Compress PDF online
Make your PDF smaller, for example to email it or to get under an upload limit. Photos and scans are shrunk; text stays sharp and selectable. You see exactly how much smaller each file gets, and you can compress several PDFs at once.
Drag your PDF files here
Several files allowed
How it works
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Choose your PDFs
Drop one or more PDF files in the box.
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Choose how much smaller
Light, Recommended or Strong. You see straight away how much smaller each file gets.
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Download
File by file, or everything at once as a ZIP.
What gets smaller?
Most of the weight of a PDF is in its pictures. The tool re-encodes photos and scans at a lower resolution, and only keeps a new version when it is really smaller. Text, fonts and vector graphics are left alone.
How much smaller?
- Light keeps the best quality (around 200 dpi).
- Recommended is a good balance for most documents (around 150 dpi).
- Strong gives the smallest file (around 100 dpi), good for screen reading.
Changing the level recompresses the files straight away.
When it can't get smaller
A PDF with only text, or one that was already compressed well, can't be shrunk much. Then you keep the original, and the tool tells you why.
Private by design
The PDFs are processed in your browser. They are not uploaded.
Frequently asked questions
Is the compress PDF free?
Yes. The compress PDF is completely free, with no account, sign-up or usage limit.
Does the text stay readable?
Yes. Only photos and scanned pages are made smaller. Text, fonts and lines stay exactly the same, and you can still select the text.
Why doesn't my PDF get smaller?
If there are no photos or scans in it, or if they are compressed strongly already, there is little to gain. You simply get your original file back.
Is my PDF uploaded?
No. The shrinking happens in your browser; your PDF doesn't leave your device.