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Compress PDF

Reduce file size while keeping the document readable.

This tool runs entirely in your browser. Your file is never uploaded to our server.

What to expect from the outputMedium and Strong compression rasterise each page, which means text in the output is no longer selectable or searchable. Use Light if you need the text layer preserved, or run OCR PDF afterwards to put a searchable layer back.

About this tool

Get a PDF under an upload limit. Choose Light to strip metadata and unused objects without touching the page content, or one of the stronger levels to re-encode pages as optimised images.

How to use this tool

  1. Select the PDF you want to shrink.
  2. Pick a compression level — the tool shows the before and after size once it finishes.
  3. Download the smaller file.

How it works

Light rewrites the file structure: it removes metadata, unused objects and duplicate resources. Text stays selectable and quality is untouched, but the saving is modest (typically 5–20%).

Medium and Strong render each page and re-encode it as a JPEG at a reduced resolution and quality. This gives much larger savings and is ideal for scans and image-heavy files.

Frequently asked questions

How much smaller will my file get?
It depends entirely on what is inside. Scanned documents and photo-heavy PDFs often drop by 60–90% on the Strong setting. A text-only PDF is already efficient and may only shrink a little on Light.
Why did my text stop being selectable?
Medium and Strong convert pages to images to achieve the size reduction. Choose Light to keep the text layer, or run the OCR tool on the compressed file to make it searchable again.
Is quality lost permanently?
Only in the file you download — your original is untouched. If the result is too soft, run the original again at a lighter setting.