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How to combine PDF files on a Mac

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In PDF Unlimited, choose File > Combine PDFs…, add your files, put them in order and save one merged PDF. You can also open a PDF in Pages mode and drop more PDFs onto the thumbnail grid. In Preview, open the first PDF, show thumbnails, and drag other PDFs into the sidebar.

With PDF Unlimited (free)

  1. Start a combine

    Open PDF Unlimited and choose File > Combine PDFs…

  2. Add your files

    Add the PDFs you want to merge. Two files or twenty, it makes no difference.

  3. Set the order

    Arrange the files in the order you want them to appear, then combine.

  4. Tidy the pages

    The merged file opens. Switch to Pages mode to drag individual pages around, rotate sideways scans, or delete the blank page someone always includes.

  5. Save it

    Save the new PDF. Your original files stay untouched.

With Preview, built into macOS

  1. Duplicate first

    Preview saves changes automatically, so choose File > Duplicate on the first PDF if you want to keep the original as it was.

  2. Show thumbnails

    Choose View > Thumbnails to show page thumbnails in the sidebar.

  3. Drag in the other files

    Drag another PDF from the Finder into the sidebar, dropping it between pages or at the end. To copy only some pages, drag thumbnails from one open PDF's sidebar to the other's.

  4. Save

    Choose File > Save, or File > Export to save a copy under a new name.

Two ways to merge in PDF Unlimited

File > Combine PDFs… is the quickest when you have a stack of files and want one result, like monthly statements or chapters of a report.

Pages mode is better when you are building a document by hand. Open the main PDF, switch to Pages, and drop other PDFs straight onto the grid, or use insert from file. Pages land where you drop them, and you can keep rearranging until it reads right.

The Finder shortcut

macOS has a hidden trick for quick merges. Select several PDFs in the Finder, Control-click the selection, and choose Quick Actions > Create PDF. The Finder makes a new combined PDF in the same folder. The order follows how the files are listed, so number the file names first if order matters, and check the result.

Common snags

A few things trip people up when merging:

  • Password-protected PDFs need their password entered before their pages can be copied into a new file.
  • Mixed page sizes are fine. A letter page and an A4 page can live in the same PDF; each keeps its own size.
  • Scanned pages are big. If the merged file is too large for email, run File > Export Compressed… afterwards. See how to compress a PDF.
  • Sideways pages from a phone scan can be rotated in Pages mode before you save.

Going the other way

Need to pull pages out instead? Select them in Pages mode and extract them to a new PDF. Our guide to splitting a PDF walks through it, and deleting pages covers the simpler case.

Questions

How do I combine PDF files on a Mac for free?

Use File > Combine PDFs… in PDF Unlimited, drag files into Preview's thumbnail sidebar, or select PDFs in the Finder and choose Quick Actions > Create PDF. All three are free and work offline.

Why can I not drag pages between PDFs in Preview?

The sidebar has to be in Thumbnails view in both windows (View > Thumbnails). Drop the page between existing thumbnails, not on top of one. Locked PDFs may also refuse.

Does merging PDFs reduce quality?

No. Combining copies pages as they are. Quality only changes if you compress the result afterwards.

Can I merge PDFs without uploading them?

Yes. PDF Unlimited, Preview and the Finder all merge on your Mac. Nothing is uploaded, which matters for bank statements, contracts and IDs.

How do I merge PDFs in a specific order?

Arrange the files before you combine, then fix any stragglers in Pages mode by dragging thumbnails. With the Finder shortcut, sort or rename files first because it follows the current order.

Can I combine PDFs with images or Word files on a Mac?

PDF Unlimited combines PDFs. Turn other files into PDFs first: in most Mac apps, choose File > Print and pick Save as PDF. The Finder Quick Actions > Create PDF shortcut also accepts images.