Add page numbers to a PDF
Real text numbering — position, format and start, previewed live.
Free: 3 jobs per UTC day, 25 MB per file. PDF exports include a visible Made with Bindery watermark. Pro exports clean PDFs.
Prefer the full studio? Open Add Page Numbers in the app →
Pick a position (bottom center, bottom right, top right) and a format — 1, 1 / 24, or Page 1 of 24 — and see it on a live render of your document. Start at any number, and skip the first page so your cover stays clean. The numbers go in as real, selectable text.
Bindery runs entirely in your browser — your file is never uploaded, so there is nothing to delete from a server afterwards.
How it works
- Drop your PDF and open Page numbers
- Choose position, format and starting number on the live preview
- Number every page and download
Numbering that matches the document
Choose a position — bottom centre, bottom right or top right — and a format: a bare number, “1 / 24”, or “Page 1 of 24”. Start at any number so a chapter extracted from a book keeps its original numbering, and skip the first page so a cover or title page stays clean while page two is still numbered 2. The preview renders your actual page, so you can see the number against the margins before committing. The numbers are written as real text — selectable, searchable, sharp at any zoom, and readable by screen readers.
- Merged documents that lost their numbering, or never had one.
- Court and academic submissions that require “Page x of y”.
- Printouts of long reports that will be read on paper.
Order of operations
Number last among the page operations: after merging, reordering and deleting, so the sequence is right, and before imposing or archiving. If the document already has numbers in a header and you are adding a bundle-wide sequence, a different corner avoids the two colliding. For legal stamps with prefixes and counters that run across files, Bates numbering does more.
Numbering in the browser versus uploading
| Add page numbers | Bindery | Upload-based tools |
|---|---|---|
| Where the file is processed | In your browser tab, on your device | Uploaded to the service’s servers |
| Numbers | Real text, previewed on your page | Varies |
| Options | Position, format, start number, skip first page | Similar |
| What exists afterwards | The original and the new file, both on your device | A server copy until the retention window ends |
| Works offline | Yes, once the app has loaded | No |
Questions people ask
Can I keep the cover page unnumbered?
Yes — toggle “Skip first page”; numbering continues correctly on page two.
Are the numbers images or real text?
Real text, drawn into the PDF — selectable, searchable, crisp at any zoom.
Is the document uploaded?
No — numbering runs entirely in your browser.
Can I number in Roman numerals or with a chapter prefix?
Page numbers offers numeric formats. For a prefix or custom template, use Bates numbering with a template such as “A-{n}”.
Will the numbers overlap existing footers?
The preview shows the actual page, so you can pick a position that is clear. Bottom centre and bottom right suit most documents.
Can I number only part of the document?
Numbering applies to all pages (with the first optionally skipped). Extract the pages to number, number them with the right start value, and Mix pages to reassemble.