How do I put two pictures side by side?

Drop both into a collage tool and choose one row with two columns. Each picture gets its own cell, and you choose whether the pictures fill their cells, which crops them to match, or fit inside them, which shows each one whole with a little padding. For a tall layout, use two rows and one column instead.

How do I put one picture on top of another?

Use an overlay tool. Add the background picture first, since it sets the size of the finished image, then add the second picture. Drag it where you want it, drag a corner to resize it, and download. Pictures on top keep their proportions as you resize them.

How do I blend two photos together?

Put one on top of the other and lower its opacity, so the picture beneath shows through. That gives an even see-through blend, which works well for a faded texture, a subtle watermark or a simple double exposure. The gradual, uneven blends you see in polished double exposures use blend modes and soft masks from a full image editor, which a simple opacity setting cannot reproduce.

Why is there a white box around my logo after merging?

Because the logo's background is not transparent. Either the file itself has a white background, or it was saved as a JPG, which cannot store transparency and fills it with white. Make the background transparent first, keep the logo as a PNG, and save the merged image as a PNG too.

Can I merge photos without losing quality?

Yes, as long as you avoid two things. Do not enlarge a picture beyond its original size, because there are no extra pixels to fill the space and it goes soft. And save the result as a PNG if quality matters more than file size, since PNG is lossless and JPG is not.

Can I merge photos on my phone?

Yes. Both tools run in your phone's browser, so there is no app to install, and photos straight off an iPhone work as they are, including the HEIC format iPhones use by default. Nothing is uploaded.

How to merge two photos into one

Merging two photos means either putting them side by side or putting one on top of the other. Those are different jobs that need different tools, and knowing which one you want is most of the work.

By Free Image Lab · September 15, 2026

The short answer

Ask what the finished picture should look like, because “merge” covers two very different results.

Side by side: Both pictures stay whole and sit next to each other, like a before and after or a product shown from two angles. This is a collage, and Combine Images makes one.
One on top of the other: One picture sits over or inside the other, like a logo on a photo, a small photo inset into a corner, or a product placed onto a new background. This is an overlay, and Overlay Images makes one.

Both run entirely in your browser, so the photos are never uploaded anywhere.

Putting two photos side by side

Use this when both pictures matter equally and the point is to see them together: a before and after, two options to choose between, a set of screenshots, or one product from several angles.

Drop both photos into Combine Images.
Pick the layout. One row and two columns puts them next to each other; two rows and one column stacks them, which suits phone screens better.
Choose how each picture fits its cell, set a gap if you want one, and download.

The fit choice is the one decision that matters, because two photos of different shapes cannot both fill identical cells without something giving way.

Fill the cell: Crops each picture so its cell is completely covered. The result looks tidy, and it is the right choice when both photos are roughly the same shape, since very little is cut.
Fit inside: Shows each picture whole and pads the leftover space. Choose this when nothing can be cut, such as a screenshot or a document.
Stretch: Forces each picture to the cell’s shape by distorting it. Almost never what you want with anything that has a person in it.

Before and after photos only work if they match

A before and after reads instantly when both shots have the same framing, and not at all when they do not. Crop both to the same shape and size before combining them, and add labels so nobody has to guess which is which.

Putting one photo on top of another

Use this when one picture is the setting and the other is placed into it: a logo on a photo, a picture inset in the corner of another, a product dropped onto a lifestyle shot.

Open Overlay Images and add the background picture first. Its size becomes the size of the finished image, so start with the bigger or more important of the two.
Add the second picture. It arrives centered and smaller than the background, so it never covers everything by accident.
Drag it into place and drag a corner to resize it. It keeps its proportions, so faces and logos never get squashed.
Add more pictures if you need them. Each one is a layer, and you can reorder them to decide what sits in front.

Fading one photo into the other

Lower the opacity of the picture on top and the one beneath starts to show through. At 100% it is solid; at 50% the two are mixed evenly.

A watermark at around 30 to 50% stays visible without hiding the photo.
A texture, such as paper, grain or a pattern, laid over a photo at a low opacity.
A simple double exposure, with a portrait and a landscape blended evenly.
Comparing two versions of the same picture: line them up exactly and fade the top one in and out.

It is worth knowing the limit. Opacity makes a whole picture evenly see-through. The polished double exposures you see online fade gradually from one area to another and use blend modes that brighten or darken the mix, which takes a full image editor. Even opacity is a good simple version, not the same effect.

Merging a picture with a transparent background

For a logo or a product to sit on another photo without a box around it, its background has to be transparent. That is a property of the file, not something the overlay can add, and only some formats can hold it: PNG and WebP can, JPG cannot.

If the logo or product is on a plain white background, Remove White Background makes the white transparent, and you can send the result straight into the overlay. Removing the background from a person, or from anything not on plain white, is a harder problem that needs a tool which recognizes the subject; removing white alone will not do it.

Once a transparent picture is on the canvas, clicking its clear areas selects whatever is behind it rather than the transparent picture on top, which is what makes several layered cut-outs manageable.

Keeping the result sharp

Do not enlarge past the original size: A small logo stretched across a large photo has no extra detail to fill the space, so it goes soft. Start from the largest version of each picture you have.
Choose the format for what is in the picture: PNG keeps transparency and crisp edges and loses nothing. JPG is far smaller and fine for photos with no transparent areas. If you moved or shrank the background in an overlay, part of the canvas is uncovered, and a JPG will fill it with white. There is more on the choice in PNG vs JPG.
Watch the size of a side-by-side: Two phone photos next to each other would make a picture over 8,000 pixels wide, so Combine Images keeps the finished grid within 4,000. That is still far more than a web page or an email needs, so resize it afterward with the image resizer if that is where it is going.

Frequently asked questions

How do I put two pictures side by side?: Drop both into a collage tool and choose one row with two columns. Each picture gets its own cell, and you choose whether the pictures fill their cells, which crops them to match, or fit inside them, which shows each one whole with a little padding. For a tall layout, use two rows and one column instead.
How do I put one picture on top of another?: Use an overlay tool. Add the background picture first, since it sets the size of the finished image, then add the second picture. Drag it where you want it, drag a corner to resize it, and download. Pictures on top keep their proportions as you resize them.
How do I blend two photos together?: Put one on top of the other and lower its opacity, so the picture beneath shows through. That gives an even see-through blend, which works well for a faded texture, a subtle watermark or a simple double exposure. The gradual, uneven blends you see in polished double exposures use blend modes and soft masks from a full image editor, which a simple opacity setting cannot reproduce.
Why is there a white box around my logo after merging?: Because the logo's background is not transparent. Either the file itself has a white background, or it was saved as a JPG, which cannot store transparency and fills it with white. Make the background transparent first, keep the logo as a PNG, and save the merged image as a PNG too.
Can I merge photos without losing quality?: Yes, as long as you avoid two things. Do not enlarge a picture beyond its original size, because there are no extra pixels to fill the space and it goes soft. And save the result as a PNG if quality matters more than file size, since PNG is lossless and JPG is not.
Can I merge photos on my phone?: Yes. Both tools run in your phone's browser, so there is no app to install, and photos straight off an iPhone work as they are, including the HEIC format iPhones use by default. Nothing is uploaded.

Tools for this

Free, and everything runs in your browser.

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