Add page numbers to PDF files so a printout keeps its order
Choose where the number sits, what it says and which pages get one, then save it into the file. Your PDF never leaves this device.
Choose a PDF file to number
One file · up to 80 MB · PDF bytes are checked on this device
Processed on this device
Selecting and processing files stays in this browser.
Checking offline readiness
Offline availability is confirmed after this tool loads.
Why there is no daily limit, and no upload
How to add page numbers to a PDF
- Open the PDF you want to number.
- Choose where the number sits, what it says, and which number to start at.
- Select View on a page to open it full size, then drag the number where you want it and pull a corner to change its size. There is one number, so this sets it for every page that gets one.
- Select the pages that should carry one, or leave every page selected.
- Select Create numbered PDF, then Download to save it.
Number a PDF and keep the file, not a picture of it
PDFCheetah writes each number onto the page as text, on this device. The document is not rebuilt: what you get back is your own file with a number added to the pages you chose, so the text already on the page stays selectable, vector artwork stays sharp, and form fields, bookmarks and page labels come through. Numbers are placed against the page as you see it, so a page stored on its side is numbered along the edge you would call the bottom, and a page with wide margins trimmed away is numbered inside the area that prints. Before the download appears, PDFCheetah opens the finished file again on this device, checks its page count and reads a sample of its pages in full.
What adding page numbers does not do
The numbers are printed on, so they do not update themselves: add, remove or reorder pages afterwards and the numbers stay as they were. This also adds a number rather than finding one already on the page, so a document that is already numbered will show both.
Current limitations
Numbers are written in one bundled font family, which covers Latin and Devanagari scripts. A prefix or suffix using characters outside those scripts is refused rather than printed wrongly. Different positions on odd and even pages, numbering several files at once, and section-by-section numbering are not included. Always verify signed, certified, tagged, form-heavy, or archival PDFs in the reader used by the recipient.
Common questions
- Is my PDF uploaded to add page numbers?
- No. The pages are measured and the numbers are written in your browser, and the file never leaves this device. Download the result, or use Share on a phone.
- Do the numbers update if I add or remove pages later?
- No. Each number is written onto the page as ordinary content, not as a field a reader updates. If you change which pages the document has, number it again once the pages are final.
- Can I leave the cover page unnumbered?
- Yes, two ways. Set how many opening pages to leave blank, and the count starts after them, so the third page can still read 1. Or deselect the pages you want left alone.
- Can I start at a number other than 1?
- Yes. Set the starting number, and the pages count up from there. Only pages that get a number advance the count, so skipping a page does not leave a gap.
- Can I use Roman numerals, or write Page 1 of 10?
- Yes to both. Choose 1, 2, 3 or i, ii, iii or I, II, III, and choose whether the number stands alone or reads Page 1 of 10. When it names a total, you decide whether that total counts every page in the file or only the pages being numbered — those differ whenever any page is skipped.
- Where does the number go on a page that is stored sideways?
- Along the edge you would call the bottom. The number is placed against the page as you see it, so a scanned landscape page is numbered the way it reads, not the way it is stored. A page with wide margins cropped away is numbered inside the area that prints.
- What if the page already has a number printed on it?
- Both will show. This adds a number; it does not find or replace one already on the page. Choose a position or a distance from the edge that avoids the existing one.
- Which alphabets can the number use?
- Latin and Devanagari, from a font bundled with the tool so nothing is fetched from the internet. A prefix or suffix using characters outside those scripts is refused rather than printed as empty boxes.