What is the Add Page Numbers tool?
It writes a number onto every page of your PDF as real, selectable text. You choose the corner or edge it sits in, what it says, which page counts as number one, and which pages get skipped. That is how you add page numbers to PDF online without a desktop editor and without handing the document to a website's server.
Numbering matters the moment a document leaves the screen. A thesis has to be referenced by page. A court bundle is useless if nobody can say “see page 44”. A merged report built from four exports has no numbering at all, or worse, four separate sequences that each restart at 1. Printing a long file without numbers is asking for a shuffled stack.
The important detail here is that the preview is not an approximation. The same placement function that positions the text on the canvas is the one pdf-lib uses to draw it into the PDF, and the widths come from the real embedded font metrics — so if the number clears your footer in the preview, it clears it in the file. Nothing is uploaded; the numbering happens in the tab.
How to number PDF pages online
- Drop your PDF onto the upload box, or click it to pick the file from your device.
- Click a cell in the 3×3 Position grid — bottom-centre is selected for you, but any corner, edge or the middle of the page works.
- Choose a Format: bare numbers, “Page 1”, “1 / N”, “Page 1 of N”, or Custom text with
the
{n},{total}and{page}tokens. - Set the font size, the Start number at value, and Skip first N pages so a cover or title page stays clean.
- Open Advanced options for the font family, Roman or letter numbering, bold and italic, opacity, rotation, the X and Y margins in points, mirrored book layout and an “Apply to pages” range.
- Read the preview footer — it tells you how many pages will be numbered — then press Add Page Numbers to download the numbered copy.
Key features
- Nine placements — top, middle or bottom crossed with left, centre or right, with margins you set in PDF points (36 and 28 by default).
- Five numbering formats — plain digits, “Page 1”, “1 / N”, “Page 1 of N”, or your own wording built from the {n}, {total} and {page} tokens.
- Roman and letter styles — 1, 2, 3 as well as i/ii/iii, I/II/III, a/b/c and A/B/C for front matter and appendices.
- Start value and skipped pages — begin at 0, at 1 or at 137, and leave the first N pages unnumbered while the sequence still starts where you asked.
- Full type control — Helvetica, Times or Courier, bold and italic, any size from 4pt to 96pt, a colour picker and opacity down to 5%.
- Rotation — turn the number anywhere from −180° to 180° in 5° steps for side tabs or angled stamps.
- Mirrored book layout — one checkbox swaps left and right on even pages so numbers always fall on the outer edge of a bound document.
- Number only part of the file — an “Apply to pages” box accepts ranges like 2-9, 12 for appendices or inserted sections.
Benefits of using this page numbering tool
- The numbers are text, not a picture. They stay sharp at any zoom, print cleanly and can be copied or searched like the rest of the document.
- Your document is not uploaded. Case files, HR packs and unpublished manuscripts are numbered on your own machine, which also means no file-size ceiling from a server.
- What you preview is what you get. Position, size and font metrics are calculated once and shared by the preview and the export, so there are no surprise overlaps.
- Nothing else in the file changes. Existing pages, text and images are untouched — the tool only draws one short string per page.
- Free, unlimited and unbranded. No signup, no page cap, no watermark, and you can re-run it with different settings as often as you like.
Who should use this tool?
Students submitting a thesis or dissertation
Most style guides want the front matter in lower-case Roman numerals and the body in Arabic starting at 1. Number the preliminaries with the i/ii/iii style and an “Apply to pages” range, then run the tool again on the body pages with Skip first N pages set so the count begins in the right place.
Lawyers and paralegals
Bundles need a continuous sequence across documents. Merge the exhibits first, then number the whole bundle here — set “Start number at” to continue from the previous volume, and use Custom text such as ACME-{n} for a simple prefixed reference on each page.
Anyone printing a long report
If the file is going to be bound, tick “Mirror position on even pages” so numbers land on the outer edge of every spread, and nudge Margin Y up a little so nothing disappears into the binding or the trim.
Teams sending documents out for review
Reviewers who can quote a page number save everyone time. Drop the numbers in the bottom-right at 9pt in grey, skip the cover page, and the comments that come back will point at exactly the right place.
Frequently asked questions
Can I insert page numbers without numbering the cover?
Yes. Set “Skip first N pages” to 1 and the first page is left bare. The number that appears on page two is whatever you chose as the start value, so the sequence still reads correctly.
Can I start the count at something other than 1?
Use “Start number at”. It accepts 0 and any positive number, which is how you continue numbering from a previous volume or match a printed original.
Does this do Bates numbering?
It does the common form: choose Custom text, write something like ABC-{n}, and every page gets that prefix with a sequential number. There is no zero-padding option, so ABC-000045 is not produced automatically.
Where do the footer numbers actually sit on the page?
Wherever the position grid and margins say. Bottom-centre with the default 28pt vertical margin puts the number about a centimetre from the bottom edge; increase Margin Y if your document already has a footer.
Can I use Roman numerals for the front matter?
Yes — pick i, ii, iii or I, II, III under Number style. Combine it with the “Apply to pages” range so only the preliminary pages get Roman numbering.
Will the number sit on top of my existing content?
It is drawn over the page, so it can overlap something that is already there. The live preview shows that immediately — move the position or raise the margin until it sits clear.
Can I write the number in Greek, Cyrillic or Chinese?
No. The three built-in fonts cover the standard Latin character set only, so custom text should stick to ordinary letters, digits and punctuation. Non-Latin characters will make the export fail.
My pages are sideways and the number lands oddly. What now?
Numbers are placed using each page's underlying coordinates, so a page carrying a stored rotation can put the text somewhere unexpected. Straighten the file with the Rotate PDF tool first, then number the corrected copy.
Related tools you might need
Long document with nothing to quote? Load it above and add page numbers to PDF online — real text, your choice of position and format, and no upload.
Number my PDF now