Crop PDF
Trim margins or crop PDF pages to a frame you draw, for one page or all.
Drop the PDF to crop
or select to choose from your device
Files are processed on this device. Nothing is uploaded.
How to use Crop PDF
- Add the PDF.
- Drag the frame and its round handle to mark the area to keep, or choose Trim white margins automatically.
- Choose all pages or only the page shown, then select Crop and download.
How it works
Cropping sets each page’s visible area (its CropBox and MediaBox) to the frame you chose, measured as a proportion of the page so that it works across pages of different sizes. Rotated pages are handled: "top" always means the top as you see it. Text stays text, and quality is untouched because nothing is re-drawn.
Automatic trimming draws each page at low resolution, finds the smallest rectangle containing everything that is not white, adds the margin you ask for, and crops each page to its own content. It is the quick way to remove wide margins before reading on a phone or e-reader, or to cut scanner borders.
Cropping hides the outside area; it does not delete it. The data is still in the file and can be recovered by resetting the crop. To remove content for good, use Redact PDF.
Example
A scanned A4 page with a 3 cm white border: automatic trimming with a 1% margin crops each page to its text block, making it far more readable on a small screen.
Frequently asked questions
Does cropping reduce quality?
No. The page content is not re-encoded; only the visible area changes.
Does cropping reduce file size?
Hardly, because the hidden content is still stored. Use Compress PDF to reduce size.
Can I crop each page differently?
Automatic trimming crops every page to its own content. With the frame, choose "Only the page shown", download, and repeat for other pages.
Is the cropped-off content deleted?
No. It is hidden but remains in the file. For private information use Redact PDF, which removes it permanently.
Limitations
- Cropping hides content; it does not remove it from the file.
- Automatic trimming treats near-white as empty: pages with coloured backgrounds or scanner shadows are not trimmed tightly.
- One PDF at a time.
- Password-protected PDFs must be unlocked first with Unlock PDF.
Last reviewed November 9, 2026. How we build and test tools.