iLovePDF vs Sejda vs MyTools: Which PDF Splitter Fits Your File?

You have one PDF and you need several, or you need fewer pages than you were sent. Maybe it's a 180-page manual where a colleague needs one chapter, or a scanned stack that a portal will only accept in pieces. Any PDF splitter can cut a file. They differ on how they decide where to cut, how many pages and megabytes they'll accept for free, and whether your document has to leave your computer first. This iLovePDF vs Sejda vs MyTools comparison tests the three on exactly those points, so you can pick before you upload anything.

Where You Draw the Line Matters More Than the Cut

Splitting a PDF means building new files from pages of the original. A good splitter copies those pages over as they are. It shouldn't re-render them as images or re-compress them, so text stays selectable and scans stay sharp.

Every splitter can do the cutting. What separates them is how you tell it where to cut:

• By page range. "Pages 1–12 in one file, 13–40 in another." This suits contracts, appendices and chapters you can find by page number.
• Every N pages. This fixes a scanned batch of 30 two-page forms in one pass.
• By picking pages. "Just pages 3, 7 and 22." This is the tickets, receipts and signature-pages job.
• By structure or size. Some splitters cut at each bookmark or keep every file under a size limit. That's what you want when a 300-page report has a proper table of contents, or when an upload form says "max 10 MB per file."

The people who search for a PDF splitter are rarely doing it for fun. An email server bounces the attachment, an application portal wants each document as a separate file, or the file is sensitive and only part of it should go out. That last case is why it matters where the splitting happens.

iLovePDF: The Familiar Two-Tab Splitter

iLovePDF is one of the most visited PDF sites in the world. It's freemium: the core tools are free in the browser, and a Premium subscription removes the usage caps and adds desktop and mobile apps.

What it gets right

• Both common jobs on one screen. A "Split by range" tab handles custom ranges and fixed every-N-pages chunks. An "Extract pages" tab handles picking pages. There's also a checkbox to merge all your ranges into a single PDF.
• It's there wherever you work. The same tools are on the web, desktop and phone apps. If you split PDFs at work every week, the app versions save you some uploading.
• A split-by-size option, at least in the app. iLovePDF's Android app added a mode that keeps each output file under a size you set. That's a useful mode when an upload form has a per-file limit.

Where it falls short

• Your file goes to their servers. Splitting happens in iLovePDF's cloud, so the whole document is uploaded, including the pages you meant to keep private.
• The free tier has limits, and they move. Free use is capped on file size and on the number of tasks, and the exact numbers have changed over the years. Expect to hit a wall on a large scan or a busy afternoon, and check their current terms if you're near it.
• No splitting by bookmarks. We found no option to split at chapter bookmarks, so for a long structured report you'd have to look up the page numbers yourself.

Sejda: The Most Ways to Cut

Sejda is a smaller, specialist PDF company with both a web app and a desktop app. Its free web tier is generous on features and strict on volume, and a paid pass removes the limits.

What it gets right

• The widest choice of split modes. Besides splitting by page, Sejda has separate tools to split by bookmarks (by chapter or sub-chapter level), by file size, by text found on the page, and down the middle of each page ("split in half", for double-page scans). Neither of the other two tools offers that range.
• A visual way to pick split points. You can click between page thumbnails to mark where one file should end and the next begin. It's quick when you can see the boundaries but don't know the page numbers.
• Clear about uploads. Sejda's split page says uploaded files are deleted automatically after two hours.

Where it falls short

• Tight free limits. Sejda says its free web service handles documents up to 200 pages or 50 MB, with 3 tasks per hour. A long scanned book can be over both limits.
• It's still an upload. Like iLovePDF, the web version processes your file on Sejda's servers. The automatic deletion is reassuring, but the file still leaves your computer.
• Some modes depend on your file. Splitting by bookmarks only works if the PDF already has a clean bookmark outline. Splitting by text can miss if the wording varies from page to page. On messy scans, neither does much.

MyTools Split PDF: Local and Unlimited, but Simpler

MyTools Split PDF is free with no account. It splits the file entirely in your browser: your PDF is never uploaded, and the pages are copied into new files on your own device.

What it gets right

• Nothing to upload, nothing to count. There are no task limits and no signup, and because the PDF never leaves your computer, you can safely split a contract, a medical file or a bank statement. A 200-page PDF splits in seconds because there's no upload and no queue.
• The three everyday modes, with a preview. You get By range (add as many ranges as you need, optionally merged into one PDF), Extract (type 1, 3, 5-8 or tap thumbnails, with select-odd and select-even buttons) and Every N pages. A summary tells you how many files you'll get before you click.
• Pages copied as they are. The pages aren't re-compressed or re-rendered, and you can download the results as a ZIP or one file at a time.

Where it falls short

• No smart modes. It can't split by bookmarks, by file size or by text. If you need "each file under 10 MB," Sejda is the better tool.
• Bookmarks don't carry over. The new files contain the pages but not the original document's outline, so a chapter you split out arrives without its sidebar navigation.
• It depends on your device. It's comfortable up to about 200 MB in most browsers. Beyond that, an older laptop or phone runs short of memory, because there's no server to do the heavy lifting. It also takes one PDF at a time, and password-protected files have to be unlocked first with Unlock PDF.

Feature by Feature

	iLovePDF	Sejda	MyTools
Price	Freemium, Premium plan	Freemium, paid passes	Free
Free-tier caps	File size and task limits	200 pages or 50 MB, 3 tasks/hour	None (device memory, ~200 MB)
Signup required	No for basic use	No for basic use	No
File uploaded to a server	Yes	Yes (deleted after 2 hours)	No
Range / every N / pick	Yes / Yes / Yes	Yes / Yes / Yes	Yes / Yes / Yes
By bookmarks / size / text	No / In app / No	Yes / Yes / Yes	No / No / No

Picking by the Job in Front of You

Splitting along a table of contents or under a size limit? Use Sejda. Splitting by bookmarks and by size are exactly what those jobs need, and its other tools also handle odd cases like double-page scans. Just keep the file under its free limits or buy a pass.

Splitting PDFs every day on several devices? iLovePDF's apps and its familiar layout are worth the subscription if PDFs are part of your job, especially if the rest of your team already uses it.

Splitting something private, something big, or one file after another? MyTools is the one that doesn't upload your file and doesn't count your tasks. Ranges, extraction and every-N chunks cover most everyday splitting. And if all you want is a handful of pages saved as one new file, Extract PDF Pages gets you there in fewer clicks.

Before You Upload Anything

Sejda has the most ways to split a PDF, and iLovePDF is the most polished all-round service. Both handle your file on their servers and limit how much you can do for free. MyTools has fewer modes, but it keeps the whole job on your device and has no limits to run into. For most jobs, which is cutting by page numbers, that's the simpler trade.

Got a PDF that needs to become several? Split it in your browser →