You have a JPG, PNG, or screenshot that needs to be a PDF. Maybe you’re submitting a scanned document, packaging photos for a client, or your university portal only accepts PDF uploads. Whatever the reason, you shouldn’t have to pay for something this basic.
I tested 14 image-to-PDF converters over the past month – online tools, desktop apps, and built-in OS features. Most work fine for a single image, but things get interesting when you need batch conversion, specific page sizes, or quality preservation. Here’s what actually worked and where each tool falls short. If you’re dealing with PDFs regularly, check out our roundup of the best free PDF editors for a broader toolkit.
Quick Comparison Table
| Tool | Platform | Batch Convert | File Limit (Free) | Quality Loss | Offline |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| iLovePDF | Web, Win, Mac, iOS, Android | Yes (25 files) | 15 MB/file | None | Desktop app |
| PDF24 | Web, Windows | Yes (unlimited) | No limit | None | Desktop app |
| Smallpdf | Web, Win, Mac, iOS, Android | Yes (1/day free) | 5 MB free | None | Desktop app |
| Adobe Acrobat Online | Web | No | 100 MB | None | No |
| img2go | Web | Yes (3/day) | 50 MB | Optional compression | No |
| macOS Preview | Mac | Yes | No limit | None | Yes |
| Windows Print to PDF | Windows 10/11 | One at a time | No limit | Depends on app | Yes |
| CamScanner | iOS, Android | Yes (5/day) | 10 MB | Auto-enhances | Partial |
1. iLovePDF – Best Overall for Quick Conversions
iLovePDF has been my go-to for image-to-PDF work since 2023. The web interface is straightforward – drag images in, arrange the order, pick your page size, hit convert. Done in under 10 seconds for most files.
What sets it apart from the crowd: you can upload up to 25 images at once on the free tier and merge them into a single PDF. The tool preserves original image resolution, so a 4000×3000 JPG stays at that quality in the PDF. I confirmed this by extracting the embedded image from the output file – identical dimensions, no recompression artifacts.
Page layout options: A4, Letter, or “fit to image” (which uses the image dimensions as the page size). You can also set margins and choose portrait vs landscape per image, though that level of control is a bit hidden under the settings gear icon.
Free tier limits: 15 MB per file, 25 files per batch, watermark-free output. That covers 95% of use cases honestly. The premium plan ($4/month) bumps limits to 200 files and 1 GB per file, but I’ve never needed it for image conversion.
Pros:
- 25-file batch on free tier
- No quality loss, no watermarks
- Works on every platform (web + desktop + mobile apps)
- Page size and margin controls
Cons:
- 15 MB per file limit on free tier
- Requires internet for web version
- Desktop app needs separate download for offline use
2. PDF24 – Best Free Option With No Limits
Here’s the thing about PDF24 – it’s completely free. No file limits, no daily caps, no watermarks, no premium upsell. The company makes money through optional donations, which is unusual for a tool this capable.
The web version at tools.pdf24.org handles image-to-PDF conversion well. Upload your images, drag to reorder, select page format, download the result. The Windows desktop app (PDF24 Creator) is even better because everything processes locally – nothing gets uploaded anywhere.
I ran a batch of 47 product photos through PDF24 Creator. All 47 went into one PDF in about 8 seconds. The output file preserved all original resolutions. No watermark, no “upgrade for more” popup. For a tool this generous, the UI is surprisingly clean.
One quirk: the web tool sometimes takes a moment to render previews for large TIFF files. The actual conversion runs fine, it’s just the preview that lags. And there’s no Mac desktop app – Windows and web only.
Pros:
- Truly free – no limits on files, size, or daily usage
- No watermarks ever
- Desktop app processes offline
- Handles obscure formats (BMP, TIFF, WebP, GIF)
Cons:
- No Mac or Linux desktop app
- Web preview can lag on large files
- Interface feels dated compared to Smallpdf or iLovePDF
3. Smallpdf – Cleanest Interface, Tight Free Limits
Smallpdf’s interface is arguably the best-designed in this category. Everything loads fast, the drag-and-drop works perfectly, and the conversion takes maybe 3-4 seconds. If you want a tool that just feels nice to use, this is the one.
The catch: free users get 1 task per day. One. Convert a single set of images to PDF and you’re locked out until tomorrow. For occasional use that’s fine. For anything regular, you’ll hit that wall fast.
The Pro plan costs $9/month (or $6/month billed annually), which is steep for a conversion tool. That said, Smallpdf Pro includes access to their entire suite – compress, merge, split, edit, e-sign – so if you work with PDFs daily, the value proposition makes more sense.
