An iLovePDF alternative that never uploads your files

Where your files go

iLovePDF merges on its own servers: you upload the files, they are processed there, and you download the result. Its FAQ says files are kept for a maximum of 2 hours so you can download them, and its security page says files are deleted within two hours of being processed.

This tool works the other way round. The merge runs in your browser tab and the files are not uploaded at all. Here is how to check that yourself.

Free limits side by side

• iLovePDF free plan: its pricing page lists up to 25 files and 100 MB per merge task. Its paid plans raise that to 500 files and 4 GB. It does not state a page limit.
• This tool, free: up to 5 files and 20MB in total per merge, as many merges as you like, no account, no watermark.

On limits alone iLovePDF's free plan is more generous. If you often merge 6 or more files at once, or sets over 20MB, you would hit our limit sooner. The options here are merging in batches or Pro.

What iLovePDF does that this tool does not

iLovePDF has a desktop app for Windows and Mac that works offline; its desktop page offers a free PDF reader and a Premium tier with all tools. Its menu also lists separate tools to compress, convert, sign and edit PDFs. This tool only merges.

If offline use is the point, this page also keeps merging with the network switched off once it has loaded (details and limits), but it will not load at all if you were never online with it.

What this tool does

It joins whole PDF files, in the order you choose, into one new PDF. The merge runs in your browser tab and the files are not uploaded; here is how to check that yourself. It needs no account and adds no watermark. Free covers up to 5 files and 20MB in total per merge, with as many merges as you like. Pro removes the file-count and size limits.

It does not edit anything: no reordering or deleting pages inside a file, no compression, no text recognition, no signing, and no converting Word files or images to PDF.

Which one to use

• Use this tool when you would rather not send the files to anyone's server, or you are on a computer where you cannot install anything.
• Use iLovePDF when you merge many files or big ones, or you want the other PDF tools in the same place.

Checked against iLovePDF's own pages on 5 October 2026. Limits and wording change and can differ by country, so look at their current page before you decide.

More about merging PDFs

• Combine PDF files online
• Merge PDFs without Acrobat
• Change the order before merging
• Merge large PDF files
• Password-protected PDFs
• Merge scanned PDFs
• Merge PDFs without losing quality
• Merge PDFs on Mac, Windows or Linux
• Merge PDFs for a job application
• Merge bank statements into one PDF
• Merge receipts into one PDF
• Fit a merged PDF in an email
• Merge PDFs on iPhone and Android
• Merge PDFs with different page sizes
• Merge PDFs offline
• Merge two PDF files
• Add a signed page to a contract
• Merge invoices for your accountant
• Merge a meeting pack
• Merge homework scans into one PDF
• Merge 10+ PDF files using batches
• Merge Word and PDF files
• Merge photos and PDF files
• Merge PDFs in different web browsers
• Merge PDFs on a Chromebook
• Sort PDFs by naming before merging
• Add a cover page to a PDF
• Add appendices to a PDF report
• Merge thesis chapters into one PDF
• Merge PDFs for printing
• Merge presentation handouts into one PDF
• Merge confidential documents
• Smallpdf alternative: no upload
• Sejda alternative: no upload
• PDF24 alternative: no upload
• Which PDF merge sites upload your files?
• Merge PDFs without uploading them
• No signup, no watermark