There are two main ways to convert a JPG to a PDF on Windows 10 or Windows 11 for free. The first is the built-in Print to PDF method that has been part of Windows for years. The second is a browser-based tool like PDFWhisk, which is faster when you have multiple images to combine. Here is how both work and when to use each.
Method 1: Windows built-in Print to PDF
Windows includes a virtual printer called Microsoft Print to PDF that lets you turn almost any file into a PDF by "printing" it.
Steps
- Right-click the JPG file in File Explorer.
- Select Print from the context menu.
- In the Print Pictures window, set the Printer to Microsoft Print to PDF.
- Choose the paper size and layout (Fit to Frame is usually the best option for photos).
- Click Print.
- A Save As dialog will appear. Choose a location and filename, then click Save.
That's it, you'll have a PDF containing your image. The quality is good and no browser or internet connection is required.
The limitation
Print to PDF processes one image at a time. If you want to combine five JPG photos into a single PDF document, you would need to repeat this process five times and then merge the resulting PDFs, which takes considerably longer than the alternative below.
Method 2: PDFWhisk (multiple images, any order)
For combining multiple JPG images into one PDF, PDFWhisk's JPG to PDF converter is faster and more flexible. It runs in your browser, Chrome and Microsoft Edge on Windows both work perfectly.
Steps
- Open pdfwhisk.com/jpg-to-pdf in Edge or Chrome.
- Drag your JPG files onto the upload area, or click to browse and select multiple files at once.
- Drag the images into the order you want them to appear in the PDF.
- Click Convert to PDF.
- Download your combined PDF.
Your files are processed entirely in the browser, nothing is sent to a server, so this is safe to use with photos that contain personal information.
Comparison: Windows built-in vs PDFWhisk
| Feature | Windows Print to PDF | PDFWhisk |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple images in one PDF | No (one at a time) | Yes |
| Control image order | No | Yes |
| Requires browser/internet | No | Browser only (no internet upload) |
| Works in Edge and Chrome | N/A | Yes |
| Free | Yes | Yes |
Use Windows Print to PDF when you have a single image and want to avoid opening a browser. Use PDFWhisk when you have multiple images, need to control the order, or want the simplest workflow for combining photos into a document.
Windows 11: exporting to PDF from the Photos app
Windows 11 added a PDF export option directly within the Photos app, which is worth knowing about for users on newer versions of Windows.
How to use it
- Open a JPG in the Photos app (double-click the image in File Explorer).
- Click the three-dot menu (More options) in the top-right corner.
- Select Print from the menu.
- In the print dialog, set the printer to Microsoft Print to PDF and click Print.
This is essentially the same Print to PDF workflow, accessed from within the Photos app. Newer builds of Windows 11 may add a more direct Export to PDF option, but availability varies depending on which Windows version and update you have installed.
For combining multiple photos into a single PDF document from the Photos app, there is no built-in batch export option at time of writing, PDFWhisk remains the faster choice for that task.
Which method should you use?
- Single image, no browser open → Right-click → Print → Microsoft Print to PDF
- Multiple images, need them combined → PDFWhisk in Edge or Chrome
- Windows 11 with Photos app open → Print from Photos to Microsoft Print to PDF (single image)
Both methods are free and produce good quality results. The built-in route requires no internet connection, which makes it useful if you're working offline. The browser route is the better choice as soon as you have more than one image to deal with.
Open PDFWhisk's JPG to PDF tool in Edge or Chrome, drop in your images, and have your combined PDF ready in under thirty seconds.