Compress a PDF
Too big to email or upload? Shrink it here — pick a compression level, or name a target size and let it find the settings. Nothing is uploaded; your browser does all the work.
Your document never leaves your device
Balanced renders pages at 110 DPI, which reads well on screen and prints acceptably.
The tool tries progressively stronger settings until the file fits.
Compressed size
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Open the downloaded file and confirm every page is readable at the size you need. Keep your original — compression is not reversible.
How this compressor works
Each page is rendered to a bitmap at a chosen resolution, re-encoded as a JPEG, and placed into a fresh PDF at the original page dimensions. That is a blunt instrument compared with what a desktop tool can do, but in a browser it is also the technique that actually delivers large reductions — particularly on scanned documents, where the bulk of the file is a needlessly high-resolution image of a piece of paper.
Because pages become images, text stops being selectable and searchable, and any form fields, links or bookmarks are lost. For submitting a scan or emailing a read-only document that is fine. For a contract someone needs to search, or a form someone needs to fill in, keep the original.
What compresses well
- Scanned documents and photographed pages — often 80–95% smaller, because phone cameras produce far more resolution than a document needs.
- Image-heavy reports and brochures — usually substantial savings.
- Text PDFs exported from Word or LaTeX — already compact; rasterising these can even make them larger. The tool will tell you if that happens.
Choosing a level
| Level | Render resolution | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Strong | 72 DPI | Screen viewing, email attachments, tight upload limits |
| Balanced | 110 DPI | Most uses — readable on screen, acceptable printed |
| Light | 150 DPI | Documents you intend to print properly |
Frequently asked questions
Why did my PDF get bigger?
Because it was already efficient. A text-only PDF stores letters as compact instructions; turning each page into a photograph of those letters takes more bytes. If that happens the tool tells you and you should keep the original.
Can it compress without turning text into images?
Not meaningfully. Lossless re-saving of a PDF's internal structure typically saves a few percent, which is rarely what someone facing a 2MB upload limit needs. Rather than offer a setting that looks useful and is not, this tool does the thing that works and is explicit about the cost.
How long does a large document take?
Roughly a fraction of a second per page on a laptop, longer on a phone and longer again in target-size mode, which may render the document more than once while it searches. Progress is shown as it goes.
Are password-protected PDFs supported?
No. Remove the password in your PDF reader first, then compress the unprotected copy.