Page Tools

Compress a PDF

Shrink a PDF's file size right in your browser. Nothing is uploaded — the PDF is optimized on your device, and you only get the smaller file (never a bigger one).

Drop a file here
or click to choose · stays on your device

100% private — files are converted in your browser and never uploaded.

How it works

Compress a PDF in 3 steps

1

Choose your PDF

Drop a PDF — it loads locally, with no upload.

2

Compress

The file is optimized in your browser; scanned and image-heavy PDFs shrink the most.

3

Download

Save the smaller PDF — the original is never modified.

Two strategies, the smaller one wins

The compressor tries two things and keeps whichever is smaller. First, a lossless rewrite: the file's internal objects are repacked into compressed object streams, which removes wasted space and duplicate structure without touching a single pixel or letter. Second, a raster pass: every page is rendered at about 144 dpi and stored as a JPEG at 70% quality.

If neither result is smaller than what you uploaded, you get your original file back unchanged — the tool never hands you a bigger file.

Know which one you got

The lossless rewrite keeps text selectable and searchable; it typically saves 5–40% on files produced by office software. The raster pass can shrink a scan or a photo-heavy document by 60–90%, but the result is a picture of each page: text can no longer be selected, and fine print may look softer.

Quick test after downloading: try to select text. If you can, the lossless path won. If you cannot and you need the text layer, keep the original and reduce the images before creating the PDF instead.

FAQ

Common questions

Which PDFs compress the most?

Scanned documents and image-heavy PDFs shrink the most, because their images are re-encoded at a smaller size. Text-only PDFs are already compact, so they're optimized losslessly and may only shrink a little.

Will it ever make my file bigger?

No. We compare the result to your original and only ever give you the smaller of the two — if it can't be reduced, you get your file back unchanged.

Are my files uploaded?

No. The conversion runs entirely in your browser using JavaScript — your file never leaves your device, so it's safe even for sensitive documents.

Is it free?

Yes — completely free, no signup, no watermark, and no daily limits.

Why did the file not get smaller?

It was already efficiently packed and rasterising it would have been larger, so the original was returned. Text-only PDFs from modern software are often already near their minimum size.

Will compression reduce the quality?

Only if the raster pass wins. Then pages are stored at 144 dpi JPEG, which reads fine on screen and in ordinary printing but is not archival quality.