How to Merge PDFs on iPhone (Files, Shortcuts, or a Scanner App)

By Xeplin · Published September 7, 2026

A contract in three separate PDFs, a scanned form plus the ID that goes with it, twelve receipts that have to arrive as one attachment. Merging PDFs on iPhone used to need a computer. It does not anymore: the Files app can do it, Shortcuts can automate it, and a scanner app can merge, reorder, and clean up the pages in the same place they were scanned. This guide covers all three, how to fix the page order, and how to keep the merged file small enough to send.

The short version

• Two or three PDFs, once: put them in one folder in Files, select them, tap the three dots, Create PDF. Free, built in.
• The same merge every week: a Shortcut with the Make PDF action, one tap from the share sheet.
• Scans, imported PDFs, and photos into one tidy document with pages in the right order: Scanner App. Import, drag pages into order, remove the ones you do not need, export once.

Method 1: Create PDF in the Files app

1. Save every PDF you want to combine into the same folder in Files. From Mail or Messages, tap the attachment, Share, Save to Files.
2. Open the folder, tap the three dots at the top right, then Select.
3. Tap the files in the order you want them merged. The order of selection becomes the page order.
4. Tap the three dots at the bottom right and choose Create PDF.
5. A new file appears in the folder. Long-press it and Rename it to something the recipient will understand.

This works with PDFs, images, or a mix. The limits: there is no page-level control, so you cannot drop page 3 of the second file or rotate one sideways scan, and if you pick the files in the wrong order you start again. For a quick one-off it is exactly enough.

Method 2: The Print trick, for a merged preview

Select the PDFs in Files, tap Share, choose Print, then pinch outwards on the page preview. iOS builds a single combined PDF you can share from the corner. It is the same trick that converts photos to PDF, and it has the same limits: no reordering, no page removal, and the page size follows the printer default.

Method 3: A Shortcut, when you merge the same way often

1. Open Shortcuts, tap plus, and add the action Make PDF.
2. Tap the shortcut name, choose Receive from Share Sheet, and set the accepted types to PDFs and images.
3. Add a Save File action after it so the result lands in a folder of your choice.
4. Now select files in Files, tap Share, and run the shortcut. One tap, merged, saved.

Worth ten minutes if you merge weekly. Still no reordering or page removal; the shortcut merges whatever you hand it, in the order you selected.

Method 4: Merge and clean up in Scanner App

When the PDFs are scans, or should be, merging is one step in a document that also needs straightening, a page removed, or a page reordered. Scanner App keeps all of that in one screen.

1. Open Scanner App and open the document you want to build on, or start a new one.
2. Tap the plus button and choose Import from Files to add a PDF, Scan from Photos to add a photo, or Scan with Camera to add paper. Each import becomes pages in the same document.
3. Drag the page thumbnails into the order you want. Remove pages you do not need, rotate a sideways one, fix a crop.
4. Pick a filter if the pages came from different sources and look uneven; Black and White evens out scans from three different phones.
5. Run Recognize if the merged document should be searchable, then Export as one PDF and share or file it.

The advantage is not the merge itself, Files does that. It is that the merged document is also cleaned, ordered, searchable, and filed in the folder it belongs to. Everything runs on the phone; nothing is uploaded, and the app works offline. See the document organizer page for folders, tags, and search, and scanning documents to PDF for the capture side.

Getting the page order right

• Files and Shortcuts: selection order is page order. Rename files 01, 02, 03 first so the order is obvious.
• Scanner App: drag thumbnails. Check the first and last page before exporting; those are what the recipient looks at.
• Mixed sizes: a scanned receipt merged with a Letter-size contract keeps its own page size. If the recipient needs uniform pages, use Page Size in Scanner App before exporting.

Keeping the merged file small

Merging adds sizes together. Twelve color scans at 2 MB each is a 24 MB attachment, and many mail servers refuse anything over 20 to 25 MB. Three fixes: scan receipts and text pages in Black and White or Grayscale, which is a tenth of the size of color; remove blank and duplicate pages before exporting; and for very long documents, split into two files with clear names, part 1 and part 2. Getting the size right when the pages are created beats trying to compress the PDF afterwards on a phone.

Common problems

• Create PDF is missing in Files. The selection includes a file type Files cannot render, such as a Word document. Select only PDFs and images.
• Pages came out in the wrong order. Files used your selection order. Delete the merged file, select again in the right order, or rebuild in Scanner App where you can drag pages.
• One page is sideways. Files cannot fix it. Import into Scanner App, rotate the page, export.
• The merged PDF is not searchable. Scanned pages are images. Run Recognize in Scanner App so the words inside become searchable; see OCR on iPhone.
• The recipient wants one file but I have a signature page separately. Merge first, then sign the merged PDF so the signature sits on the right page of the final document.

Quick answers

How do I combine PDF files on iPhone for free?

Put the PDFs in one folder in the Files app, select them in order, tap the three dots, and choose Create PDF. Scanner App is also free to download and lets you reorder, remove, and clean up pages before exporting the merged file.

Can I merge PDFs without an app on iPhone?

Yes. The Files app merges selected PDFs and images with Create PDF, and the Shortcuts app can do the same with the Make PDF action. Neither lets you reorder or remove individual pages.

How do I change the page order after merging?

In Files you cannot; select the files again in the right order. In Scanner App drag the page thumbnails into any order before exporting.

Why is my merged PDF so large?

It contains every page at full color. Rescan text pages in Black and White or Grayscale, remove blank pages, and split very long documents into two files.

Are my PDFs uploaded when I merge them?

Not with Files, Shortcuts, or Scanner App. All three work on your iPhone, and Scanner App works offline with no account.

One document, sent once

Import the pieces, drag the pages into order, export. Download Scanner App, free to download, and send the whole thing as one clean PDF.