Split PDF Into Odd and Even Pages — Free

Two output files: pages 1, 3, 5… and pages 2, 4, 6… — free, no upload, no account

Split PDF by odd/even pages

Separates pages 1, 3, 5… from pages 2, 4, 6… into two separate PDF files.

Drop your PDF here to split odd and even pages
Produces two files — odd pages (1, 3, 5…) and even pages (2, 4, 6…)
Two output files in one click No upload to any server No account required Free forever

Why Split a PDF Into Odd and Even Pages?

The most common reason is correcting a double-sided scan. Many flatbed scanners can only scan one side of a sheet at a time. The standard workaround:

  1. Place all sheets face-down and scan every front (odd) page in one pass. You now have a PDF where page 1 = front of sheet 1, page 2 = front of sheet 2, etc.
  2. Flip the entire stack and scan every back (even) page in the second pass. This produces a second PDF in reverse order.
  3. The two resulting PDFs need to be interleaved so the pages alternate correctly.

Odd/even splitting is also the right tool for manual duplex printing — print odd pages first, flip the paper stack, then feed it back through to print even pages on the reverse side.

What you get: two files. One contains pages 1, 3, 5… and the other contains pages 2, 4, 6… Each file is a standard PDF you can open, print, or process further without any special software.

How to Reassemble After Splitting

After splitting into odd and even files, you may need to merge them back together in alternating order. This is called interleaving and requires specialized software that alternates pages from two PDFs.

For the simpler case — all odd pages followed by all even pages — use pdfree.io/merge-pdf/ to combine the two resulting files in order. This does not interleave but does reassemble them sequentially, which is often sufficient for printing workflows where you only need the two halves in order.

If back-side pages were scanned upside down (which happens with some page-flip directions), use pdfree.io/rotate-pdf/ to correct the orientation before merging.

Other Uses for Odd/Even Splitting

  • Scanned booklets — in booklet scans, odd pages are right-hand pages and even pages are left-hand pages. Splitting by odd/even separates them into two coherent sets for redistribution or reprinting.
  • Double-scanned documents — if a document was accidentally scanned twice (each page appearing once on the front pass and once on the back pass), odd/even splitting can isolate the correctly ordered set.
  • Creating separate A and B document versions — when odd pages are one version of a form and even pages are another, splitting produces two distinct documents from a single combined file.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I separate odd and even pages of a PDF?

Open pdfree.io/split-pdf/, load your PDF, select "Split odd/even pages", and click Split PDF. You'll get two files — one with pages 1, 3, 5… and one with pages 2, 4, 6…

Why would I need to split odd and even pages?

The most common reason is double-sided scanning — scanning front pages, then back pages — which produces two PDFs that need to be interleaved. Odd/even splitting is the first step in correcting such a scan.

What happens to a PDF with an odd number of pages?

The even-pages file will have one fewer page than the odd-pages file. The last (odd-numbered) page goes to the odd-pages file only.

Can I reorder pages after splitting?

Yes — after splitting, use pdfree.io/rotate-pdf/ to correct any inverted back-side pages, then use pdfree.io/merge-pdf/ to reassemble in the correct order.

Does this work on scanned PDFs?

Yes. Odd/even splitting works on any PDF — scanned, text-based, or mixed. Page content doesn't affect the split operation.

Related Free Tools

  • Split PDF — all split modes: by range, every page, or odd/even
  • Merge PDF — reassemble the odd and even files in the correct order
  • Rotate PDF — fix upside-down back-side pages before reassembling