Add PDF Page Numbers
Add page numbers in any of nine positions, with a starting number, prefix and suffix, placeholders for page and total, and control over font, size and colour.
Runs in your browser — nothing is uploadedFree trial: 1 run of Add PDF Page Numbers every day. After that, 2 credits per run.
Stamp real, sequential page numbers onto a PDF in the style you need
The number becomes part of each page rather than a viewer setting, so it travels with the file wherever it goes afterwards. Choose any of nine positions, where the count starts, the words framing it, and the font, size, weight and colour. A prefix or suffix can use placeholders, so "Page {n} of {total}" comes out as "Page 3 of 42". Runs in your browser on files up to 150 MB and 3,000 pages.
What Add PDF Page Numbers gives you
Nine positions
Anchor to any corner, edge centre or the middle, on a three-by-three grid with a half-inch margin.
Placeholders for page and total
Use {n} and {total} to produce "Page 3 of 42", which shows whether a printout is complete.
Start the count anywhere
Set any starting value from zero up, so a cover sheet can sit outside the sequence or a second volume can carry on where the first stopped.
Number only some pages
Apply to all pages, a typed range, or just the odd or even ones.
Font, size, weight and colour
Helvetica, Times Roman or Courier, 4 to 96 points, optional bold, and any colour you pick.
Aware of rotated pages
Position is worked out relative to the page as displayed, so the foot of the page is the foot of the page on screen.
How to use Add PDF Page Numbers
Add the PDF
Its page count is read so {total} and any range resolve correctly.
Pick a position
Foot of the page is the usual choice for reports and bound documents. An outer corner tends to suit correspondence and anything that will be flicked through.
Set the style
Enter a prefix or suffix, the starting number, then the font, size, weight and colour.
Choose which pages
The whole document, a range, or the odd or even pages.
Stamp and download
Your original file is not modified.
Other names for this tool
People also look for this as number PDF pages, add pagination to PDF, PDF page numbering, insert page numbers in PDF and Bates-style numbering. It is the same tool on this page.
Limitations
- Only the standard PDF fonts are embedded, so non-Latin scripts are not supported.
Questions about Add PDF Page Numbers
Can I start from a number other than 1?
Yes. Set any starting number, and use a prefix or suffix such as "Page {n} of {total}".
Does it handle rotated pages?
Yes. Placement accounts for each page size and its existing rotation.
How do I add page numbers to a PDF?
Add the file, choose one of the nine positions, set the style, and stamp. Each number is drawn into the page as ordinary content, which is what makes it persist through emailing, printing and archiving instead of relying on how a particular reader displays the file.
How do I get "Page 3 of 42" instead of a bare digit?
Put {n} and {total} in the prefix or suffix — "Page {n} of {total}" produces exactly that. It is worth using whenever completeness matters, because it shows a reader instantly whether a printout is missing a sheet.
How do I skip the cover page?
Two ways, depending on what you want the count to say. Either restrict the range so the cover is left out entirely, or offset the starting value so the sequence reaches one on the page you consider the beginning.
Can I use non-Latin characters in the prefix?
No. Numbering uses the three standard PDF typefaces, which every conforming reader already has so no font file needs embedding in your document. Their character repertoire is Latin only, and text they cannot encode is refused with a clear message rather than rendered as wrong glyphs.
What if the document already has printed numbers?
Any numbers already in the original layout are left exactly as they are — you are adding a second, independent sequence. Choose a position that will not collide with them, or the two will overlap.
Who needs sequential page numbering?
Students and academics numbering theses so an examiner can cite an exact page; legal teams stamping exhibits and filing bundles, often from a set starting value so numbering continues across linked documents; and anyone assembling handouts where a reader needs to know the set is complete.