Remove blank pages from a PDF

Find the blank pages, review them, then delete.

Drop or choose a PDF

Choose files

Free up to 20 MB / 100 pages, up to 1 files · with credits up to 500 MB per file

How to remove blank pages from a PDF

Drop your PDF
The scan starts at once, in your browser, and thumbnails fill in page by page. You don’t have to wait for it to finish before you start looking.
Review the red pages
Pages with a red border will be deleted. Click a page to keep it, click again to put it back on the delete list.
Pick a sensitivity
Loose, Normal and Strict show how many pages each would remove, and switching is instant, with no new scan.
Remove and download
When the scan has finished, press the button. The price is shown before you press it, and you download the cleaned file from your results page.

Why it’s different

Blank page removal you can check

Nothing is deleted behind your back

The tool only proposes pages. Every page it wants to delete is marked on its thumbnail, and one click keeps it.

The scan stays on your device

Pages are examined in your browser, one at a time, so a large file keeps working, just more slowly, and your browser stays usable.

Careful by design

When a page is unclear it is kept. Pages with text, a signature field, a form field, a note or a link are never offered for deletion.

Good to know

Where do blank pages come from?

Most of them come from scanning. A feeder scans both sides of every sheet, so every single-sided page is followed by an empty back. Printers add separator sheets between documents, and people leave a page empty on purpose before a signature page or a new chapter.

A blank page costs you twice. It makes the file longer for whoever has to read it, and a scanned blank is still an image the size of a full page, so it makes the file bigger too.

How does it decide that a page is blank?

It looks at each page in three steps. First it checks whether the page has any text, a link, a form field or a note; if it does, the page is kept. Then it checks whether the page holds any content at all. Only then does it look at the picture of the page, and it compares every spot with the colour of the paper.

That last step is what makes yellowed paper, grey paper and the faint shadow of the next page showing through all count as blank, while a pencil mark or a stamp does not. A few specks of dust are ignored; anything bigger than dust is treated as content.

What do Loose, Normal and Strict change?

They change how little ink a page may have and still be called blank. Loose only takes truly empty pages. Normal also takes pages with the light noise a scanner adds. Strict goes further and takes nearly blank pages with a speck or a stray mark, which is also where mistakes are most likely, so look at those pages before you apply.

The counts on the three buttons update as the scan goes, and you can switch at any time. Pages you chose to keep stay kept when you switch.

Remove blank pages, then compress

Taking the empty pages out first leaves less to compress. When the file is going to an upload form with a size limit, remove the blank pages here and press Compress next on the result, or use Compress PDF directly and switch on its remove blank pages option to do both in one run. To also reorder or rotate pages, open Organize PDF.

What does it cost?

This tool uses credits for every file, because it produces a new file for you, and the price depends on the size and the number of pages of the file. The price is shown next to the button before you press it, and scanning and reviewing are free. If you use Pro, the tool does not use your credits.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Is my file uploaded to find the blank pages?

The search runs in your browser, so nothing needs the server for it. The file is uploaded alongside, so that removing the pages is a single step once you are happy with the list, and it is deleted automatically like every other file.

Could it delete a page that has content?

It is built to keep a page whenever it is unsure, and pages with text, links, form fields or notes are never proposed. A very faint pencil line can still look blank, so check the red pages, and use Loose if you want only the clearly empty ones.

Can I keep a page it marked?

Yes. Click the page to keep it, and click again to put it back on the delete list. The counts below the grid and the number on the button follow your choices at once.

Does it work on a very large scan?

Yes. The pages are examined one after another, so a long file takes longer but keeps working, and the page stays usable meanwhile. The remove button becomes available when the scan has finished.

What happens to bookmarks and links?

Bookmarks and links that pointed to a removed page now point to the next page that is left, so nothing in the file ends up pointing at a missing page.

What happens with digitally signed PDFs?

Anything that rewrites a PDF breaks its digital signature, so signed files are flagged when you add them and are left unchanged. If you only need a copy to read or archive, you can opt in to an unsigned copy. It is marked on every page and does not replace your signed original.