Compress PDF
Makes a PDF smaller by recompressing the images inside it, with size targets from 50 KB to 2 MB.
Runs in your browser. The file or text you give it is not uploaded. Free, no account.
How it works
Your PDF is too large to send, and you are not sure what is inside it. Most of the weight is usually images. This tool finds them, scales them down and re-encodes them, then shows the size before and after. Nothing leaves your browser.
- 1
Most of a large PDF is images. The standard mode finds each one, scales it down to a sensible resolution and re-encodes it. Text stays selectable and sharp.
- 2
The strong mode re-renders each page as an image, for scans and files the standard mode cannot shrink enough.
- 3
Choose a quality level or a target size. You see the size before and after, and nothing is uploaded.
What it does not do
In strong mode the text becomes part of the picture: it can no longer be selected or searched.
A PDF that is nearly all text is already small; there is little to remove.
If a target cannot be reached, you get the smallest result and are told the size.
When a source is busy or a site does not answer, this tool says so. It never fills the gap with a guess.
Questions
Why did compressing a PDF barely change the file size?
A PDF that is nearly all text is already small. Images are what take up space, and a text-only file has almost none, so there is little to remove and the tool says so. If you must go smaller, set a size target and tick the option to re-render the pages as images. Check the result first: the text stops being selectable.
Will the text still be selectable after compression?
Yes, at every compression level. The levels only change the images inside the file, so text stays text: sharp, selectable and searchable. The one exception is the option that appears with a size target, "re-render the pages as images". That turns each page into a picture, and the result page tells you when it was used.
Is my PDF uploaded to a server?
No. The file is read and rewritten inside your browser. That is why the size before and after appears immediately, and why you can use it without an account. Nothing is sent to a server, so nothing is stored there either.