Compress PDF
Reduce PDF file size — keep the quality you need.
Shrink heavy PDFs so they are easier to email and share. Standard mode cleans redundant structure while keeping all text selectable. Maximum mode rasterizes pages into compressed images for the smallest possible size — ideal for scans.
Your files are processed locally in your browser. Nothing is uploaded to a server, ever.
Tip
Drop your file here or click to browse. Everything is processed on this device — nothing is uploaded.
Quick answers
- What does this tool do?
- Reduce PDF file size — keep the quality you need. Shrink heavy PDFs so they are easier to email and share. Standard mode cleans redundant structure while keeping all text selectable.
- Is it free?
- Yes — free and unlimited, with no account required and no watermark on the result.
- What files are supported?
- PDF files, up to 100 MB each.
- Where is my file processed?
- Entirely in your browser. Your file never leaves your device — nothing is uploaded to a server.
- What are the limitations?
- Standard mode keeps selectable text; Maximum mode rasterizes pages to images, so text is no longer selectable. Image-heavy files shrink most; already-tight text PDFs may not shrink much.
- What happens if processing fails?
- You get a clear message explaining what went wrong and how to fix it (try another file, check the format, or start over). Your original file is never touched.
How to Compress PDF
- Upload the PDF you want to compress.
- Pick Standard (keeps selectable text) or Maximum (smallest size).
- Open Advanced options to tune JPEG quality and resolution for Maximum mode.
- Click "Process" and watch the progress bar.
- Compare the new size and download your compressed file.
Frequently asked questions
Common problems and fixes
- The compressed file is barely smaller
Why: the PDF is mostly text and vectors, which are already stored efficiently — the real weight is in images and scans.
Fix: choose the maximum (rasterize) mode for image-heavy files; text-only documents shrink the least by nature.
- Text looks blurry after compression
Why: rasterizing converts pages to images at the chosen resolution, so very low quality/DPI settings soften small text.
Fix: use Standard mode to keep text sharp and selectable, or raise the quality and DPI sliders and accept a larger file.
- A large file processes slowly
Why: files up to 100 MB are processed on your device, so your own CPU and memory do the work.
Fix: close heavy tabs, keep this tab in the foreground — or split the PDF first and compress the parts.
Who uses Compress PDF?
- People emailing documents — attachment limits on mail servers (commonly 10–25 MB) bounce anything bigger.
- Applicants and students — portals for jobs, tenders and university forms enforce strict upload size caps.
- Archivists of their own scans — keeping years of scanned paperwork at a fraction of the disk space.