Merge PDF tools compared: free limits, privacy and what is kept
Online PDF combiners such as iLovePDF, Smallpdf, Adobe Acrobat online, PDF24 and Sejda join PDFs in a browser, at no cost within their limits; they differ in those limits, in how long they keep your files and in what they say about bookmarks. CECO PDF keeps each file's bookmarks, form fields and links, and checks every page.
Which one for which job
- A quick merge, no account, no cost: PDF24, which says it is free with no limits and no registration1, or the free use of iLovePDF, Smallpdf, Adobe Acrobat online or Sejda, within their limits2, 3, 4, 5.
- Files that must not leave your computer: an offline program, such as PDF24 Creator, Sejda Desktop or Smallpdf's Windows app6, 7, 8.
- Many or very large files: iLovePDF Premium, at up to 500 files and 4 GB a task2.
- Bookmarks you need to keep: Sejda lets you choose what happens to them5, and CECO PDF keeps every file's.
- A merged file that must be exactly its parts: CECO PDF, which carries every page across as it was stored and checks it.
The mergers side by side
What each maker's page said on about its free use, about how long it keeps the files you upload, and about working without a browser.
Merging PDFs: free use, files kept, desktop programs
| Tool | Free use | Your files on its servers | Desktop program |
|---|---|---|---|
| iLovePDF | Up to 25 files and 100 MB a task2 | Deleted within two hours9 | Desktop app, on Premium2 |
| Smallpdf | Free, with a limited number of downloads3 | Deleted after one hour8 | Windows app8 |
| Adobe Acrobat online | Up to 100 files of up to 500 pages each, 1,500 pages in all4 | Deleted unless you sign in and save them4 | Acrobat desktop software, with a paid plan10 |
| PDF24 | No limits, no registration1 | Deleted after one hour; servers in Germany1 | PDF24 Creator for Windows, free6 |
| Sejda | Up to 50 pages or 50 MB, and 3 tasks an hour5 | Deleted after 2 hours5 | Sejda Desktop, free with daily limits7 |
| CECO PDF | Files of up to 15 MB and 50 pages without a credit or a plan. Downloading costs nothing when the files you started from have no corrections made here. A file made from a corrected document is priced as one. | Kept until you erase them, for 90 days at most | None: it runs in the browser |
What an online PDF combiner should offer
Most of them join files in a browser. What sets one apart is what it lets you choose before the files are joined, and what the joined file keeps:
- Order, file by file and page by page. iLovePDF's guide says you can arrange the files in any order11, Smallpdf shows a preview in which pages can be put in order or removed8, and PDF24 lets you choose the pages to include1. Adobe's online merge puts files in order by dragging, and rearranging single pages after merging needs you to sign in4. CECO PDF sets the order by dragging, or with the arrows beside each file.
- Bookmarks, form fields and links. Sejda lets you choose what happens to the bookmarks the files already have, and PDF24 can make new ones1, 5; the other pages we read do not say. CECO PDF keeps each file's bookmarks, form fields and links.
- Pages as they were. CECO PDF copies each page across as it was stored, and checks it; the other pages we read do not say whether a page is copied or drawn again.
- Other kinds of file. Smallpdf and PDF24 merge Word files and images directly1, 8; CECO PDF makes a PDF of them first, with Convert to PDF.
- A watermark or a password on the result. CECO PDF adds each as a step of its own, with Watermark PDF and Protect PDF; the merge pages we read do not mention either.
- Limits that fit your files, and a plain account of where they go: the next two sections.
What PDF combiners cost
What each one lets you do without paying, and its paid plan, as its maker's page showed on , in the currency it showed.
