How to convert JPG to PDF

People usually need this for something practical: a landlord wants your ID and payslips "as one PDF", an expenses system only accepts PDFs, or you've photographed a signed form and need to email it back. The good news is that every major operating system can already do it. The steps below cover each one, plus the things that trip people up along the way.

Before you start: three quick checks

1. Get the order right. In most tools, pages come out in the order you add or select the images. If you're doing a lot, renaming the files 01, 02, 03 first saves a fiddly reshuffle later.
2. Check they really are JPGs. iPhones save photos as HEIC by default, and some PDF tools won't accept them. If yours are HEIC, convert them first with HEIC to JPG — our guide on what HEIC is and how to convert it explains why this happens.
3. Tidy the photos. A crooked photo of a document with a kitchen table round the edges looks sloppy as a PDF page. Cropping each one with the Image Cropper takes seconds and makes the result look deliberate.

How to convert JPG to PDF in your browser (any device)

This works the same on Windows, Mac, Chromebook, iPhone and Android, and needs no account.

1. Open Image to PDF.
2. Drop your images into the box, or click to choose them. JPG, PNG, WEBP, GIF and BMP all work, and you can mix them.
3. Check the order. Images become pages in the order you add them; to move one, remove it and add it again.
4. Save the PDF. You get one file with one page per image.

The PDF is built by code running in your browser tab, so the photos never leave your device. That matters more than usual here, because the images people turn into PDFs are so often passports, bank statements and signed documents. Each page is sized to match its image rather than forced onto A4, and transparent areas in a PNG are filled with white, since a PDF page can't be see-through.

How to convert JPG to PDF on Windows

Windows 10 and 11 include a virtual printer called Microsoft Print to PDF, which "prints" to a file instead of paper:

1. In File Explorer, select the images (hold Ctrl and click each one).
2. Right-click and choose Print. On Windows 11 you may need to click Show more options first.
3. Set the printer to Microsoft Print to PDF, pick your paper size (A4 in the UK) and a layout such as Full page photo.
4. Untick Fit picture to frame if you don't want the edges of your photos cropped.
5. Click Print, then choose a name and folder for the PDF.

How to convert JPG to PDF on a Mac

The quickest route is a Finder Quick Action: select the images, right-click, and choose Quick Actions → Create PDF. The PDF appears in the same folder — check the page order, and use Preview instead if you need to rearrange anything.

For more control, use Preview:

1. Select the images in Finder and open them together in Preview.
2. Show the sidebar thumbnails (View → Thumbnails) and drag them into the order you want.
3. Select all the thumbnails, then choose File → Print.
4. Pick the paper size, then open the PDF menu at the bottom of the dialog and choose Save as PDF.

How to convert JPG to PDF on iPhone or iPad

If the photos are in the Files app, select them, tap the More (…) button and choose Create PDF. Photos in your library need saving to Files first (select them, tap Share → Save to Files).

There's also an older trick from the Photos app: select the photos, tap Share → Print, and use the share button on the print screen to save or send the result as a PDF. Apple moves these menus around between iOS versions, so if a label differs slightly on your phone, look for the nearest match.

How to convert JPG to PDF on Android

Android's built-in printing includes a Save as PDF printer. Open a photo in your gallery app (Google Photos or your phone maker's Gallery), look for Print in the menu (⋮) or the share options, set the printer to Save as PDF and tap the download button. It's fine for one photo; for several pages in one PDF, a browser tool is usually easier. Exactly where the Print option lives varies between phones and app versions.

Which method should you use?

None of these methods upload your photos anywhere — which is worth remembering before you reach for a random "free JPG to PDF" website that does.

A4 pages or image-sized pages?

This is the one choice that genuinely matters. An image-sized page (what Altto and the iPhone Files app produce) shows each photo edge to edge with no white border, which is ideal for reading on screen. If someone is going to print the PDF, or a form asks for A4, use a print-to-PDF method and choose A4 — each photo is then placed on a standard sheet. In practice, a printer will scale an image-sized page to fit the paper anyway, so either works for most everyday uses.

Keeping the PDF a sensible size

Phone photos are large, so a PDF of ten of them can easily be too big to email or to get past an upload form's limit. Two fixes:

• Shrink the photos first. A document photo rarely needs to be more than about 2,000 pixels across. Our guide on how to resize an image covers this, or use Image Resize on a whole batch at once.
• Compress the finished PDF with Compress PDF. See how to compress a PDF for what to expect.

Need to change it afterwards? Rotate PDF fixes a sideways page, Delete PDF Pages drops one you didn't mean to include, and Merge PDF adds your new PDF to an existing one.

Common questions