Compress PDF
Reduce a PDF's file size to fit email and upload limits — processed entirely in your browser, so your document never leaves your device.
When This Tool Helps Most
PDF size is almost always driven by images. A scanned document, a photo-heavy brochure, or a report full of high-resolution charts can be many megabytes — mostly because each image is stored at far higher quality than a screen or printer actually needs.
This compressor targets exactly that: it re-renders each page and stores it as a right-sized image. Scanned and image-heavy PDFs often shrink by more than half. Plain-text PDFs, which are already compact, won't change much — and that's expected.
Choosing a level
- Less compression — keeps pages crisp; use when quality matters more than size.
- Recommended — a balanced default that's readable and noticeably smaller.
- Maximum compression — smallest file; some softness, fine for quick sharing.
Text becomes an image
Because each page is flattened to an image, the compressed PDF is no longer selectable or searchable as text. Keep the original if you'll need to edit or search it later. For sending, printing, and archiving, the compressed version works everywhere a normal PDF does.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does compressing a PDF actually work here?
The tool renders each page and re-saves it as a compressed JPEG image, then rebuilds a new PDF from those images. Because photos and scans compress well, this shrinks image-heavy and scanned documents the most — often dramatically. The trade-off is that text on the page becomes part of the image rather than selectable text.
Why would I want to compress a PDF?
Mainly to get under a size limit. Email attachments are often capped around 20–25 MB, and many upload forms (job applications, government portals, contact forms) reject large files. Compression is also handy for storing or sharing scanned documents that came out much larger than they need to be.
Will the text still be selectable after compressing?
No — this method flattens each page into an image, so you can no longer select or search the text. That's fine for sharing, printing, and archiving, but if you need to keep editable or searchable text, keep an uncompressed copy of the original.
My PDF barely got smaller. Why?
PDFs that are mostly plain text and already well-optimized don't have much to squeeze out, since text is already compact. This tool helps most with scans and documents full of high-resolution images. If a text-only PDF is large, it may already be about as small as it usefully gets.
Is my PDF uploaded to a server?
No. The entire process runs in your browser — the PDF is read into memory, re-rendered, and rebuilt locally. Nothing is uploaded, which matters when compressing contracts, statements, or other private documents.
Can it compress a password-protected PDF?
Not directly. A protected PDF has to be unlocked first (using the password in a PDF viewer, then re-saving without protection) before this tool can read and compress it.
Other PDF Tools
About This Utility
This tool is provided completely free of charge by Mavertex, built and maintained by Kumar, an independent UI developer.
Compression runs entirely in your browser — your PDF is read, re-rendered, and rebuilt on your own device, never uploaded to a server. For details on our data handling and third-party network usage (including AdSense), please review our Privacy Policy.