How to Add Page Numbers to a PDF — Free, Without Acrobat, Nothing Uploaded

Add page numbers in four steps

1. Open the page-number tool and drop the PDF onto it.
2. Choose a position — top or bottom; left, centre or right — and a format.
3. Set the first number, tick No number on the first page for a cover, or list only the pages to number.
4. Step through a few pages in the preview, then click Add page numbers & download. Your original file is not changed; the numbered copy is a new download.

Where page numbers usually go

Bottom centre is the safe default: it is where most readers look, it works for single- and double-sided printing alike, and it rarely collides with headers. Reports and business documents often use bottom right. Top corners suit documents whose footer is already busy — letterheads with an address line, or forms with a reference number at the foot.

Numbers sit about 1 cm (28 points) from the edge. If a page has text or a logo right at that edge, the preview shows the clash before you save — switch corners rather than shrinking the number.

Skipping the cover, starting at another number

A cover page normally carries no number. Tick No number on the first page and numbering begins on page two; leave Start at on 1 and the first page after the cover reads 1.

For a chapter that continues a longer document, set Start at to the page it begins on — 47, say — so the numbering carries on. For a document with front matter (a contents page, a preface), choose Choose pages and enter the range that should be numbered, such as 4-60.

One honest limit: the tool numbers in ordinary digits only. Roman numerals for front matter (i, ii, iii) are not offered yet; if you need them, number the body here and leave the front matter unnumbered.

“1”, “Page 1” or “Page 1 of 12”?

• 1 — books, theses and anything formal. Least clutter.
• Page 1 of 12 or 1 / 12 — contracts, forms and anything that will be printed and handled loose: a missing page is obvious at once.
• - 1 - — a traditional style for manuscripts and some official documents.

With the “of 12” formats, the total is the last number printed, so skipping a cover gives Page 1 of 12 on a 13-page file — which is what a reader counting the numbered pages expects.

Scans and sideways pages

Scanners and phone apps often store a landscape page sideways and mark it to be shown rotated. A naive tool then puts the “bottom centre” number down the side of the page. This one places numbers on the page as a reader sees it — after rotation and inside any cropping — so a landscape table gets its number at the bottom of the landscape page, the right way up.

Word, Acrobat, Preview and others

• Word or Google Docs — if you still have the original, insert page numbers there (Insert → Page Number) and export the PDF again. It is the cleanest result and handles Roman numerals and section breaks.
• Adobe Acrobat Pro— Edit PDF → Header & Footer does it with every option, on the paid plan. The free Acrobat Reader cannot.
• Mac Preview — has no page-numbering feature at all.
• Upload-based websites — work, but your document goes to their server first. For anything confidential, use a tool that does it on your device.

Why not upload it

Page numbers go on finished documents: the thesis before submission, the contract before signing, the report before the board meeting. Those are exactly the files that should not sit on someone else's server, even briefly. A browser can do the whole job — open the PDF, write the numbers, save the copy — so there is no reason to send it anywhere.

Frequently asked questions