Many PDFs carry more page than you need. Papers and books are laid out for print, with generous margins that shrink the text to a squint on a phone or e-reader. Scans come back with grey or black borders from the scanner lid. And sometimes you only want one chart, a receipt or a signature block from a full page. The S-PDF crop PDF tool keeps exactly the area you choose.
Drag a rectangle over a page preview and apply it to every page or only the current one, or let Auto-crop find the content on each page and trim the white space around it. Cropping is lossless: text stays real, selectable text and images keep their original resolution.
How to crop a PDF in 4 steps
- Upload your PDF Drag your PDF onto the upload box or select it from your device. Its pages appear as previews.
- Select the area to keep Drag a rectangle over the part of the page you want to keep. Or click Auto-crop to trim the white margins from every page automatically, with a small padding left around the content.
- Choose the pages Apply your selection to all pages, or to the current page only when other pages need a different area.
- Crop and download Apply the crop and download your PDF. Open it on the device you plan to read it on to check the result.
Why use S-PDF for Crop PDF
- Drag to selectDraw the area you want to keep directly on a preview of the page.
- Auto-cropDetects the content on every page and trims the white margins around it, keeping a small padding.
- All pages or oneApply the same crop to the whole document or only to the page you are looking at.
- LosslessText stays text and images keep their resolution, because nothing is re-rendered.
- Easier readingWithout wide margins, text appears larger on phones, tablets and e-readers that fit the page to the screen.
- Private by defaultFiles travel over HTTPS and are deleted automatically one hour after your last action.
Three common jobs for the crop tool
- Reading on a small screen. Run Auto-crop on a paper, manual or e-book PDF. Each page is trimmed to its own content, so the text fills more of your phone or e-reader screen and you zoom and scroll less.
- Cleaning up scans. Drag a box just inside the dark scanner border and apply it to all pages. Pages that were scanned at slightly different positions may need a quick check, because the same box is used everywhere.
- Cutting out one part of a page. Go to the page with the chart, receipt or table, drag a tight box around it and apply it to the current page only. Then use Extract pages to save that page as its own small PDF.
What cropping does, and what it doesn't
Cropping sets the visible area of each page, known as the crop box, and the page size to match. Viewers and printers then show only that area. The content outside the box is hidden, not erased: it is still inside the file, can be brought back with PDF editing software, and may still turn up when the text is copied or extracted.
- Removing sensitive information? Cropping is the wrong tool. Use Redact PDF to delete text and images permanently.
- Trying to make the file smaller? Because the hidden content is kept, a cropped PDF is about the same size as before. Compress PDF is what reduces file size.
Tips for a clean crop
- Auto-crop treats everything as content, including running headers, page numbers and dark scanner edges or specks. If those set the edge of the crop, drag your own box instead.
- Books often alternate margins between odd and even pages. Auto-crop handles this because it looks at each page separately; a dragged box applied to all pages does not, so leave a little room on both sides.
- Printing a cropped page changes the paper layout: the smaller page is placed or scaled on A4 or Letter according to your print settings, so choose Fit or Actual size as needed.
Frequently asked questions
Is it free to crop a PDF?
Yes. You can crop up to 10 files and 50 MB per task, 5 times a day, with no signup and no watermark. Pro ($5 a month or $50 a year) allows 50 files and 500 MB per task, unlimited tasks under fair use, and no ads.
How do I remove white margins from a PDF?
Click Auto-crop. It detects the content on every page, trims the white space around it and keeps a small padding so the text does not touch the edge.
Can I crop just one page?
Yes. Drag your selection on that page and apply it to the current page only. Every other page keeps its original size.
Does cropping delete the content outside the box?
No. It is hidden from view and from printing, but it stays in the file and can be recovered with editing software. To remove sensitive content permanently, use Redact PDF.
Will cropping make my PDF smaller?
Not noticeably, because the hidden content is still stored in the file. Use Compress PDF if you need a smaller file.
Will the text still be searchable?
Yes. Cropping is lossless, so text stays selectable and searchable and images keep their original resolution.
Can I crop a scanned PDF?
Yes. Drag a box inside the scanner border and apply it to all pages. Auto-crop may keep dark borders or specks because it treats them as content, so a manual box often works better on scans.
Are my files safe?
Files are sent over HTTPS, stored in a private folder that is not reachable from the web, never shared or used for anything else, and deleted automatically one hour after your last action. The Delete my files now button removes them immediately.
Last updated by The S-PDF team.