How to add page numbers to a PDF

1 min read·25 July 2026

A long PDF document without page numbers is awkward to reference or index. With PDFrust you add page numbers in the header or footer — with the position, style, and formatting you choose yourself.

Page numbers via the header/footer tool

Open the header & footer tool on PDFrust. Choose one of six positions (left, centre, right × header or footer). Type {n} for the current page number or {total} for the total number of pages. Choose the font size and click Save.

Customise the format

You can customise the format: "{n} of {total}" gives "3 of 12". Add a prefix: "Page {n}" or "- {n} -". Choose the text size that suits the document.

Add page numbers

Try for free — no account needed

Try it now →

Start at a specific number

Want to start at page 5 instead of 1 (e.g. for a document that is part of a larger whole)? Set the start number via the offset option in PDFrust.

Remove page numbers

Page numbers added via PDFrust become part of the page image after saving. They cannot be selectively removed without reworking the pages. Only add numbers when the document content is finalised.