Windows: Open Command Prompt, navigate to the folder with your VCF files, and run copy /b *.vcf merged.vcf. Mac/Linux: Open Terminal, navigate to the folder, and run cat *.vcf > merged.vcf. Both commands combine all VCF files in the folder into a single file called merged.vcf. The merged file can be imported into any contacts app, email client, or phone that supports the vCard format.
Introduction
When you export contacts from multiple sources (iCloud, Google, Outlook, Samsung), you end up with separate VCF files that are difficult to manage individually. Whether you need to combine VCF files from two phones, merge vCard files exported from different email accounts, or join VCF files from a team into a single address book, the process creates one file that is easier to import, share, and back up.
The process of merging VCF files is simpler than most people expect. A VCF file is plain text where each contact is wrapped in BEGIN:VCARD and END:VCARD tags. Combining multiple VCF files is essentially concatenating those text blocks into one file. You can do this with a single command on any operating system.
We have built VCF parsing tools at Univik since 2013 and process thousands of merge operations for users managing contact databases. This guide covers four methods to merge VCF files, from a one-line command on Windows or Mac to converter tools that also handle duplicates and version conflicts during the merge.
Before Merging: What to Check
Before combining your VCF files, verify two things to avoid problems with the merged output.
Pre-Merge Checklist
1. Back up your original files. Copy all VCF files to a separate folder before merging. If something goes wrong, you can start over from the originals. 2. Check vCard versions. Open one or two VCF files in a text editor and look at the VERSION line (VERSION:2.1, VERSION:3.0, or VERSION:4.0). Mixing versions in a single file can cause import problems on some devices. See the version conflicts section below for how to handle this.
4 Methods to Merge VCF Files
Method 1: Windows Command Prompt (Free, No Software Needed)
This is the fastest method on Windows. It uses the built-in copy command to concatenate all VCF files in a folder into one output file.
Move all VCF files into one folder. Create a new folder (for example, C:\Contacts) and copy all the VCF files you want to merge into it. Make sure only the files you want merged are in this folder.
Open Command Prompt. Press Win+R, type cmd, and press Enter. Navigate to the folder using the cd command: cd C:\Contacts
Run the merge command: copy /b *.vcf merged.vcf
The /b flag tells Windows to treat the files as binary, which preserves UTF-8 encoding and special characters. All VCF files in the folder are combined into a single file called merged.vcf.
Verify the output. Open merged.vcf in Notepad or any text editor. Each contact should start with BEGIN:VCARD and end with END:VCARD. If any contacts run together without proper line breaks between them, see the common problems section.
In our testing, this command merged 1,200 individual VCF files (exported from iCloud) into a single 1.8 MB file in under 2 seconds. The merged file imported correctly into Google Contacts, Outlook, and iPhone.
Method 2: Mac Terminal or Linux (Free, No Software Needed)
The Mac and Linux equivalent uses the cat command, which concatenates files just like the Windows copy command.
Open Terminal (Applications, Utilities, Terminal on Mac, or Ctrl+Alt+T on Linux). Navigate to the folder containing your VCF files: cd ~/Desktop/Contacts
Run the merge command: cat *.vcf > merged.vcf
This concatenates all .vcf files in the current directory into merged.vcf. The cat command preserves encoding and file structure automatically.
Verify the output. Open the file with open merged.vcf (Mac) or check the contact count with grep -c "BEGIN:VCARD" merged.vcf to confirm all contacts are present.
Quick Contact Count Check
After merging, run grep -c "BEGIN:VCARD" merged.vcf (Mac/Linux) or find /c "BEGIN:VCARD" merged.vcf (Windows) to count the number of contacts in the merged file. This number should equal the total contacts across all your original files.
Method 3: Online VCF Merger (No Installation, Any OS)
If you prefer not to use the command line, online VCF merger tools let you upload files and download a single merged VCF through your browser.
Go to an online VCF merger. Free options include The Web Vendor VCF Merger (thewebvendor.com) and Florian Chrometz’s VCF File Merger. Both process files locally in your browser without uploading contact data to a server.
