Compress
Compress PDF
Make a PDF small enough for email or an upload form. Pick a quality preset or type the maximum size you need, then compare the result before you download.
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PDFOne PDF up to 30 MB and 500 pages
What Compress PDF does
Most of the weight in a PDF is images. A scanned page is one large photograph, and a phone photo dropped into a document carries far more pixels than a screen or printer will show. Compress PDF resamples and re-encodes those images and tidies the file's internal structure. Text is small already, so the standard presets leave it alone.
Reduce file size offers four presets: Recommended, Higher quality, Smaller file and Lossless. Each one says what it changes, and after you compress, the result shows the size it really produced for your document. Meet a size limit lets you type a maximum in KB or MB instead.
Compression runs on our server. Choosing a file does not send it anywhere: your PDF is uploaded when you select Compress PDF, and the temporary working copy is deleted when each job finishes. You never get back a bigger file: if a setting cannot shrink the PDF, you are offered your original.
Is this the right tool?
Good for
- Getting a scanned form or contract under a 1 MB, 2 MB or 5 MB upload limit.
- Shrinking a photo-heavy report or portfolio for email.
- Tidying a PDF with Lossless when image quality cannot change at all.
Not the right tool for
- Text-only PDFs that are already a few hundred KB. There is little left to remove; send the file in parts instead.Split PDF
- Digitally signed PDFs. Compressing rewrites the file, which would break the signature, so signed files are declined.Guide: visible and certificate-based signatures
- Shrinking individual JPG, PNG or WebP photos.Compress Image
How to compress a PDF
Add your PDF
Select a PDF up to 30 MB and 500 pages. It stays on your device while you choose a setting.
Choose a mode
Reduce file size suits most jobs. Meet a size limit is for a form or inbox with a hard maximum: type the number under Maximum file size and choose KB or MB.
Compress and compare
Select Compress PDF. The preview switches between the original, the compressed file, or both. Zoom in on small print and photos.
Download
The result card shows the original size, the new size and the percentage saved. Select Download PDF, or pick a preset under Try another setting to run that one and see its size.
Worked example
A scanned contract for a 2 MB upload form
Say you have a 14-page contract scanned in color, the file is 11 MB, and the portal you must submit it to accepts 2 MB at most.
Add the file and switch to Meet a size limit. Enter 2 and choose MB. Leave Preserve searchable text and document features off: a plain scan has no real text to protect, and letting the pages be re-imaged gives the tool the most room to work.
The result card says whether the limit was met and shows the exact size. Read the smallest print in the side-by-side preview, such as a handwritten date. If it is legible, download; if not, try a slightly higher limit.
Tips for a better result
- If a portal says under 1 MB, aim for 950 KB. The tool counts 1 MB as exactly 1,000,000 bytes, and some sites measure differently.
- Try Recommended first. Smaller file may turn pages into images, which removes selectable text and working links. Each new setting you try is one more upload of the same PDF.
- Remove pages you do not need before compressing. Ten fewer scanned pages saves more than any quality setting.
Compress PDF: questions and answers
Why is my PDF so large in the first place?
Almost always because of images. A scanner set to color at 300 dpi produces a lot of data for every page, and pasted photos keep their full camera resolution even when they are shown small.
Why did my PDF barely get smaller?
Either it has already been compressed once, or it is mostly text and line drawings, which are compact to begin with. Try Smaller file, or send the document in parts.
Will the text still be searchable after compression?
With Recommended, Higher quality and Lossless, yes: text, links and form fields are kept. Smaller file and Meet a size limit may convert pages to images to reach the size. The result screen tells you when that happened, and Preserve searchable text and document features prevents it.
What happens if the PDF cannot be compressed to the size I asked for?
You are offered the smallest valid result the tool could produce, labeled as above your limit, with its exact size. Download that, raise the limit, or turn off the option to preserve text.