Compress PDF

Compress PDF in seconds, right in your browser. Make a PDF smaller while keeping text sharp. Files never leave your device. No sign-up, no watermark.

or drop a file here

Files stay on your device. Nothing is uploaded.

How to compress your PDF

  1. 1

    Add your PDF.

  2. 2

    Choose a compression level or a target size.

  3. 3

    Click Compress and download the smaller PDF.

About Compress PDF

Compressing a PDF makes the file smaller so it fits email limits and upload forms. This PDF compressor (a PDF file compressor in the plain sense: it rewrites the file smaller) works on what makes PDFs heavy: large images. It re-encodes and resizes them, while text, fonts and vector graphics are left untouched, so documents stay sharp and searchable.

How much you can reduce PDF size depends on the content. Scans and photo-heavy files often shrink by 70–90%. A PDF that is mostly text is usually small already and will barely change.

  • Try Medium first; use Strong only if the file must be very small.
  • Grayscale saves a lot on scanned documents that don’t need colour.
  • If a target size is impossible without unreadable pages, split the PDF into two files.
  • Already-compressed files are returned unchanged rather than made bigger.

Settings explained

Level
Light keeps near-original quality, Medium is the best balance, Strong gives the smallest file.
Target size
We try stronger settings until the file fits the size you set.
What changes
Only images are recompressed. Text and vector graphics stay sharp and selectable.
Grayscale
Turning images grey saves more space, good for scans.

Private by design

Your file is processed by your own browser, in memory. It is never uploaded, stored or seen by anyone, and the page’s security policy blocks it from sending data to other servers.

Frequently asked questions

How do I reduce PDF size?

Add your PDF. Choose a compression level or a target size. Click Compress and download the smaller PDF.

How to compress a PDF?

Add the PDF, choose a compression level (or a target size), then click Compress PDF. The result shows the before and after size.

Will compression make my PDF blurry?

Text and vector graphics are never touched, so they stay sharp. Only images are recompressed. Light keeps images close to the original; Strong is visibly softer on photos.

Why didn’t my PDF get much smaller?

PDFs made from text (exported from Word, for example) contain few images, so there is little to compress. Large savings come from scans and photos.

How small does a PDF need to be for email?

Gmail and Yahoo accept attachments up to 25 MB, Outlook.com up to 20 MB. Staying under 10 MB is safest because some company mail servers set lower limits.

Is it safe to use with confidential documents?

Yes. The file is opened by your own browser and processed in your device’s memory. It is never uploaded, so no server, including ours, ever receives a copy. That makes it suitable for contracts, IDs, medical or bank documents.

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