Compress PDF
Make a PDF smaller. Choose one of three ways, from keeping the text exactly as it is to squeezing a scan as small as it goes.
🔒 Runs in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.
Drop PDFs here or click to choose
Several at once is fine.
How to use it
- Drop a PDF here or click to pick one. Several at once is fine.
- Choose how to shrink it. If you are not sure, leave it on Keep the text sharp.
- Press the button to download the smaller PDF. Several files come back as one zip.
The three ways
- Keep the text sharp: nothing on the page is re-drawn; only the way the file is packed changes. Text stays selectable and searchable, links keep working and pictures keep their quality. The tool tries it the moment your file lands and shows the real result.
- Shrink the pictures, keep the text: only the pictures inside are saved again, at the resolution and quality you choose, and in gray if you like. The text stays selectable. Best for scans and photo-heavy documents.
- Squeeze scans hard: every page is re-drawn as a picture, which saves the most. The text can no longer be selected or searched. A preview squeezes one real page and estimates the whole file.
Good to know
- Most of a PDF's weight is its pictures. A text-only PDF is already small and barely shrinks; when there is nothing to save, the tool says so.
- A scanned PDF holds pictures of words, not words. That is why the methods that shrink pictures shrink it so much.
- The first two ways can also take out parts you may not need in the copy you send, such as metadata, attached files and bookmarks.
- A locked PDF is compressed once you type its password.
Frequently asked questions
Which of the three ways should I pick?
For a report or any text-heavy document, try “Keep the text sharp” first. For scans and photo-heavy files, “Shrink the pictures, keep the text” saves a lot and keeps the text. If you do not need to select the text and want the smallest file, use “Squeeze scans hard”.
Why did my file not get smaller?
A PDF made by a modern program is often packed as tightly as it can be already. Instead of handing you a bigger file, the tool tells you there is no saving. If the pages are scans or photos, try one of the other two ways.
Why is my compressed PDF larger than the original?
Re-drawing a text-heavy document as pictures with “Squeeze scans hard” can make it bigger. When that is likely, the page tells you before you download, so you can switch methods or lower the quality.
What quality level should I choose?
Photo quality is set between 30 and 95% in “Shrink the pictures, keep the text” and “Squeeze scans hard”, and starts at 70%. Around 60 to 70% suits scanned documents; 80 to 90% keeps photos crisp. The preview shrinks a real page again each time you change it.
Can I compress several PDFs at once?
Yes. Every file gets the same settings and they come back as one zip. Only the first file can be asked for a password, so compress a locked PDF further down the list on its own.