Upload your VCF files. Drag and drop all files into the upload area, or click to browse and select them. Some tools also accept a ZIP archive containing multiple VCF files.
Download the merged file. The tool combines all uploaded files and provides a download link for the single merged VCF. Most online mergers do not remove duplicates, so you may need to handle those separately.
Method 4: VCF Converter Tool (Merge + Duplicates + Version Fix)
When you need more than simple concatenation, a dedicated VCF converter tool merges files while also removing duplicates, converting all contacts to a single vCard version, fixing encoding issues, and optionally exporting to other formats.
Load all VCF files. Use Add Files or Add Folder to load your contacts. The tool parses each file and displays all contacts in a preview panel with name, phone, and email columns.
Enable Merge and configure options. Select the Merge option, choose the output vCard version (3.0 is recommended for maximum compatibility), and enable duplicate detection if available. The tool identifies duplicates by matching name and email or name and phone combinations.
Export the merged file. Click Convert or Export. The output is a single VCF file with all contacts, normalized encoding, consistent version, and duplicates removed.
Method Comparison Table
| Criteria | CMD / Terminal | Online Tool | Converter Tool |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | Free | Paid (free trial) |
| Works on | Windows / Mac / Linux | Any OS (browser) | Windows (some Mac) |
| Handles 1,000+ files | Yes | Depends on browser | Yes |
| Removes duplicates | No | No | Yes |
| Fixes version conflicts | No | No | Yes |
| Fixes encoding issues | No | No | Yes |
| Preview before merge | No | No | Yes |
| Selective merge | No (all files in folder) | No (all uploaded) | Yes (choose contacts) |
For most people, the command line method (Method 1 or 2) is sufficient. It is free, instant, and handles thousands of files. Use the converter tool (Method 4) when you also need duplicate removal, version normalization, or selective merging.
Handling vCard Version Conflicts
If your VCF files come from different sources, they may use different vCard versions. An iCloud export creates vCard 3.0 files, a Samsung export creates vCard 2.1, and some newer apps export vCard 4.0. Merging files with mixed versions creates a single file where different contacts have different VERSION declarations.
When Mixed Versions Are Fine
Google Contacts, Outlook 2016 and later, and most Android phones handle mixed-version VCF files without issues. They parse each BEGIN:VCARD to END:VCARD block independently and read the VERSION line for each contact. If your target import platform is one of these, you can merge without converting versions first.
When You Need a Single Version
iCloud, some older Outlook versions, and Thunderbird may reject or partially parse VCF files with mixed versions. If you plan to import the merged file into these platforms, convert all contacts to a single version (3.0 is the safest choice) before or during the merge. Our VCF to vCard conversion guide covers version conversion in detail.
Dealing with Duplicate Contacts
Merging VCF files from multiple sources almost always creates duplicate contacts. If you exported contacts from both your phone and your email, the same person likely appears in both files.
The command line merge methods (Methods 1 and 2) do not detect or remove duplicates. They simply concatenate files. You have three options for handling duplicates after merging.
Remove duplicates in the import destination. After importing the merged VCF file, use the duplicate detection built into your contacts app. Google Contacts (Fix and Manage, Merge duplicates), iPhone (Contacts app, Duplicates Found banner), and Outlook (manual review) all offer some form of duplicate merging after import.
Remove duplicates before merging using a converter tool. A VCF converter with duplicate detection scans all loaded contacts and flags entries with matching names, emails, or phone numbers. You can review and remove duplicates before the merge, resulting in a clean output file.
Export to CSV, deduplicate in a spreadsheet, then convert back. If you prefer a manual approach, convert the merged VCF to CSV using our VCF to CSV guide, open the CSV in Excel or Google Sheets, sort by name or email, remove duplicate rows, then convert back to VCF.
Verifying the Merged File
After merging, take 60 seconds to verify the output before importing it anywhere.
Count contacts. Run grep -c "BEGIN:VCARD" merged.vcf (Mac/Linux) or find /c "BEGIN:VCARD" merged.vcf (Windows CMD). The number should match the total contacts from all your source files.
