Crop PDF Online — Trim Margins Precisely (Free & Secure)
Trim the margins of a PDF by an exact amount — preview the crop live on every page before you download. On all pages or only the ones you choose.
- 1 Upload
- 2 Set Margins & Preview
- 3 Download
Step 1 of 3: Upload your PDF
Drop your PDF file here
or choose a file from your device
PDF only • Up to 50 MB
Drag & drop • Click to browse • No signup required
Your file is processed securely and is automatically removed after processing. Your original is never changed.
- 1 Upload your PDF
- 2 Set the margins to trim
- 3 Preview the crop
- 4 Download
Reading your PDF…
- Sent over an encrypted HTTPS connection
- Deleted automatically, normally within 60 minutes
- No registration needed · Privacy Policy
Crop PDF
See exactly how much gets trimmed from every side before you confirm and download.
- 1 Upload
- 2 Set Margins & Preview
- 3 Download
Step 2 of 3: Set the margins to trim and preview the crop
- Tip: start with a small margin and check the preview before a more aggressive crop.
- Tip: cropping only hides content outside the new area — nothing is deleted.
Cropping your PDF…
0%
Uploading your file…
- Uploading your PDF
- Trimming the margins
- Preparing your download
PDF Preview
Here’s a look at your cropped PDF.
Page 1 of 1
Crop Summary
- Original file
- document.pdf
- Pages cropped
- 0 of 0
- Margins (T/B/L/R)
- 0/0/0/0pt
- File size
- 0 KB
Save to Cloud (Optional)
Keep your file safe and accessible from anywhere.
Pick a folder in your own account, or share the file straight from here.
Useful Tips
- Cropping hides content outside the new area but doesn’t reduce file size on its own.
- Try a small margin first and check the result before a more aggressive crop.
- Use Custom Pages when only a cover page or a few scans have uneven borders.
✨ Did you know? You can also compress, merge, split, edit and more — all in one place!
Explore All ToolsWhat would you like to do next?
Trim margins and white space, on some pages or every page.
Getting started
- Upload your PDF, or drag it onto the box.
- Set the margins to trim from the top, bottom, left and right, in points — or drag directly on the large preview to draw the crop area, then adjust it with the corner and edge handles.
- Preview — the shaded frame on every thumbnail updates live to show what will be trimmed.
- Confirm and download your cropped PDF.
Key concepts & modes
- All Pages vs. Custom Pages
- All Pages applies the same margins everywhere. Custom Pages crops only the page numbers or ranges you type, e.g.
1,3,5-7— the rest are shown with no overlay and stay untouched. - Points, not pixels
- Margins are in points (pt): 72pt = 1 inch, about 28.3pt = 1 centimetre.
- No visible area left
- If a page's top+bottom or left+right margins are as large as the page itself, that page is flagged and cropping is blocked until you reduce the margins.
- Your original
- It is never changed. You always get a new file.
Keyboard shortcuts
- Enter confirm & crop · Esc close a dialog
Tips & tricks
- Drag directly on the large preview to draw a crop rectangle — it's often faster than typing four margin numbers.
- Margins are in points, not pixels: 72pt = 1 inch, about 28.3pt = 1 centimetre.
- Use Custom Pages to crop only a few pages differently from the rest, e.g.
1,3,5-7. - A page turning red means its margins leave no visible area — reduce them before confirming.
Did you know? Switching to another tool in the sidebar carries your file over automatically — no need to re-upload.
How to Crop a PDF Online for Free: Remove Margins & White Space
Still stuck? Read the questions below or contact support and we'll help.
What Is This Tool?
Crop PDF shrinks the visible area of a page by a fixed amount on each side, without touching the underlying content — it changes the page's crop box so viewers and printers show less of the surrounding white space or scanned edge. The workspace shows exactly what will be trimmed, on every page, before you commit.
Everything runs on our servers over a secure connection; your files are processed, made available for download, and then automatically deleted a short time later.
Why Crop a PDF File?
Scanned pages often carry wide margins, dark borders, or the edge of a scanner bed. Cropping removes that unwanted space so the document looks clean and consistent, without ever touching the text or images inside the visible area.
Benefits of Cropping PDFs
- Removes excess white space or scanner borders
- Set exact margins for every side independently, with a live preview
- Crop the whole document or just specific pages
- No desktop software needed
Who Can Use This Tool?
