PDF Tools

Add Page Numbers to PDF

Last updated: June 17, 2026

Blake Boege
Written by Blake Boege · Founder, Calculator Answers

A PDF pagination utility is a document editing tool that stamps visual page numbers onto each page of a PDF. Using font embedding, it draws page number strings at designated geometric alignments on the page coordinates.

Add clean Helvetica page numbers to your PDF document pages. Fast, secure, and completed entirely in-browser.

See also: PNG to PDF, Rotate PDF, and Crop PDF.

Quick Answer

Paginate a PDF document. Select page number positioning and start number to stamp page numbers locally.

Drag and drop your files here, or browse

Supports .PDF files up to 20MB

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Examples

Standard Bottom Center

Add page numbers centered at the bottom, starting at 1

Custom Start Number

Add page numbers at bottom-right, starting at 10

How it works

When you select a PDF, the file is read and loaded into a pdf-lib document context.

The script embeds the standard Helvetica font into the PDF structure, ensuring it renders identically on any device without relying on system fonts.

For each page, the script retrieves its width and height, calculates the text boundaries based on the current page number string, and computes coordinate offsets (x, y) based on your alignment selection.

Using page.drawText(), the numbers are stamped on top of each page. The output bytes are saved and made available for download.

Private Processing. No servers are involved in paginating your document. The processing runs entirely inside your browser's local sandbox.

Frequently asked questions

Select your PDF file. Select the layout position (e.g. bottom-center) and the start page number (e.g. '1'). Click Add Page Numbers and download the paginated PDF document.

Yes. You can specify any start integer (like '5') so that the first page starts numbering at that value, which is useful when combining chapters.

No. The pagination process is completed inside your browser using client-side JavaScript. Your files are never sent over the network, ensuring maximum privacy.