Compress PDF

Shrink file size by re-encoding page images.

Select a PDF to compress

Click to choose, or drop a file here

About compressing a PDF

Compression shrinks a PDF mainly by re-encoding the images inside it at a lower resolution and quality, and by cleaning up redundant data. It helps most with scanned documents and image-heavy exports, which are usually the reason a file is too big to email or upload.

You choose a compression level and the work is done in your browser — pages are re-rendered, images are down-sampled, and a smaller file is produced for download. Text-only PDFs are already compact, so expect a modest reduction there; a 40–70% cut is common on scans and presentations. The original is never uploaded, and you can preview the result before saving it.

How to Compress PDF

1
Open the tool
Open the Compress PDF tool and drop your file onto the page, or click to browse for it. Everything runs in your browser — the file is never uploaded.
2
Choose a compression level
Pick low, medium or high depending on how much you need to shrink the file.
3
Download the smaller PDF
Click Compress and download the reduced-size file.

Related PDF tools

Compress to Target SizeShrink a PDF down until it fits under a size you choose — for email or upload limits.Compress PDF to 1MBShrink a PDF down to under 1 MB — a good default for email and most upload limits.Compress PDF to 200KBShrink a PDF down to under 200 KB.Compress Resume PDFShrink a résumé PDF to fit job portal and applicant tracking system upload limits.

Compress PDF — frequently asked questions

Why did my file's text become blurry after compressing?+

Compression re-renders each page as an image and re-encodes it — it trades sharpness for file size, which is most noticeable on small text at the 'High' setting. Try 'Low' or 'Medium' first.

Will compression remove hyperlinks or form fields?+

Yes — because the page is flattened to an image, interactive elements like links and form fields won't survive compression.

Is this the same as a 'PDF size reducer'?+

Yes — compressing a PDF and reducing its file size are the same operation. This tool re-encodes the page images at your chosen quality level to shrink the total size.

Do you upload my files to a server?+

No — every tool here processes your files entirely on your device, and nothing is uploaded to a server. The only exception is the AI tools, which send the extracted text (not the file) to Claude to do their work.

Is there a file size limit?+

There's no artificial limit we impose, but since processing happens in your browser, very large files (500+ MB or 1,000+ pages) are limited by your device's memory rather than by us.