Compress PDF files online for free
Large PDFs are hard to email, slow to upload to job portals and often rejected by government or university websites that cap attachments at 1–5 MB. This tool tries to reduce its size; it cannot guarantee a particular attachment limit.
Choose how much to compress. Light compression rewrites the file more efficiently without touching its content, so text stays selectable. Recommended and Strong also try an image version of each page, then return the smaller result. The output may lose selectable text, links and form fields if that rasterized version is chosen.
How to use it
- Add your PDF. Drop the file into the box above or click to choose it.
- Pick a level. Start with Recommended. Use Strong if the file is still too big, or Light if you need to copy text later.
- Click Process. The tool compares the result with your original and tells you how much space was saved.
- Download. Save the smaller PDF. If the original was already optimized, you'll see a note instead of a bigger file.
Tips for the smallest file
- Scanned documents shrink the most. Savings depend on the original images, resolution and existing compression. There is no guaranteed percentage; compare the reported input and output sizes.
- Text-only PDFs are already small. A PDF exported from Word is usually compact. Light compression is the safe choice for these.
- Remove pages you don't need first. Use Remove Pages before compressing to make the file smaller still.
- Private by design. The tool processes your document in your browser without uploading its contents. Loading the website and Google verification can still make network requests; see the Privacy Policy for optional services.
Frequently asked questions
Will compressing reduce quality?
Light resaves the PDF without rasterizing pages. Recommended and Strong may lower image resolution and remove selectable text. Check small print, charts, links and forms in the downloaded result.
Why can't I select text after compressing?
Recommended and Strong may return rasterized pages if they are smaller than the lossless result. Use Light to avoid rasterization and keep the original for comparison.
Is there a file size limit?
There's no fixed limit because the work happens on your device. Large files, many pages or high-resolution images can exhaust browser memory, especially on phones. There is no guaranteed maximum size.