How to compress a PDF
- Drop the PDF you want to make smaller.
- Pick a level — “Recommended” suits most documents.
- Click “Compress PDF”, check the new size and download the smaller file.
Frequently asked questions
Why did my PDF barely shrink?
Compression mostly works on photos and scanned pages. Text, fonts and vector drawings are already stored very compactly, so a PDF that is mainly text has little to gain. If we cannot make your file noticeably smaller, we tell you and offer the original instead of a bigger file.
Will the quality get worse?
Only images are changed. With “Recommended”, each image keeps about 150 DPI at the size it is shown on the page, which looks sharp on screen and in normal office printing. Text and vector graphics are not touched and stay selectable.
Which images are compressed?
JPEG photos and standard colour or greyscale images. Images with transparency, CMYK colours (common in print-ready files), palette colours or special formats are left exactly as they are. An image is only replaced when the new version is clearly smaller.
Is my PDF uploaded to a server?
No. The images are decoded and re-encoded by your own browser; the file never leaves your device. You can go offline after the page has loaded and it keeps working.
Are links, bookmarks and form fields kept?
Yes with “Recommended” and “Strong”: only image data is swapped, everything else stays. “Maximum” rebuilds every page as a picture, so links, bookmarks, forms and selectable text are lost.
Can I compress a password-protected PDF?
No. Encrypted PDFs cannot be opened here. Remove the password in your PDF reader first.