Compress PDF
Get a PDF under an email or upload limit. Strong compression turns each page into a compressed image, which shrinks scans and photo-heavy files dramatically; lossless compression tidies the file up and keeps its text.
How to compress a PDF
- 1Choose the PDF.
- 2Pick strong or lossless compression and, for strong, the quality.
- 3Click “Compress PDF” and download the smaller file.
Strong or lossless
Strong compression redraws every page as a JPEG at the quality you choose. It works best on scans and photos, but the text is no longer selectable or searchable. Lossless compression keeps everything as it is and only removes unused data and packs the file more tightly.
Picking a quality
“Balanced” suits most documents. “Smallest” is fine for reading on a screen; “Sharper” keeps small print legible when the PDF will be printed.
Never bigger
Some PDFs are already as small as they can get. If compressing would make the file bigger, you get the original back and the tool tells you so.
Frequently asked questions
- Is it free?
- Yes. There's no signup, no watermark and no limit on the number of files.
- Are my PDFs uploaded?
- No. The PDF is processed in your browser, on your own device, and never leaves it.
- Why did my PDF barely get smaller?
- Text-only PDFs are already compact. Strong compression helps most with scans and images; for text files, lossless is the better choice.
- Can I still select the text?
- With lossless compression, yes. With strong compression, pages become images, so text can't be selected or searched.