How to Add Page Numbers to a PDF in Adobe Acrobat and Free Tools

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Make PDFs more professional and easier to read

Written by Travis Boylls

Last Updated: July 31, 2025 Fact Checked

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• Using Adobe Acrobat Online (Free)
|
• Using Adobe Acrobat Pro
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• Using Smallpdf
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• Video

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If you want to add page numbers to a PDF, there are easy ways to do so on your PC or Mac. If you have Adobe Acrobat Pro, you can easily add page numbers online and on the desktop app. You can also add page numbers to a PDF for free using Adobe Acrobat Online or a freemium PDF editor called Smallpdf.

Add Page Numbers to a PDF Free: Quick Steps

1. Log in to acrobat.adobe.com.
2. Go to Edit > Number pages.
3. Click Select a file and select the PDF you want to number.
4. Choose a position and style for your page numbering.
5. Click Save and download your PDF.

Steps

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Using Adobe Acrobat Online (Free)

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1. 
   1
   Go to https://acrobat.adobe.com/ in a web browser. You can use any web browser on your Windows PC, Mac, Chromebook, or Linux computer. If you don't subscribe to the premium version of Acrobat, you can still add page numbers to your PDF using Adobe Acrobat Online in your web browser. You will just need to sign in with your Adobe account.

   • If you don't have an account, you'll be prompted to create one.
   • If you are not signed in automatically, sign in with the username and password associated with your Adobe ID.
2. 
   2
   Hover over Edit and click Number Pages. The Edit tab is at the top of the page. Hover your mouse cursor over it and click Number Pages.

   • Alternatively, if the PDF you want to add page numbers to is uploaded to Adobe Cloud, you can click it at the bottom of the screen.
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3. 
   3
   Select a PDF. To do so, click Select a file, navigate to and select a PDF on your computer, and click Open to upload it to the PDF editor.
4. 
   4
   Choose a position for the numbers. By default, your page numbers will appear at the bottom-right corner of each page. To change this, click one of the squares in the grid at the upper-left corner (below "Position on Page") to select where the page numbers will go.

   • The top squares will place a page number in the header. The bottom squares will place the page number in the footer.
5. 
   5
   Choose which pages to number. If you want to number all pages, leave the radio option next to "All" selected. If you want to number a range of pages, click the radio option next to "From" and enter the page numbers you want to number from and to.

   • You can skip adding a number to the first page (often the title page) by changing "Start numbering at" from "1" to "2."
6. 
   6
   Select the formatting options for your page numbers. Use the options at the bottom of the menu on the left to select the font, font size, style, and color for your page numbers.
7. 
   7
   Click Save. It's at the bottom of the left panel. This adds page numbers to your PDF and saves your document.
8. 
   8
   Download your PDF. Now that you've added numbering, you can download the updated PDF by clicking the three dots at the upper-right corner and selecting Download this file.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Using Adobe Acrobat Pro

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1. 
   1
   Open a PDF in Adobe Acrobat Pro. To do so, right-click or Control-click a PDF, select Open with, then select Adobe Acrobat Pro.

   • You can download Adobe Acrobat from https://creativecloud.adobe.com/apps/download/acrobat or using the Creative Cloud app.
   • You need a subscription to use Adobe Acrobat Pro. Subscriptions start at $29.99 monthly.
   • You can sign up for a free 7-day trial of Adobe Acrobat.
   • If you purchased Adobe Acrobat DC before 2020, you can also use that to add page numbers to a PDF.
2. 
   2
   Click All tools. It's the first tab below "Menu." This displays the Tools menu to the right.
3. 
   3
   Click Edit a PDF. It's usually the second item on the menu.

   • The menu options in the tools panel on the right side of the window will change, and a new menu will appear along the top of your document.
4. 
   4
   Click Add Header & Footer. A menu will drop down from "Add Header & Footer," where you can select "Add."

   • If you don't see the "Add Header & Footer" option, you can use the search bar at the top of the page to search "Header."
5. 
   5
   Select a location for page numbers. You can place your page numbers in the Left Header Text, Center Header Text, Right Header Text, Left Footer Text, Center Footer Text, or Right Footer Text box. .
6. 
   6
   Select the formatting options for your page numbers. Use the bar at the top to select your font, font size, and odd and even numbering for your document.
7. 
   7
   Click OK. This adds page numbers to your PDF.
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Using Smallpdf

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1. 
   1
   Go to https://smallpdf.com/add-page-numbers-to-pdf in a web browser. You can use any web browser to add pages to PDFs.

   • Without an account, you can use Smallpdf for two tasks. If you want to do more with Smallpdf, create an account with a 7-day free trial.
2. 
   2
   Upload your PDF. Click Choose File or drop a PDF into the box. When you click Choose File, your file manager will open, and you can select your PDF to upload.
3. 
   3
   Select a location to add numbers and click Number Pages. Click the radio option in the grid to the left below "Position." The boxes on the top will place the page numbers in the header. The boxes on the bottom will place the page numbers in the header.

   • You can also use the field on the right to select what page to start numbering pages at.
4. 
   4
   Click Download and save your edited PDF. It's on the right side of your PDF preview. If you don't like the numbering, you can click Start over.
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