🔢 Add Page Numbers to PDF ☆

Overview

Free Add Page Numbers to PDF is a free online tool that adds page numbers to every page of your PDF document. Choose the position, top-left, top-center, top-right, bottom-left, bottom-center, or bottom-right, and the tool stamps sequential numbers on all pages instantly. You can customize the starting number, set a prefix or suffix (e.g., "Page 1 of 10"), choose font size and style, and exclude cover pages or table of contents from numbering. The tool supports multiple numbering formats including Arabic numerals, Roman numerals, and letters. Page numbering runs entirely on your device, the PDF is opened, stamped and saved in browser memory, never on a server. No sign-up wall, no page cap imposed by the tool, and no watermark is stamped on your output. It is ideal for adding page numbers to academic papers, legal documents, reports, manuscripts, theses, and any multi-page PDF that needs professional numbering. The page numbers are overlaid on the existing content without altering the original layout, fonts, or images. The same numbering flow works in Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari on desktop and mobile.

How page numbering is applied

Numbers are drawn as real text on each page in the position and style you select, with an optional prefix or suffix such as "Page 3 of 12". You choose the starting number, format (Arabic, Roman or letters), font size, and pages to skip, covers and tables of contents usually stay unnumbered. The underlying content is copied untouched, so the layout, fonts and images of the original remain intact.

Technical specifications

Property	Add page numbers behavior
Positions	Six positions: top/bottom × left/center/right
Formats	Arabic numerals, Roman numerals, letters
Customization	Start number, prefix/suffix, font size and style
Exclusions	Skip cover pages, TOC and selected ranges
Preserved	Original layout, fonts, images: numbers are overlaid
Processing	100% client-side (JavaScript + pdf-lib), no upload
Cost	Free, no account, no watermark

Privacy: numbering happens locally

Theses, legal filings and manuscripts are private until published, so the file stays in your browser. Once the page has loaded, numbering works with the network disconnected, and nothing is sent or saved.

Numbering tips

• Skip the cover; most style guides start numbering at the first content page.
• Use Roman numerals for front matter in formal documents.
• Check that the position does not collide with existing headers or footers.
• Set the start number to match any printed page labels.
• Preview the first and last pages before export.

Related: browse all PDF tools to watermark, reorder, merge or compress documents.

Numbering styles, placement and ranges

Page numbers look trivial until a document needs two different sequences in one file. Front matter usually uses lowercase Roman numerals while the body restarts at 1, and a cover page should carry no number at all. That means the tool has to support a start value and a page range, not just a style. Format is the second decision: plain digits suit most reports, Roman numerals are conventional for prefaces, and some legal filings require the number to include a prefix such as a matter reference or the date. Placement matters for readability: a centred footer is the safest default, outer-edge placement looks professional in double-sided printing, and header placement works when footers already carry other information. The chosen position should respect the existing margin, a number placed inside the printable area can overlap content or get clipped by some printers. Size and colour should be visually quieter than body text, so a slightly smaller grey is usually better than the same weight as the text. Finally, remember that numbering applied as a real text stamp stays searchable and does not change the underlying content, while some editors' numbering is only a viewer setting that disappears when the file is printed elsewhere. The tool works locally in the browser, so confidential documents never leave your device.