Mac users have several excellent built-in and free options for merging PDFs — no third-party software required. Here are the three easiest methods.
Method 1: Preview App (Built-In, No Install Needed)
macOS's built-in Preview app can merge PDFs directly:
- Open the first PDF in Preview
- Go to View → Thumbnails to show the page panel on the left
- Drag the second PDF from Finder into the thumbnail panel
- Drop it at the position where you want to insert its pages
- Repeat for additional PDFs
- Go to File → Export as PDF to save the merged file
Tip: Make sure to use Export as PDF — regular Save overwrites the first file in place.
Preview is built into every Mac, works completely offline, and is perfectly suited for merging 2-5 files.
Method 2: Automator (Built-In, Great for Batches)
Automator is a macOS automation tool that can merge multiple PDFs at once:
- Open Automator from your Applications folder
- Create a new Workflow
- Search for and add the Combine PDF Pages action
- Drag your PDF files into the workflow input
- Run the workflow and save the output
Automator is more powerful than Preview for large batches — you can set it up once and reuse it.
Method 3: Browser-Based Merger (No Software, Any Device)
If you want to merge PDFs without any local software, Docento.app offers browser-based PDF tools that process everything locally on your device. Alternatively, tools like ilovepdf offer online merging — just note that online tools upload your files to their servers.
For privacy-sensitive documents, use Preview or Automator instead.
Reordering Pages After Merging
Once merged, you may need to reorder or remove pages:
- In Preview, drag thumbnails to reorder pages
- Delete unwanted pages by selecting them and pressing Delete
- Rotate any pages that came in with the wrong orientation — see how to rotate a PDF page
What About Merging on Windows or Linux?
Windows users can use browser-based tools or free software like PDF24 Creator. For a broader comparison of PDF editors across platforms, see best free Adobe Acrobat alternatives.