PDF Tools — Convert, Merge, Split, Compress, Clean, Sign & Annotate PDFs Free

Guides for every tool on this page, plus honest limits and answers to common questions.

Images to PDF: turn JPG, PNG, or WebP photos into a PDF

Need to turn phone photos of receipts into an expense report, assemble scanned pages into a single document, or build a portfolio? The Images → PDF tab places each picture on its own page and hands you one PDF file. Because everything is built locally in your browser, there is no upload queue and no server-side file-size cap.

1. Add your images. Drop JPG, PNG, or WebP files onto the upload box, or click to browse. Thumbnails appear in the order they will become pages.
2. Reorder the pages. Use the ↑ ↓ arrows on each thumbnail to fix the page order, and ✕ to remove a photo that does not belong.
3. Choose page size and orientation. A4 and Letter give you standard document pages; Original (fit to image) sizes each page to the photo itself — best for pictures and scans. Orientation can stay on Auto (each page follows its image) or be forced to portrait or landscape.
4. Set margins and the filename. Use 0 mm margins for full-bleed scans, or 10 mm and up for print-ready documents. Name the output file something you will recognize later.
5. Convert and download. One click builds the PDF and downloads it immediately.

PDF to JPG: export PDF pages as images

The PDF → Images tab renders every page of a PDF as a JPG, PNG, or WebP file — useful for pulling a slide out of a deck as a picture, making thumbnails of a document, or sharing a page where PDFs are not accepted.

• Format: JPG for the smallest files, PNG for text and sharp lines (lossless), WebP for web use.
• Scale = resolution: 1x renders at 72 dpi (fine for screen), 2x at 144 dpi (the best default), 3x at 216 dpi (approaching print quality). Doubling the scale quadruples the pixel count, so very long documents at 3x can use a lot of memory — render in a lower scale first if the browser slows down.
• Quality slider: applies to JPG and WebP output; PNG ignores it because it is lossless.
• Download: save pages individually, or grab them all as a single ZIP.

Merge PDFs: combine several files into one

The Merge PDFs tab joins multiple PDF files into a single document — combining chapters, appending a signed page to a contract, or bundling monthly statements into one file for your records.

1. Add two or more PDFs. Drop them onto the upload box or select them with the file picker.
2. Check the order. The numbered list is the exact order pages will appear in the merged file — use the ↑ ↓ arrows to rearrange, ✕ to drop a file.
3. Name it and merge. One click stitches everything together and downloads the combined PDF.

Split PDF: extract pages or split every page

The Split PDF tab pulls pages out of a document. Type the pages you want — ranges like 1-3, 5, 8-10 — and get a new PDF with exactly those pages, in that order. Or hit Split all pages and download a ZIP with one single-page PDF per page, handy when a form, a chapter, or one signed page needs to travel alone.

Compress PDF: two honest modes

The Compress PDF tab has two modes because "smaller" means different things. Optimize rebuilds the document, dropping unused objects and metadata — text stays selectable and searchable, and files that have been edited or merged before shrink the most. Maximum renders each page as a JPEG at the scale and quality you pick and rebuilds the PDF from those images — the smallest file by far, but pages become pictures and text is no longer selectable. Pick Optimize for documents you still need to search; pick Maximum when only the file size matters.

Clean metadata: share a PDF without its history

PDFs quietly carry a past: title, author, creation software, creation and modification dates, sometimes the name of the person who exported them. The Clean Metadata tab rebuilds your document with only its pages — your title, author, dates and other document information are gone, so what you share is just the content. (The file carries a generic library stamp, as every tool on this page does — nothing that identifies you.) One honest limit: metadata baked into embedded images survives the rebuild, so strip photo EXIF before building a PDF you plan to clean.

Sign PDF: draw, place, download

The Sign PDF tab lets you draw a signature with mouse or finger, pick the page and the corner, preview exactly where it lands, and download the signed file. It places a picture of your signature on the page — quick and fine for everyday agreements — not a cryptographic digital signature, which is a different thing and needs a certificate.

