Merge PDF Files

How it works

1. Drop in the PDFs you want joined. Add as many as you need.
2. Put them in the right order with the arrows, the numbers show the final order.
3. Press merge. Your browser builds the combined file on your own machine.
4. The download starts on its own.

About this tool

Drop in as many PDFs as you like, drag them into order, and download a single file. The documents never leave your device, which is the point, merged PDFs are usually contracts, invoices and application packs.

Does merging change the pages?

No. Pages are copied across whole, same size, same resolution, same embedded fonts and images. Nothing is re-rendered or re-compressed, so the merged file looks exactly like the originals and is roughly the sum of their sizes. If a document has a different page size to the others, it keeps its own size rather than being stretched to match.

What about forms, links and signatures?

Page content, links and annotations come across. Interactive form fields usually survive but can lose their scripting, and digital signatures will be invalidated, that is not a bug, it is what a signature is for: it certifies one exact file, and a merged document is a different file. If a PDF is signed, merge a copy and keep the signed original.

Is there a size limit?

Only what your device can hold in memory. There is no server limit to run into because there is no server, but a few hundred megabytes of PDFs will make a phone struggle. If a merge fails on a very large batch, do it in two halves and then merge the halves.

Does the order matter, and can I change it?

It is the order you see on screen, and you can move any document up or down before merging. Files picked in one go arrive in the order your operating system hands them over, which is usually alphabetical rather than the order you clicked them, so it is worth a glance before you press the button. Naming files 01, 02, 03 rather than 1, 2, 3 saves the trouble, because 10 sorts before 2.

Why merge locally rather than online?

The documents people merge are the ones they are least willing to hand over: a contract with its annexes, an application with its supporting scans, a set of invoices for an accountant. Merging them on somebody else's server means all of it lands somewhere you cannot inspect, in one convenient bundle. Here the merge happens in the tab, and the merged file is written by your own browser.

What if one of the PDFs is protected?

A PDF that needs a password to open cannot be merged, and it should not be: the protection would be worth nothing if any web page could remove it. Open it in a reader with the password, save an unprotected copy, and merge that. A PDF with only an owner password, the kind that nominally restricts printing, will usually merge, but do check the result.