How to compress a PDF
- Choose a compression level. “Recommended” suits most documents.
- Add your PDF. Each page is compressed in your browser, and a progress bar shows how far along it is.
- Compare the sizes and download the smaller file.
Best for scans and image-heavy PDFs
Phone scans, photographed receipts and PDFs full of pictures often contain far more image detail than you
need. Compressing them commonly cuts the size by 70–90%, which gets them under email limits (often 20–25 MB)
and upload limits for job, visa and government forms (often 1–5 MB).
Keep your original. The compressed PDF stores pages as images, so text can't be selected
or searched. Compress a copy for sending, and keep the original for your records.
Need to send only part of a document? Split the PDF first.
Frequently asked questions
How does this PDF compressor work?
It redraws every page as a compressed image at the resolution you choose and builds a new, smaller PDF from those images. This shrinks scanned documents and image-heavy PDFs dramatically, all inside your browser.
Will the text still be selectable?
No. Because pages are saved as images, text can't be selected, searched or copied in the compressed file. For scans that's usually no loss. For text documents you need to search, keep the original.
Which compression level should I choose?
“Recommended” keeps documents easy to read on screen and in print at a much smaller size. Choose “Strong” to get under strict upload limits, and “Light” when small text must stay crisp.
Why is my compressed file not smaller?
PDFs made mostly of text and vector graphics are already very compact, and turning them into images can make them bigger. In that case the tool tells you, and you should keep your original file.