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: rebuilds each page as an optimized image at 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.
One honest caveat: the three image-based levels convert each page into a picture, so text can no longer be selected or copied in the compressed file. If you need to keep selectable text, use Lossless. If the file barely shrinks even then, 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, 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.
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.
Does compressing a PDF reduce its quality?
The Recommended, High quality, and Extreme levels re-encode pages at screen resolution, so fine detail is reduced but documents remain clearly readable. The Lossless level does not change quality at all.
Will the text still be selectable after compression?
With the Lossless level, yes: the document content is untouched. The three image-based levels rebuild pages as optimized images, so text is no longer selectable in the compressed file. That trade-off is what makes the big size reductions possible.
Can I compress a password-protected PDF?
No. Encrypted PDFs cannot be read by the compressor. Remove the password first, 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.