Compress PDF Files Online Free

Compress a PDF in your browser

PDF Compressor shrinks PDF files without sending them to a server. Drop a document onto the page, pick a compression level, and download a smaller PDF. Rendering and encoding happen locally with PDF.js and pdf-lib, so invoices, resumes, and scanned forms stay on your device.

How PDF compression works here

Large PDFs are usually heavy because of high-resolution images, scanned pages, or uncompressed object streams. This tool redraws each page, encodes it as a JPEG at the quality you choose, and writes a new PDF. Light mode keeps more detail. Balanced mode is the default for email and form uploads. Strong mode targets the smallest file when some softness is acceptable.

Text-only files that are already optimized may not get much smaller. Image-heavy scans and photo-rich reports usually drop the most. If the compressed file is not smaller, the original is already compact and you can keep it.

How to compress a PDF

Upload a PDF. Click the drop zone or drag in a file up to 25 MB.
Choose a level. Light, Balanced, or Strong. The choice is stored in the page URL so you can bookmark it.
Compress. Watch page-by-page progress. Compression can take a few seconds on long documents.
Download. Save the new file as your-name-compressed.pdf.

When to use each compression level

Light: keep charts and photos readable for printing or archival copies.
Balanced: everyday sharing, job applications, and most web upload limits.
Strong: squeeze scans for portals with tight size caps, such as 200 KB to 2 MB forms.

Need page dimensions instead of a smaller file? Use the PDF Size calculator. To check whether a PDF is digitally signed, open PDF Signature Checker. For photos that are not in a PDF yet, start with Image Compressor, then place the result in your document. You can also make a photo look like a scan with Scanned PDF Converter.

Privacy and limits

Files never leave this page. There is no upload, account, or watermark. Browser memory limits how large a PDF you can process, which is why the tool caps files at 25 MB. Password-protected PDFs cannot be opened until the password is removed. Raster compression replaces selectable text with page images, which is the usual tradeoff for shrinking scans in the browser.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is my PDF uploaded to a server?

No. Compression runs entirely in your browser. The file is not stored, emailed, or sent to our servers.

Will the compressed PDF still look sharp?

Light keeps the most detail. Balanced is readable for most documents. Strong can soften small text, which is expected when you need a much smaller file.

Why did my PDF get larger or stay the same size?

Some PDFs are already compressed, especially text-only files exported from Word or Google Docs. Re-encoding those pages as images can match or exceed the original size. Try Light first, or keep the original.

Can I compress a password-protected PDF?

Not while it is locked. Remove the password in the app that created the file, then compress the unlocked copy.

Does compression keep selectable text and links?

No. Pages are redrawn as images so file size can drop. Use this when size matters more than copying text, such as scanned forms and photo PDFs.

What is the maximum file size?

25 MB. Larger files can exhaust browser memory while each page is rendered. Split a long PDF first if you need to go beyond that limit.

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