- Anyone trimming wide margins or scanner borders off a scanned document
- Publishers preparing print-ready PDFs with exact trim margins
- Students cleaning up textbook or lecture-note scans before studying
- Office staff standardizing margins across mixed-source scanned pages
A Few Real-World Examples
- A student crops a photocopied textbook chapter to remove the dark scanner-bed border along one edge.
- A publisher trims a document down to exact print margins before sending it to a commercial printer.
- An office assistant crops just the cover page of a scanned packet, leaving the rest of the document untouched.
- A designer crops excess white space around a one-page flyer PDF before sharing it on social media.
Step-by-Step Guide
Upload the PDF you want to crop.
Enter the margins to trim from each side, in points.
Preview the crop live on every thumbnail.
Confirm and download your cropped PDF.
Choosing Margins
Margins are entered in points (pt), the same unit PDF page sizes are measured in — 72pt equals 1 inch, and roughly 28.3pt equals 1 centimeter. Setting a larger margin on one side trims more from that edge; leaving a field at 0 keeps that edge untouched.
"All Pages" vs. "Custom Pages"
All Pages applies the same margins to every page — ideal when the whole document has consistent borders. Custom Pages lets you crop only specific pages, for example 1,3,5-7, leaving the rest of the document exactly as it was.
Features
- Free
- Live crop preview on every page before you download
- No registration
- Independent top/bottom/left/right margins
- Secure processing — files are deleted automatically
Supported Formats
Tips for Cropping PDFs
- Measure the margin you want to trim in a PDF viewer's ruler first, then convert it to points (1 inch = 72pt)
- Start with a small margin value and check the result before committing to a larger, more aggressive crop
- Use "Custom Pages" when only a cover page or a handful of scans have uneven borders, not the whole document
- Remember cropping only hides content outside the new page area — it doesn't reduce file size on its own
Troubleshooting
Problem: "Margins leave no visible area" error
Solution: Your combined top+bottom or left+right margins are larger than the page itself. Reduce the margin values and try again — the workspace flags this live, before you even confirm.
Problem: Only some pages need cropping
Solution: Use the "Custom Pages" option and enter the specific page numbers or ranges — the rest of the document is left exactly as it was.
Crop PDF FAQ
Is cropping PDFs really free?
Yes. Crop PDF is completely free, with no sign-up, watermark, or hidden limits beyond the file size shown above.
What if I use the wrong margins?
No problem — your original upload isn't modified, only a new cropped copy is created. Just re-upload the same file and crop it again with different margin values; there's no limit on how many times you can try, and it's completely free.
Does cropping delete any content?
No. Cropping only changes the page's visible area (its crop box); the underlying content outside that area is not deleted, just hidden from view and printing.
Can I crop just one or two pages?
Yes — choose "Custom Pages" and enter page numbers or ranges like 1,3,5-7. Only those pages are cropped; the rest keep their original size.
Can I see the crop before downloading?
Yes. Every thumbnail in the workspace shows a shaded frame that updates live as you change the margins, so you know exactly what you'll get before you confirm.
Will my file be kept after cropping?
No. Both your uploaded file and the cropped result are automatically deleted from our servers a short time after processing.
What is the maximum file size?
You can upload PDF files up to 50 MB. If your file is larger, try our Compress PDF tool first.
Privacy & Security
Your files are handled securely
All uploads are transferred over an encrypted SSL/TLS connection and processed in an isolated job folder. No one at PDFCherry views, shares, or uses the content of your documents for anything other than completing the crop you requested.
- Uploaded files are automatically deleted within 30 minutes.
- Cropped results are automatically deleted within 1 hour after completion.
- Your original file is never modified — cropping always produces a new, separate output file.
Read our full Privacy Policy or Contact Us if you have any questions about how your files are handled.
Why Trust PDFCherry?
PDFCherry is built and maintained by a small, dedicated team and runs on established, industry-standard PDF libraries — not an anonymous "free tool" that resells your files or data. The privacy practices above apply across the whole site. More about PDFCherry.
Having issues or need help? Contact Us — we're here to help.
Ready to Crop Your PDF?
It's free, secure, and takes just a few seconds. Upload your file and trim the margins now!
Upload Your File — Start Cropping