Cut in half
Cut in half splits each page of the PDF into two output pages, in the direction you pick: vertical (left and right) or horizontal (top and bottom). Handy for splitting a scanned A3 booklet into loose A4 sheets, or for working on each half of a poster separately. All processing runs in your browser.
Four steps, nothing to install.
The whole job happens on your computer, start to finish.
Choose the file
Drag the PDF into the tool window, or click to pick it.
Pick the direction
Vertical gives two narrower pages; horizontal gives two shorter pages.
Pick the pages
All by default, or just some, leaving the rest untouched.
Cut and download
Get the PDF with double the pages where you picked.
Does this actually separate two scanned images side by side?
No, and this is the difference that matters most. The cut is made on the visible area of the page (the CropBox), the same technique as the Crop margins tool. Each half stays the SAME source page, just with half the visible area at a time: the content left outside is not deleted or moved, it simply stops showing on that output page. To physically separate two scanned images side by side you would need to rasterize each half, which trades selectable text for an image.
How is the midpoint decided?
Against the page's CURRENT visible area, not the whole sheet. If a page already has a visible area smaller than the sheet (common in already trimmed scans), the midpoint is calculated from that area, not the original paper.
Can I cut only some pages and leave the rest untouched?
You can. The pages field takes ranges (1-3) and single numbers (5), separated by comma. Pages you do not pick go into the result unchanged, one by one.
Is the order of the output pages predictable?
Yes. Each chosen page produces two consecutive pages (the first half followed by the second), in the position the original page was in. Pages you did not choose keep their place.
Can I use this to redact or permanently remove half of a page?
You cannot, for the same reason as the Crop margins tool: content left outside the visible area stays inside the file, merely hidden. This is not an information removal tool.
The tool refused the cut.
It happens when a page already has such a small visible area that the half would be under one point wide or tall, which would produce an effectively blank page. The message says on which page it happened.
Did the final file get double the size?
It gets bigger, but not necessarily double: the two halves of a page share the same underlying content, only the visible area differs. If the goal is a smaller file, the right tool is Compress PDF.
Can I cut vertically and horizontally at the same time, to get four parts?
Not in one pass. Cut vertically, download the result, then run it through this tool again with the horizontal direction to reach the four quadrants.
Questions about cutting in half.
Do I need an account to cut a PDF in half?
Yes. The account (magic link, no password) is needed for the subscription. This tool is part of the Premium subscription, EUR 1.99 a month, which removes the limits on every tool and adds OCR. Sign PDF opens on the free plan, with one signature a day.
Is the text still text after cutting?
Yes. Nothing is converted to an image, so the text stays selectable, searchable and copyable on both halves.
Does it work on documents with pages of different sizes?
Yes. Each page is cut at the midpoint of its own visible area, regardless of the size of the others.
Are my files kept on your servers?
No. Since nothing is sent, nothing is kept outside your browser.
A page that needs
to become two? Cut it.
Open the tool and try it. Nothing to install, nothing sent anywhere.
Open Cut in half