How to Split PDF into Multiple Files on Mac, Update for Ventura 2023

We are much likely to work on PDF files, because it is the prevailing file format with high security and versatility to present digital contents. However, when we encounter large PDFs or need to assign specific pages of a PDF to different members for collaboration, we will have to split PDF pages.

This article will introduce 6 ways to split PDF pages on Mac. We will learn how to split PDF into individual or multiple files with PDFMaster, Preview, Automator，Adobe Acrobat or free mac PDF splitters, even if you are splitting a large or dozens-of-page PDFs.

 Cisdem PDFMaster

The Most Efficient PDF Splitter/Merger for Mac

• Separate PDF Pages by page quantity or page range
• Merge PDF files into one
• Convert native PDFs to Word, PowerPoint, Keynote, Pages, Image and 15+ formats
• Create PDF from Word, Image and so on
• Batch compress PDF into smaller size
• Edit PDFs: add text, annotate, highlight, add stamp, etc.
• Protect and unlock PDFs

Free Download   Free Download

Easiest Way to Split PDFs into Multiple Files on Mac

PDF splitting or combing are basic PDF editing tasks. If you need split PDF pages, or organize and manage PDF pages very often, a PDF toolkit containing all necessary PDF tools will be greatly helpful, such as PDFMaster.

PDFMaster is a mac and Windows PDF toolkit, offering users 8 PDF tools to handle their PDFs: PDF Convert, PDF Create, PDF Compress, PDF Edit, PDF Merge, PDF Encrypt, PDF Split, PDF Decrypt.

With PDFMaster PDF Split tool, users can quickly split a PDF into multiple files by equal page quantity or by specific page range, for example, you can split a 25-page PDF to 5 PDF files, each has 5 pages, or you can split a 25-pages PDF to several PDF files, one contains pages from page 1 to page 10, one contains page 11 only…, just as you need.

Main Features of PDFMaster

• Convert both native and scanned PDF to 15+ formats
• Create PDF from 40+ file formats
• Markup and annotate PDF with ease
• Compress PDF in batch
• Split PDF into multiple files
• Merge multiple PDFs into one
• Lock PDF with user/owner password
• Unlock PDFs quickly

How to Split PDFs into Multiple Files on Mac?

1. Download and install Cisdem PDFMaster to your Mac. Run it.
   Free Download
2. Go to PDF Split.
3. Delete or rotate PDF pages if necessary.
4. Click Save and adjust the splitting settings.
5. Click the “Convert” button to split a PDF into multiple PDFs on Mac.

Split PDF Pages on Mac with Preview

Preview is the built-in tool to open, view, markup and organize PDF pages on macOS. There is no Split tool in Preview, but you can still use Preview to split PDF pages. However, you can only split a PDF by specific page range, in other words, Preview allows splitting a PDF into another PDF with manually selected PDF pages only.

1. Open the PDF file in Preview.
2. Select the thumbnails of pages you want to split on mac. It can be single page or multiple pages.
3. Drag and drop the thumbnails of selected PDF pages to your desktop or a folder. Your PDF will be partially split.
4. Then choose other pages, drag and drop to output folder to finish the splitting.

Split A PDF into Individual Pages on Mac with Automator

Another way to split PDF pages on Mac for free is using Automator, it helps split multiple PDF files efficiently with a created workflow, however, you can only split a PDF into individual pages on Mac with Automator, that’s to say, your PDF file will be split into one-page PDF files.

1. Go to Finder>Applications, open Automator app.
2. Click on Workflow>Choose.
3. Go to Library>Files & Folders>Ask for Finder Items, drag and drop Ask for Finder Items to right window and adjust the settings.
4. Go to Library>PDFs>Split PDF, drag and drop Split PDF to the right window and adjust the settings.
5. Click the Run button on the top.
6. Navigate to the PDF file you want to split, click Choose to split PDF pages.
7. To split another PDF, click the Run button again and find the PDF for splitting.

Free PDF Splitter for Mac

Also, there are 3rd party free PDF splitter tools for Mac users. You can use web browser or online free service to split your PDFs.

#1 Google Chrome

Most of web browsers supporting reading PDFs, including Google Chrome. You can use the Print function to split a PDF file, it allows splitting odd pages only, even pages only or pages of custom page range.

1. Open a new tab in Google Chrome, drag and drop the PDF file to the tab for opening.
2. Click on Print button.
3. Choose the page range you want to split. Then click Save to split PDF pages.

#2 ilovepdf

ilovepdf is an online free PDF toolkit offering rich features: split, merge, compress, convert, protect, unlock, organize and edit PDFs. With its Split PDF tool, you can split PDF pages into multiple files by custom range or by fixed ranges. But, it may take some time to upload and download your files, especially for large PDFs. 

1. Go to ilovepdf.com/split_pdf.
2. Click on Select PDF file to add your files.
3. Choose Split by range, pick Custom ranges or Fixed ranges, then add the ranges to split your PDF to multiple files.
4. Click on Split PDF.
5. Download the split PDF files to your Mac.

How to Separate PDF Pages on Mac in Adobe Acrobat

If you have installed Adobe Acrobat on your Mac, it helps separate PDF pages too. Adobe Acrobat offers more criteria and output options to separate a PDF file, it can split PDF pages by numbers of pages, maximum file size, bookmark, and allows saving split PDF files in specified folder.

1. Launch Adobe Acrobat.
2. Go to Tools>Organize Pages>Select a File, open the PDF file that you want to separate pages on Mac.
3. Click on Split icon in the top menu.
4. Choose how you want to separate the PDF pages, by numbers of pages, file size or bookmark.
5. Click on the Split icon and click OK to separate PDF pages on your Mac.

Conclusion

We have many more options to split a PDF file, each option offers different settings to split PDF pages. If you work on PDFs very often, install a professional toolkit like Cisdem PDFMaster on your mac for more PDF tasks. In the case that you prefer web tools for PDF splitting, don’t update confidential and private PDF files, it may bring potential risks of information leakage since it requires uploading your files to a 3rd party server.