Compress PDF
Make a PDF smaller for email and upload forms. Photos and scans are re-encoded while text stays sharp and selectable. Runs in your browser, no upload.
Runs in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.
About the Compress PDF
Upload forms for jobs, visas, banks and universities often cap files at 1, 2 or 5 MB, and email services reject large attachments. Most oversized PDFs are big because of their pictures: scanned pages, phone photos and high-resolution images that were never meant for the screen.
This tool rebuilds the file in your browser. The lossless level only repacks its internal structure, so nothing changes visually. The Recommended and Strong levels also re-encode photos and scans as JPEG and scale down very large images, which is where the real savings are. Text, vector drawings and links are kept as they are, so the result stays crisp and searchable. If a PDF cannot be made smaller, you are told instead of being handed a larger file.
How to use the Compress PDF
- 1
Drop a PDF onto the page or choose one from your device.
- 2
Pick a level: Lossless changes nothing visible, Recommended suits most files, and Strong makes the smallest file with softer photos.
- 3
Press “Compress PDF”. The sizes before and after are shown.
- 4
Press “Download compressed PDF” to save it, or pick another level and compress again.
Examples
RecommendedRecommended: images over 2000 px scaled down, JPEG quality 72%StrongStrong: images over 1400 px scaled down, JPEG quality 50%LosslessLossless: streams recompressed and objects packed; images untouchedGood to know
- Savings depend on the file. PDFs that are mostly text are often small already and may shrink only a little.
- CMYK images, masked images and other unusual image types are left unchanged.
- Password-protected PDFs must be unlocked first.
- Up to 100 MB per file. Large scans need enough free memory and can take a minute.
Frequently asked questions
How small will my PDF get?
Scanned documents and PDFs full of photos often shrink by half or more on the Recommended level. Text-only PDFs usually shrink much less, because text is already compact.
Will the text still be selectable?
Yes. Only images are re-encoded. Text stays real text, so you can still search, select and copy it, and it prints sharply.
What if the compressed file is still too big?
Try the Strong level. If that is not enough, Split PDF can break the document into smaller parts, or Delete PDF Pages can remove pages you do not need to send.
Are my files uploaded?
No. Files are opened and processed in your browser, in a background thread. Nothing is uploaded, so the tool also works for confidential documents.
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