How to Add Page Numbers to a PDF on Mac

By NUR Technologies · October 28, 2026 · 3 min read

You merged some documents and now the pages have no numbers, or you need “Page 1 of 8” on a long file. Preview does not have a page-number tool, so here is what works on a Mac.

If you still have the original document

The cleanest way is to add page numbers where the document was written (a word processor such as Pages has an option to insert page numbers) and export a new PDF. If all you have is the PDF, use one of the options below.

With Rivet

The Number tool in Rivet stamps page numbers onto an existing PDF. You choose the format (1, 1 / 8, Page 1 of 8), the position, the size, what number to start at, and whether to leave the first page clean.

1. Open NumberDrop the PDF on Rivet and choose Number.
2. Choose the lookPick the format, position and size, and the starting number.
3. Preview and saveCheck the live preview, then press the main button to save.

It also works inside Batch, together with other steps such as watermark or compress, over a whole folder.

Good to know

• Numbering redraws the pages. The text stays text, but links, form fields and earlier annotations may not survive.
• Merge your files first, then number, so the numbers run through the whole document: see how to merge PDFs.