Compress a PDF
Reduce the size of a PDF by re-encoding its pages. Excellent for scans, and honest about what it costs.
- Runs in your browser
- Free, no signup
Drop a PDF here
or from your device
One file at a time. Scanned documents shrink the most. PDF files up to 100 MB each.
Your PDF is opened, edited and saved inside your browser. The file is never uploaded to our server.
This tool does one specific thing, and it is worth being clear about what that is before you use it. It renders each page and stores the result as a compressed image. That makes scanned documents dramatically smaller, because a scan is already a picture and a 300 dpi scan can lose a great deal of weight without anyone noticing.
It also means the text stops being text. After compressing, you cannot select it, search it, copy from it, or click a link in it, because those words are now pixels.
That is a real trade, not a technicality, so it is stated on the tool page as well as here. If a document needs its text to stay selectable, compress it elsewhere or keep the original. If it is a scan you are emailing, this is exactly the right tool.
How to use this tool
- Drop a scanned PDF onto the drop zone, or choose one from your device.
- Pick how hard to try. Light keeps the most detail, Balanced suits most scans, and Strong gives the smallest file with visible softening.
- Press Compress PDF. Each page is rendered, re-encoded and written into a new document.
- Check the reported saving. If the rebuilt file is not smaller than the original, the tool says so instead of handing you a worse file and calling it compressed.
Frequently asked questions
Why did my PDF barely shrink, or get bigger?
The tool says so when it happens. Documents that are mostly text are already compact; rebuilding them as images can cost more space than it saves, because the text you had was cheaper to store than a picture of it.
Will I lose the ability to select text?
Yes. That is unavoidable with this method, and it is the main reason to think before using it. The words become pixels: no selecting, no searching, no copying, and no working links.
Is this safe for confidential documents?
Yes, in the sense that nothing leaves your device. The pages are rendered by your own browser and the new file is built in the same tab.
Does it change my original file?
No. The original is only ever read. The compressed document is a new download with -compressed added to the name.