Quality-wise, Smallpdf matches iLovePDF. Images embed at full resolution, no compression applied by default. It supports HEIC files from iPhones, which not every tool handles. The mobile apps (iOS and Android) are solid too – I used the iOS app to convert a batch of scanned receipts last week and it worked without issues.
Pros:
- Beautiful, fast interface
- HEIC support
- Mobile apps work well
Cons:
- Only 1 free task per day – seriously limiting
- Pro pricing is $9/month
- 5 MB file limit on free tier
4. Adobe Acrobat Online – Best for Single Large Files
Adobe’s free online converter handles files up to 100 MB, which is the highest limit I’ve seen on any free tool. If you’re working with high-res TIFF scans or massive PNG screenshots, this is where to go.
The conversion quality is exactly what you’d expect from Adobe – perfect. No recompression, no color shifts, metadata preserved. You need a free Adobe account to download the result, but account creation takes under a minute.
The downside: it only converts one image at a time on the free tier. No batch processing. If you need to combine multiple images into a single PDF, you’ll have to convert them individually and then merge using a separate tool (Adobe’s own merge tool has the same one-file-free restriction). For bulk work, iLovePDF or PDF24 make way more sense.
Also, Adobe pushes hard toward their $12.99/month Acrobat Pro subscription throughout the experience. Every action has a “do more with Pro” nudge. If that kind of thing bothers you, fair warning.
Pros:
- 100 MB file size limit
- Perfect conversion quality (it’s Adobe)
- Handles HEIC, TIFF, WebP natively
Cons:
- No batch conversion on free tier
- Requires Adobe account to download
- Aggressive upselling to Acrobat Pro
5. img2go – Best for Custom Output Settings
img2go sits in a weird spot. It’s not the most polished tool, but it gives you more output controls than anything else on this list. You can set exact page size (A4, A3, Letter, Legal, or custom dimensions), choose DPI for the embedded image, apply optional compression, and even set PDF metadata like author and title.
For most people that level of control is overkill. But if you’re preparing print-ready PDFs or need specific compliance formatting, img2go delivers. I used it to create A3-sized PDFs from architectural drawings – the custom page size option saved me from having to resize images manually in Photoshop first.
Free tier gives you 3 conversions per day with a 50 MB file limit. No watermark on the output. The interface has more ads than I’d like, but they’re sidebar ads, not popups or overlays.
Pros:
- Custom page dimensions and DPI control
- PDF metadata editing
- 50 MB file limit is generous
- Optional image compression before embedding
Cons:
- 3 conversions per day on free tier
- Sidebar ads
- Interface is cluttered compared to Smallpdf or iLovePDF
6. macOS Preview – Best Built-in Option (Mac)
If you’re on a Mac, you probably don’t need any of the tools above. Preview handles image-to-PDF conversion natively, and it does batch conversion too.
Single image: Open the image in Preview, go to File > Export as PDF. That’s it. The image becomes a PDF at its original resolution.
Multiple images: Select all images in Finder, right-click, Open With > Preview. All images open in a single Preview window with a sidebar showing thumbnails. Drag to reorder if needed. Then File > Print > PDF > Save as PDF. The output contains all images as separate pages.
There’s also a Quick Action method: select images in Finder, right-click, Quick Actions > Create PDF. This is even faster but gives you less control over page order.
No file limits, no internet required, no account needed. The main limitation: Preview doesn’t let you choose page size independently of the image. Each page matches the image dimensions, which might not be what you want if you need uniform A4 pages. For that, you’d need to use the Print dialog and select A4 paper size, but then images get scaled to fit.
Pros:
- Already installed on every Mac
- Batch conversion works well
- Completely offline, no limits
- Quick Actions method is ridiculously fast
Cons:
- Mac only
- Limited page size control
- No margin or layout options
7. Windows Print to PDF – Works but Clunky
Windows 10 and 11 include a “Microsoft Print to PDF” virtual printer. To convert an image: right-click the image, select Print, choose “Microsoft Print to PDF” as the printer, hit Print, and save the PDF.
It works. But it’s not great for this specific task. The Print dialog forces you to pick a paper size (Letter, A4, etc.) and the image gets scaled and centered on that page. A landscape photo on a portrait A4 page ends up with large white bars above and below. You can switch to landscape orientation in the dialog, but it’s manual for each image.
Batch conversion is technically possible but painful – select multiple images, right-click Print, and they all go into one PDF. The order follows filename sorting, and you can’t rearrange pages. I tested this with 12 photos and the result was usable but the page layout wasn’t ideal for half of them.
For a single image where page layout doesn’t matter much, this is a zero-install solution. For anything more complex, use one of the online tools or get PDF24 Creator (which is also free and Windows-based).
