Compress PDF
Compress PDF
Rebuilds each page as an optimised image to cut file size. Great for scans and image-heavy files; selectable text is not preserved.
This tool runs entirely in your browser. Your document is never uploaded.
Drop a PDF to compress
.PDF · up to 50 MB per file · single file
Files are processed in your browser and never uploaded.
How to compress a PDF
Reduce the size of a PDF so it is easier to email, upload to a portal or store, while keeping the pages readable.
- 1Upload the PDF you want to shrink.
- 2Pick a compression level: less compression, recommended, or strong.
- 3Compress the file and compare the before and after size.
- 4Download the smaller PDF.
Why use Compress PDF
- Get large scans under common 10 MB or 25 MB attachment limits.
- Three levels let you trade sharpness for size deliberately.
- Scanned and image-heavy documents typically shrink the most.
- Compression runs on your device, so nothing waits on an upload.
Privacy and how your file is handled
This tool runs in your browser using JavaScript and WebAssembly. The file you choose is read locally by the page and is not uploaded to PDFSolution servers.
Read more in our security overview and privacy policy.
Compress PDF — frequently asked questions
- How do I compress a PDF?
- Upload the document, choose a compression level and press Compress. You can see the resulting size before downloading.
- How much smaller will my PDF get?
- It depends entirely on the source. Photo-heavy scans often drop dramatically, while a short text-only PDF may barely change because there is little to optimise.
- Will compressing reduce quality?
- Yes, to some degree. This tool rebuilds pages as optimised images, so fine detail softens at stronger levels and text is no longer selectable. Start with Recommended and step up only if you need more.
- Can I compress a PDF on my phone?
- Yes. Compression happens in the mobile browser, so very large documents may take longer or run out of memory on older phones.
- Is there a file size limit?
- There is no hard server limit because nothing is uploaded, but your browser's available memory is the practical ceiling.
- Is my PDF uploaded to a server?
- No. Compression happens locally in the page you have open.
- Can I compress several PDFs?
- Compress them one at a time, or merge them first with Merge PDF and compress the combined document.
Related PDF tools
- Merge PDFCombine several PDFs into one document.
- Split PDFExtract pages or split a PDF into separate files.
- PDF to JPGRender PDF pages as JPG images.
- OCR PDFRecognise text in scanned documents.
- PDF to WordConvert PDF documents to editable Word files.
Browse the full PDF tools directory or read our PDF guides and how-tos.