How to delete pages from a PDF without Acrobat

You can delete pages from PDF without Acrobat, for free and without installing anything. Open the file in our Organize PDF Pages, select the pages you don't want, press Delete and download the new PDF. Everything happens in your browser, so the document never leaves your phone or computer. If you prefer what is already on your device, Windows, Mac and iPhone each have a built-in way too, explained below.

The quickest way: a browser tool

A browser-based tool works on any device with a modern browser: a Windows laptop, a Mac, an Android phone or an iPhone. There is no account, no trial and no watermark. Organize PDF Pages shows every page as a thumbnail, so you can see what you are deleting instead of guessing page numbers.

It also does more than delete: you can drag pages into a new order, rotate sideways pages, duplicate a page, insert a blank page and combine pages from several PDFs before you download.

How to delete pages from PDF without Acrobat, step by step

1. Open the PDF. Go to Organize PDF Pages and choose your file, or drop it on the page. Up to 20 PDFs and about 200 MB in total can be open at once.
2. Find the pages. Every page appears as a numbered thumbnail. Use the slider to make them larger or smaller, and double-click a page (or choose Preview in its ⋯ menu) to read it at full size.
3. Select the pages to remove. Click a page or tick its circle. See the table below for faster ways to pick many pages.
4. Delete. Press Delete in the bar at the top, or the Delete key on your keyboard. For a single page you can also use Delete in its ⋯ menu.
5. Check the result. Scroll through once. If something went wrong, press Undo (Ctrl+Z).
6. Download. Click Download PDF. The file is saved with -organized added to its name, and your original stays untouched.

Selecting many pages at once

You want to remove	Fastest way
One page	Its ⋯ menu, then Delete
A run of pages, such as 12 to 30	Click page 12, Shift-click page 30, then Delete
Pages scattered through the file	Tick each one, then Delete once
Every even or every odd page	Select menu, then Even pages or Odd pages
Everything except a few pages	Tick the pages to keep, then Select, then Invert selection, then Delete
A block of pages on screen	On a computer, drag a box over them on the empty space around the pages

Ctrl+A selects every page and Escape clears the selection.

Other free ways already on your device

These built-in options are handy when you are offline or only need a quick fix. They each have limits, so check the result before you send it.

Windows: Print to PDF with a page range

Windows includes a virtual printer called Microsoft Print to PDF. Open the PDF in your browser or PDF reader, choose Print, pick Microsoft Print to PDF as the printer and type the pages you want to keep in the Pages box (for example 1-4, 7-10). Click Print and choose where to save the new file.

This makes a new PDF rather than editing the old one. Because the file is "printed" again, extras such as links or fillable form fields may not survive, so open the new file and check it.

Mac: Preview

Open the PDF in Preview, choose View, then Thumbnails, select the pages in the sidebar (Command-click to pick several) and press the Delete key. Then save the file. Duplicate the file first if you want to keep the original.

iPhone and iPad: the Files app

In recent versions of iOS, open the PDF in the Files app and swipe in from the left edge to show the page thumbnails. Press and hold a page and choose Delete, then tap Done to save. The same menu can rotate a page or insert a blank one. Menu names can vary slightly between iOS versions.

Android

Android phones come with different PDF viewers depending on the maker, and not all of them can delete pages. The browser method works the same on any Android phone; our guide on how to rearrange PDF pages on your phone covers the touch controls.

Which method should you use?

Method	Works on	See thumbnails	Also reorder and rotate	File stays on your device
Organize PDF Pages	Any device with a browser	Yes	Yes	Yes
Windows Print to PDF	Windows	No, you type page numbers	No	Yes
Preview	Mac	Yes	Yes	Yes
Files app	iPhone and iPad	Yes	Rotate, yes	Yes

When you want to keep pages rather than delete them

Sometimes it is easier to think the other way round. If you need only pages 5 to 8 from a 60-page report, Split PDF can extract that range into its own file. In Organize PDF Pages you can also select pages and choose Extract as a new PDF from the ⋯ More menu in the top bar.

For bigger edits, such as deleting pages and then adding text, a signature or a password, PDF Studio does all of it in one place, also in your browser.

Common problems

"This PDF is password-protected"

A locked PDF can't be edited until it is opened with its password. Remove the password with PDF Unlock, then open the unlocked copy. Bank statements are a common case; see how to remove the password from a bank statement PDF.

The file is still too big after deleting pages

Removing pages helps, but scanned pages are large images. Run the result through Compress PDF if a form or email has a size limit.

Blank pages from a scanner

If the pages you want to delete are empty pages from a double-sided scan, there is a faster method: how to remove blank pages from a scanned PDF.

A digitally signed document

Deleting pages creates a new document, so any digital signature in the original is no longer valid. Remove pages first, then sign.

Quick checklist

• Original kept as a backup (the browser tool never changes it)
• Pages to remove selected and checked in Preview
• Shift-click or Invert selection used for long runs of pages
• Locked files unlocked first with their password
• New file opened and checked page by page
• Compressed afterwards if it must fit an upload limit