Combine PDFs in your browser (any device)
- Open Merge PDF and choose or drop all the files you want to combine. You can select several at once.
- Put them in order. Files are merged top to bottom, and you can drag a file or use the arrow buttons to move it.
- Choose pages from each file. In the Pages box, leave
allor type ranges such as1-3, 5, 8-. Here,8-means page 8 to the end. That lets you skip a cover page or leave out an appendix without editing the source file. - Click merge and download the combined PDF.
Everything happens in the browser tab. The PDFs are read and written on your own device, which matters when you're combining tax forms, ID documents or contracts.
A worked example: building an application packet
Say a rental application asks for a single PDF with your cover letter, two months of pay stubs, and the photo pages of a bank statement. Your files look like this:
| File | Pages in file | Pages box | Pages used |
|---|---|---|---|
| cover-letter.pdf | 1 | all | 1 |
| paystub-august.pdf | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| paystub-september.pdf | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| bank-statement.pdf | 9 | 1-2, 9 | 3 |
| Combined | 14 | 6 |
You end up with a tidy 6-page packet instead of 14 pages, and the second page of each pay stub (often just legal boilerplate) is gone. It's also a good habit to leave out pages showing information the recipient doesn't need, like full account numbers on later statement pages. If a page you're keeping has something to hide, run it through Redact PDF after merging.
Fix the order, rotation and stray pages afterward
The merge tool decides the order of whole files and ranges. For page-by-page control, open the merged file in the PDF Page Organizer. You can:
- drag thumbnails to reorder individual pages,
- rotate sideways scans (phone scans often come out at 90 degrees),
- delete blank pages, and
- extract a selection into a new PDF.
It supports undo, so you can experiment freely.
Combining photos or scans with PDFs
If some of your pages are JPG or PNG images, like a phone photo of a signed form or a screenshot of a receipt, turn them into a PDF first with JPG to PDF. Then merge that PDF with the rest. An image is turned into a PDF page at the size you choose, so a whole packet can end up with consistent page sizes.
Built-in options on Mac, Windows and iPhone
Mac (Preview)
- Open the first PDF in Preview and choose View > Thumbnails.
- Drag the other PDF files from Finder into the thumbnail sidebar, where you want them to go.
- Choose File > Export as PDF to save the combined copy. (Saving instead overwrites the original.)
In Finder, you can also select several PDFs, right-click and choose Quick Actions > Create PDF. Files are combined in the order they're sorted.
Windows
Windows doesn't have a built-in way to merge existing PDFs. Microsoft Edge and the Photos app can view PDFs, and Print to PDF can make one from a single document, but neither joins files. Use a browser-based tool like Merge PDF, which needs no install, or a desktop PDF editor.
iPhone and iPad
In the Files app, select the PDFs (and images if you like), tap the More button and choose Create PDF. The new file appears in the same folder. Rename it, because the default name is taken from the first file.
Things to watch for
- Password-protected files: encrypted PDFs can't be merged until the password is removed. If you know the password, use Unlock PDF, merge, then add protection back to the final file with Protect PDF if needed.
- File size: a merged PDF is about as big as all the inputs added together. If it's going by email, compress it last. See how to compress a PDF for email.
- Mixed page sizes: merging A4 and US Letter documents is fine, and each page keeps its own size. Printers may scale some pages, though.
- Signatures: if a document carries a certified digital signature, changing it in any way (including merging) invalidates that signature. Merge first, then sign the final file with Sign PDF or your e-signature service.
Splitting is the reverse
The same tool also splits. Switch to split mode and type ranges like 1-3, 4-6, 7-. That makes three files: pages 1–3, 4–6, and 7 to the end. You can also split every page into its own file. This is useful when an emailed packet is too big, or when you only need to forward one section.