Compress PDF
Shrink your PDF on your own device — pick a strength, nothing is uploaded.
Your files never leave your device
Drop files here
or click to choose files
How it works
This tool reduces the size of a PDF by re-rendering each page as an efficiently compressed image, entirely on your device. Pick one of three strengths — Strong for the smallest file, Balanced for everyday use, Light for near-original quality — and the compressed PDF downloads immediately, with a before/after size comparison so you can judge the result. If your file is already optimized, the tool says so honestly instead of handing you a bigger file.
It works best on the files that are usually the problem: scanned documents, photographed pages and image-heavy reports, which routinely shrink by 50–90%. Because every page becomes an image, text in the compressed copy is no longer selectable and links, bookmarks and form fields are removed — a fair trade when the goal is squeezing a 40 MB scan under a 10 MB email or portal limit. If you need to keep text selectable, keep the original alongside the compressed copy.
And like every tool on this site, compression happens in your browser: the file is never uploaded, so there is no size cap on what you can process, no queue, no watermark and no account. Compressing a confidential contract or medical scan is as private as opening it in a desktop app — you can verify in your browser's network tab that nothing leaves your device.
Frequently asked questions
How much smaller will my PDF get?
Scanned or image-heavy PDFs typically shrink by 50–90% depending on the strength you choose. PDFs that are mostly text and already optimized may not shrink at all — the tool shows you the before/after sizes and tells you if compression isn't worth it.
Will the compressed PDF look different?
Pages keep their exact dimensions and layout. On Strong you may notice slight softness in fine text; Balanced is visually close to the original for most documents; Light is nearly indistinguishable.
Why can't I select text in the compressed PDF?
Compression works by re-rendering each page as an image, so text, links, bookmarks and form fields become part of the picture. Keep your original file if you need those — this tool never modifies it.