Compress PDF Files
Reduce the size of a PDF file in seconds. Compression runs entirely in your browser, so your document is never uploaded to a server.
This free PDF compressor makes your PDF file smaller without leaving your browser. Drop in a PDF, pick a compression level, and download a lighter file that fits under email attachment limits and upload caps. There is no signup, no watermark, and no "2 files per day" restriction.
Unlike most online PDF compressors, this tool never uploads your document. Bank statements, contracts, medical records, and scans are compressed locally on your own device, which also means there is no file size cap imposed by an upload limit.
How to reduce a PDF file size
- Select your PDF
Drag a PDF into the box above or click to browse. Scanned documents, reports, and presentations all work, with no page limit.
- Choose a compression level
Recommended gives the best balance of size and quality for most files. Extreme produces the smallest file, High quality keeps images crisper, and Lossless keeps selectable text.
- Compress the file
Click "Compress PDF". Every page is optimized on your device; a progress bar tracks longer documents.
- Download the smaller PDF
The compressed PDF downloads automatically, and the result shows exactly how much smaller it is, for example 12 MB down to 1.5 MB.
Choosing the right compression level
Different PDFs shrink differently, so the tool offers four levels:
- Recommended: shrinks the photos and scanned pages in the PDF to screen resolution. Scanned documents and image-heavy files typically shrink by 70–90%, ideal for emailing or uploading to portals.
- High quality: the same approach at a higher resolution. Files stay sharper when zooming or printing, with a more moderate size reduction.
- Extreme: the smallest possible file. Best when a portal enforces a hard size limit and readability on screen is all you need.
- Lossless: rewrites the PDF's internal structure without touching page content. The reduction is smaller, but text stays selectable and quality is completely untouched.
Text stays text. When a PDF contains real text (exported from Word, an accounting app, or your bank), only the images inside it are compressed, so the text stays sharp, selectable, and searchable at every level. Scanned PDFs are pictures of pages to begin with, and they are re-encoded as lighter pictures. Pages are only converted to images when a PDF's images use a format the tool cannot recompress on their own, or when a size target cannot be reached any other way. If a file barely shrinks even with Lossless, it was already well optimized.
Shrink the size of scanned PDFs by 80% or more
The usual culprit is scanned pages: a scanner saving at 300 DPI or more can easily produce 1–3 MB per page, so a 20-page contract becomes a 40 MB attachment. High-resolution photos, embedded fonts, and editing history add more weight. That is a problem the moment you hit Gmail's 25 MB attachment limit or a government portal's 2–10 MB upload cap.
Compressing the PDF re-encodes those oversized page images at a resolution matched to how documents are actually read, on a screen, which is why reductions of 80% or more are common for scans while the document stays perfectly legible.
Why use this converter?
Private by design
Conversion runs in your browser. Your files are never uploaded, stored, or seen by anyone.
Genuinely free
No daily task limits, premium tiers, or watermarks. Local conversion costs nothing to run.
Instant results
No upload and download queues. Files convert in about a second, even on slow connections.
Works everywhere
Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone, Android: any modern browser, no app or software install.
Frequently asked questions
How do I compress a PDF for free?
Drop your PDF into the tool above, choose a compression level or a target size, and click Compress PDF. The smaller file downloads automatically. Everything runs in your browser, so there is no signup, watermark, or daily limit.
Is my PDF uploaded to a server?
No. Compression happens locally in your browser using JavaScript. Your document never leaves your device, which makes this tool safe for bank statements, contracts, and other sensitive files.
Can I compress a PDF offline?
Partly. The page needs an internet connection to open and to load the compressor the first time you use it. After that, the work happens on your device: your PDF is never uploaded, and a slow or metered connection does not matter, because only the tool travels over the network, never your file. For compressing with no connection at all, you need desktop software.
Can I compress a PDF on my phone, Mac or laptop?
Yes. The tool runs in any modern browser, so it works on Android phones, iPhone and iPad, Mac, Windows laptops, and Chromebooks. There is no app to install: open this page, pick your PDF, and the compressed file is saved to your device. Very large files compress faster on a computer, because phones have less memory.
How much smaller will my PDF get?
It depends on the file. Scanned documents and image-heavy PDFs typically shrink by 70-90% at the Recommended level. Text-only PDFs are already compact, so the tool falls back to lossless optimization and the reduction is smaller.
Why is my PDF so big?
Almost always because of images. A scanner saving at 300 DPI or more produces 1-3 MB per page, and photos from a phone camera are just as heavy, so a 20-page scan can easily pass 40 MB. Embedded fonts and leftover editing history add a little more. Text itself is tiny, which is why PDFs exported from Word or an accounting app are usually small already and barely shrink.
How do I compress a scanned PDF?
Drop it into the tool above and keep the Recommended level. Scanned pages are pictures, so the tool re-encodes them at screen resolution, which typically makes scans 70-90% smaller while every page stays easy to read. If a portal sets a hard limit, pick a target size such as Under 1 MB instead.
How do I compress a PDF without losing quality?
Choose the High quality or Lossless level. Only the images inside a PDF are compressed; real text and vector graphics are never touched, so text stays sharp, selectable, and searchable at every level. Lossless rewrites the file’s structure without changing any page content, so quality is identical to the original. Recommended and Extreme reduce photos and scanned pages to screen resolution: fine image detail is lost, but documents stay clearly readable. Scanned PDFs are pictures of pages to begin with, and they stay pictures, just lighter. One exception: if a PDF’s images use a format the tool cannot recompress on their own, or a size target cannot be met any other way, pages are converted to images and the text is no longer selectable in that copy.
How do I compress a PDF to a specific size, like 100 KB or 200 KB?
Pick the target in the menu above: Under 100 KB, 200 KB, 300 KB, 500 KB, 1 MB, 2 MB, 5 MB, or 10 MB. The tool lowers the quality step by step until the file fits under the limit, which is what job, exam, and government upload portals usually ask for. If a document cannot get that small while staying readable, it tells you the smallest size it can reach. Our Compress PDF to 100KB, 200KB, 300KB, 500KB, 1MB, and 2MB pages open with the target already selected.
How do I make a PDF smaller for email?
Most email services cap attachments at 20-25 MB, and some company mail servers at 10 MB. Pick Under 10 MB or Under 5 MB in the menu above and the tool shrinks the file until it fits, then attach the downloaded copy. Recompressed scans usually end up well under the limit, so even long documents can go in a single email.
Can I compress a password-protected PDF?
No. Encrypted PDFs cannot be read by the compressor. Remove the password first with our free Unlock PDF tool, then compress the unlocked file.
Is there a file size limit?
No fixed limit. Because nothing is uploaded, the practical limit is your device’s memory; multi-hundred-page documents work fine on a normal computer.