Add Page Numbers to a PDF
Insert page numbers anywhere on the page — bottom center, bottom right, top corners — with a custom starting number and format.
Drop your file here, or click to choose
How to add page numbers in your browser
1Drop the PDF
Drop the PDF onto the upload area, or click it to browse. The file is read in this tab, and a first-page preview appears once it loads.
2Choose position & start
Pick a Position from the dropdown (bottom center is the default), then set the Start number, Font, Font size (12 by default) and Color.
- 3
Preview
Check the small Preview panel. It shows page 1 with the first number drawn at your chosen spot, size and color, and it updates as you change settings.
4Download
Press Add Page Numbers. The browser downloads a new file named after your original with -numbered.pdf added, and the source file is left alone.
A real use case
A landlord assembles a 14-page lease packet from three scanned documents and wants a running page count so tenants can cite clause locations. After merging the scans, the packet goes into this tool with bottom right placement, a dark grey color and size 11. The download has 1 to 14 in the corner of every page, ready to print and initial.
Why edit with Page Numbers in your browser?
- Six built-in fonts (Helvetica, Times Roman and Courier, regular and bold) and a color picker let the numbers blend into a report or stand out on a draft.
- Five placements cover the usual layouts: bottom left, center and right, plus top center and top right for documents that keep the footer for something else.
- The Start number field lets you continue a sequence from another file, for example starting a second volume at 101.
- Nothing is uploaded, and no watermark or extra branding is added to the pages.
What this changes in your file
The PDF is loaded into memory with pdf-lib inside your browser tab. For each page the tool measures the number in the chosen font, works out the position from the page size and a 28 point margin, and draws it as real text over the existing content. The result is saved in memory and offered as a download. To confirm nothing is sent, watch your browser's Network tab while it runs.
Limits and edge cases
- Every page is numbered. There is no field for skipping a cover or choosing a page range, so leaving pages unnumbered means splitting the file first and merging afterwards.
- The output is only the plain number. There is no Page 3 of 20 format, prefix, suffix or Roman numeral option.
- The Start number field falls back to 1 when given 0 or an empty value. Font size accepts 6 to 36 points.
- The preview only shows page 1, while every later page is placed from its own size.
- Numbers are ordinary text stamped once. If you delete or reorder pages afterward, the existing numbers stay as they are.
- A password-protected or damaged file fails to load and you get a generic error message. Unlock it first.
Add page numbers to a PDF: when the numbers do not land where you wanted
- The cover should stay blank
- Cut the cover off with Split PDF, number the rest starting at 1, then join the two with Merge PDF.
- A page looks sideways or the number sits on the wrong edge
- Pages saved with a rotation flag can place text relative to their unrotated layout. Straighten the page with Rotate PDF first, then number the file.
- The number collides with a footer
- Switch to a top position, or change the size or color until the preview reads clearly.
- You want proof the file stayed local
- The guide to checking for uploads walks through the Network tab check.
