What to Do When a Merged PDF Becomes Too Large
Key points
- Merging alone keeps roughly the combined size of the originals
- Removing pages and compressing work well together
- Compression makes text unselectable
When you merge PDFs, the result is about the sum of their sizes. Three 3 MB PDFs make roughly 9 MB.
What to do, in order
- Remove unneeded pages: look for blank or duplicate pages and delete them with "Extract or Delete PDF Pages".
- Compress: in "Compress PDF", choose a size limit (1, 2, 5 or 10 MB) or a quality.
- Compress the originals before merging: if one file is especially large, shrink just that one first.
A note on compression
This site's compression rebuilds each page as an image. As a result, text can no longer be selected, copied or searched. Check that the recipient doesn't need that.
Matching the recipient's limit
- Email attachments: around 10 MB in total is safe
- Application forms: limits of 2–5 MB are common
Leaving some margin rather than aiming for the exact limit reduces upload failures.
Use "Merge PDFs" (free)Tools that go well with this
- Compress PDF: Shrink a PDF to fit under a size you choose, for upload limits.
- Add Page Numbers to PDF: Add page numbers to a PDF, choosing position and style.
- Extract or Delete PDF Pages: Keep only the pages you need, or remove the pages you don't.
More guides for this tool
- How to Combine Several PDFs into One (Phone and Computer)
- How to Choose the Order When Merging PDFs and Rearrange It Later
- Why a PDF Can't Be Merged or Shows an Error
- Tips for Combining Job Application Documents into One PDF
- How to Combine Photos and PDFs into One File
- Safety Checkpoints When Choosing a PDF Merge Tool