Is my file uploaded to a server?

No. All processing happens inside your browser.

Can the file get bigger instead of smaller?

An already well-compressed text PDF can grow when rasterized to images. If that happens, use 'Low' strength or keep the original.

How much smaller will it get?

Photo- and scan-heavy documents shrink a lot; text-only optimized files change little.

Worried about quality loss?

Try the light setting first and compare with the original — the source file stays unchanged.

🗜️ Compress PDF

Reduce the file size of your PDF.

Drop your PDF file here

Click or drag a file

🔒 Uploaded files are never sent to a server — processed entirely in your browser

How to compress PDF

Select the PDF file.
Choose a compression strength.
Press Compress PDF and a smaller file is saved.

Compression levels compared

Item	Details
Strong	Smallest size — noticeable quality loss; for email limits and uploads
Normal	Balanced default — suits most documents
Light	Quality first — smaller savings but preserves sharpness
Note	Already-optimized PDFs may shrink little at any level

💡 Why are PDFs so large?

Images are usually the main reason a PDF grows huge. Scanned or photo-heavy documents can hit tens of MB in just a few pages — but that also means there's a lot of room to compress.

📧 When to compress: Hitting an email limit (25MB), an upload cap, or a file that grew after merging — compression fixes it in one step.
⚖️ Quality vs. size trade-off: Stronger compression means smaller but blurrier. Use "Low" for print, "High" for screen viewing or archiving.
⚠️ No text selection after compressing: Pages become images, so copy/search stops working. Keep the original, and try "Low" first for text PDFs.

📌 Where is compressing a PDF useful?

Over an email attachment limit — shrink a file that's too big for a 25MB (or similar) limit.
Shrinking scanned documents — scan-heavy PDFs benefit the most from compression.
Cleaning up after a merge — bring a file that grew large from merging back down to a manageable size.
Saving storage space — shrink archived documents to free up cloud or disk space.

✨ How to compress without losing too much quality

Choose "Low" when print quality or readability matters, "High" when size is the priority.
A text-heavy PDF may barely shrink — or even grow — so keeping the original can sometimes be better.
Check the resulting size, and try a different strength again if it's not what you expected.

🔒 Can I still select or search text after compressing?

No. This tool reduces size by rasterizing each page into an image, so text selection, search and copying stop working afterward. If you need the text data, keep the original file alongside the compressed one.

📖 Guide: PDF File Size Not Shrinking? Causes and Fixes →

Frequently asked questions

Is my file uploaded to a server?: No. All processing happens inside your browser.
Can the file get bigger instead of smaller?: An already well-compressed text PDF can grow when rasterized to images. If that happens, use "Low" strength or keep the original.
How much smaller will it get?: Photo- and scan-heavy documents shrink a lot; text-only optimized files change little.
Worried about quality loss?: Try the light setting first and compare with the original — the source file stays unchanged.