How to Split PDF with Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader

Splitting a single large PDF document into individual pages can come in handy for several reasons. In particular, you may want to split a large PDF if each page requires a digital signature and it doesn't make sense to send all pages at once.

This guide will show you how you can split a PDF using Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader, two of the most popular PDF management solutions in the market.

A Better Alternative to Adobe Acrobat

One of the best alternatives to Adobe Acrobat is UPDF. This tool is preferable to Adobe because it comes with features designed to make PDF management, including PDF splitting a stress-free and simple process. It is also very easy to use, with an easily navigable user interface that makes all operations simple and effective.

More features about UPDF:

UPDF is the best way to open and read PDF documents. It also has very useful annotation tools that can make collaboration with others fast and easy.
It also offers a wealth of options when it comes to managing the pages on your PDF. You can organize the PDF pages in various ways including splitting a PDF document into multiple pages.
UPDF can also be used to edit other aspects of the document including the text, images, and links.
UPDF has a conversion feature to let you convert PDF to Word, Excel, image, and other popular file formats.

To use UPDF to split a PDF document, use these simple steps:

Step 1: Open UPDF after installation and then open the PDF document that you want to split.

Step 2: Click on the "Organize Page" icon on the left toolbar to access the tools you will need to edit the document.

Step 3: Then click on the "Split PDF" option on the page management toolbar.

adobe acrobat split pdf with spilt feature

Step 4: A pop-up window will appear, allowing you to select the number of pages your option splits. For example, if your PDF file is 20 pages in total, and you fill in "5", which means you will get 4 PDF files of 5 pages.

Video Tutorial on How to Split PDF

How to Split PDF in Adobe Reader

Can you split PDF using Adobe Reader?

No. If all you have is Adobe Reader, you will find that you are unable to do more than simply read and annotate the PDF document. Adobe Reader is a free version that lacks the necessary features to help you create, edit, or even split PDF pages. To be able to get these features, you will need to purchase an Adobe Reader Pro subscription.

How to Separate PDF Pages with Adobe Acrobat

Adobe Acrobat is far more suited to the function of splitting PDF pages than Adobe Reader. The process is simple and very effective. Use these steps to split your PDF with Adobe Acrobat:

Step 1: Open Adobe Acrobat on your computer and click on the "Tools" center at the top left section of the screen. From the shortcuts that appear on the right pane, choose "Organize Pages."

Step 2: Click on the "Select a File" button and choose the PDF file that you want to spit.

Step 3: With the document open In Adobe Acrobat, choose "Split" in the top menu.

Step 4: Use the "Split By" drop-down menu to set the specific rules you would like to use when splitting the PDF including the number of pages, the file size, or even any top-level bookmarks that you may have.

Step 5: Click on "Output Options" to choose a target folder for the PDF files that you have created and click "OK."

Step 6: Click on the "Split" button and click "OK" again to complete the process.

How to Split PDF with Adobe Online for Free

You can also use the Adobe online tool to split PDF pages. This option is even simpler to use and accessible on any browser. Use these steps to use this tool to split your PDF:

Step 1: On your browser, go to Acrobat Online Split PDF tool.

Step 2: On this main screen, click on "Select a file" to choose the PDF document to split.

Step 3: You may be required to sign in to your Adobe account before you can use this tool. If you don't have an Adobe account, you can create one on this page very easily.

Step 4: Use the divider lines to set up the page ranges to split the PDF file that you need.

Step 5: Once the process is complete, click "Save" and Acrobat will save the split PDF pages to the same folder or you can choose a new folder to save the documents. You can also choose to download or share the pages directly.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Adobe to Split PDF

Advantages

Adobe Acrobat remains one of the most effective all-in-one solutions to split PDFs
The merge feature is also highly useful when you need to put your files back together again.
It has a lot of other features that can be very useful in managing PDFs in other ways

Disadvantages

The full version of Adobe Acrobat can be very expensive
The user interface can be hard to figure out, especially for beginner users

Compare UPDF with Adobe

	UPDF	Adobe
Price	$39.99/Year $59.99/Perpetual	$155.88/Year for the Standard version $239.88/Year for the Pro version
Easy to use	4.9	3.9

Conclusion

Splitting PDFs can be useful if you have a very large PDF document that is difficult to share. But while Adobe Acrobat can be a useful solution for splitting PDFs into smaller pages, it is often expensive and not easy to navigate. UPDF presents a simpler solution that gives you the same options and level of efficiency that you see with Adobe Acrobat. The fact that it has other features to manage PDFs is a bonus.