---
title: How to Split PDF Files: 6 Free Ways (Windows, Mac, Online)
url: https://www.helprange.com/post/splitting-pdfs/what-tools-or-software-can-split-pdf-documents
---

#  What tools or software can split PDF documents?

 How to Split PDF Files: 6 Free Ways (Windows, Mac, Online)

### Free tool: Split a PDF

Extract page ranges into separate PDFs, or split every page into its own file. Several ranges come back as a ZIP. No sign-up – files are processed in memory and not stored.

[Open the free tool](https://www.helprange.com/tools/split-pdf)

### Share documents securely with HelpRange

Send a link instead of an attachment: only specific people can open it, downloads and forwarding are blocked, every page is watermarked, and you see who read what – page by page.

 [Start free trial](https://www.helprange.com/#signUpSection) [Live demo – no sign-up](https://www.helprange.com/demo)

You can split a PDF for free without installing anything: every modern browser and operating system can save selected pages as a new PDF. Below are step-by-step instructions for each method, from the quickest to the most powerful.

## 1. Split a PDF in Google Chrome (Windows, Mac, Linux)

1. Open the PDF in Chrome (drag the file into a browser window).
2. Press **Ctrl+P** (Windows) or **Cmd+P** (Mac).
3. Set **Destination** to **Save as PDF**.
4. Under **Pages**, choose **Custom** and type the range, e.g. `1-5`.
5. Click **Save**. Repeat for every part you need.

## 2. Split a PDF on Windows with Microsoft Print to PDF

1. Open the PDF in Microsoft Edge or any PDF reader and press **Ctrl+P**.
2. Choose the printer **Microsoft Print to PDF**.
3. Enter the page range you want to keep.
4. Click **Print** and choose where to save the new file.

## 3. Split a PDF on Mac with Preview

1. Open the PDF in Preview and choose **View > Thumbnails**.
2. Select the pages you want (Cmd-click to select several).
3. Drag the selected thumbnails to the desktop – Preview creates a new PDF with just those pages.

Alternatively use **File > Print**, set the page range and choose **PDF > Save as PDF**.

## 4. Split a PDF with Adobe Acrobat

Adobe's online Split PDF tool lets you upload a file, sign in and place divider lines between pages to create several files at once. In Acrobat Pro you can also split a document by page count, file size or top-level bookmarks.

## 5. Online PDF splitters (Smallpdf, iLovePDF)

Online tools such as Smallpdf and iLovePDF split a PDF by page ranges or extract every page into a separate file in a few clicks. They are convenient for everyday documents, but the file is uploaded to a third-party server – avoid them for contracts, financial or personal documents.

## 6. Split PDFs from the command line (qpdf, pdftk)

For many files or automation, free command-line tools are fastest:

- `qpdf input.pdf --pages . 1-5 -- part1.pdf` – save pages 1-5 as a new file
- `qpdf --split-pages input.pdf page.pdf` – save every page as a separate file
- `pdftk input.pdf cat 1-5 output part1.pdf` – the same with pdftk

## Which method should you use?

| Situation | Best method |
|---|---|
| Extract a few pages, any computer | Chrome: Print > Save as PDF |
| Mac user | Preview thumbnails |
| Split into many parts at once | Adobe Acrobat or iLovePDF |
| Confidential document | An offline method (Chrome, Preview, Windows) – nothing is uploaded |
| Hundreds of files | qpdf or pdftk |

## Sharing the split parts securely

Once a long document is split, the parts are often sent to different people. With [HelpRange](https://www.helprange.com/) you can share each PDF as a protected link, block downloading and forwarding, and see who opened which pages.

### Share documents securely with HelpRange

Send a link instead of an attachment: only specific people can open it, downloads and forwarding are blocked, every page is watermarked, and you see who read what – page by page.

 [Start free trial](https://www.helprange.com/#signUpSection) [Live demo – no sign-up](https://www.helprange.com/demo)