Split a PDF Page in Half — Vertically or Horizontally

How to split a PDF page in half - 3 steps

1. 1

   Upload the PDF

   Add one PDF up to 500 MB. This is intended for scanned spreads, two-up sheets, and other pages that contain two pieces of content on one sheet.

2. 2

   Choose and place the cut

   Choose a vertical cut for side-by-side content or a horizontal cut for stacked content. Check the preview and move the split line if the centre of the visible page is not the right place.

3. 3

   Select pages and download

   Split the whole file or selected pages, then download the new PDF. The selected page areas become separate pages in reading order.

What this tool does - and how it differs from Split PDF

This page cuts through an individual PDF page. It is useful when a scanned book spread, magazine, worksheet, ticket sheet, or other two-up layout has two pieces of content on one page and you want them as separate pages.

The regular Split PDF tool works at page boundaries. Use that tool when you want pages 1-10 in one file and pages 11-20 in another. Use this page when one source page needs to become two or more output pages.

The name says 'in half' because the usual job is one cut through the middle, but the editor can add more than one split line. That lets you divide a page into three or more parts when the layout calls for it.

Upload a PDF - up to 500 MB

The page accepts one PDF at a time, with a maximum file size of 500 MB. JPGs, PNGs, Word documents, and other file types are not accepted here; convert them to PDF first if necessary.

The file is opened and processed in your browser. A large scan with many high-resolution pages can still use considerable memory, so a smaller page range may work better if the browser becomes slow.

Vertical or horizontal - choose the direction that matches the layout

Choose Vertical when the two pages or panels sit side by side. This is the usual choice for a book scanned while open, a magazine spread, or a wide page with a left and right section.

Choose Horizontal when the content is stacked from top to bottom. This suits a landscape sheet with two smaller pages, two-up tickets, certificates, or a wide worksheet arranged in rows.

The tool does not detect a book gutter automatically. The choice is based on the visible page area and the direction you select. If the page is uneven, or the gap is not exactly in the middle, use the preview to check the result and move the line yourself.

Preview the cut and adjust the split line

After the file opens, the preview shows where the cut will fall. Drag the line until it sits at the boundary you want. This is helpful for scans with a wide gutter, uneven margins, or content that was not centred when the page was captured.

The cut is made from the visible page area. It is not an automatic crop, deskew, or book-gutter correction. If text, a table, or an image crosses the line, part of that content will be placed on each output page, so review the preview before downloading.

Choose pages and add more than one split line

You can apply the cut to every page or enter a selected page range. This is useful when only a few scanned spreads need separating and the rest of the PDF should remain unchanged.

The editor starts with one line, which produces two parts. Add further lines when a page has three or more columns, panels, or tickets. Each part is written as its own PDF page in the order it appears on the source page.

Quality, page size, metadata, and bookmarks

The output keeps the source content at its original resolution; it is not enlarged or intentionally re-compressed. A vertical cut makes pages narrower while keeping the source height. A horizontal cut makes pages shorter while keeping the source width. The output page dimensions follow the part that was cut.

This creates a new PDF. The original bookmark tree is not carried over, and document properties such as title, author, subject, and keywords may be missing. If those details matter, check the downloaded file and add them again with a PDF metadata editor.

What this tool does not fix

It does not straighten a crooked scan, remove dark borders or shadows, recognise text, or decide where a book gutter is. It also cannot know that one page needs a different cut unless you adjust the line and select the pages accordingly.

For the next step, use Crop PDF to tidy scan edges, PDF OCR to make a scan searchable, or Rearrange PDF Pages if the new pages need to be reordered. For splitting a document into separate page ranges, use Split PDF instead.

For a walkthrough with screenshots and advice for uneven scans, read our guide to splitting scanned book pages.

Related tools