100% in your browser — files never uploaded

Split a PDF into individual chapters.

An ebook, textbook, or long report is one giant PDF with chapter breaks baked into the layout but no easy way to export them separately. PDF SmartSplit finds each chapter's opening heading — "Chapter 1", "Chapter 2", and so on — and starts a new file there, entirely in this browser tab.

Split by chapter free → See how it works

No signup. No install. Free for files up to 30 pages.

How to split a PDF by chapters

Most books and reports print a consistent chapter heading at the start of every chapter — that consistency is exactly what makes an automatic split possible.

Check how your chapters are labeled

Look at two or three chapter openings. Most books print "Chapter 1", "Chapter 2", etc. — some use just a number, a part name, or a running title instead. Note the pattern that repeats.

Drop the PDF in below

It loads into your browser's memory only — nothing is uploaded, so the full text stays on your device the entire time.

Download one zip, one PDF per chapter

A new file starts on every page containing "Chapter " (or whatever label your book uses) — chapters of any length come out correctly.

A word on the word "Chapter": matching on "Chapter " (with a trailing space) avoids accidentally catching the word "Chapter" inside a sentence elsewhere in the text, since chapter openings almost always print it as a standalone heading like "Chapter 5" rather than mid-paragraph. If your book numbers chapters differently — "Part One", "Section 3" — use that label instead. Honest limitation: this needs a real, selectable text layer, so it works on ebooks and print-to-PDF exports but not a photographed or scanned copy of a physical book. It also doesn't read your PDF's embedded bookmark/outline entries directly — if you'd rather split from those, see our bookmark splitting guide. PDF SmartSplit uses pdf.js to read the text and pdf-lib to assemble each chapter's pages into their own file, both running as JavaScript in this page.

Split your PDF into chapters

Free tier: 1 file at a time, up to 30 pages. Text-layer PDFs only (no scanned/OCR yet).

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Drag & drop your book or report PDF here, or click to choose

Up to 30 pages · stays on this device

Splitting a whole book that's over 30 pages?

Free tier handles shorter documents up to 30 pages total. Pro (in development) removes the page limit, adds multi-file batch processing, and can rename each chapter file from its heading — e.g. Chapter-05.pdf instead of part-05.pdf. One-time $19, no subscription.

See Free vs Pro →

Your document never leaves your browser

PDF SmartSplit has no upload endpoint, no server that touches your document, and no account to leak. Open your browser's network tab while you split a file — you'll see it stay quiet. Processing uses pdf.js and pdf-lib running as JavaScript in this tab; the zip is built in memory and handed straight to your browser's download dialog.