Spot-check structure. Open the file in a text editor and scroll through it. Verify that every BEGIN:VCARD has a matching END:VCARD, and that no two contacts are missing a line break between them. Some VCF files do not end with a newline character, which can cause the next contact’s BEGIN:VCARD to appear on the same line as the previous END:VCARD.
Test import. Import the merged file into Google Contacts (contacts.google.com, Import) or your phone’s Contacts app to confirm all contacts load correctly. If any contacts are missing or show errors, see our VCF import error troubleshooting guide.
Common Problems and Fixes
Contacts run together after merging (missing line breaks). Some VCF files do not end with a newline character. When concatenated, the END:VCARD of one contact and the BEGIN:VCARD of the next appear on the same line, which causes import tools to see them as one malformed contact. Fix this by adding a newline after each file during concatenation. On Mac/Linux, use: for f in *.vcf; do cat "$f"; echo; done > merged.vcf
Merged file has fewer contacts than expected. Check if some source files contain zero contacts (empty files) or have structural errors that prevent parsing. Also check for filename collisions: if two files have the same name, the copy command may overwrite one. Use the contact count verification command to compare expected vs actual totals.
Special characters garbled after merge. This typically happens when merging files with different encodings (some UTF-8, some Windows-1252). The merge itself does not change encoding, but the import tool may misinterpret mixed encodings. Convert all source files to UTF-8 before merging, or use a converter tool that normalizes encoding during the merge.
Import platform rejects the merged file. Some platforms are strict about version consistency (see version conflicts above). If the merged file contains a mix of vCard 2.1, 3.0, and 4.0 contacts, try importing into Google Contacts first (it handles mixed versions well), then export from Google as a single-version VCF for other platforms.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I merge multiple VCF files into one?
On Windows, open Command Prompt, navigate to the folder with your VCF files, and run copy /b *.vcf merged.vcf. On Mac or Linux, open Terminal and run cat *.vcf > merged.vcf. Both commands combine all VCF files into a single file.
Can I merge VCF files without any software?
Yes. The command line methods (Windows CMD or Mac Terminal) require no additional software. You can also open each VCF file in a text editor, copy the content, and paste it all into a single new file. Save the file with a .vcf extension.
Will merging VCF files create duplicates?
Yes, if the same contact exists in multiple source files. The merge process is simple concatenation and does not detect or remove duplicates. Handle duplicates after merging by using your contacts app’s built-in duplicate detection, or use a converter tool that removes duplicates during the merge.
Can I merge vCard 2.1 and 3.0 files together?
You can merge them into one file, and most modern platforms (Google Contacts, recent Outlook versions, Android) will handle the mixed versions correctly. However, iCloud and some older platforms may have issues. For maximum compatibility, convert all contacts to vCard 3.0 before or during the merge.
What is the opposite of merging VCF files?
Splitting. If you have a single VCF file with many contacts and need to break it into individual files (one contact per file), see our guide on splitting VCF files.
How do I merge VCF files on a phone?
Most phones do not have a built-in VCF merge function. The easiest approach is to email all VCF files to yourself, download them on a computer, merge with the command line or an online tool, then transfer the merged file back to your phone. On Android, you can also import each VCF file separately into Google Contacts, which effectively merges them into your account.
Conclusion
Last verified: February 2026. All methods tested on Windows 11, macOS Sonoma, and Ubuntu 24.04. Merged files verified for import into Google Contacts, iPhone (iOS 18), Outlook 2024, and Samsung Galaxy S24.
To merge VCF files into one, the command line method is the fastest and most reliable free option on any operating system. One command combines hundreds or thousands of files in seconds. For merges that also require duplicate removal, version normalization, or encoding fixes, a dedicated converter tool handles all of these during the merge process.
Three things to remember: back up your original files before merging (you cannot “unmerge” a concatenated file), verify the contact count after merging using the grep or find command, and handle duplicates separately because simple concatenation does not detect them.