What PDF combiners cost
| Tool | Without paying | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| iLovePDF | Up to 25 files and 100 MB a task2 | Premium, 7 US$ a month or 47 US$ a year, for up to 500 files and 4 GB a task2 |
| Smallpdf | A limited number of downloads3 | Pro, USD 12.00 a month or USD 108.00 a year3 |
| Adobe Acrobat online | Up to 100 files, and 1,500 pages in all4 | Acrobat Standard US$14.99 or Pro US$19.99 a month, on an annual plan billed monthly10 |
| PDF24 | Everything, with no limits and no registration1 | Nothing to pay: it is paid for by advertising1 |
| Sejda | Up to 50 pages or 50 MB, and 3 tasks an hour5 | $5 for 7 days, $7.50 a month, or $63 a year with the desktop app12 |
| CECO PDF | Files of up to 15 MB and 50 pages without a credit or a plan | Downloading costs nothing when the files you started from have no corrections made here. A file made from a corrected document is priced as one. One document costs €0.99, a pack of 10 for €4.99, and Personal €9.99 a month, VAT included |
Prices differ by country, tax and offer, so check the maker's page before you buy; CECO PDF's plans and what each allows are on the pricing page.
Is it safe to merge PDFs online?
For a file you may share with the service, it can be. What decides it is who can see the file on the way, how long it stays on the service's servers, and where those are. Each maker's page says something different:
- Smallpdf says files are encrypted in transit and deleted from its servers after one hour8.
- PDF24 says its servers are in Germany, and that files are deleted from them after one hour1.
- iLovePDF says it keeps processed files for at most 2 hours so that you can download them, and that you can delete them yourself at the end of each task13.
- Sejda says files are deleted after 2 hours5.
- Adobe says your files are deleted permanently unless you sign in and save them4.
- CECO PDF keeps your files with your documents so that you can come back to them, and deletes them after 90 days, or whenever you erase them; the privacy notice says what is kept, and why.
For a file that must not leave your computer at all, merge it offline: PDF24 Creator, Sejda Desktop, Smallpdf's Windows app and iLovePDF's desktop app work on your own computer6, 7, 8, 14.
iLovePDF
iLovePDF's free use merges up to 25 files at a time, with up to 100 MB a task; Premium takes up to 500 files and 4 GB2. Its guide says you can arrange the files in any order before merging, and merge files that have passwords11. iLovePDF says it keeps processed files for at most 2 hours so that you can download them, and that you can delete them yourself at the end of each task13. Its desktop app for Windows and Mac, which processes files on your computer, comes with Premium, at 7 US$ a month or 47 US$ a year2, 14. The pages we read do not say what happens to bookmarks, form fields or links in a merge.
Smallpdf
Smallpdf merges in the browser, with a preview in which pages can be put in order or removed before merging, and it can merge Word, Excel, PowerPoint and image files with PDFs, converting them first8. It says files are encrypted in transit and deleted from its servers after one hour, and that its Windows app merges offline8. The free plan has a limited number of downloads; Pro removes the limit, at USD 12.00 a month or USD 108.00 a year3. The pages we read do not say what happens to bookmarks, form fields or links.
Adobe Acrobat online
Adobe's free online merge takes up to 100 files, each of up to 500 pages, into one PDF of up to 1,500 pages, with the files put in order by dragging4. Adobe says you can download the merged file, or sign in to share it with a link, and that your files are deleted permanently unless you sign in and save them4. Rearranging single pages after merging needs you to sign in4. The merge page does not say what happens to bookmarks. Adobe's paid plans list combining several kinds of file into one PDF, and Acrobat comes as desktop software as well as online10.
PDF24
PDF24 says its merge is free, with no limits and no registration, paid for by advertising, that its servers are in Germany, and that files are deleted from them after one hour1. It takes images and Word files as well as PDFs, lets you choose the pages to include, and has options to create bookmarks and to insert blank pages1. PDF24 Creator does the same on Windows 10 and 11 without an internet connection, free for private and business use6.
Sejda
Sejda's free use merges documents of up to 50 pages or 50 MB, 3 times an hour, and deletes files after 2 hours5. Besides CECO PDF's, its page is the only one here that says what becomes of the bookmarks the files already have, and it lets you choose: discard them all, keep them all, make a new one for each file, or make one for each file with the old ones kept under it5. Sejda Desktop merges on your own computer, free with daily limits7. The paid plans lift the limits: $5 for 7 days of the web tools, $7.50 a month, or $63 a year with the desktop app12.
