: nine positions on the page, plus the distance from the edge.
- Format: “1”, “1 / 9” or “Page 1 of 9”, or custom text using {n} for the page number and {total} for the last number, for example “Report – page {n} of {total}” or “– {n} –”.
- Font: a standard PDF font (sans-serif, serif or monospace) or one of more than 50 free fonts made for your script, such as Lora, Montserrat or Caveat for Latin text, Amiri for Arabic or Noto Serif JP for Japanese. A font file loads only when you use it.
- Colour and opacity: any colour, with opacity from 10 to 100%.
- Facing pages: mirrors left and right positions on even pages, for documents printed as a book.
Numbers are placed according to how each page is shown, so they appear the right way up on landscape and rotated pages too.
Why you should number pages last
Page numbers are written onto the pages, so any change to the page order afterwards leaves them wrong. If you merge a cover, a main report and an appendix after numbering, each part keeps its own numbering. If you move pages afterwards, the sequence breaks.
Work in this order:
- Combine all files into one PDF with Merge PDF.
- Reorder, rotate, remove or insert pages with Organize PDF.
- Number the finished document with Add page numbers.
Typical uses
Theses and reports
Choose “All except the first page” to leave the cover unnumbered. If the second page should show 2 rather than 1, set the first number to 2. For a bound copy, tick “Facing pages” so numbers sit on the outer edge.
Contracts
Use “Page 1 of 9” so every party can refer to “page 7” and see at once that no page is missing.
Documents that continue another one
If your PDF is the second part of a longer document, enter the first number it should start from, for example 5.
Tools used in this guide
Frequently asked questions
Is my PDF uploaded when I add page numbers?
No. Your PDF is edited by your own browser and is never uploaded to a server. There is no account or sign-up, and no daily limit.
How do I leave the cover page without a number?
Choose “All except the first page”. The second page then gets the first number. To make it show 2 instead, set the first number to 2.
Can I number only some pages?
Yes. You can skip the first or the last page, or number only a range of pages such as 3-12.
Can I write my own text, like “Page 1 of 9”?
Yes. Choose “Custom text…” and type your text with {n} for the page number and {total} for the last number, for example “Page {n} of {total}”.
Can I add page numbers to a password-protected PDF?
Yes. Enter the password when asked. The numbered PDF keeps the same password as the original.
Will page numbers make my file much bigger?
No. The numbers are written as real text in a standard PDF font, so they barely change the file size and stay searchable.
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