Compress PDF
Make PDFs smaller, with two modes and honest tradeoffs. Stays on your device. Nothing is uploaded.
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or drop them here
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up to 20 files, 25.0 MB each
Stays on your device. Nothing is uploaded.
How to compress pdf
- Choose your PDF, or drop it on the page.
- Pick Light for a structural rebuild, or Strong for maximum shrinkage.
- For Strong, pick the page resolution and image quality.
- Press Compress and compare the before/after size on each file row.
Two modes, honestly explained
Light compression rebuilds the file's internal structure: objects are repacked into compressed streams, duplication is removed, and the document is rewritten cleanly. Text stays text, images keep their bytes, and the PDF still opens identically. Files bloated by many editing sessions, digital signature churn or repeated saves often shrink 10 to 40 percent this way. A PDF that is already efficient may not shrink at all.
Strong compression redraws every page as an image at the resolution you choose, then rebuilds the PDF from those images. This is where the big wins live: scans and image-heavy documents routinely shrink 60 to 90 percent, turning a 20 MB scan into a 2 MB email-sized file. The tradeoff is real and it is stated plainly on the tool: pages become images, so text is no longer selectable or searchable.
Neither mode ever hands you a file larger than the original. If the output comes out bigger, the tool returns your original untouched and the row says so, because a "compressed" file that grew would be a lie about your document.
Choosing strong-compression settings
150 DPI at quality 70 is the default and suits screens, email and most upload portals: a Letter page becomes 1275×1650 pixels, readable and modest in size. 96 DPI makes smaller files that are fine for on-screen reading but visibly soft when printed.
Image quality maps to the JPEG encoder: 70 keeps scans legible with mild softening; 85 is hard to distinguish from the original rendering; below 50, text edges fray. When a document is mostly text, prefer raising quality before lowering DPI.
Limits and honest notes
Strong mode flattens each page: no selectable text, no clickable links, no form fields, no bookmarks. Keep the original for anything you may need to search or edit later.
Password-protected documents are reported as errors. Up to 20 files and 25 MB each per run; everything runs in this tab.
Frequently asked questions
Which mode should I use?
Light first: it is safe for any document. If the result is still too large, Strong shrinks scans and image-heavy PDFs dramatically, at the cost of selectable text.
Why did Light compression barely shrink my PDF?
Light restructures the file but never touches image bytes. PDFs whose weight is in photos or scans need Strong mode.
Will Strong compression hurt print quality?
At 150 DPI and quality 70, ordinary documents print acceptably. For professional print, stay with Light or use 300 DPI source material.
Can text still be searched after Strong compression?
No. Pages become images, so there is no text layer left. That is the tradeoff for the large size reduction.
Is my document uploaded?
No. Compression runs entirely in your browser.
Private by design
Stays on your device. Nothing is uploaded. The conversion runs in your browser: open the Network tab while you convert and you will see that nothing is sent. No account, no watermark, no daily limit.