How to merge PDF files
- Click Choose PDF files, or drop the files onto the box. You can add more later.
- Put the files in order. Drag a file by its ⠿ handle, or use the ↑ and ↓ buttons.
- To change single pages, open Reorder or delete pages. Drag pages to move them, use ↻ to turn a page and ✕ to delete it.
- Click Merge PDF. Your browser saves the result as
merged.pdf.
Why no upload matters for contracts and IDs
The PDFs people merge are often the ones they least want to share: a signed contract, a tax return, bank statements for a rental application, or a scan of a passport or ID card. Many online PDF tools upload your files to their servers to do the work, so a copy sits on another company's computer at least while it's processed, and how long it stays there depends on their retention policy.
This page works differently. The merging code (the open-source pdf-lib library) runs inside your browser tab. Your files are read from your device into memory, the new PDF is built there, and your browser saves it. You can check this yourself: open your browser's developer tools, watch the Network tab while you merge, and you won't see your file being sent anywhere. Closing the tab clears everything.
How to change the page order of a PDF
You don't need two files to use this tool. Add one PDF and open Reorder or delete pages to see a thumbnail of every page. Then:
- Drag a page by its ⠿ handle, or move it with the ← and → buttons. With the handle focused, the arrow keys, Home and End work too.
- Turn a sideways or upside-down scan with ↻. Each click turns it 90 degrees clockwise.
- Delete blank, duplicate or unwanted pages with ✕. Reset pages brings them all back.
Click Save PDF (or Merge PDF when there are several files) to download a new copy. The original file isn't changed. When you merge several files, each page has a colored bar and a label such as "File 2 p.3" that shows where it came from. If you change the file order afterwards, the pages are grouped by file again, and the order you set inside each file is kept.
What carries over into the merged PDF
Pages are copied as they are. Text stays selectable and searchable, images aren't re-compressed, and every page keeps its own size, so A4 and Letter pages can sit in the same file. A few things belong to a document as a whole rather than to its pages, and those aren't copied:
- Bookmarks, the outline that PDF readers show in a sidebar.
- Fillable forms. Filled-in fields keep their look, but may no longer be editable.
- Links that jump to another page of the original file. Links to websites keep working.
Encrypted PDFs can't be merged. A PDF that asks for a password when you open it, or that is locked against editing, has its contents encrypted, and this tool can't read them. If it's your document and you know the password, remove the protection in your PDF app, then add the unlocked copy.
Frequently asked questions
- Is there a limit on the number or size of files?
- This page sets no limit. The real limit is your device's memory, because the files and the merged result are held in the browser while you work. A few hundred megabytes is usually fine on a computer; on a phone, merge in smaller batches. You'll see a warning once the files add up to more than 200 MB.
- Can I merge PDFs on my phone?
- Yes. It works in current mobile browsers. Tap Choose PDF files to pick files from the Files app or your downloads, then reorder them with the arrow buttons or by dragging the handle.
- Does merging lower the quality?
- No. Pages are copied without turning them into images or re-compressing anything, so text stays sharp and searchable.
- Why can't I add my PDF?
- Usually because it's encrypted (it asks for a password, or editing is locked) or because it's damaged or only partly downloaded. The file list shows which. Remove the protection or download the file again, then add it.
- Are my files uploaded or stored anywhere?
- No. Files are read and merged inside your browser tab. Nothing is sent to a server, and closing the tab clears them.
Your files never leave your device. Everything on this page runs locally in your browser: there's no upload, no account and nothing stored on a server.
Built with pdf-lib (MIT license). Page thumbnails use Mozilla's PDF.js (Apache License 2.0), which loads only when you open the page view.