Compress PDF
Reduce the file size of a PDF, ideal for scanned and image-heavy documents.
How to use the Compress PDF
Step 1 — Pick a level
- Light for the best quality with modest savings.
- Balanced for a good size-to-quality trade-off.
- Strong for the smallest possible file.
Step 2 — Upload
- Drag your PDF onto the upload area or browse to it.
- This tool is most effective on scanned or image-heavy PDFs.
Step 3 — Compress
- Press Process; each page is rebuilt as an optimised image on the server.
- The result shows how much smaller the file became.
Step 4 — Download
- Download the compressed PDF.
- If it could not be made smaller, your original is returned unchanged.
- Files are deleted within an hour.
Frequently asked questions
It depends heavily on the content. Scanned or image-heavy PDFs often shrink dramatically; PDFs that are already optimised or mostly text may shrink little or not at all.
No. This method rebuilds each page as an optimised image, which reduces size effectively but means text is no longer selectable. For text-only PDFs that you need to keep searchable, compression is usually unnecessary.
Light keeps the best quality, Balanced suits most documents, and Strong gives the smallest file. Start with Balanced and go Strong only if you need a smaller result.
If compression would not actually reduce the size, the tool keeps your original rather than producing a larger or lower-quality file, and tells you so.
No. Remove any password first, as encrypted files cannot be processed.
About the Compress PDF tool
This tool reduces the size of a PDF so it is easier to email, upload, or store. It works by rebuilding each page as an optimised image at a resolution and quality you choose, which is especially effective for the kinds of PDFs that are usually too big: scans and image-heavy documents.
How this compression works, and its honest trade-off
There are two broad ways to shrink a PDF. One re-compresses the internal data streams while keeping text as text; the other rasterises each page into an optimised image. This tool uses the second method. The benefit is strong, reliable size reduction for scanned and graphic-heavy files. The trade-off is that text becomes part of an image, so it is no longer selectable or searchable in the result. We are upfront about this because it matters: if you have a text document that you need to stay searchable, compression is usually the wrong tool, and the file is probably already small.
When compression helps most
The biggest wins come from PDFs built out of photographs or scanned pages — a scanned contract, a brochure full of images, a photo report. These often carry far more image data than they need for on-screen viewing, and reducing the resolution and image quality can cut the size substantially with little visible difference. A PDF that is mostly typed text, by contrast, is already compact and has little to gain.
Choosing a level
Light keeps quality high and trims modestly. Balanced lowers resolution and image quality for a good middle ground that suits most documents. Strong pushes hardest for the smallest file, suitable when size matters more than fine detail. If the tool finds it cannot actually make your file smaller, it returns your original unchanged rather than handing back something larger or needlessly degraded.
Limits and privacy
PDFs up to 50 MB are accepted. Password-protected files must be unlocked first. Your file is uploaded securely, processed, and offered for download, then deleted within an hour. To reduce page count instead of size, use Split PDF; to turn pages into standalone images, use PDF to JPG.