How to Convert JPG to PDF in Your Browser

Quick answer: To convert JPG to PDF, add your images to a converter, put them in the order you want, choose a page size and create the file. Each image becomes one page of a single PDF. The free JPG to PDF Converter does this in your browser, so the photos never leave your device.

Why turn images into a PDF

Many forms, job portals and offices accept documents only as PDF. A PDF keeps several pages together in a fixed order and opens the same way on any device, which a folder of separate photos does not.

PDF is an open format standardized as ISO 32000 (ISO 32000-1 covers PDF 1.7 and ISO 32000-2 covers PDF 2.0). Pages are measured in points, where one point is 1/72 of an inch, so page sizes such as A4 and US Letter have exact values.

• Photos of a signed contract or a multi-page form
• Receipts collected for an expense claim
• A certificate or ID card that a portal wants as a PDF

How to use the free JPG to PDF Converter

1. Open the tool and choose a Page size: A4 portrait, A4 landscape, US Letter or Same as image.
2. Choose a Margin: None, Small (the default) or Large.
3. Drag your images onto the box labeled Drop JPG, PNG, WebP or HEIC images here, or click it to choose files. You can add more files later; they are added to the end of the list.
4. Check the order. Use the up and down arrow buttons next to each file to move it, and the cross button to remove it.
5. Click Create PDF. The button stays disabled until at least one image is in the list.
6. Click Download. One image gives a PDF named after that image; several images give images.pdf.

The work is done in your browser with the open-source pdf-lib library. Your images are not uploaded to a server.

How the page size and margin options work

With A4 or Letter, each image is scaled to fit inside the page minus the margin and centered, keeping its proportions. With Same as image, the page is made the size of the image (one pixel becomes one point) plus the margin, so nothing is scaled down or cropped.

The Small margin is 20 points (about 7 mm) on every side and the Large margin is 40 points (about 14 mm). JPG and PNG files are placed in the PDF as they are. WebP, HEIC and other formats are first converted to JPG at 92% quality, because a PDF cannot hold those formats directly.

Worked example: three phone photos on A4

Suppose you photographed a three-page form with a phone. Each photo is 3024 × 4032 pixels (portrait). You choose A4 portrait and the Small margin.

• The usable area is 595.28 − 40 = 555.28 points wide and 841.89 − 40 = 801.89 points tall.
• The scale is the smaller of 555.28 ÷ 3024 = 0.1836 and 801.89 ÷ 4032 = 0.1989, so 0.1836.
• Each photo is drawn at about 555.3 × 740.4 points, filling the width and centered vertically.

The result is images.pdf with three A4 pages. If one photo were landscape (4032 × 3024), it would be drawn at about 555.3 × 416.5 points on its portrait page; choose A4 landscape if most of your images are wide.

Common mistakes

• Not checking the page order. Files are listed in the order you add them. Reorder them before clicking Create PDF.
• Using full-size photos when a portal has a size limit. A JPG goes into the PDF without recompression, so a 4 MB photo adds about 4 MB. Compress the photos first if the upload limit is small.
• Sideways pages. Some phones save a photo in one orientation and store a separate rotation flag. The tool reads that flag and redraws rotated JPGs upright, but if a page still looks wrong, rotate and save the photo in an editor first.
• Expecting searchable text. The PDF contains pictures of the pages. You cannot select or search the words without running OCR in another program.

Tips for clean scanned documents

• Photograph pages flat, in even light, with the whole page in the frame.
• Crop away the table or background before converting, so the page fills more of the PDF.
• Use Same as image when you want each page to match the original photo exactly, for example for artwork or screenshots.
• Use None as the margin for full-bleed images, and Small or Large when the PDF will be printed.