What unit are 'points' in PDF measurement?

1 point = 1/72 inch. Common conversions: 36 points = 0.5 inch (most default crop margin), 72 points = 1 inch, 18 points = 0.25 inch (common for tight crops), 144 points = 2 inches. For metric: 28.35 points = 1 cm, 2.83 points = 1 mm. PDFs use points internally because the format originated for desktop publishing where points are standard. Most PDF editors let you switch between points, inches, and millimeters; this tool uses points for direct PDF compatibility.

What's the difference between cropping and resizing?

Cropping: changes the visible area (crop box) but content stays the same. Original page content remains in the file; viewers show only the cropped region. Reversible — widen the crop box later to see original content. Resizing: scales the actual content larger or smaller. Permanent change to dimensions. This tool only crops; for true resizing (scaling content to fit smaller pages), use Adobe Acrobat or PDFelement. Most users want cropping, not resizing — cropping fixes visual margins without quality loss.

Will printing crop boxes match what's shown on screen?

Most modern printers respect PDF crop boxes — printed pages will show only the cropped area. Some older or basic printers ignore crop boxes and print the full page (bleed area + margins). To force printing only the cropped area: in print dialog, choose 'Custom Scale' and 'Crop to Print Area' option (Adobe Reader). For consistent print output across all printers: 'flatten' the crop by re-rendering the PDF (e.g., printing to a new PDF, or running through a re-rendering tool).

Can I crop different pages with different margins?

This tool applies the same crop margins to all pages. For per-page cropping (different margin on each page): use Adobe Acrobat Pro's 'Crop Pages' feature with page-range options, or PDFelement. For batch cropping with consistent margins (most common case), this tool is faster and free. Per-page cropping use cases: scanned books with non-uniform margins, mixed-orientation documents (portrait + landscape), document scans where alignment varied page-to-page.

How do I know how much to crop off?

Open the PDF in any viewer with rulers (Adobe Reader, Preview on Mac with View → Show Rulers). Measure the white margin you want to remove. Convert to points (1 inch = 72 points; 1cm = 28.35 points). For typical letter-size documents with standard 1-inch margins, cropping 36 points (0.5 inch) per side keeps content readable. For e-readers (5-7 inch screens), aggressive cropping (54-72 points / 0.75-1 inch) maximizes screen real estate. Test on actual device before committing.

Does cropping reduce file size?

No — the original page content remains in the file, just hidden by the new crop box. File size stays the same. To reduce file size: split the PDF into smaller documents, remove unused pages, compress images within the PDF (Adobe Acrobat 'Save As Reduced Size PDF', online tools like Smallpdf compress). For permanent size reduction via cropping: use a tool that 'flattens' the crop (re-renders pages to the new dimensions, discarding hidden content). Not common in browser tools; available in Adobe Acrobat Pro.

File & Format Converters · Free tool

PDF Crop

Crop margins off every page of a PDF in one click. Ideal for cleaning up scans. Runs entirely in your browser.

Updated June 2026

Drop a file or click to choose

Trim whitespace margins from every page (non-destructive).

Top (pt)Right (pt)Bottom (pt)Left (pt)

Cropping is non-destructive — viewers respect the new crop box but content is preserved. 72pt = 1 inch.

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What it does

Trim the margins off every page of a PDF at once. Enter how many points to shave from the top, right, bottom, and left (72 points = 1 inch; the default 36 = half an inch). Ideal for cleaning up old scans with wide margins, removing the white borders from a slide deck exported to PDF, or tightening up a long read for an e-reader.

The crop is non-destructive — viewers respect the new crop box but the original content stays in the file, so you can always widen the box back out later. If you need true page resizing (content actually scaled), a desktop PDF editor is a better tool.

Embed this tool on your siteShow snippet

Paste this snippet into any page. Loads on-demand (lazy), no tracking scripts, and sized to most dashboards. Replace the height to fit your layout.