Annotate PDF: highlight, arrows, stamps and notes

The Annotate PDF tab marks pages the way a reviewer would: drag a highlighter over a line, point an arrow at a clause, drop an APPROVED or DRAFT stamp, stick a note on a page, or tick and cross items. Marks are drawn on top of the page and baked into the downloaded file, so they survive in any PDF reader. Like every tool here, it runs entirely in your browser — the document never leaves your device.

Page size and orientation: which settings to choose

• A4 — the default for documents, printing, and anything shared internationally.
• Letter — the US standard; pick this for American offices and forms.
• Original (fit to image) — sizes each page to the photo itself with no white borders and no distortion. Best for pictures, scans, and screenshots.
• Orientation Auto — each page follows its own image (landscape photos get landscape pages). Force portrait or landscape only when you need every page uniform, e.g. a printable report.
• Margins — 0 mm for full-bleed scans; 10 mm or more when the PDF will be printed and bound.

Quality and file size: what to expect

When you convert images to PDF, the originals are embedded as-is — a JPG stays a JPG inside the PDF — so the output size is roughly the sum of your input files. PNG and WebP inputs are re-encoded as PNG, which can make photographic images larger; converting photos to JPG first keeps the PDF lean.

Going the other direction, resolution multiplies fast: a single A4 page rendered at 3x is roughly 2500×3500 pixels. That is great for print, but a 60-page document at 3x produces very large image files. For on-screen use, 2x is the sweet spot — sharp on retina displays without the bloat. If a PDF you built feels too heavy to email, the fix is usually smaller source images, not a different tool: resize or compress the pictures before converting.

Private by design: your documents never leave your device

All eight tools run on pdf-lib and pdf.js — real PDF libraries loaded from a CDN and executed entirely in your browser. Contracts, ID scans, medical records, financial statements: none of it is transmitted anywhere, there is no account holding your files, and there is nothing to delete afterward. For sensitive documents, that is the whole point — the safest server is the one your files never touch.

Common mistakes

• Rendering at 1x and then printing. 72 dpi looks fine on screen and blurry on paper. Re-render at 2x or 3x for anything that will be printed.
• Merging in the wrong order. Always glance at the numbered file list before hitting merge — fixing the order afterward means merging all over again.
• Feeding giant phone scans straight in. A dozen 12 MP photos make a very heavy PDF. Resize or compress them first if the PDF only needs to be read on screen.
• Expecting text to stay selectable. Pages built from images are pictures of text, not text — they cannot be searched or copied. Searchable PDFs need OCR, which these tools do not do.
• Trying to merge password-protected PDFs. Encrypted files must be unlocked first; the merge tool cannot open them.

Frequently asked questions

Is converting JPG to PDF really free?

Yes — all eight tools (images to PDF, PDF to images, merge, split, compress, clean metadata, sign, annotate) are free with no account and no per-file limits. Processing happens on your device, so there is no server cost to pass on to you.

Are my PDFs uploaded to a server?

No. The PDF libraries run locally in your browser; your files are read from your disk, processed in memory, and the result is downloaded straight back to you. Nothing is transmitted anywhere.

What page size should I choose for scanned documents?

A4 for most of the world, Letter for US documents. Choose Original (fit to image) when the content is photos or screenshots rather than documents — it avoids white borders and keeps the original aspect ratio.

Why do my exported JPG pages look blurry?

The render scale was probably too low. Re-render at 2x or 3x: 1x (72 dpi) is only meant for screen thumbnails, while 2x–3x gives you sharp, printable pages.

Can I merge password-protected PDFs?

Not directly — encrypted PDFs must be unlocked with their password first. Once unlocked and saved without protection, they merge like any other file.

Can I split, compress, clean or sign password-protected PDFs?

Same rule: unlock the file first, then split, compress, clean, sign or annotate the unlocked copy. The tools cannot open encrypted PDFs.

Does Clean remove metadata inside embedded images?

No — the rebuild drops document-level metadata but copies page content, including embedded images, as-is. If a photo inside the PDF carries EXIF (GPS, camera, dates), strip it before building the PDF — our EXIF removal guide shows how.

Is the signature legally binding?

A drawn signature placed on a page is the everyday kind of signing most people mean — it shows intent on the document. It is not a certificate-based digital signature, which cryptographically proves who signed and that the file was not altered afterward. For regulated or high-value contracts, use a certified signing service.