Compress a PDF
Shrink a PDF that is too big to email or upload. Pick a quality level, or aim straight at the 2 MB or 5 MB ceiling a portal is demanding.
How to compress a PDF
- Choose your PDF. Compression begins as soon as the file is read — there is nothing to click.
- Pick how hard to compress, or choose a size ceiling if a portal demands one, and it runs again.
- Check the before and after sizes, then save the smaller file.
About compressing PDFs
Nearly every oversized PDF is oversized for one reason: the images inside it. A scanner saves each page as a full-resolution photograph, so a ten-page scan can run to forty megabytes while a forty-page text document sits at two hundred kilobytes. Compression that is worth doing therefore means dealing with those images.
That is what this tool does. Every JPEG inside the document is decoded, scaled down and re-encoded, then written back into the file. Everything else is left exactly as it was, so text stays real text — selectable, searchable and sharp at any zoom. Tools that rasterise the whole page get smaller files by turning your document into a stack of pictures, which is why the text in their output can no longer be copied.
The flip side deserves saying plainly: if your PDF is mostly text, there is very little here to win, and this tool will tell you so rather than hand you a file that is one percent smaller. The big savings belong to scans, photographs and image-heavy brochures.
The size ceilings work differently from the quality levels. Rather than guessing, they compress, measure the result and try a stronger setting until the file actually fits, stopping at the first one that does — so the document is never degraded more than the limit requires.
Questions about compressing PDFs
How do I get a PDF under 2 MB?
Choose “Fit under 2 MB”. The tool compresses, checks the result and automatically tries a stronger setting until the file fits, then stops. That is usually what government, university and court upload portals are asking for.
Will the text still be selectable afterwards?
Yes. Only the embedded images are touched. Text, fonts and vector graphics are copied through untouched, so the document stays searchable and the text can still be copied.
Why did my PDF barely get smaller?
Because it is mostly text. A text PDF's size is fonts and content streams, and neither can be squeezed without rewriting what the page says. Compression only pays off on documents that carry photographs or scans.
How much smaller will my file get?
For a scanned document, usually between half and a tenth of its original size. For a text document with a logo on the front page, close to nothing. The exact before and after sizes are shown when it finishes.
Does compressing lose quality?
Yes, that is the trade: images are scaled down and re-encoded, so they lose detail. Light keeps the most, Strong keeps the least. The original on your disk is never modified, so you can always try a gentler setting.
Is my file uploaded to compress it?
No. The images are decoded and re-encoded by your own browser, and the new PDF is assembled on your device. This is exactly the kind of document — a scanned contract, a passport, a bank statement — that you should not be uploading anywhere.