Compress a PDF and reduce its size
Shrink big PDFs for email and uploads. Photos are resized and re-encoded, the file is rebuilt, and text stays sharp and selectable.
- Processed on your device, never uploaded
- Free, no sign-up, no watermark
Compression works on the photos and scans inside your PDF. Text and drawings are kept exactly as they are.
Done
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About Compress PDF
Compress PDF shrinks your files for email and uploads. It re-encodes the photos and scans inside the PDF and rebuilds the file, while text and vector drawings are kept as they are, so text stays selectable. You can compress a PDF online free with no sign-up and no watermark, for files up to 500 MB.
It suits job seekers attaching a CV with photos, students uploading scanned assignments, or anyone hitting an upload limit. For example, a visa applicant whose scanned bank statements are too big for a portal can choose "To a size", enter 2 MB, and the tool tries several qualities to keep the result under that limit.
PDFs full of photos or scans often shrink by 50 to 90 percent. Mostly-text PDFs usually shrink less because they are already small. If the compressed file would end up bigger, you get the original back unchanged. Compression runs in your browser and your PDF is never uploaded.
How to use Compress PDF
- Click Choose file or drop your PDF on the page.
- Choose By level and pick Light (recommended), Strong or Extreme, or choose To a size and enter a target such as 2 MB.
- Optionally tick the boxes to remove hidden extras, convert photos to black and white, or remove metadata.
- Click Compress PDF.
- Check how much smaller the file got, then download it.
Any size you need
Four levels, or a target size such as “under 2 MB” for email, forms and portals.
Text stays sharp
Only photos and scans are re-encoded; text and vector drawings are never blurred.
Private by design
Compression happens in your browser; your PDF is never uploaded.
Never bigger
If a smaller version isn’t possible, you keep your original file.
Example
Input: a scanned 15-page application pack that is too large to upload.
You click: To a size, enter 2 MB, then Compress PDF.
Result: the tool keeps a version under 2 MB. If the file cannot get that small, you get the smallest version it could make.
Compress PDF: questions people ask
Is my file uploaded?
No. Compression runs in your browser.
Is there a file size limit?
Files up to 500 MB are supported. Very large files work better on a computer than on a phone.
Will my text get blurry?
No. Only images are re-encoded, and text stays selectable.
Can it make my PDF smaller than 2 MB?
Often, yes, using "To a size". Some files cannot get that small, and then you get the smallest version possible.
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