FubakoMerge & Split PDFs on Mac Without Uploading (Free)
Search for "merge PDF" and the top results are all web services. Convenient — but it means sending your documents to someone else's server. Read this before uploading a contract, a résumé, or an invoice.
The problem with web tools
Web PDF tools do the merging on their servers, so the contents of your file necessarily reach the operator. Most promise to delete files after a while, but you have no way to verify that. If your company forbids uploading documents to external services, they're simply not an option.
Your Mac can do this locally
macOS Preview can actually merge PDFs (drag a file into the thumbnail sidebar) — worth knowing. Fubako goes further:
| Web tools | Preview.app | Fubako | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where your file goes | Operator's server | Stays on your Mac | Stays on your Mac (no network permission) |
| Merge | Yes | Yes (unintuitive) | Yes — drop where you want it inserted |
| Reorder / rotate / delete | Varies | Yes | Yes, drag + ⌘Z undo |
| Split / extract pages | Varies | One page at a time | Bulk split & selected-page extract |
| Continue into OCR / compress / watermark | Re-upload elsewhere | No | Same window |
| Cost | Free–subscription | Free | Free |
How to do it in Fubako
- Open your base PDF in Fubako
- Drag other PDFs into the page sidebar — they're inserted where you drop them (that's the merge)
- Drag to reorder, press delete to remove pages, right-click to rotate or extract
- Save (⌘S) or export a copy
Everything is undoable with ⌘Z. File > Split offers one-file-per-page splitting or extracting just the selected pages.
FAQ
Can it handle password-protected PDFs?
Yes — enter the password when opening. If exporting would drop the encryption, Fubako warns you first.
Can I merge many PDFs at once?
Yes, drop multiple files together. There's no file-count limit.
What about digitally signed PDFs?
Changing the page structure invalidates signatures, so Fubako detects them and warns you before you export.