Compress a PDF

Make a PDF smaller in your browser and compare page one before you download. No sign-up, and your file stays on your device.

Drop a PDF, or click to choose

It is compressed on your device as soon as you choose it.

Need to write on the pages too? The PDF editor adds text, signatures and highlights.

How to compress a PDF

Drop your PDF onto the box, or click Choose file. It is compressed on your device straight away.
Choose Small, Balanced or High quality. The result updates as you switch, so you can compare sizes.
Drag the divider across the preview to compare page one of the original and the compressed file.
Check the sizes under the preview and select Download PDF. Your original file is not changed.

What makes a PDF smaller

In most heavy PDFs, the weight is photos: scans, product shots, pictures pasted in at full camera size. So the tool works on two things.

Photos
Photos larger than the level allows are scaled down, then saved again as JPEG at the level’s quality. A photo is only replaced when the new copy is clearly smaller. Photos in print colour spaces such as CMYK are left exactly as they are.
The file itself
The PDF’s internal objects are packed into compressed streams, everything that is already compressed is compressed again at the strongest setting, and resources no page uses are dropped. This part loses nothing.

Text, fonts and drawings are never turned into pictures, so they stay sharp and selectable at every level.

Why some PDFs barely shrink

A PDF that is mostly text is usually small already, and one that was saved by a careful program has little left to give. For those the saving can be a few percent. The result says so plainly, and if nothing made the file smaller you get no new download, because a copy that is the same size or bigger would not help you.

There is no setting for an exact size such as 100 KB. How small a file can go depends on what is in it, and promising a number the file cannot reach would mean ruining the photos to get there. Try Small first; if the file is still too big, removing pages you do not need with Extract PDF pages often does more.

Private by design

The whole job runs in this browser tab: the PDF engine reads your file from your disk, rewrites it and hands the smaller copy to your downloads. Your document is never uploaded or stored on a server, which matters for statements, contracts and ID scans.

Common questions

Is my PDF uploaded when I compress it?

No. It is compressed inside your browser; the file never leaves your device and is never stored on a server.

Which level should I pick?

Balanced suits email and most upload forms. Small gives the smallest file and is fine for reading on a screen. High quality keeps photos good enough to print and saves the least.

Can I compress a PDF to an exact size, like 100 KB?

No. The size a PDF can reach depends on what is in it, so the tool shows you the real result for each level instead of promising a number. If it is still too big, remove pages you do not need, or compress the photos before making the PDF.

Why did my PDF hardly get smaller?

It is probably mostly text, or it was already saved compactly. Those files have little to give. Scans and photo-heavy PDFs shrink the most.

Will the text get blurry?

No. Text, fonts and drawings are kept as they are at every level. Only photos are scaled and saved again, and the preview lets you check page one before you download.

Can I compress a password-protected PDF?

Yes, if you know its password. Enter it when asked; it is checked on your device. The compressed PDF has no password, so add one again with Protect PDF if you need it.

Do links, bookmarks and form fields survive?

Yes. Compression changes how photos and internal objects are stored, not the document's links, bookmarks or fields.

Is there a size limit?

No fixed limit. Everything runs on your device, so the practical ceiling is your device's memory. Very large files take longer on phones.