About the Compress PDF
This PDF compressor makes files small enough for email attachments (often 20–25 MB max) and upload forms with size limits such as 10 MB or 2 MB. Because everything happens in your browser, contracts, IDs and other sensitive documents never leave your device.
There are two methods. Maximum rebuilds every page as a JPG, which shrinks scanned PDFs the most. Images only recompresses just the photos inside the PDF and keeps the text selectable and searchable.
How to use
- Click the box above and choose the PDF you want to make smaller.
- Pick a method: Maximum for scans, Images only if you need to keep text selectable.
- Choose a level (Strong, Medium, Light). For black-and-white documents, turn on Convert to grayscale for an even smaller file.
- Click Compress PDF, compare the sizes and press Download compressed PDF.
Compression levels
| Level | Maximum (page resolution) | Images only (photo long side) | JPG quality | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strong | 72 dpi | 1200 px | 50% | Screen reading, tight size limits |
| Medium | 110 dpi | 1600 px | 65% | Email attachments, online forms |
| Light | 150 dpi | 2400 px | 80% | Documents that may be printed |
Scans with small print can get blurry at Strong. Open the result and, if it’s hard to read, compress again one level lighter. Page sizes (Letter, A4…) are preserved.
Differences and limitations
- Maximum turns each page into an image, so it shrinks almost any PDF – but the result has no selectable or searchable text, links, bookmarks or form fields. PDFs that are mostly text may even get bigger.
- Images only leaves text and vector graphics untouched and recompresses JPG/PNG photos. Text stays intact, but PDFs without photos won’t shrink. CMYK print images and special color spaces are skipped to be safe.
- Compressing a digitally signed PDF invalidates the signature – submit the original in that case.
FAQ
Is my PDF uploaded to a server?
No. Rendering and compression happen in your browser and the file is never sent anywhere.
Why can’t I copy text after compressing?
“Maximum” turns pages into images. Choose “Images only” to keep the text. For scanned PDFs it makes no difference, because their text was an image to begin with.
The file got bigger – why?
PDFs exported from Word or Google Docs are mostly text and already tiny, so turning them into images can make them larger. Keep the original, or remove pages you don’t need with Split PDF.
Is there a size limit?
There’s no fixed limit, but the work happens in your device’s memory, so PDFs with hundreds of pages may take a while or fail on a phone. Use a computer for very large files.