How does the duplicate removal feature work?

When you turn on Remove Duplicates, the tool looks at each contact's name and phone number. If two contacts have the exact same name and number, it keeps the first one and removes the rest. This works for exact matches only, so John Smith and John A. Smith would both stay in the list.

I exported contacts from iCloud (vCard 3.0/4.0) and Outlook (vCard 2.1). Can I merge them?

Yes. The tool handles all vCard versions (2.1, 3.0, and 4.0) in the same merge. Your iPhone contacts and Outlook contacts can be combined into one file. When you import the merged file to Gmail, Android, or back to iPhone, all the contacts will show up correctly.

Will contact photos be preserved during the merge?

Yes. Contact photos are saved inside the .vcf file as text data. The tool keeps all that data when merging. When you import the merged file to your iPhone, Android, Gmail, or Outlook, the profile pictures will appear exactly as they were in the original files.

Why do some international names show up as symbols like Ã©?

This happens when the file was exported with one text encoding (like Windows-1252) but your phone or computer is reading it as UTF-8. Use the encoding dropdown in the tool before merging and switch between UTF-8 and Windows-1252 until the names look correct. Then merge the files.

Is there a limit to how many contacts I can merge?

No hard limit. The tool runs in your browser, so it depends on your computer's memory. Most people merge 1,000 to 5,000 contacts instantly. If you have 50,000 contacts from a business CRM, it might take 10 to 20 seconds to process, but it will work.

Can I use the merged file on both iPhone and Android?

Yes. The merged .vcf file works on iPhone, Android, Gmail, and Outlook. Email the file to yourself, open it on your iPhone and tap Add All Contacts. On Android, save the file to your phone, open Contacts, go to Settings, and tap Import. Same file works everywhere.

Merge & Combine VCF Files Online

Managing multiple contact backups can leave your phone book in a mess. This VCF merger lets you combine separate .vcf files into one master contact list. It handles different vCard versions automatically and helps you get all your contacts ready for a single, easy import to your new device.

VCF Merger

Drop VCF files or click to browse

Supports vCard contact files

Want to test drive the tool?

Download Sample VCF Files

Merge GPX Sample VCF Files

Before & After

Consolidate multiple exports

Fragmented VCF Files

text

BEGIN:VCARD
FN:Alice Johnson
TEL;TYPE=CELL:+1-555-0101
EMAIL:alice@example.com
END:VCARD

--- contacts_work.vcf ---
BEGIN:VCARD
FN:Bob Martinez
TEL;TYPE=WORK:+1-555-0202
ORG:Acme Corp
END:VCARD

Merged Address Book

text

BEGIN:VCARD
FN:Alice Johnson
TEL;TYPE=CELL:+1-555-0101
EMAIL:alice@example.com
END:VCARD
BEGIN:VCARD
FN:Bob Martinez
TEL;TYPE=WORK:+1-555-0202
ORG:Acme Corp
END:VCARD

How It Works

Clean and simple process

Upload vCards

Drag in .vcf or .vcard files exported from your phone, email client, or CRM.

Fix Encoding

Handle international characters automatically by selecting the correct encoding.

Manage Duplicates

Enable smart deduplication to remove identical contacts based on name and number.

Export Result

Download a master VCF file perfectly formatted for iOS, Android, Gmail, or Outlook.

vCard Versions

Compatibility overview

Comparison of vCard specification versions
Feature	vCard 2.1	vCard 3.0	vCard 4.0
RFC Standard	No formal RFC	RFC 2426	RFC 6350
Default Encoding	ASCII	UTF-8	UTF-8
Photo Embedding	Inline base64	base64/URL	URI/base64
Structured Types	Limited	Moderate	Extensible
Geo Location	No	lat;lon	geo:lat,lon
Import Compatibility	Universal	Universal	Modern Only

Key Features

Built for performance

Smart Deduplication

Identify and remove identical contacts based on name and number.

Mixed Version Support

Seamlessly combine vCard 2.1, 3.0, and 4.0 files without data loss.

Private & Secure

All merging happens locally in your browser. Contacts never leave your device.

FAQ

Common questions

Programmatic Merge

Python and CLI

Pythonmerge_vcf.py

import glob
import re

merged_contacts = []
for path in sorted(glob.glob("exports/*.vcf")):
    with open(path, "r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
        content = f.read()
    cards = re.findall(r"BEGIN:VCARD.*?END:VCARD", content, re.DOTALL)
    merged_contacts.extend(cards)

# Remove exact duplicates
unique = list(dict.fromkeys(merged_contacts))
with open("master.vcf", "w", encoding="utf-8") as out:
    out.write("\n".join(unique))

Bashmerge.sh

# Quick merge: concatenate all .vcf files
cat contacts_*.vcf > merged.vcf

# Count contacts in the merged file
grep -c "BEGIN:VCARD" merged.vcf

Complete Guide

In-depth walkthrough

What this tool is for

You have two or more contact backup files (.vcf files) from different phones or apps, and you want to combine them into one file to import. Maybe you have contacts from your old iPhone and your new Android phone, or contacts from both Gmail and Outlook that you want in one place.

This is common when switching from iPhone to Android (or vice versa), moving from Gmail to Outlook, or combining a work and personal contacts list. Instead of manually adding hundreds of contacts one by one, you can merge the backup files.

Drop both files into the tool, click merge, download the combined .vcf file, and import it to your phone or email app. All your contacts will be in one place.

Everything happens in your browser, so your contacts never get uploaded to any server. Your contact information stays on your computer the entire time.

How to get your VCF file from each app

iPhone: Open Settings, tap your name at the top, tap iCloud, tap Contacts, then use the iCloud.com website to select all contacts and export them. Or use the Contacts app on your Mac, select all contacts, and choose File > Export vCard.

Android: Open the Contacts app, tap the three-line menu icon, tap Settings, scroll down and tap Export. Choose where to save the file (usually Downloads folder). The file will be named something like contacts.vcf.

Gmail: Go to contacts.google.com, click Export on the left sidebar, select which contacts to export (usually "All contacts"), choose vCard format (for iOS Contacts), and click Export. The file downloads to your computer.

Outlook: Click File in the top menu, click Open & Export, click Import/Export, select "Export to a file", click Next, choose "Comma Separated Values" or "vCard", select your Contacts folder, choose where to save it, and click Finish.

How to import the merged file

iPhone: Email the merged .vcf file to yourself, open the email on your iPhone, tap the attachment, and tap "Add All Contacts" when prompted.

Android: Copy the merged .vcf file to your phone (via USB, email, or cloud storage), open the Contacts app, tap the three-line menu, tap Settings, tap Import, select the .vcf file, and tap Import.

Gmail: Go to contacts.google.com, click Import on the left sidebar, click "Select file", choose your merged .vcf file, and click Import.

Outlook: Click File, click Open & Export, click Import/Export, select "Import from another program or file", choose vCard, browse to your merged file, and click Finish.

Will duplicate contacts be removed?

The tool merges files but doesn't automatically remove duplicates. If the same contact (like "John Smith" with the same phone number) appears in both files, both copies will appear in the merged output.

You can enable the "Remove Duplicates" option in the tool settings before merging, which will try to detect and remove exact duplicates based on name and phone number. But it won't catch slight variations like "John Smith" vs "John A. Smith".

To remove duplicates after importing, use your phone's built-in "merge duplicates" feature. On iPhone, go to Contacts app, and it will automatically suggest merging duplicates. On Android, open Contacts, tap the three-line menu, tap "Fix & manage", then tap "Merge duplicates".

Gmail also has a "Find & merge duplicates" option in contacts.google.com under the "Merge & fix" section on the left sidebar.