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PDF Compressor

Make a PDF smaller, or fit it under a size limit like 1 MB or 200 KB, without changing its pages.

Runs in your browserNo sign-up required

Drag & drop a PDF, or click to chooseTap to choose a PDF

Honest About the Tradeoff

True PDF compression (recompressing embedded images without touching real text) needs deep, format-specific PDF internals this tool doesn't attempt. Instead, it uses a genuinely effective, widely-used client-side trick: rasterizing each page to a JPEG at your chosen quality and rebuilding the PDF from those images — excellent for shrinking scanned or image-heavy files, at the honest cost of losing selectable text.

How to Use This Tool

  1. 1Add your PDFYou see its size and page count straight away. Password-protected files ask for the password.
  2. 2Choose quality or a size limitPick Light, Recommended or Strong, or tell it the limit, such as "under 1 MB" for an upload form, and it finds the best quality that fits.
  3. 3CompressPages are processed one by one, with progress shown, so long documents work on phones too.
  4. 4Check and downloadCompare the old and new sizes. If it didn't get smaller, the tool says so instead of giving you a worse file.

Good to Know

  • Compression works by turning each page into a smaller image, which is ideal for scanned documents and photo-heavy PDFs. Text becomes part of the image, so it can't be selected or searched afterwards.
  • For PDFs that are mostly typed text, use "Lossless tidy-up" instead: it keeps the text and quality exactly, though savings are smaller.
  • Every page keeps its original size, so an A4 page stays A4 and prints exactly as before.
  • Black and white shrinks scanned forms and letters further and often makes faint scans easier to read.
  • If a limit can't be reached even at the smallest setting, the tool gives you the smallest version it could make and says so. Splitting the PDF helps.
  • Your PDF and password stay in your browser; nothing is uploaded.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I compress a PDF to under 1 MB (or 200 KB)?

Choose "Fit under a size", pick the limit or type your own, and press Compress. The tool tries settings from best quality down until the file fits, and tells you the final size.

Will my PDF text stay searchable?

Not with normal compression: pages become images, so the text can't be selected or searched. Use "Lossless tidy-up" to keep the text, or use normal compression for scans, where the text is already an image.

Which setting should I choose?

Recommended (about 110 dpi) keeps text clear on screen and in print while making scans much smaller. Light (about 144 dpi) is for fine detail; Strong (about 86 dpi) is for the smallest files, such as email limits.

Why didn't my PDF get smaller?

PDFs that are mostly text are already very compact; turning them into images makes them bigger. The tool detects this and won't give you the larger file. Try the lossless tidy-up instead.

Can I compress a password-protected PDF?

Yes. Enter the password when asked. It is used only in your browser to open the file, and the compressed copy has no password.

Is my document uploaded anywhere?

No. Opening, compressing and rebuilding all happen in your browser.