ScanPDFOnline

Split PDF Files Online

Extract a specific range of pages from a PDF, or split every page into its own file. Runs 100% in your browser.

🔒 Splitting happens in your browser — the PDF is never uploaded.

Two ways to split a PDF

  • Extract a range. Enter something like 1-3, 5, 7-9 to pull those pages into a new PDF. Use this to grab a chapter, share only the pages you want a client to sign, or remove a private section before forwarding.
  • One PDF per page. Turns every page into its own file. Handy for OCR pipelines, single-page uploads to portals that reject multi-page PDFs, and per-page review.

Why do this in-browser?

Splitting a PDF locally means the file never leaves your machine. That matters when the PDF is a signed contract, an ID scan, or a medical record — most online splitters upload the file, process it server-side, then let you download the result. We use pdf-lib to do it all in JavaScript.

How this scanner works

When you tap "Use camera", the scanner asks your browser for a MediaStream at up to 4K resolution. Once you approve the permission prompt, the live viewfinder shows a soft blue overlay wherever it detects a rectangular document — this is real-time edge detection using OpenCV.js running in a Web Worker, so the UI stays smooth even on a mid-range phone.

When you press the shutter, the frame is grabbed with ImageCapture.takePhoto() (falling back to a canvas snapshot on browsers without ImageCapture). The scanner then runs a Canny edge detector, finds the largest four-point contour, and warps the image to a proper rectangle using a 3×3 perspective homography — the same math a flatbed scanner uses when it aligns a slightly-crooked document.

Filters, cropping, page reordering and PDF assembly all happen client-side in JavaScript. The finished PDF is generated by jsPDF and offered as a browser download. Because every step runs in your device, we could not access your document even if we wanted to — there is no network round trip once the page has loaded.

Works on iPhone, Android, and desktop

Works on any modern browser: Safari on iPhone and iPad, Chrome on Android, Chrome and Edge on Windows, Safari and Chrome on macOS, Firefox and Brave on Linux. No install, no App Store, no Play Store — a URL is the entire onboarding step.

iPhone (Safari): iOS 14.5+ gives the crispest capture because Safari exposes ImageCapture.takePhoto(), which pulls a full-resolution still directly from the camera hardware. On older iOS Safari falls back to a canvas snapshot of the video preview — still 1080p, still enough for a legible scan of a printed page.

Android (Chrome / Edge / Samsung Internet): 4K capture is supported on flagship phones from 2021 onwards; older devices are automatically stepped down to 1080p. If you have a rear-camera Android phone, the scanner picks it automatically ({ facingMode: 'environment' }) so you do not have to flip the camera manually.

Desktop / laptop: Webcam capture works, but for desktop the drag-and-drop upload path is usually faster — drop a JPG, PNG, HEIC, WebP, BMP or TIFF into the drop zone and the scanner pipeline (edge detect → warp → filter → PDF) runs on the uploaded image without needing a live camera.

Why use this instead of a scanner app

Most people looking for a free document scanner end up on one of three apps: CamScanner, Adobe Scan or the built-in scanner in Google Drive / Apple Notes. Each has real drawbacks that a browser-based tool sidesteps.

CamScanner is the market leader but has a difficult history: it was removed from the Google Play Store in August 2019 after Kaspersky found the "Necro" trojan module in one of its SDKs, and although CamScanner was later reinstated with the SDK removed, the free tier still watermarks every scan and pushes subscription upsells. This tool has no watermark, no signup, no upsell.

Adobe Scan and Microsoft Lens are cleaner options but require an Adobe or Microsoft account to save scans as PDF, and force the file through Adobe Document Cloud or OneDrive. Your document leaves your device.

Google Drive scan and Apple Notes scan are convenient but ecosystem-locked — Google Drive scan is Android-only, Notes is iOS-only, and neither lets you export as a two-sided ID card PDF or apply the same B&W scanner filter across every page.

A browser scanner solves the union of these problems: no install, no account, no vendor lock-in, no upload of your document, and no watermark. Whether you are on iPhone, Android, Windows or Mac, the tool is the same URL.

Frequently asked questions

What page-range syntax is supported?
Individual pages and ranges separated by commas: "1-3, 5, 7-9". Whitespace is ignored. Any page number outside the document is silently skipped.
Can I split a password-protected PDF?
Not currently. Remove the password with your PDF viewer first, then split.
Is there a page limit?
No hard limit — memory permitting. Splitting a 500-page PDF into per-page files can take a minute or two on a mobile device.
How do I scan a document to PDF without a scanner?
Use your phone camera and this browser-based tool. Tap "Use camera", frame the page, and the scanner auto-detects the edges, corrects the perspective, applies a scanner filter, and exports a PDF — the same output a flatbed scanner would give you, without owning one.
How do I scan a document with my iPhone?
Open scanpdfonline.com in Safari on your iPhone, tap "Use camera", allow camera access, and shoot the page. iPhone-only alternatives like the Notes app work too, but this tool exports a proper PDF (Notes exports images), works on non-Apple devices, and lets you rename the file before saving.
How do I scan a document with my Android phone?
Open scanpdfonline.com in Chrome on Android, tap "Use camera", allow the permission prompt, and capture each page. It works on every Android version that ships modern Chrome (Android 8+) and does not require installing the Google Drive scanner or a third-party app.
What is the best free online document scanner?
The best online document scanner is one that (a) does everything in your browser without uploading your files, (b) has no watermark on the output, (c) supports both live camera capture and photo upload, and (d) outputs a clean multi-page PDF. This tool is built to hit all four.
Is there a free alternative to CamScanner?
Yes. This site is a free, browser-based CamScanner alternative — no signup, no watermark on scans, no subscription. CamScanner was pulled from the Google Play Store in 2019 for malware and later reinstated, but many users looking for a CamScanner alternative want a tool that never leaves the browser at all. That is what this is.
Can I combine multiple photos into one PDF?
Yes. Capture (or drag & drop) each photo one at a time — every image becomes a new page in the same PDF. Reorder pages from the thumbnail strip before you save. This is how you turn a photo to PDF or several photos into one document.
How do I make a PDF look scanned?
After capture, pick the "Auto" or "B&W" filter. Auto removes shadows and boosts contrast for a scanned-document look; B&W produces the pure-black-on-white output that professional flatbed scanners give. Save as PDF and the result is visually indistinguishable from a real scanner output.
Are my scanned documents uploaded to your servers?
No. Camera capture, edge detection, perspective correction, filtering and PDF generation all run in JavaScript inside your browser. Nothing is sent to us or any third party. You can verify by opening browser DevTools → Network tab while scanning.