Application forms, expense claims and reports often arrive as several separate PDFs when the recipient wants one. You do not need a paid PDF editor to join them. Pick the method that matches the device in front of you.
In any browser
- Open the Merge PDF tool.
- Add your files, or drag them onto the page.
- Use the arrows to put them in order.
- Select Merge PDFs. The combined file downloads immediately.
The files are combined on your own device and are not uploaded, which matters when the documents contain personal or financial details.
On a Mac with Preview
- Open the first PDF in Preview.
- Choose View → Thumbnails so the page sidebar is visible.
- Drag the other PDF files from Finder into the sidebar, dropping them where you want them to appear. Drop onto the thumbnail list, between pages, rather than on top of a page.
- Drag thumbnails to reorder pages if needed.
- Choose File → Export as PDF to save the combined document.
There is an even quicker route in Finder: select the PDFs, right-click and choose Quick Actions → Create PDF.
On Windows
Windows does not include a built-in way to merge existing PDFs. The practical options are a browser tool such as the one above, or free desktop software. If you install a program, download it from the developer's own site and decline any bundled extras during setup.
On an iPhone or iPad
- Open the Files app and go to the folder containing the PDFs.
- Tap the More button (three dots), then Select, and tap each PDF.
- Tap More at the bottom and choose Create PDF.
The files are combined in name order, so rename them first (for example 1-cover, 2-form, 3-receipts) if the order matters.
On Android
Android has no standard built-in merge feature, so use the browser method: open the Merge PDF tool in Chrome, add the files from your phone's storage, and download the result.
Getting the order and the size right
- Check the page order in the merged file before sending it. It takes ten seconds and saves an awkward follow-up email.
- Need to include photos or scans? Turn them into a PDF first with JPG to PDF, then merge.
- File too large to send? A merged file is as big as its parts. See how to reduce PDF file size for email.
Frequently asked questions
Does merging PDFs reduce their quality?
No. Merging copies the existing pages into a new file without re-compressing them, so text and images are unchanged.
Can I merge password-protected PDFs?
Not directly. Open the file with its password in a PDF reader, save or print an unprotected copy, and merge that. Only do this with documents you are entitled to unlock.
Is there a limit to how many PDFs I can merge?
It depends on the tool. Browser-based tools are limited mainly by your device's memory; our tool accepts up to 20 files of 50 MB each.