<iframe src="https://freetoolarena.com/embed/pdf-crop" width="100%" height="720" frameborder="0" loading="lazy" title="PDF Crop" style="border:1px solid #e2e8f0;border-radius:12px;max-width:720px;"></iframe>

Embed docs →

How to use it

Drop the PDF you want to crop.
Enter margins in points for top/right/bottom/left (36 = 0.5 inch).
Click Crop all pages — a new PDF saves with the trimmed crop box.
Open it in any PDF viewer — the margins will appear gone.

When to use this tool

Cleaning up old scans with wide white margins.
Trimming slide-deck PDFs that have unnecessary borders for online viewing.
Optimizing PDFs for e-reader displays where every pixel of screen matters.
Removing scanner-introduced borders from a multi-page document.

When not to use it

True page resizing where content scales — use Adobe Acrobat Pro for that.
Cropping different amounts per page — this tool applies uniform margins.
When margins contain content (page numbers, headers, footnotes) you want to keep.

Common use cases

Scanned 1990s textbook with 1.5-inch margins cropped to 0.5-inch for tighter reading.
PowerPoint-exported PDF with unwanted borders trimmed before sharing.
E-reader optimization: 1-inch margins reduced to 0.25 inch for more content per screen.
Old fax scan with 0.75-inch white borders cropped to maximize printable area on letter-size paper.

Frequently asked questions

What unit are 'points' in PDF measurement?: 1 point = 1/72 inch. Common conversions: 36 points = 0.5 inch (most default crop margin), 72 points = 1 inch, 18 points = 0.25 inch (common for tight crops), 144 points = 2 inches. For metric: 28.35 points = 1 cm, 2.83 points = 1 mm. PDFs use points internally because the format originated for desktop publishing where points are standard. Most PDF editors let you switch between points, inches, and millimeters; this tool uses points for direct PDF compatibility.
What's the difference between cropping and resizing?: Cropping: changes the visible area (crop box) but content stays the same. Original page content remains in the file; viewers show only the cropped region. Reversible — widen the crop box later to see original content. Resizing: scales the actual content larger or smaller. Permanent change to dimensions. This tool only crops; for true resizing (scaling content to fit smaller pages), use Adobe Acrobat or PDFelement. Most users want cropping, not resizing — cropping fixes visual margins without quality loss.
Will printing crop boxes match what's shown on screen?: Most modern printers respect PDF crop boxes — printed pages will show only the cropped area. Some older or basic printers ignore crop boxes and print the full page (bleed area + margins). To force printing only the cropped area: in print dialog, choose 'Custom Scale' and 'Crop to Print Area' option (Adobe Reader). For consistent print output across all printers: 'flatten' the crop by re-rendering the PDF (e.g., printing to a new PDF, or running through a re-rendering tool).
Can I crop different pages with different margins?: This tool applies the same crop margins to all pages. For per-page cropping (different margin on each page): use Adobe Acrobat Pro's 'Crop Pages' feature with page-range options, or PDFelement. For batch cropping with consistent margins (most common case), this tool is faster and free. Per-page cropping use cases: scanned books with non-uniform margins, mixed-orientation documents (portrait + landscape), document scans where alignment varied page-to-page.
How do I know how much to crop off?: Open the PDF in any viewer with rulers (Adobe Reader, Preview on Mac with View → Show Rulers). Measure the white margin you want to remove. Convert to points (1 inch = 72 points; 1cm = 28.35 points). For typical letter-size documents with standard 1-inch margins, cropping 36 points (0.5 inch) per side keeps content readable. For e-readers (5-7 inch screens), aggressive cropping (54-72 points / 0.75-1 inch) maximizes screen real estate. Test on actual device before committing.
Does cropping reduce file size?: No — the original page content remains in the file, just hidden by the new crop box. File size stays the same. To reduce file size: split the PDF into smaller documents, remove unused pages, compress images within the PDF (Adobe Acrobat 'Save As Reduced Size PDF', online tools like Smallpdf compress). For permanent size reduction via cropping: use a tool that 'flattens' the crop (re-renders pages to the new dimensions, discarding hidden content). Not common in browser tools; available in Adobe Acrobat Pro.

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