Pros:
- No installation needed
- Works offline
- Built into Windows 10 and 11
Cons:
- Clunky page layout, white space around images
- No control over page order in batch mode
- One-at-a-time workflow unless you use the multi-select print trick
- Not available on Windows 7/8
8. CamScanner – Best for Phone Camera to PDF
CamScanner targets a slightly different use case: converting photos you take with your phone camera into clean, document-like PDFs. It auto-detects document edges, corrects perspective, enhances contrast, and removes shadows. If you’re photographing a whiteboard, receipt, or paper document, CamScanner produces noticeably better results than just converting the raw photo.
The free tier allows 5 document scans per day. Each “scan” can contain multiple pages, so you can photograph a 20-page document and it counts as one scan. The app applies a small watermark in the corner of free PDFs, but it’s subtle enough that most people won’t care for informal use.
For straight image-to-PDF conversion (not photos of documents), CamScanner is overkill. The auto-enhancement actually degrades quality for things like screenshots or graphics because it tries to “clean” content that doesn’t need cleaning. Stick with iLovePDF or PDF24 for non-document images.
Pros:
- Auto edge detection and perspective correction
- Multi-page documents count as one scan
- OCR built in (recognizes text in photos)
Cons:
- Watermark on free PDFs
- 5 scans/day limit
- Over-processes non-document images
- Mobile only – no desktop version
How to Choose the Right Tool
This really depends on what you’re converting and how often.
For a quick one-off conversion – use whatever’s already on your computer. macOS Preview if you’re on Mac, Windows Print to PDF if you’re on Windows. No download, no signup, done in 10 seconds.
For batch converting multiple images into one PDF – iLovePDF (25 files free, web-based) or PDF24 (unlimited files, also free). Both preserve quality. PDF24 has no limits at all, but iLovePDF’s interface is cleaner.
For large files (over 15 MB) – Adobe Acrobat Online handles up to 100 MB. img2go goes up to 50 MB.
For photos of physical documents – CamScanner on your phone. The auto-enhancement and perspective correction make a real difference compared to just converting a raw camera photo.
For regular daily use – install PDF24 Creator (Windows) or just use Preview (Mac). Offline tools don’t have daily limits, don’t require internet, and don’t upload your files anywhere. If you handle PDFs frequently, a dedicated PDF editor might be worth looking into too.
If you’re doing the reverse – pulling images out of PDFs – we have a separate guide on how to convert PDF to JPG for free.
Tips for Better Image-to-PDF Quality
A few things I’ve learned from converting thousands of images to PDF over the years:
Check your source image resolution first. A 640×480 image will look terrible on an A4 PDF page because it gets stretched to fill the space. For print-quality A4 PDFs, you want source images at least 2480×3508 pixels (300 DPI). For screen viewing, 1240×1754 (150 DPI) is usually fine.
PNG vs JPG matters less than you’d think. Both formats embed into PDF without additional quality loss if the tool doesn’t recompress. PNG files produce slightly larger PDFs because the embedded data is lossless, but the visual difference is negligible for most content.
File size optimization: If your output PDF is too large (common when embedding many high-res images), run it through a PDF compressor after conversion. iLovePDF and PDF24 both have compression tools that can reduce file size by 50-80% with minimal visible quality loss.
Page order matters for multi-image PDFs. Name your files with numbers (001.jpg, 002.jpg, etc.) before uploading to batch tools. Most converters sort by filename, so consistent numbering gives you the right order without manual dragging.
FAQ
Can I convert an image to PDF for free?
Yes. iLovePDF, PDF24, and Smallpdf all convert images to PDF without charging anything. Windows and macOS have built-in options too – Print to PDF on Windows 10/11 and Preview on Mac work without installing additional software.
How do I convert a JPG to PDF without losing quality?
Use a tool that doesn’t re-compress your image. PDF24 and iLovePDF both preserve original resolution by default. After conversion, check your output file size against the original. If the PDF is significantly smaller than your source image, quality was lost somewhere.
Can I combine multiple images into one PDF?
Yes. Most tools support batch conversion. iLovePDF handles up to 25 images per batch on the free tier. PDF24 has no file limit. On Mac, select multiple images in Finder, right-click, Quick Actions, Create PDF. For more complex merging, check our guide on how to combine PDF files for free.
What image formats can be converted to PDF?
JPG and PNG are supported everywhere. Most tools also handle BMP, TIFF, GIF, and WebP. For HEIC files from iPhones, Adobe Acrobat Online and Smallpdf both work. Other tools may require converting HEIC to JPG first.
Is it safe to upload images to online PDF converters?
Reputable services like iLovePDF, Smallpdf, and Adobe delete uploaded files within 1-2 hours. For sensitive documents, use offline tools instead. PDF24 Desktop, macOS Preview, and Windows Print to PDF all process locally without uploading anything.