PDF guide

How to merge PDF files without uploading them

Combining PDFs comes up all the time: a job application that wants your CV, cover letter and certificates as one file, a set of scanned receipts for an expense claim, or the signed pages of a contract that need to go back as a single document.

Most free online tools do it by uploading your files to their servers. That's a lot to ask when the documents carry your address, salary or passport number. You don't have to: a modern browser can merge PDFs on its own, and Macs have a built-in way too.

Open Merge PDFFree · Runs in your browser · Nothing uploaded

Updated 4 min read

01Step by step

Merge PDFs in your browser

  1. Step 1: Open Merge PDF

    Open Merge PDF in a modern browser, on a computer or a phone.

  2. Step 2: Add your files

    Drop two or more PDFs onto the page, or click to choose them. Each file can be up to 50 MB, and you can add more later with Add more PDFs.

  3. Step 3: Put them in order

    Files are merged from top to bottom. Drag them into the order you want, or use the arrow buttons if you're on a phone or using a keyboard.

  4. Step 4: Merge and download

    Press Merge, then download merged.pdf: every page from every file, in that order.

Open Merge PDFFree · Runs in your browser · Nothing uploaded

02Privacy

How merging without uploading works

When you drop a file onto UtilOrb, your browser reads it into the memory of that tab. The merging happens right there, using pdf-lib, an open-source PDF library, and the result is handed back to you as a download. There's no server receiving your files: UtilOrb is a set of static pages with nowhere to upload them to.

You can check this for yourself. Open your browser's developer tools (F12 in most browsers on Windows), switch to the Network tab and merge a few files. You'll see the page's own files load, but no request carrying your PDFs.

03Alternatives

Other ways to merge PDFs

On a Mac: Preview

  1. Open the first PDF in Preview. Preview saves changes as you go, so choose File > Duplicate first if you want to keep the original as it is.
  2. Choose View > Thumbnails to show the pages in the sidebar.
  3. Drag the other PDF's icon from Finder into the sidebar, at the point where its pages should go. You can also choose Edit > Insert > Page from File.

In Finder, you can also select several files, Control-click them and choose Quick Actions > Create PDF to combine them into one.

On Windows

Windows doesn't come with a tool for merging PDFs, and the PDF reader built into Microsoft Edge can view, annotate and print PDFs but not combine them. Your options are a browser tool like UtilOrb's, or a desktop PDF editor.

Desktop PDF editors

Paid desktop editors such as Adobe Acrobat can merge files offline, along with much more editing. They're worth it if you work with PDFs all day, but overkill for combining a few files now and then.

04Tips

Tips for a clean merged PDF

  • Fix sideways pages. Turn them the right way up with Rotate PDF, before or after merging.
  • Need only some pages? Pull them out with Split PDF, then merge those. To move or delete individual pages in the merged file, use Organize PDF.
  • Adding photos or scans? Turn the images into a PDF with JPG to PDF first, then merge.
  • Password-protected files are skipped. An encrypted PDF can't be opened without its password. Remove the protection in the app that created it, then try again.
  • Bookmarks and form fields. The content of every page is copied exactly, but document extras such as bookmarks and fillable form fields may not carry over. Fill in forms before merging, and check the result.
  • Too big to send? Run the merged file through Compress PDF.

05FAQ

Questions people ask

There's no fixed number. Each file can be up to 50 MB, and the total is limited only by your device's memory. Very large merges take longer on older phones.

No. Pages are copied as they are, without re-compressing their images or text, so the merged file looks exactly like the originals.

Yes. Open Merge PDF in your phone's browser, choose the files from your downloads or files app, set the order with the arrow buttons and download the result.

No. There's nothing to sign up for, no watermark on the result and no daily limit.

Try it now

Ready? Open Merge PDF.

It's free, there's nothing to install, and your files stay on your device the whole time.

Open Merge PDFFree · Runs in your browser · Nothing uploaded

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