Compress a PDF
Choose a PDF and press Compress PDF. The pictures inside are made lighter and the text is left as it is; you see the new size before you download.
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How it works
- Choose the PDF and a levelPick the file, then Print quality or Smallest file.
- Compress itPress Compress PDF. The page shows the new size and how much smaller it is.
- Download the smaller PDFPress Download. When nothing could be saved, the page says so instead of handing back the same file.
Save and continue on the desktop
Download or copy your result here first. Open the free desktop to save to Files or use more features.
- Merge, split, sign and compress PDFs
- Save to Files when you continue on the desktop
- Every tool in one place, no new tabs
After you download, continue on the desktop for Files or the full app.
What Compress PDF can do
What gets smaller
Photos and scanned pages are where a PDF’s weight is. Each large picture is saved again as a JPEG, at most 2000 pixels on its long side for Print quality and 1400 for Smallest file. Text, fonts, links, bookmarks and form fields are not touched, so the result still searches, copies and fills like the original. A brochure full of photos often loses most of its size; a report that is mostly text changes little.
Print quality or smallest file
Print quality keeps pictures sharp enough to print on A4. Smallest file goes further, for an upload limit or an email attachment, and photos lose fine detail you may notice when you zoom in. Switch and press Compress PDF again. The file stays chosen.
Scans with no text
A scanned document is a stack of pictures. When those pictures can’t be made lighter one by one, each page is saved again as a lighter image at the same page size, for up to 200 pages. Nothing is lost that was there: a scan had no text to select.
When there is nothing to shrink
If the result would not be at least 5% smaller, the page says so and offers no download. PDFs exported from slides or a text editor, and files already run through a compressor, usually land here. When Print quality finds nothing, Smallest file sometimes still does.
Related apps
Questions
Will the text still be selectable?
Yes. Only pictures are re-encoded; text stays text. The one exception is a scan with no text at all, whose pages become lighter images; it had nothing to select to begin with.
Is the download really free?
Yes. No account, no trial and no watermark of ours on the file: it is made in your browser, and you can save it as many times as you like.
How much smaller will my PDF get?
That depends on its pictures. Photo-heavy files often shrink by more than half; text-heavy ones by a few per cent or not at all, and then the page tells you instead of handing back the same file.
Is there a size limit?
Up to 100 MB on a computer and 50 MB on a phone. A long scan takes a while, so keep the tab open until the new size appears.
Is my PDF uploaded?
No. It is opened and compressed in this browser tab, and the file never leaves your device.