CECO PDF
CECO PDF merges PDFs in the order you set, by dragging them or with the arrows beside each. No page is drawn again: each one is copied across exactly as it was stored, and that is checked on every page before the file is offered. The merged file keeps each file's bookmarks, one after another and pointing at the right pages, its form fields (a name that is already taken is renamed, and the record lists the rename), the links from one page to another, attached files, and the first file's title and author. It does not carry accessibility tags across files, and its record says so. The files you started from stay as they were. Merging, in detail.
Files of up to 15 MB and 50 pages can be merged without a credit or a plan, and the merged file may hold no more pages than your plan allows in one document; Personal raises the limits to 100 MB and 100 pages, Business to 100 MB and 300 pages. Downloading costs nothing when the files you started from have no corrections made here. A file made from a corrected document is priced as one. What a credit and each plan cost is on the pricing page. Files are kept so that you can come back to them, and deleted after 90 days, or whenever you erase them.
Merge PDFs now — it opens the tool, with nothing to install.
When another tool is the better choice
- When a file you join carries a correction made here. Downloading costs nothing when the files you started from have no corrections made here. A file made from a corrected document is priced as one. A merger that costs nothing is cheaper for joining a corrected document you have already downloaded.
- When the files should be gone within the hour. PDF24 and Smallpdf say they delete uploaded files after one hour1, 8; CECO PDF keeps yours until you erase them, for 90 days at most.
- When you work offline. PDF24 Creator, Sejda Desktop, Smallpdf's Windows app and iLovePDF's desktop app do6, 7, 8, 14; CECO PDF runs only in the browser.
- When the files are many or large. iLovePDF Premium takes up to 500 files and 4 GB a task, and Adobe's free merge up to 100 files2, 4.
- When you are merging other kinds of file. Smallpdf and PDF24 merge Word files and images directly1, 8; CECO PDF turns them into a PDF first, with Convert to PDF.
How we checked
On we read each maker's own pages, listed under Sources: prices, product pages, help pages and their questions and answers. Every statement about another tool comes from those pages, quoted where the exact words matter, and where they do not say something, neither do we. We did not upload files to any of these tools: this compares what each maker says its tool does, not our own tests of it. We chose the online mergers people most often weigh against each other when they search for a way to merge PDFs.
Prices are the ones each page showed us, in the currency it showed. They can differ by country, tax and offer, so check the maker's page before you buy. Facts about CECO PDF come from the service itself: its prices, limits and how long it keeps files are read from its own settings each time this page is served. If something here is out of date, the page is corrected and dated again.
Sources
Each page below was read on , on its maker's own website. A number in the text leads to the page the fact came from.
- PDF24: Merge PDF. tools.pdf24.org/en/merge-pdf
- iLovePDF: Pricing, with the plans compared. www.ilovepdf.com/pricing
- Smallpdf: Pricing and plans. smallpdf.com/pricing
- Adobe: Acrobat online: merge PDF files. www.adobe.com/acrobat/online/merge-pdf.html
- Sejda: Merge PDF. www.sejda.com/merge-pdf
- PDF24: PDF24 Creator. tools.pdf24.org/en/creator
- Sejda: Sejda PDF Desktop. www.sejda.com/desktop
- Smallpdf: Merge PDF, and its questions and answers. smallpdf.com/merge-pdf
- iLovePDF: Security and data protection. www.ilovepdf.com/help/security
- Adobe: Acrobat plans and pricing, US prices. www.adobe.com/acrobat/pricing.html?country=US
- iLovePDF: User's guide to the tools. www.ilovepdf.com/help/documentation
- Sejda: Plans and prices. www.sejda.com/upgrade
- iLovePDF: Frequently asked questions. www.ilovepdf.com/help/faq
- iLovePDF: iLovePDF Desktop. www.ilovepdf.com/desktop
More from the blog
- PDF editors compared: which one fits the job
- Five ways to change text in a scan, compared
- Compress PDF tools compared: what you choose, and what you get
- Can you edit a PDF in Word, Google Docs or Canva?
- How to edit a PDF without Adobe Acrobat
- How to edit your resume or CV when you only have the PDF
- Every comparison and guide, on one page
Last updated